# Songs about parts of real cities **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 2, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476 "2004-11-02T02:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![look\_hergo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@look\_hergo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_hergo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/41 "2004-11-03T20:36:40Z")
You can hit both coasts in the Rancid song “Olympia, WA”: _“Hangin on the corner of 52nd and Broadway Cars passin by, but none of them seem to go my way New York City, well I wish I was on the highway Back to Olympia”_ ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/42 "2004-11-03T21:22:59Z")
Morrissey’s made tons of references to London locales, in his solo work as well as in The Smiths: “London”–refers to Euston (station) “Hairdresser on Fire”–Sloane Square (in Chelsea) “Picaddilly Paladare”–Earl’s Court “Mute Witness”–Clapham Common “You’re the One for Me, Fatty”–Battersea “Dagenham Dave”–Dagenham (N.B.: not a cover of the Stranglers’ song) “Maladjusted”–Fulham Road and SW6 region of London “Trouble Loves Me”–Soho And to neighborhoods in Manchester: “Miserable Lie” references Whalley Range “Rusholme Ruffians”–Rusholme is another area in Manchester Of course, the song “Panic” mentions a whole slew of British cities (e.g., “the Leeds side streets that you slip down”), but it doesn’t really mention in particular neighborhoods or areas of these towns. There are probably a lot of other Morrissey references that I can’t think of right now… ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/43 "2004-11-03T22:02:04Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > I don’t know who sang this or what the title was, but there was a song from about 12 years ago where the female singer says, > > _All I want to do is to just have fun > I gotta feeling, I’m not the only one > All I want to do is to just have fun > Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard._ Sheryl Crow, “All I Wanna Do” For Pittsburgh, PA, The Iron City Houserockers and Donnie Iris make references to streets several times. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/44 "2004-11-03T22:36:30Z")
How about the song Girls, Girls, Girls? It mentions the names of strip club in a number of cities. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/45 "2004-11-04T04:42:55Z")
_London_ “The fog rolls in from the east riverbank Like a shroud, it covers **Bleeker Street** ” – Simon and Garfunkel _New York_ “We’ll have **Manhattan** , **The Bronx** and **Staten Island** too. It’s lovely going through **the zoo** It’s very fancy on old **Delancey Street** you know…” “and tell me what street compares with **Mott Street** in July…” “There’s a broken heart for every light on **Broadway** ” “ **East Side** , **West Side** , ridin’ through **the Park**. We started swingin’ at **Gilly’s** then we split for **PJ Clark’s** On to **Chuck’s Composite** , then a drink at **The Stork** …” “like the folks you meet on, like to plant my feet on **the Brooklyn Bridge** …” “Come and meet those dancin’ feet On the avenue I’m takin’ you to – **42nd Street** …” – Mel Torme _Songs of New York_ ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/46 "2004-11-04T05:27:18Z")
Here’s a slightly more obscure one: Apparently the song “9th at Pine” by Less Than Jake is about a concert they played in my home town, Portland Oregon. The name of the song is the address of the concert hall. [sub]That song’s stuck in my head now, I have to listen to it.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/47 "2004-11-04T06:07:59Z")
\*\* At the Foot of Canal Street\*\*- Cowboy Mouth(also Paul Sanchez who I think wrote it) **Too Many Keys** - Caitlin Cary (I thought New Orleans could save me. I lost my way in the Quarter" **Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway** - Continental Drifters (I’m having some trouble just keeping my mind on the 10) **Our Lady of the Highways** - John Wesley Harding (By the time she gets halfway she’ll be tired of 95) **Waratah Street** - Mark Seymour (in Australia, Melbourne I’d guess) \*\* Dominion Road\*\*- Mutton Birds (a street in Auckland) **Leaps and Bounds** - Paul Kelly (I’m high on the hill looking over the bridge to the M.C.G.) I mean, I’d consider a cricket ground big enough for this, dontcha think? At this point I’m giving up. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/48 "2004-11-04T07:14:44Z")
**Jethro Tull** : _Mother Goose_ - “As I did walk by Hampstead Fair…” “Was it really true there are elephants and lions too, in Piccadilly Circus” _Cross-Eyed Mary_ - “Dines in Hampstead village” _Cheap Day Return_ - “On Preston platform” -all off “Aqualung” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/49 "2004-11-04T07:21:31Z")
And here’s someone making a mix just with songs about London: [http://www.artofthemix.org/FindAMix/getcontents.asp?strMixID=76713](http://www.artofthemix.org/FindAMix/getcontents.asp?strMixID=76713) He mentions a couple others I haven’t seen: “Your mother she’s an heiress, owns a block in St. John’s Wood”, “Now she gets her kicks in Stepney, not in Knightsbridge anymore” - _Play with Fire_, **Rolling Stones** “Do you remember loving on the floor in Belsize Park” - _Kayleigh_, \*\* Marillion\*\* _sigh_ I miss London ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/50 "2004-11-04T10:28:07Z")
How about the pedestrian travelogue _Walkin’ In Memphis_ by Marc Cohn? ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/51 "2004-11-04T12:17:24Z")
_Doraville_ by **The Atlanta Rhythm Section** - a suburb northeast of Atlanta Another L.A. one - _Carmelita_ by **Warren Zevon** : “I hear Mariachi static on my radio And the tubes they glow in the dark And I’m there with her in Ensenada And I’m here in Echo Park” ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/52 "2004-11-04T12:44:40Z")
NYC again: Simon and Garfunkel’s “come on from the whores on Seventh Avenue” in The Boxer. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/53 "2004-11-04T16:14:25Z")
“Funky Ceile” by Black 47; the guy winds up on Bainbridge Ave. in the Bronx. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/54 "2004-11-04T17:11:01Z")
Another London one: “A Nightingale Sang in **Berkeley Square** ” Manhattan Transfer I know theirs wasn’t the first. But it is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![rehema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@rehema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rehema)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/55 "2004-11-05T06:09:31Z")
This is a fun question! Okay, I have a couple: From Three Dog Night: “Eli’s Coming”: “I walk to Apollo by the Bay, everywhere I go” Did anyone else say Cheryl Crow, from “All I wanna do” : “when the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard” What about the song “Ventura Highway”? Would that count? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/56 "2004-11-05T07:01:09Z")
“St Bridget” from _Mame_ (Beekman Place) “Scum Goddess from the Lower East Side” by the Fugs “I Love L.A.” by Randy Newman (Century Blvd among others) ---
**Author:** ![marky33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@marky33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marky33)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/57 "2004-11-05T10:28:09Z")
Including those from **MrDibble** ’s link: Portobello Rd (Cat Stevens), Chelsea morning (Joni Mitchell), Barnet fair (Steeleye Span), Mile End (Pulp), King’s Cross (Cinerama), A rainy night in Soho (The Pogues) and Midnight in Chelsea (Bon Jovi) - all London, I tally the running total of songs adhering to the OP as: 1. London (30.5) 2. Los Angeles (incl. Santa Monica) (13) 3. New York (9.5) 4=Auckland, Toronto, Melbourne, Minneapolis, Seattle (2) 7=Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Liverpool, Manchester, Asbury Park, Atlanta, Houston, Washington DC, Belfast, Portland, Richmond, San Francisco, Berlin, Moscow(1) ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/58 "2004-11-05T18:22:51Z")
> [@KJ](#): > > Here’s a slightly more obscure one: Apparently the song “9th at Pine” by Less Than Jake is about a concert they played in my home town, Portland Oregon. The name of the song is the address of the concert hall. 9th and Pine? That’d be La Luna! Man, that place was great… I’ll contribute Everclear’s “I Will Buy You A New Life”, which mentions the West Hills, a swanky neighborhood in Portland. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/59 "2004-11-05T18:41:47Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > 9th and Pine? That’d be La Luna! Man, that place was great… > > I’ll contribute Everclear’s “I Will Buy You A New Life”, which mentions the West Hills, a swanky neighborhood in Portland. Actually since Everclear is from Southern California i believe they are referencing the West Hills of L.A. or Santa Monica. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476/60 "2004-11-05T18:56:08Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > Actually since Everclear is from Southern California i believe they are referencing the West Hills of L.A. or Santa Monica. Actually, since the band formed in Portland, and Art was in fact talking about the house he bought and currently lives in, I’m positive that it’s about Portland. [Cite.](http://www.whitelightning.org/thepress/gm9903.htm) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-parts-of-real-cities/272476.md?page=4)