# Songs that hint at where the band members are from in their lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 30, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479 "2009-11-30T15:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/21 "2009-11-30T19:49:23Z")
**The Violent Femmes** _No Killing_ They’re knocking at my door Don’t let them in Don’t let them in I think it’s the Milwaukee Police ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/22 "2009-11-30T20:04:20Z")
The Beastie Boys do shout outs to New York City all the time, but if you want something a little more subtle, I like this line from Johnny Ryall: “Washing windows on the Bowery at a quarter to four 'Cause he ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s Farm no more!” The Bowery being a major street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where, at the time, you wouldn’t have been surprised to see a Squeegee Guy. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2009, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/23 "2009-11-30T21:50:15Z")
Red Hot Chili Peppers & L.A. Read about it in t[his Cracked article](http://www.cracked.com/article/191_5-musicians-who-need-to-find-something-new-to-sing-about_p2). ---
**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:** [November 30, 2009, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/24 "2009-11-30T22:00:30Z")
**Ben Folds Five** ’s song “Kate” references Rosemary & Cameron, two streets in their hometown of Chapel Hill, NC (well the town where the band started). They also name-check some local businesses, a local guy named Joe Caparo, local critics Ross & Frank, and a slew of real friends in “Where’s Summer B”. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/25 "2009-12-01T00:54:07Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned “Take Me Back To Chicago” by uh, wait, it"ll come to me. Chicago 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/26 "2009-12-01T01:16:59Z")
**The Ramones!** “Siting here in Queens Eating refried beans We’re in all the magazines Gulpin’ down thorazines!” “Rock rock Rockaway Beach!” “Last night I took a walk in the dark To a place called Palisades Park.” ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/27 "2009-12-01T01:54:59Z")
Nelly drops references to St. Louis in more than one song. I’ve always wondered about his line “Get off the freeway, exit 106 and parked it, ash tray / flip gate, time to spark it…” Because AFAIK, that’s off Hwy 70 in the middle of nowhere. …unless he chose that location to “spark it” due to its seclusion. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/28 "2009-12-01T02:09:39Z")
(as mentioned) - Bare Naked Ladies - “We bought an old house on the Danforth” (section of Toronto) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - “She could hear the cars roll by out on 441 like waves crashing on the beach” - US Hwy 441 runs through the middle of Gainesville, Florida. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/29 "2009-12-01T02:36:27Z")
Although you can barely understand the lyrics sometimes, ZZ Top has a few songs that talk about the Lone Star State. “La Grange” is a town in Texas–home of a famous whorehouse. “I Heard it on The X” is about the Mexican radio stations (heard all across Texas and beyond) that the band listened to. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/30 "2009-12-01T02:45:28Z")
In **“Deadbeat Club”** the **B-52’s** sing about going down to Allen’s for 25 cent beer, and crashing that party down in Normaltown. Normaltown is a neighborhood in Athens, Georgia, and Allen’s is (well, _was_) a dive bar in Normaltown. In **“Love Shack”** , they sing about heading down the Atlanta Highway, which used to refer to Highway 78, connecting Athens and Atlanta. ---
**Author:** ![TheFatKid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@TheFatKid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFatKid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/31 "2009-12-01T03:11:15Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > In **“Deadbeat Club”** the **B-52’s** sing about going down to Allen’s for 25 cent beer, and crashing that party down in Normaltown. > > Normaltown is a neighborhood in Athens, Georgia, and Allen’s is (well, _was_) a dive bar in Normaltown. > > In **“Love Shack”** , they sing about heading down the Atlanta Highway, which used to refer to Highway 78, connecting Athens and Atlanta. Ouch! I was just about to post that, and I scroll down, and… Sad that Allen’s is now defunct. Normaltown looks so odd without it. How about Tom Petty’s line from **American Girl** “She could hear the cars roll by out on 441 like waves crashing on the beach”. 441 runs right thru his hometown of Gainesville, FL. (Yeah, I’ve lived there, too, right on 441.) And of course another Petty line, “I’ve been to Micanopy”, just down the road from Gainesville. And yet another rock reference to a place I’ve lived, **Ramblin’ Man** by Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers: “I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus rollin’ down highway 41”, which refers to a highway that runs thru Georgia and Florida. I’m not sure if the reference is to Betts’s hometown of Bradenton, FL, or the Allman Brothers Band’s home base of Macon, GA. **Midnight Train to Georgia** , of course, refers to Gladys Knight’s home state. There’s the classic **Paradise** by John Prine, referring to a town in Kentucky near where his family lived. ---
**Author:** ![TheFatKid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/34f0e0/32.png) [@TheFatKid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFatKid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/32 "2009-12-01T03:17:38Z")
There’s Alan Jackson’s “Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee” from the song **Chattahoochee**. It’s not way down yonder for him, of course, since he just lives a few miles away here. And John Anderson makes numerous Florida references (including another shout out to Micanopy) in his hit **Seminole Wind**. ---
**Author:** ![Tero1111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Tero1111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tero1111)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/33 "2009-12-01T03:25:25Z")
And then there are the ones that seem to be everywhere. Spot the sarcasm in the Berry song: Oh well, oh well, I feel so good today, We touched ground on an international runway Jet propelled back home, from over the seas to the U. S. A. New York, Los Angeles, oh, how I yearned for you Detroit, Chicago, Chattanooga, Baton Rouge Let alone just to be at my home back in ol’ St. Lou. Did I miss the skyscrapers, did I miss the long freeway? From the coast of California to the shores of Delaware Bay You can bet your life I did, till I got back to the U. S. A. Looking hard for a drive-in, searching for a corner cafÚFFFFE9 Where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day Yeah, and a juke-box jumping with records like in the U.S.A. Well, I’m so glad I’m livin’ in the U.S.A. Yes. I’m so glad I’m livin’ in the U.S.A. Anything you want, we got right here in the U.S.A. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/34 "2009-12-01T03:28:40Z")
The Oasis bar mentioned in “Friends in Low Places” (Garth Brooks) was a bar in the small town of Concordia, Kansas, the hometown of James Garver, one of the members of Brooks’s band. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/35 "2009-12-01T03:37:35Z")
I suppose **Jimmy Buffet** ’s references are too numerous to have to mention. Died Pretty - Battle of Stanmore RHCP - not what you’re thinking (L.A.), but Flea’s subtle references to his Australian originas - Billy tea, cop a feel, and others I can’t bring to mind right now. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/36 "2009-12-01T03:38:55Z")
When he wrote the song _St. Lawrence River_ **David Usher** lived in Montreal (I think he still does). ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/37 "2009-12-01T04:01:32Z")
**Journey** paid homage to San Francisco with their song _Lights_. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/38 "2009-12-01T05:24:40Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > **The Ramones!** > > “Siting here in Queens > Eating refried beans > We’re in all the magazines > Gulpin’ down thorazines!” > > “Rock rock Rockaway Beach!” > > “Last night I took a walk in the dark > To a place called Palisades Park.” Don’t forget 53rd and 3rd. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/39 "2009-12-01T05:32:51Z")
Thin Lizzy’s _Shades Of A Blue Orphanage_ has the lines: “There’s an old photograph of Dan that I wish you could-a seen Of him and the boys posed, standing in St. Stephen’s Green” which refers to the park in the centre of Dublin, Phil Lynott’s home town. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2009, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479/40 "2009-12-01T13:35:34Z")
One of my favorite Chicago songs, _ **Lake Shore Drive** _ by Aliotta, Haynes & Jeremiah, never actually mentions Chicago by name. Looking over the lyrics, I’m not entirely sure how obvious the “home town” would be to an out-of-towner. “It starts up north from Hollywood” is something of a red herring, referring to the otherwise little-known Hollywood Avenue. There’s a reference to the “Gold Coast,” and of course the name of the street itself, though I don’t know how widely known those are outside of Chicago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-hint-at-where-the-band-members-are-from-in-their-lyrics/519479.md?page=3)