# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/141 "2013-02-06T12:47:05Z")
992: “We came a long time ago, 9-9-2 but you did not know” - America: What Time Is Love? by The KLF 1969: “In 1969, I killed a man of mine” - Tomb Of Liegia by Team Sleep 1985: “In 1985 I was doing time alive” - Tomb Of Liegia by Team Sleep 1995: “1995 was the year I came up for trial” - Tomb Of Liegia by Team Sleep ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/142 "2013-02-06T12:59:10Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > **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 Similar to this, I’ll add some Pogues: **1841**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-one, my corduroy britches I put on” - Poor Paddy by the Pogues. **1842**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-two, from Hartlepool I moved to Crewe” - Poor Paddy by the Pogues. **1843**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-three, I broke me shovel across my knee” - Poor Paddy by the Pogues. **1844**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-four, I landed on that Liverpool shore” - Poor Paddy by the Pogues. **1845**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-five, when Danny O’Connell he was alive” - Poor Paddy by the Pogues. **1846**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-six, I changed my trade to carrying bricks” - Poor Paddy by the Pogues. **1847**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-seven, poor Paddy was thinking of going to heaven” - Poor Paddy by the Pogues. And a few more: **1846**. “In eighteen hundred and forty-six, on March, the eighteenth day” - Greenland Whale Fisheries by the Pogues. **1915**. “In 1915, my country said son, it’s time to stop rambling, there’s work to be done” - And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by the Pogues. **1953**. “On Canvey Island, 1953, many lives were lost” - Canvey Island by British Sea Power. **1959**. “Can you hear that '59 sound, coming through my grandfather’s radio” - The '59 Sound by the Gaslight Anthem. **1982**. “And now you find yourself in '82” - Heat of the Moment by Asia. ---
**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 6, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/143 "2013-02-06T14:02:48Z")
I’m trying to figure out why my suggestion for 1981 (post #22) didn’t make the cut. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/144 "2013-02-06T14:11:33Z")
**2005** : “And if you survive till 2005, I hope you are exceedingly thin” Pink Floyd (single: Point Me At The Sky) and it goes on: “For if you are stout You will have to breathe out While those around you breathe in.” I love that. Very prescient. ---
**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, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/145 "2013-02-06T14:17:09Z")
I listed 1968 from Dave Alvin earlier, but he’s got a few more: **1861:** “In the spring of '61 I kissed my mother goodbye” Andersonville by Dave Alvin **1962:** “This song comes from 1962 dedicated to a man who’s gone” Border Radio by Dave Alvin **1955:** “And he closed his eyes and hit the stage in 1955” Haley’s Comet by Dave Alvin **1963:** “They paroled Blue Wing in August, 1963” Blue Wing by Dave Alvin **1959:** “… when I was young and in my prime back in Gary Indiana in 1959” Gary Indiana, 1959 by Dave Alvin ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/146 "2013-02-06T14:57:59Z")
1849: “…dwelt a miner, 49er, and his daughter Clementine.” _Oh My Darling Clementine_, Percy Montrose ---
**Author:** ![Richey84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Richey84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richey84)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/147 "2013-02-06T15:53:46Z")
**1989.** “Haven’t been as high as this since the night I burned my lips. Must have been, like, '89.” Mission Viejo by Lifter Puller ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/148 "2013-02-06T16:41:31Z")
**1607.** _“In sixteen hundred seven we sailed the open sea.”_ - “Virginia Company” from _Pocahontas_ soundtrack **1952.** _“Its a Vincent Black Lightning 1952”_ - “1952 Vincent Black lightning” by Richard Thompson **1953.** _“Ain’t had no money in my pockets since way back in '53”_ - “Alimony” by Ry Cooder ---
**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, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/149 "2013-02-06T17:34:16Z")
**1492**. “_In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue_” – 1492 by Counting Crows. **1493**. “_In 1493 he came home across the deep blue sea_” – 1492 by Counting Crows. **1494**. “\*In 1494 he did it with the girl next door \*” – 1492 by Counting Crows. **1495**. “_In 1495 he barely made it out alive_” – 1492 by Counting Crows. **1964**. “\*In 1964 ?? busting out the door \*” – 1492 by Counting Crows. **1970**. “\*In 1970 some people got their hands on me \*” – 1492 by Counting Crows. **1492**. “\*If you were Chris Columbus Back in 1492 \*” – 1492 by Betty Johnson. **1492**. “_When we take it, we’re going to make it 1492, 1492_” – Ghost Dance 1492 by Beachwood Sparks. **1492**. “_In the year of 1492 When Columbus sailed the ocean blue_” – Galileo by Amy Grant. **1492**. “_Like the first man on the moon, Columbus 1492_” – Uncharted Territory by Rachael Lampa. **1492**. “_In 1492 just to see what he could see_” – Listen Mr. Bilbo by Pete Seeger. ---
**Author:** ![Richey84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Richey84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richey84)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/150 "2013-02-06T17:49:15Z")
**1988.** “And I met William Butler Yeats, Sunday Night Dance Party, summer, 1988.” - Chicago Seemed Tired Last Night by The Hold Steady ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/151 "2013-02-06T19:31:33Z")
**1883.** _“Well I found myself in Griffin, in 1883”_ - Buffalo Skinners by Woody Guthrie (Note: This is a traditional song and various versions use other years, including 1873 and 1833) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/152 "2013-02-06T19:41:12Z")
**1956.** _“I remember you in Hemlock Road in 1956”_ - Memo from Turner by Mick Jagger **1962.** _“This song comes from 1962”_ - Border Radio by the Blasters **1963.** _“It sounds like 1963 but now it sounds like heaven”_ - Windfall by Son Volt **1965.** _“Weren’t you at the Coke convention back in 1965”_ - Memo from Turner by Mick Jagger ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/153 "2013-02-06T19:46:09Z")
**1949** : “In nineteen and fifty-nine we took a little hike” - The Battle of Kookamonga by Homer & Jethro ---
**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, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/154 "2013-02-06T19:58:20Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > **1963.** _“It sounds like 1963 but now it sounds like heaven”_ - Windfall by Son Volt Ah, I should have thought of that one. Great song. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/155 "2013-02-06T20:06:08Z")
**1993.** _“Yeah, this is how we chill from 93 'til”_ - '93 Til Infinity by Souls of Mischief ---
**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, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/156 "2013-02-06T20:38:55Z")
**1945**. _They disembarked in 45_- Southampton Dock by Pink Floyd. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/157 "2013-02-06T20:53:22Z")
**1918.** _“We taught them a lesson in 1918 and they’ve hardly bothered us since then”_ – MLF Lullaby by Tom Lehrer ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/158 "2013-02-06T20:59:40Z")
**1949** _James Dean in that Mercury '49_ - “Cadillac Ranch” - Bruce Springsteen **1969** _I got a '69 Chevy with a 396_ - “Racing in the Street” - Bruce Springsteen ---
**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, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/159 "2013-02-06T21:01:29Z")
**1964** : _All alone at the '64 World’s Fair/Eighty dolls yelling “Small girl after all”_ - “Ana Ng” They Might Be Giants ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401/160 "2013-02-06T21:07:09Z")
**1963** _I was born in '63/Got a little job at the factory_ “The Factory” Warren Zevon [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-song-that-mentions-a-specific-year-in-its-lyrics-please-read-op/649401.md?page=9)