# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/21 "2015-06-27T18:31:11Z")
From the Guess Who’s “Running Back to Saskatoon”, they rhyme “running back to Saskatoon” with “sing another prairie tune”. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/22 "2015-06-27T18:35:56Z")
_I fell in love again All things go, all things go Drove to Chicago All things know, all things know_ - Sufjan Stevens, “Chicago”. Technically, I guess “Go” is rhyming with “Know” although Chicago rhymes with both (in a song lyric sort of way). ---
**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, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/23 "2015-06-27T18:36:22Z")
[Mobile](http://lyricsplayground.com/alpha/songs/m/mobile.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/24 "2015-06-27T18:41:09Z")
From Natchez to Mobile, from Memphis to St. Joe Wherever the four winds blow ---
**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, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/25 "2015-06-27T18:43:38Z")
For New Jersey, we have “[I’m From New Jersey](http://www.50states.com/songs/newjerse.htm#.VY7pYEYYEko)”. The songwriter is Red Mascara, who just passed away. He rhymes Cape May with “steal your heart away”. ---
**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, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/26 "2015-06-27T18:48:21Z")
[The Everly Brothers - “Bowling Green”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-QLh1OKVMg) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/27 "2015-06-27T18:58:04Z")
I’ve got a Gal in Kalamazoo (Oh, what a gal, a real pipperoo) ---
**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, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/28 "2015-06-27T19:02:23Z")
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! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/29 "2015-06-27T19:07:45Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > From the Guess Who’s “Running Back to Saskatoon”, they rhyme “running back to Saskatoon” with “sing another prairie tune”. Mt first thought was “A little bit south of Saskatoon” which has room, June, soon, and honeymoon in different verses. ---
**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, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/30 "2015-06-27T19:43:14Z")
“I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee.” (Oklahoma) “Well I was born the coal miner’s daughter In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler.” (Tennessee) ---
**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, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/31 "2015-06-27T20:03:49Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > … > “Well I was born the coal miner’s daughter > In a cabin on a hill in Butcher Holler.” (Tennessee) Good catch, **Chefguy** , because I thought that was either fictitious or in Kentucky. Has anybody got one for Mississippi, yet? ---
**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, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/32 "2015-06-27T20:08:21Z")
I just remembered that “Shuffle Off to Buffalo” also rhymes Reno, Nevada. “When she knows as much as we know She’ll be on her way to Reno While he still has dough She’ll give him the Shuffle When they’re back from Buffalo” George M. Cohan’s “Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway” mentions New Rochelle, NY “If you want to see The real jay delegation, The place where the Real rubens dwell. Just hop on a train At the Grand Central Station. Get off when they shout “New Rochelle.”” ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/33 "2015-06-27T20:13:32Z")
“Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit…” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/34 "2015-06-27T20:36:19Z")
Abilene, Abilene Prettiest town I’ve ever seen. Women there don’t treat you mean In Abilene, my Abilene. From thirty thousand feet above The desert floor, I see it there below A city with a legend - The west Texas city of El Paso. Big D, little a, double l, a s, and Big D, little a, double l, a That spells Dallas, where every home’s a palace 'cause the settlers settle for no less. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/35 "2015-06-27T20:57:52Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > “I’m proud to be an Okie from Muskogee.” (Oklahoma) Plus two parodies (and no doubt others): “Hippie From Olema” (California) which is a terrible rhyme and not an actual city, so let’s skip it. “A\*\*hole from El Paso” (Texas) ---
**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, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/36 "2015-06-27T20:59:19Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Good catch, **Chefguy** , because I thought that was either fictitious or in Kentucky. > > Has anybody got one for Mississippi, yet? Back To Tupelo - Mark Knopfler > [@](#): > > Oh, it’s ways to go > Back to Tupelo > It’s ways to go > Back to Tupelo Porch Swing in Tupelo - Elton John (!) > [@](#): > > nd this place don’t change > Some places move slow > I’m just rocking myself on this porch swing in Tupelo ---
**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, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/37 "2015-06-27T22:09:33Z")
Side issue: Which **Jackson** are Johnny and June singing about in [this one?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3NJC18Oi04) Tennessee or Mississippi or what? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/38 "2015-06-27T22:43:32Z")
[Yakko’s America has several.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToZcmCDelrc) I counted : - Austin/ Boston - D.C. / Tenassee - Pierre/ Delaware - Fall/ St. Paul - join/ Des Moines - Oklahoma and its city/ Carson City. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/39 "2015-06-27T22:55:07Z")
And of course, everybody remembers this one: “I’ve got people in Boston, ain’t your daddy still in Des Moines We can pack tomorrow, tonight let’s flip a coin” –_Heads Carolina, Tails California_ by Jo Dee Messina ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-use-city-names-as-a-rhyme-and-is-there-one-for-every-state/723629/40 "2015-06-27T23:42:46Z")
From _All My Exes Live in Texas_, sung by George Strait: Rosanna’s down in Texarkana wanted me to push her broom. And sweet Eileen’s in Abilene, she forgot I hung the moon. And Allison in Galveston somehow lost her sanity. And Dimples who now lives in Temple’s got the law lookin’ for me. [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=1) [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=3)