# 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:** 10
**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:** [April 22, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/181 "2017-04-22T18:59:41Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > “Okie from Muskogee” is its own parody. Back in my hippie days, I heard people sing it tongue-in-cheek for two years before I heard the Merle Haggard recording. > Nor does it refer to Bristol, Virginia/Tennessee, “A Good Place To Live.” And ground zero for country music. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2017, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/182 "2017-05-13T17:29:20Z")
Anyone remember Midnight Cowboy and Harry Nilsson’s I Guess The Lord Must Be In New York City? I’m so tired of getting nowhere Seein’ my prayers goin’ unanswered I guess the Lord must be in New York City Well, here I am, Lord, knockin’ at your back door, hmm Ain’t it wonderful to be where I’ve always wanted to be? For the first time, I’ll breathe free Here in New York City ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2017, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/183 "2017-05-13T20:08:35Z")
Without going back and reading nearly 200 posts, theres “Sioux City Sue”, for Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![Guyenne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58f4c7/32.png) [@Guyenne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guyenne)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/184 "2017-07-28T23:17:22Z")
I know that New York has been covered, but it’s still worth adding the “Upstate New York Waltz” by Si Kahn and Tom Chapin. The lyrics recount a love affair, from its beginning: We’d met unexpectedly Deep in Schenectady to its sad end: But on a safari to Canajoharie She was just climbing the walls. We barely were speakin’ When we got to Beacon, And broke up in Wappingers Falls. A dozen or so other cities and towns get rhymed along the way. Full lyrics here: [http://www.tomchapin.com/docs/lunyw.html](http://www.tomchapin.com/docs/lunyw.html) ---
**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:** [November 25, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/185 "2017-11-25T15:00:05Z")
Kermit Ruffins changed Louis Armstrong’s song “Christmas in New Orleans” to "Monday Night in New Orleans: Way down in New Orleans, the land of dreams, Big juicy pig tails in a pot of red beans, on Monday night in New Orleans. So baby, don’t look so mean, fix me some beans, before you know it I done licked the plate clean, on Monday night in New Orleans. ---
**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:** [May 19, 2018, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/186 "2018-05-19T17:43:50Z")
Okay. I am resurrecting this thread to ask why nobody posted Huddie Ledbetter’s classic, only been covered about 100 times even in modern music, song [Cotton Fields](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Fields) When I was a little bitty baby My mama would rock me in the cradle In them old cotton fields back home It was down in Louisiana Just about a mile from Texarkana In them old cotton fields back home ---
**Author:** ![NotFromOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@NotFromOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotFromOne)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/187 "2018-05-21T00:53:04Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I’ve been racking my brain to try to come up with a Tennessee city/town that qualifies. I’ve been all over the South but it finally hit me: several TN towns get mentioned and at least one rhymes in [Robert Mitchum sings The Ballad of Thunder Road](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdwUpxkfSJw) – many Kentucky towns get mentioned, too, but Maynardville is in Tennessee! 😃 Long distance information, give me Memphis Tennessee… Pardon me boy, but is that the Chattanooga choo-choo… Nashville Cats ---
**Author:** ![NotFromOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@NotFromOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotFromOne)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/188 "2018-05-21T00:54:39Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Good catch, **Chefguy** , because I thought that was either fictitious or in Kentucky. > > Has anybody got one for Mississippi, yet? It’s so neat to beat your feet in the Mississippi mud ---
**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 21, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/189 "2018-05-21T00:56:49Z")
What city name is in that, and what does it rhyme with? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/190 "2018-05-21T01:57:13Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > 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 > [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Annandale (I’m gonna say Virginia, tho it’s probably NY): > > When 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 > > –“My Old School,” Steely Dan I came to say “No, no, this definitely referring to Annandale, VA. Same state that William & Mary is in.” But, alas, turns out it isn’t: > **[My Old School by Steely Dan - Songfacts](https://www.songfacts.com/facts/steely-dan/my-old-school)** > > My Old School by Steely Dan song meaning, lyric interpretation, video and chart position > [@](#): > > The “Old School” referred to in this song is Bard College in Annendale, New York, where Donald Fagen and Walter Becker met. The song is at least partially inspired by an event that occurred at Bard, where both Becker and Fagen, along with their girlfriends, were arrested in a pot raid on a party that was orchestrated by an ambitious young District Attorney named G. Gordon Liddy (hence the line “Tried to warn ya about Geno and Daddy G”). Despite the fact that California has not (yet) tumbled into the sea, both Fagen and Becker have returned to Bard. Mind you, the Wolverine still doesn’t go there, being a Michigan/Indiana route. 😕 ---
**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:** [August 17, 2018, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/191 "2018-08-17T13:17:20Z")
Another bump, asking why nobody has mentioned the one song using a city’s name as a rhyme that some of us have heard the most times, the one that I heard this morning in a full length version playing at McDonald’s: Baby, if you’ve ever wondered, Wondered what ever became of me. I’m living on the air in Cincinnati Cincinnati, WKRP ---
**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:** [August 17, 2018, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/192 "2018-08-17T13:45:38Z")
Unless the singer is putting the stresses in really weird places, “became of me” doesn’t really rhyme with “Cincinnati”. A proper rhyme goes all the way from the vowel of the last stressed syllable to the end of the word, which means that you need to match the “ati”, not just the “i”. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2018, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/193 "2018-08-17T13:49:20Z")
Me, ti, and P do rhyme, at least to my ears. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/194 "2018-08-18T05:09:24Z")
Another from Pennsylvania; “I was born in Mechanicsburg My daddy worked for Pontiac ‘til he got hurt” “The Factory” by Warren Zevon ‘ ---
**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:** [August 18, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/195 "2018-08-18T13:01:59Z")
Me, ti, and P rhyme, but “became of me” doesn’t rhyme with “Cincinnati”. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/196 "2018-08-18T14:39:01Z")
Wordburglar “Rhyme O’clock” from Halifax to Orlando we run the millennium Like Han or Lando Ok he did rhyme Orlando with “or Lando” but at least its clever. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2018, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/197 "2018-08-18T14:50:35Z")
Not exactly what the OP asked for, since it’s state names, not cities, and none of them exactly rhyme, but the first thing I thought of was Perry Como’s 1959 novelty song, “[Delaware](https://www.google.com/search?q=delaware+song&oq=Delaware+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l3.4755j0j9&client=tablet-android-verizon&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8),” which references no fewer than 15 US states. Oh what did Del-a-ware boy, what did Delaware What did Del-a-ware boy, what did Delaware She wore a brand New Jersey, She wore a brand New Jersey, She wore a brand New Jersey, That’s what she did wear One, two, three, four Oh, why did Cali-fon-ia Why did Cali-fon Why did Cali-fon-ia Was she all alone She called to say Ha-wa-ya She called to say Ha-wa-ya She called to say Ha-wa-ya That’s why she did call And it goes on like that. Pretty corny. ---
**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 6, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/198 "2019-06-06T15:12:01Z")
Jim Croce’s Operator was playing at the store: She’s been living in LA With my best, old, ex-friend Ray ---
**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 6, 2019, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/199 "2019-06-06T16:33:44Z")
Arlo Guthrie’s Comin’ Into Los Angeles: Comin’ into Los Angeles Bringin’ in a couple of keys Don’t touch my bags if you please Mister customs man ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2019, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/200 "2019-06-06T19:33:47Z")
> [@Annie X-mas](#): > > Arlo Guthrie’s Comin’ Into Los Angeles: > > Comin’ into Los Angeles > Bringin’ in a couple of keys > Don’t touch my bags if you please > Mister customs man Already quoted by **Typo Negative** in post #71, a scant four years ago. 🙂 Unless I’ve missed it, we haven’t seen [“Everything’s Up to Date in Kansas City”](https://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/e/everythingsuptodateinkansascity.html) from the musical _Oklahoma!_, which rhymes the city name with “pretty”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629.md?page=9) [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=11)