# Songs that use city names as a rhyme (and is there one for every state?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629 "2015-06-27T15:29:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/1 "2015-06-27T15:29:59Z")
This came up in a discussion about the terrorist trial in Boston, leading to a discussion of songs about Boston, further leading to the song Sweet Baby James: Now the first of December was covered with snow and so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston. Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting, with ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go. This led to the OP–how many song lyrics rhyme the name of a city? We came up with “Little Green Apples” (And it don’t rain in Indianapolis in the summertime) and a twofer in Sinatra’s “Love’s Been Good to Me” ## There was a girl in Denver Before the summer storm Oh, her eyes were tender Oh, her arms were warm There was a girl in Portland Before the winter chill We used to go a-courtin’ Along October hill That covers Massachusetts, Indiana, Colorado and either Maine or Oregon. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/2 "2015-06-27T15:50:54Z")
Nevada: Ahh, it’s a shame, say it’s a pity Gotta putt out of Carson City (Captain Beefheart, “Owed t’ Alex”) California: Where will we go When there’s no San Francisco? [also “no San Diego”] (Shango, “Day After Day”) The bridge of “Route 66” has a whole bunch of cities and states rhyming with one another, but the rhymes are pretty sloppy! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/3 "2015-06-27T15:56:11Z")
New York: Toe bone Schenectady foot bone Foot bone Schenectady heel bone Heel bone Schenectady ankle bone… ---
**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:** [June 27, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/4 "2015-06-27T15:57:54Z")
“Birmingham” - Randy Newman \*Birmingham, Birmingham The greatest city in Alabam’ You can travel 'cross this entire land But there ain’t no place like Birmingham \* “Drivin’ On 9” - The Breeders _I sure look pretty Carson City_ ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/5 "2015-06-27T16:58:47Z")
“Moonlight in Vermont” contains no city or town names. Probably too small. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/6 "2015-06-27T17:03:24Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > “Moonlight in Vermont” contains no city or town names. Probably too small. Or rhymes. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/7 "2015-06-27T17:07:28Z")
> [@](#): > > It winds from Chicago to LA, > More than two thousand miles all the way. > Get your kicks on Route sixty-six. > > Now you go through Saint Looey > Joplin, Missouri, > And Oklahoma City is mighty pretty. > You see Amarillo, > Gallup, New Mexico, > Flagstaff, Arizona. > Don’t forget Winona, > Kingman, Barstow, San Bernandino. - Route 66 > [@](#): > > I’d build for my Ginnie, a honeymoon home > Below that old white mountain > Just a little south-east of Nome - North To Alaska ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/8 "2015-06-27T17:24:31Z")
Wham Bam Birmingham Alabam don’t give a damn ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/9 "2015-06-27T17:34:15Z")
Steely Dan, “My Old School.” You get a triple helping of Annandale, and one California for dessert: … I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes When you put me on the Wolverine Up to Annandale It was still September, When your daddy was quite surprised To find you with the working girls in the county jail Oleanders growing outside her door Soon they’re gonna be in bloom Up in Annandale I can’t stand her Doing what she did before Living like a gypsy queen In a fairy tale California tumbles into the sea That’ll be the day I go Back to Annandale Tried to warn you About Chino and Daddy Gee But I can’t seem to get to you Through the U.S. Mail ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/10 "2015-06-27T17:36:46Z")
**New York** : “Truckin’, up to Buffalo Been thinkin’, you got to mellow slow” - _Grateful Dead_ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/11 "2015-06-27T17:38:49Z")
Shuffle Off to Buffalo: “To Niagara in the sleeper There’s no honeymoon that’s cheaper And the train goes slow. Oh, Oh, Oh Off we’re gonna shuffle Shuffle off to Buffalo.” Honeymoon Hotel (Hollywood): Hotel Detectives: Girls, you’ll have to scatter. Girls: We don’t see why we should. Detectives: You’re in Jersey City/And not in Hollywood! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/12 "2015-06-27T17:46:54Z")
[Jacksonville!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0TtIRpG-jE) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/13 "2015-06-27T17:52:58Z")
Tallahassee Lassie ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/14 "2015-06-27T17:57:31Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > “Moonlight in Vermont” contains no city or town names. Probably too small. It’s a haiku! ---
**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:** [June 27, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/15 "2015-06-27T18:03:05Z")
> [@](#): > > Way down yonder in New Orleans, > In the land of the dreamy scenes… -Way Down Yonder in New Orleans > [@](#): > > We took a little bacon and we took a little beans, > And we caught the bloody British in a town in New Orleans. -Battle of New Orleans > [@](#): > > Do you know the way to San Jose? > I’ve been away so long > I may go wrong and lose my way ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/16 "2015-06-27T18:05:22Z")
I didn’t think I’d find a match for Connecticut, but [here](http://www.streetdirectory.com/lyricadvisor/song/wwlwoe/connecticuts_for_fucking/) are the lyrics for “Connecticut’s For Fucking” by Jesus H Christ and The Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse. (The idea is that the state is so boring that that’s all there is to do.) The lyricist rhymes Old Lyme with “all the time”. More impressively, he rhymes Lake Quassapaug (admittedly not a town or city name) with “catching frogs”. ---
**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:** [June 27, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/17 "2015-06-27T18:06:20Z")
Pennsylvania has “Allentown”, by Billy Joel: > [@](#): > > Well we’re living here in Allentown > And they’re closing all the factories down > … > And we’re living here in Allentown > But the restlessness was handed down > … > Well we’re waiting here in Allentown > For the Pennsylvania we never found > … > And we’re waiting here in Allentown > But they’ve taken all the coal from the ground > … > Well I’m living here in Allentown > And it’s hard to keep a good man down And Johnny Cash’s “I’ve been everywhere” has a whole slew of them, though some are a bit strained, and some aren’t US cities: > [@](#): > > Reno > Chicago > Fargo > Minnesota > Buffalo > Toronto > Winslow > Sarasota > Whichta > Tulsa > Ottowa > Oklahoma > Tampa > Panama > Mattua > LaPaloma > Bangor > Baltimore > Salvador > Amarillo > Tocapillo > Pocotello > Amperdllo ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/18 "2015-06-27T18:09:38Z")
Hard hearted Hannah The vamp of Savannah… [Ella Fitzgerald - Hard Hearted Hannah](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH0hw8EYIpA) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/19 "2015-06-27T18:21:52Z")
“[I’ve Been Everywhere](http://www.ivebeeneverywhere.com.au/the-song/)” for multiple countries (Australian is the original). ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/20 "2015-06-27T18:23:21Z")
It’s in there somewhere: [Marilyn Monroe - Two Little Girls From Little Rock [With Lyrics]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV4CMmlR1X0) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629.md?page=2)