# Songs with actual bars and restaurants in the lyrics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2016, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301 "2016-02-16T22:50:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/81 "2016-02-18T14:44:29Z")
**Sheryl Crow’s All I Wanna Do** has lyrics adapted from a poem by Wyn Cooper (apparently he scored big on royalties - poetry pays!). The lyric includes a reference to the bar she is sitting in in LA - “We are drinking beer at noon on Tuesday; in a bar that faces the Giant Car Wash.” ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2016, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/82 "2016-02-18T18:15:41Z")
Silversun Pickups are named after a liquor store. A tad obscure, but his music is occasionally featured on NPR - Ann Arbor musician Dick Seigel has a song called [Angelo’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb1ZbFCjWHQ), which is a long-time A2 breakfast joint. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/83 "2016-02-19T06:15:50Z")
Midnight Oil’s “[Dreamworld](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcKcjpSWmm0)” opens with “The Breakfast Creek Hotel is up for sale…” The [Brekkie Creek](http://www.breakfastcreekhotel.com/) is one of Australia’s most famous pubs. ---
**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:** [February 19, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/84 "2016-02-19T17:32:00Z")
The Clash: White Man in Hammersmith Palais ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/85 "2016-02-19T17:51:09Z")
From Tenacious D’s haunting love song, _Fuck Her Gently_: “Whats your favorite posish? That’s cool with me It’s not my favorite but I’ll do it for you What’s your favorite dish? I’m not gonna cook it But I’ll order it from Zanzibar” ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/86 "2016-02-19T18:23:36Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Back in the saddle - Aerosmith: The Crazy Horse Saloon in Paris Not that I’m doubting you, but you got a cite for that? Or is it a whoosh… ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/87 "2016-02-19T18:33:22Z")
Lou Reed’s “Sally Can’t Dance” mentions that Sally “went to Les Jardins”. At least that’s how he pronounces it, but I assume he’s referring to [Le Jardin](http://www.discomusic.com/clubs-more/1967_0_6_0_C/). ---
**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:** [February 19, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/88 "2016-02-19T19:14:11Z")
> [@lost4life](#): > > Not that I’m doubting you, but you got a cite for that? Or is it a whoosh… I’m back I’m back in the saddle again I’m back I’m back in the saddle again Ridin’ into town alone By the light of the moon I’m looking for ole’ Sukie Jones She crazy horse saloon Barkeep gimme a drink That’s when she caught my eye She turned to give me a wink That’d make a grown man cry ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/89 "2016-02-19T20:54:50Z")
**Sir Mix-a-lot** _Posse on Broadway_ references actual Taco Bell and Dick’s Drive-in locations on Broadway Ave in Seattle. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/90 "2016-02-20T01:40:48Z")
How refreshing to have a thread including both Mötley Crüe and Cole Porter. And now the Colombian composer and musician [Lucho Bermúdez](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucho_Berm%C3%BAdez). In about [1948](http://www.eluniversal.com.co/cartagena/cultural/cronologia-de-la-vida-de-lucho-bermudez-62182) he wrote “San Fernando”, the now-demolished [Club San Fernando](http://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-2787988), in Cali, Colombia. A later version of “San Fernando”, with [Beny Moré](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCNfmpgGYB0), also [Ritmo 7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IRI8mel9Fc). ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/91 "2016-02-20T01:57:26Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > …Elaine’s does get a shout out in his “Big Shot” (I’ve been there, albeit well over a decade ago: not as impressive as you may think). Also mentioned in “Get in Line” by the Barenaked Ladies. Nectar’s in Burlington, VT is referenced in the album title _A Picture of Nectar_ by Phish, as well as the lyrics of the song “Cavern”. ---
**Author:** ![skdo23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/92 "2016-02-20T02:04:41Z")
I’m a freak, I like the girls with the boom, I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom. “The Humpty Dance,” Digital Underground ---
**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:** [February 20, 2016, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/93 "2016-02-20T02:30:55Z")
“Eurotrash Girl” by Cracker: “Sold my plasma in Amsterdam/Spent it all in a night/Buying drinks at the [Melk Weg](http://www.amsterdam.info/entertainment/melkweg/)/For a soldier in drag” ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/94 "2016-02-20T02:36:09Z")
The Red Clay Ramblers wrote “Merchants Lunch” about a low dive in Nashville. Found an i[nterview with Jim Love](http://www.earlyblurs.com/calendars/mandocrucian_digest_1989.htm), their mandolin player: > [@](#): > > **Q: “Merchants Lunch”! (Ha, ha.) That’s like an S. Clay Wilson (underground) comic or something.** > > JW: Well, you should have been in there that night! We played a job in Nashville at Randy Woods’ Old Time Pickin’ Parlor and then after the show went out looking for something to eat, and went into the Merchants Lunch down there on Broadway. > > **Q: So it’s an actual place?** > > JW: Yeah, it was right next to the Merchants Hotel which is mentioned in “Nobody Eats at Limebaughs Anymore,” a great song by John Hartford. … > > So we went into the Merchants Lunch. It was late at night and there was a country band playing and a lot of people who looked like they’d been bumping into walls all night long. So we just sort of sat there and watched our backs a lot. Ernest Tubb’s record store is a few doors down, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is across the street–near the Ryman… > > But I’m sure that most everybody’s had something like that happen to them at some point. You go into a place and you sit down before you really check the place out. Maybe you get sorta established there and then you take a look around and realize you’ve made a very serious mistake! (Ha, ha.) Tommy and Mike, at some point later on decided they needed to write a song just trying to get across the basic atmosphere of the place as opposed to any particular event that happened. And that’s basically what that song is about. > \*\* > Q: A Tom Waits kind of scene!\*\* > > JW: In a way. More upbeat… I’m telling you, that was something. And then they wrote this song… The Merhants Hotel is [now a restaurant](http://merchantsrestaurant.com/menu.html). Google maps reveals a few bars in the vicinity–but none now called the Merchants Lunch. Ernext Tubb’s record store is a few doors down, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is across the street & the Ryman is nearby. ---
**Author:** ![I-VI-ii-V](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c89c15/32.png) [@I-VI-ii-V](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I-VI-ii-V)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/95 "2016-02-20T03:53:00Z")
> [@journeyman\_southpaw](#): > > The Rainbow Bar and Grill on the Sunset Strip is a really popular one: > > “Somehow I wound up at the Rainbow Bar” - Jimmy Webb, “Crying In My Sleep” > > “I met a girl at the Rainbow bar” - Warren Zevon “Poor Poor Pitiful Me” > > “At the Rainbow bar and grill, I’ll drink till I get my fill” - "W.A.S.P., “Sunset and Babylon” > > “At the Rainbow getting lit” - L.A. Guns, “Vampire” Redd Kross - “Peach Kelli Pop” Everybody take a ride, yeah In your mama’s car Let’s go to the Troubador Pretend we’re seeing stars Man, we’re cruising Hollywood Do you get the joke? (ha-hah-ha) Laughing at all the assholes at the Rainbow Flying so high on coke What a joke… wooh! ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/96 "2016-02-20T04:00:00Z")
- “Maybe you’re standing on the corner of 17th and Wazee Streets, yeah/Out in front of the Terminal bar there’s a Thunderbird moving in muscatel sky, you’ve been drinking cleaning products all night, open for suggestions…”\* Tom Waits, “Nighthawk Postcards” from the famous “Nighthawks at the Diner” album. There was a Terminal Bar on the corner of 17th and Wazee streets in Lower Downtown Denver long before Coors Field revitalized the area… It was really, really seedy. Jack Kerouac and Neil Cassady hung out there in the 50’s. It was named The Terminal because it was a block from Union Station, but the story in Denver was that if you started drinking there, you were terminal. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/97 "2016-02-20T07:55:21Z")
There was also for many years a Terminal Bar in NYC, at Eighth Avenue & 41st St. near Times Square. Martin Scorsese used the name for a bar in his movie _After Hours_ (1985) but the actual bar he filmed in was really a place called the Emerald Pub, located in Soho. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/98 "2016-02-20T15:02:32Z")
The Byrds “Bad Night At The Whiskey” refers to the Whiskey A-Go-Go. They were chucked out, apparently. ---
**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:** [February 20, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/99 "2016-02-20T19:26:24Z")
Later for the Kitsch: This is the best of them all: John Lee Hooker, Boogie Chillen’ Well, my mama, she didn’t 'low me just to stay out all night long, oh Lord Well, my mama didn’t 'low me just to stay out all night long I didn’t care what she didn’t 'low–I would boogie-woogie anyhow When I first came to town, people, I was walkin’ down Hastings Street Everybody was talkin’ about the Henry Swing Club I decided I drop in there that night When I got there, I say, “Yes, people” They was really havin’ a ball Yes, I know Boogie Chillen’ ---
**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:** [February 21, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301/100 "2016-02-21T18:54:32Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > _I know Chris and Rita and Marty Mull are meeting at [the Troubador](http://www.troubadour.com/)_… > > -Lonesome L.A. Cowboy, New Riders of the Purple Sage And yet the line “I meet 'em down at Barney’s Beanery …” escaped your notice? Barney’s has another notable musical connection: it provided the background “vibes” for Janis Joplin’s _Turtle Blues_ and is mentioned and drawn (by R. Crumb) on the cover of _Cheap Thrills_. So, does having actual restaurant background noise in a song count as “lyrics”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-actual-bars-and-restaurants-in-the-lyrics/746301.md?page=6)