# Songs About Imaginary Places **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800 "2002-05-25T15:08:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/21 "2002-05-26T03:11:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*Was “The Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” railroad real? If not, it was from The Harvey Girls. > Fenris \*\* [Yep](http://www.augustweb.com/~marcc/) Still is, in fact. Also, Rush had a quite few. xanadu, Cygnus X1, olympus, The fountain of Lamneth, Rivendel, Bachus Plateu, Willowdale, the River Dawn,Megadon… ---
**Author:** ![Ripple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@Ripple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ripple)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/22 "2002-05-26T03:57:22Z")
[Fennario](http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/direwolf.html#fennario) appears in a couple Grateful Dead songs. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/23 "2002-05-26T04:06:17Z")
**Transverse City** is a fictional place invented by Warren Zevon. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/24 "2002-05-26T07:46:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Songs with imaginary places in the title include: > … > > “Sugar Mountain” by Neil Young I believe “Sugar Mountain” was a Canadian amusement park that Young used to frequent as a child. ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/25 "2002-05-26T08:10:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whitetho \* > \*\*Adding to **Neptune’s** post, from “The Billboard Book of Number One Hits” – “Bobby [Hart, cowriter of the song] picked a favorite Arizona town for the train’s destination, and Clarksville became the fourth American city (after Kansas City, New Orleans and El Paso) to be mentioned in the title of a number one song”. \*\* There is no town in Arizona named Clarksville. There is, however, a Clarkdale. Since the 2-digit state abbreviations came in, AZ is sometimes mistakenly entered when people mean AR–Arkansas. ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/26 "2002-05-26T08:15:11Z")
La Mancha is a real area of Spain, and yes, Scarborough is a city where an annual fair (market) was held. In Shriekback’s ‘Malaria’, the singer is living in “Avalanche Row” and “Hangover City.” ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/27 "2002-05-26T08:23:43Z")
“Come on, let me show you where it’s at. The name of the place is **I LIKE IT LIKE THAT**.” ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/28 "2002-05-26T09:49:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bdgr \*\*\*[Nope](http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?location=Gzkinu%2frCPf2xLNP%2f3C7ahtshIF%2fPGXRIy8QhP%2fBWoMpZ%2fqFbfpCLMG2dAxXnGG3g5ptRilsc8Q%3d&address=&city=china%20grove&state=&zipcode=&country=US) \*\* Opps, didn’t research my source enough. Bad source, bad! And according to [Handbook of Texas Online: China Grove](http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/CC/hrcgf.html) the town existed before the song did, so it’s not like someone sneaked in and named their community after the song became a hit. All this makes me wonder if some of those other towns I thought were mythical might actually be real. Like that “New York, New York” Frank Sinatra was always singing about… ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/29 "2002-05-26T10:46:59Z")
A few more – Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett, 1977. Moody River, Pat Boone, 1961. Blueberry Hill, Fats Domino, 1957. Castles in the Air, Don McLean, 1981. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John, 1973. Almost forgot: Delaware, Perry Como, 1960. (There was a thread on this message board some time back, which, if I remember correctly, proved that Delaware doesn’t actually exist). ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/30 "2002-05-26T15:18:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whitetho \* > \*\*Opps, didn’t research my source enough. Bad source, bad! And according to [Handbook of Texas Online: China Grove](http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/CC/hrcgf.html) the town existed before the song did, so it’s not like someone sneaked in and named their community after the song became a hit. All this makes me wonder if some of those other towns I thought were mythical might actually be real. Like that “New York, New York” Frank Sinatra was always singing about… \*\* The story I heard is that they just saw the name China Grove on a map, and thought it would make a cool song. I dont think anybody really believes New York is a real place. ---
**Author:** ![Lodrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@Lodrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lodrain)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/31 "2002-05-26T15:21:13Z")
Another of the Beatles - **Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds**. With newspaper taxis and friendly locals with kaleidoscope eyes. Such a place _has_ to be imaginary, like Loompa Land (only not scary). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/32 "2002-05-26T15:50:00Z")
I think “Margaritaville” is actually a reference to Key West, where Buffet lives. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/33 "2002-05-27T14:22:06Z")
**surf city limits** - the fauves. i don’t think this refers to any particular city, just any australian coastal town. the **intro** from outkast’s stankonia: _live, from the centre of the earth 7 light years below sea level we go welcome to stankonia, place from which all funky thangs come_ the song **humble mumble** from the same album also features the _stankonia express_, the _funky engine that could_, which says ‘i stank i can, i stank can.’ ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/34 "2002-05-27T15:38:14Z")
Would Home on the Range count? Is there really a House of the Rising Sun? I’m sorry but this thread has made me think of one of the worst songs of all time so I must share it with you all to purge my brain. One tin soldier [shudder] ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/35 "2002-05-27T15:48:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zebra \* > \*\* > Is there really a House of the Rising Sun? > > I’m sorry but this thread has made me think of one of the worst songs of all time so I must share it with you all to purge my brain. > > One tin soldier > > [shudder] \*\* [Yep…At least probably](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrisingson.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/36 "2002-05-27T17:48:47Z")
Quoth **Mephisto** : > [@](#): > > What about “Evermore,” as in Led Zeppelin’s “The Battle of.” Wasn’t Evermore a place (haven’t really listened to LZ in years) in this song? Isn’t that another Tolkien reference? I seem to recall there being a mention of “ringwraiths” in the song, which would pretty much clinch it. As I understand, it’s about either the entire War of the Rings or the Battle of the Pellenor Fields. Most people consider the Pellenor Fields (and the rest of Middle Earth) to be fictional, though, so I guess it counts. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2002, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/37 "2002-05-27T23:33:09Z")
[**Atlantis**](http://www.mylyricarchive.com/atlantis.htm) by Donovan. …provided you really believe all that malarkey about Atlantis being imaginary…um, I have to go now…I’ve _fnord_ said too much… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/38 "2002-05-28T00:45:04Z")
**Fennario** wasn’t original with the Dead (but thanks, **Ripple** , for getting “Dire Wolf” _and_ “Ripple” running through my head); a folk song starts off: _As we marched down to Fennario as we marched down to Fennario Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove and they called her name pretty Peggy-O._ I believe Simon and Garfunkel recorded this on one of their early albums. Back to the OP, how about some Jackson Browne: _This young man feels those eighteen wheels that keep turning 'round to take me down to **Shaky Town** _. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/39 "2002-05-28T01:21:43Z")
**Fennario** wasn’t original with the Dead (but thanks, **Ripple** , for getting “Dire Wolf” _and_ “Ripple” running through my head); a folk song starts off: _As we marched down to Fennario as we marched down to Fennario Our captain fell in love with a lady like a dove and they called her name pretty Peggy-O._ I believe Simon and Garfunkel recorded this on one of their early albums. Back to the OP, how about some Jackson Browne: _This young man feels those eighteen wheels that keep turning 'round to take me down to **Shaky Town** _. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800/40 "2002-05-28T05:27:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Back to the OP, how about some Jackson Browne: > > This young man feels > those eighteen wheels > that keep turning 'round > to take me down > to Shaky Town. “Shaky Town” is trucker lingo for Los Angeles. C.W. McCall also referred to L.A. as “Shaky Town” in “Convoy.” Let me suggest the Gin Blossoms’ “Allison Road.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-imaginary-places/110800.md?page=3)