# Name a song that mentions a specific year in its lyrics (please read OP) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2013, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401 "2013-02-05T17:23:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/21 "2013-02-05T18:14:45Z")
**1963**. “He said, ‘In winter 1963 / It felt like the world would freeze / With John F. Kennedy and the Beatles’” - “Life in a Northern Town” by Dream Academy. **1969**. “I got my first real six-string / Bought it at the five-and-dime / Played it 'til my fingers bled / It was the summer of '69” - “Summer of '69” by Bryan Adams. **1989**. “It was 1989, my thoughts were short, my hair was long / Caught somewhere between a boy and man” - “All Summer Long” by Kid Rock. I would’ve thought Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” would mention a year or two, but I didn’t see any in the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/22 "2013-02-05T18:21:43Z")
**1981.** “_I wish I was back in 1981. Just to see your face, instead of this place…_” - The Way Life’s Meant to Be by Electric Light Orchestra (on the album _Time_.) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/23 "2013-02-05T18:22:36Z")
**1969**. “_In sixty-nine your father died_” - Luba the Baroness by Joan Baez **1865**. “_In the winter of sixty-five_” - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by Joan Baez **1949**. “_Well, I left Kentucky back in '49_” - One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash **1953**. “_The transmission was a '53_” - One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash **1973**. “_And the motor turned out to be a '73_” - One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash **1949-59**. “_Well, it’s a '49, '50, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55, '56, '57, '58, '59 automobile_” - One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash **1960-70**. “_It’s a '60, '61, '62, '63, '64, '65, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70 automobile_” - One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/24 "2013-02-05T18:28:49Z")
1. “On the wreck of 86, that was the year I knew the panic was over”. Ellie Goulding. Anything Could Happen. (Also her birth year) ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/25 "2013-02-05T18:33:03Z")
1963 (again). “I don’t suppose you would remember me, but I used to follow you back in '63” Bell Boy (Quadrophenia) The Who ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/26 "2013-02-05T18:34:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Wow, you people suck at following directions! 🙂 > > I assume mmm wanted > > **YEAR**. “_Song lyric that mentions that year._” Song Title by Artist. Thank you for that, Thudlow 🙂 Here’s where we’re at: **1853** : “It was on the old Calcutta in 1853” - Old Admirals by Al Stewart **1921** : “Watching the sun come up in the morning of 1921” - Warren Harding by Al Stewart **1934** : “On the last day of June, 1934” – The Last Day of June 1934 by Al Stewart. **1934** : “I got a '34 wagon and they call it a woody” - Surf City, Jan & Dean **1939** : “And she’s laughing, laughing into 1939” Al Stewart, Between the Wars. **1949** : “She had a picture of a cowboy tattooed on her spine, saying Phoenix Arizona 1949” – Little Egypt by The Coasters. **1954** : “The worst thing in 1954 was the bikini” – I Found That Essence Rare by Gang of Four. **1956** : “I said I’ve been this way since 1956” – Love Potion #9 by The Clovers. **1959** : “1959 was a very strange time” - Post-World War Two Blues by Al Stewart **1963** : “Oh, what a night, late December back in ‘63” – December, 1963 (Oh What a Night) by The Four Seasons **1965** : "In '65 I was 17. . .” Running On Empty, Jackson Browne **1965** : “I bought you a brand new Mustang, a 1965 (huh!)”, “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett. **1967** : “Way back when, in '67, I was the dandy of Gamma Chi…”, “Hey Nineteen” by Steely Dan. **1967** : “1967, it seems so long ago” – 1967 by Tom Robinson. **1968** : “The time had come in '68, to elect a president…” Snoopy for President, Royal Guardsmen **1969** : "In '69 I was 21. . .” Running On Empty, Jackson Browne **1969** : “It was the summer of '69”, “The Summer of '69”, by Bryan Adams. **1969** : “We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969” - Hotel California, Eagles **1974** : “Well there’s a real square cat, he looks like 1974” – Rock This Town by Stray Cats. **1983** : “1983 is calling I’ve been on my knees and crawling back to you…”, “1983” by Neon Trees. **1985**. “She’s still preoccupied with nineteen, nineteen, nineteen eight five.” - 1985 by Bowling for Soup **1989** : “1989 - a number, another summer”, “Fight The Power”, by Public Enemy. **1996** : “She slit her wrists for attention in 1996” - Metal Now by Say Anything **4545** : “In the year 4545 you ain’t gonna need your teeth” – In The Year 2525, Zager and Evans. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/27 "2013-02-05T18:35:58Z")
**1985**. “No one ever left alive, in nineteen hundred and eighty-five, would ever do” – Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five by Paul McCartney. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/28 "2013-02-05T18:36:44Z")
1865: It was the winter of '65. We were hungry, just barely alive. The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down, the Band 2000: You know you’re a 2000 man, and your kids don’t understand you at all. 2000 Man, Rolling Stones ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/29 "2013-02-05T18:41:26Z")
**1976** - Forget the days of future past, because now it’s 1976. “1976” by Redd Kross. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/30 "2013-02-05T18:42:21Z")
1756, 1761, 1773, 1782, 1784, 1791. Various voice overs from Rock Me Amadeus by Falco. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/31 "2013-02-05T18:54:08Z")
**1486** : “In the year 1486 the Malleus first appeared” White Hammer by Van der Graaf Generator **1983** : “Left the earth in 1983, fingers groping for the galaxies.” Pioneers Over c by Van der Graaf Generator (released 1970, so it was very optimistic!) ---
**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/32 "2013-02-05T19:00:41Z")
Unless I missed them (I did check the thread) **1962** “Kept some letters by his bed, dated 1962…” _He Stopped Loving Her Today_ George Jones **1982** “Operator, please connect me, with 1982…” _1982_ Randy Travis ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/33 "2013-02-05T19:03:08Z")
**1814**. “In 1814 we took a little trip” – Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton **1919**. “A rose is a rose is a rose, said the mama of dada as long ago as 1919” – Nine Funerals of the Citizen King by Henry Cow **1975**. “In nineteen hundred and seventy-five all my people rose from the countryside” – War Movie by Jefferson Airplane (Could also have cited “Ride the Tiger” by Jefferson Starship for “look to the summer of '75”) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/34 "2013-02-05T19:03:48Z")
**1913** - “Take a trip with me in 1913 to Calumet Michigan in the copper country” - 1913 Massacre by Woody Guthrie ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/35 "2013-02-05T19:06:09Z")
There’s a song by Elvis Costello, _45_, in which he uses the two digit abbreviation to refer to two different centuries. (amongst many other things): **1945** Bells are chiming for victory, There’s a page back in history, 45 - 45 by Elvis Costello. … and then in a different verse … Corporations turn revolutions 45 The first is obviously a refernce to 1945. The second could either be just a reference to a 45 rpm record, or a double meaning which also refers to [the '45](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobite_Rising_of_1745). In fact, it is so questionable that I didn’t format it, but if you want to count it as 1745 then be my guest. ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/36 "2013-02-05T19:07:14Z")
**1315** : “In the spring of 1315, there began an era of unpredictable weather” 1816, The Year Without a Summer by Rasputina **1851** : “It did not lift until 1851” **1816** : “You remember 1816 as the year without a summer” 1816, The Year Without a Summer by Rasputina ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/37 "2013-02-05T19:08:27Z")
**1929** - ““She’s been dead since 1929”, Oh, how I cried that night” - “Pictures Of Lily” by The Who **1984** - “Beware the savage jaw, of 1984” - “1984” by David Bowie ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/38 "2013-02-05T19:12:02Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > **1486** : “In the year 1486 the Malleus first appeared” White Hammer by Van der Graaf Generator **1519** : “I know this happened in 1519, yet / this is the image we can’t seem to forget”, “Higher Level”, KRS One This may be a bit of a stretch, but: **1975** : “You know some time you’re bound to leave her / but for now you’re going to stay / In the year of the cat”, “The Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart. (The song was written in 1975, which was the Year of the Rabbit, which is called the Year of the Cat in Vietnam, which pretty much well places the events of the lyrics in both time and space.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/39 "2013-02-05T19:13:08Z")
**1992.** _“April 26, 1992. There was a riot in the streets, tell me where were you?”_ - April 29, 1992 by Sublime (not a typo) **1855.** _“Past and present 1855-1901”_ - 1901 by Phoenix **1901.** _“Past and present 1855-1901”_ - 1901 by Phoenix ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/40 "2013-02-05T19:15:09Z")
**1962** “It was back in Blind River, 1962, when I last saw you alive”, Long May You Run, Neil Young **1916** “It’s the same old thing since 1916”, Zombie, the Cranberries [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401.md?page=3)