# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/121 "2013-02-06T02:58:34Z")
**1890s** (1891-189-10): **Working on the railway** Patsy ory ory ay (3X) Working on the railway (CHORUS) In eighteen hundred and ninety-one the Erie Railroad was begun, the Erie railroad was begun. Working on the railway In eighteen hundred and ninety-two, found myself with nothing to do, found myself with nothing to do. Working on the railway In eighteen hundred and ninety-three, the Erie Railroad hired me. (etc.) In eighteen hundred and ninety-four, my back was getting mighty sore. (etc.) In eighteen hundred and ninety-five, found myself more dead than alive. (etc.) In eighteen hundred and ninety-six, found myself with dynamite sticks. (etc.) In eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, found myself on my way to heaven. (etc.) In eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, found myself at Pearly Gates. (etc.) In eighteen hundred and ninety-nine, found myself in heaven sublime. (etc.) In eighteen hundred and ninety-ten, decide to start my life again. (etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/122 "2013-02-06T03:09:15Z")
**1825:** “Around about eighteen and twenty-five, I left Tennessee very much alive” Tennessee Stud by Doc Watson **1916:** “and I see by your gravestone you were only 19 when you joined the great fallen in 1916” No Man’s Land by Eric Bogle **1940:** “1940 x-mas eve with a full moon over town” Stagger Lee by the Grateful Dead **1943:** “my drifting memory goes back to the spring of '43” California Cotton Fields by Merle Haggard **1944:** “I might live to be a hundred, I was born in '44” Leave the Light on by Chris Smither **1945:** “Flying over Hiroshima, 1945” 1945 by Social Distortion **1952:** “It’s a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952” 1952 Vincent Black Lightning by Richard Thompson **1965:** “Frankie went into the army back in 1965” Highway Patrol by Bruce Springsteen **1968:** “He left a hero in the jungle back in 1968” 1968 by Dave Alvin **1988:** “It’s something I hate. You’re so 1988” You’re so 1988 by Epperley ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/123 "2013-02-06T03:21:27Z")
**1951** : “He was born on a summer day, 1951” “Lonely Boy”, Andrew Gold **1953** : “In the summer of '53 his mother/ Brought him a sister” “Lonely Boy”, Andrew Gold **1969** : “He left home on a winter day, 1969” “Lonely Boy”, Andrew Gold **1975** : “Brenda and Eddie had had it already by the summer of '75/ From the high to the low to the end of the show/ For the rest of their lives” “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, Billy Joel ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/124 "2013-02-06T04:36:33Z")
1965: _“Remember sixty-five/Well the kids are all grown up/But their records are still alive”_ - “Back Together Again” Hall and Oates 1968: _“Musty cracked a beer and said/Let’s celebrate/Goofus caught the first buck/Since 1968”_ - “Second Week of Deer Camp” The Yoopers ---
**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 6, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/125 "2013-02-06T05:56:15Z")
**1979** - “They amplified the autumn, 1979” - “Ignoreland” by R.E.M. “Ignoreland” also contains the lyric “1980, 84, 88, 92 too, too” if we are missing any of those years. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/126 "2013-02-06T06:20:50Z")
**1959** - _And I know which way the wind blows in 1959._ “1959” by The Sisters of Mercy. **1963** - _It was January, 1963 when Johnny came home with a gift for me._ “1963” by New Order. **1982** - _If I’m guilty then so are you. It was March 4, 1982._ “Radar” by Morphine. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/127 "2013-02-06T06:48:43Z")
**1963** : _“She was born in November 1963/The day Aldous Huxley died”_ - “Run, Baby, Run” Sheryl Crow ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/128 "2013-02-06T06:51:19Z")
**1870**. _“Back in 1870”_-Sub-Rosa Subway by Klaatu. **1981**. _“When I hit the streets back in 81”_-White Feather by Marillion. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/129 "2013-02-06T07:21:29Z")
**1977** and **1982** _Skynyrd was set to play Huntsville, Alabama, in the spring of '77, I had a ticket but it got cancelled. So, the show, it was rescheduled for the “Street Survivors Tour”. And the rest, as they say, is history. So I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd but I sure saw Ozzy Osbourne with Randy Rhoads in '82 right before that plane crash._ “Let There Be Rock” by Drive-By Truckers. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/130 "2013-02-06T07:34:05Z")
**1916** - ‘_And I see by your gravestone you were only 19, when you joined the glorious fallen in 1916_’ and ‘_And, though you died back in 1916, to that loyal heart are you always 19?_’ - No Man’s Land (AKA Willie McBride, AKA The Green Fields of France), Eric Bogle ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/131 "2013-02-06T07:42:34Z")
**1516** -_Since fifteen-hundred and sixteen, minds attacked and overseen._ “People of The Sun” by Rage Against The Machine. ---
**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 6, 2013, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/132 "2013-02-06T08:16:09Z")
**1847**. “_In the spring of forty-seven, So the story, it is told_” - Sutter’s Mill by Dan Fogelberg **1860**. “_And by the spring of eighteen-sixty, They had opened up the west._” - Sutter’s Mill by Dan Fogelberg ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/133 "2013-02-06T08:21:05Z")
**1962, 1986, 1958, 1971, 1998** _Now Wallace was for all practical purposes the governor of Alabama from 1962 until 1986… But he lost his first bid for Governor in 1958… Ironically, in 1971, after a particularly racially charged campaign Wallace began backpedaling… And George Wallace died back in '98 and he’s in Hell now…_ “The Three Great Alabama Icons” by Drive-by Truckers. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/134 "2013-02-06T09:50:06Z")
1. “So tonight we’re gonna party like it’s 1699” - Amish Paradise by Weird Al 1963 " In winter 1963 it felt like the world would freeze" - Life in a Northern Town by Dream Academy 2. " In '77 and '69 Revolution was in the air" - I wish I was a Punk Rocker by Sandi Thom 3. " In '77 and '69 Revolution was in the air" - I wish I was a Punk Rocker by Sandi Thom ---
**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 6, 2013, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/135 "2013-02-06T10:43:55Z")
> [@tomcar](#): > > 1969 - The Stooges > 1984 - Bowie > 1963 - New Order > 1988 - Summer Camp > 1974 - Ryan Adams > Memories of Jacqueline 1906 - Olivia Tremor Control > 1995 - Radio Dept > Holland 1945 - Neutral Milk Hotel > Bo Diddley 1969 > 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins > 2007, The Year Punk Broke My Heart - Los Campesinos So…do you really think I’m going to sort this all out, search for the actual lyrics, copy and paste them in, then properly re-format? Thanks for playing, I guess. 🙂 mmm ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/136 "2013-02-06T10:45:45Z")
1966 " '66 Seems like the year I was really going some where, we were living in San Fransisco with Flowers in our Hair" Rock ‘n’ roll (the best years of our lives) by the Cats 1969 “And then '69 in L.A. came around so soon, we were really making headway and writing lots of tunes” Rock ‘n’ roll (the best years of our lives) by the Cats 1971 " ‘71 In Soho when I saw Suzanne, I was tryin’ to go solo with someone else’s band" Rock ‘n’ roll (the best years of our lives) by the Cats ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/137 "2013-02-06T11:48:50Z")
**1973.** _“In a club with you In 1973”_ – 1973 by James Blunt. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/138 "2013-02-06T11:56:51Z")
**2000**. “_In the year 2000_” – Anthem For The Year 2000 by Silverchair. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/139 "2013-02-06T12:05:52Z")
**1951**. “_He was born on a summer day, 1951_” – Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold. **1953**. “_In the summer of '53 his mother brought him a sister_” – Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold. **1969**. “_He left home on a winter day, 1969_” – Lonely Boy by Andrew Gold. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/140 "2013-02-06T12:20:43Z")
**1945**. “_I shoulda been born in '45_” – 1945 by Jamie Grace. **1954**. “_In '54 I woulda been 9_” – 1945 by Jamie Grace. **1959**. “_My first pair of high heels in '59_” – 1945 by Jamie Grace. **1965**. “_I shoulda been born in '65_” – 1945 by Jamie Grace. **1974**. “_In '74 I woulda been 9_” – 1945 by Jamie Grace. **1979**. “_I woulda been a teenager round '79_” – 1945 by Jamie Grace. **1991**. “_And lovely 1991 That’s the year that I come from_” – 1945 by Jamie Grace. **1945**. “_Flying over Hiroshima, 1945_” – 1945 by Social Distortion. **1945**. “\*One evening 1945 With just her sister at her side \*” – Holland, 1945 by Neutral Milk Hotel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401.md?page=8)