# What songs are insulting to the city or place that they’re about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 16, 2026, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878 "2026-10-16T05:53:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/81 "2026-10-16T20:26:57Z")
Insulting places is a genre also played in other countries. **[Brandenburg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uellmynA34U&list=RDuellmynA34U&start_radio=1)**, by Rainald Grebe, is one single, long, dissonant insult to the Bundesland that surrounds Berlin. Twenty years later most of it is still true-ish. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/82 "2026-10-16T20:35:31Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > I live just outside Lodi. There are worse places to be stuck. I’ve been stuck in Winnemucca, fer cryin’ out loud! Yeah, but try to make a song out of that! Never mind, on second thought I think it could work… _Stuck in Winnemucca_ _Just my awful luck-a_ ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/83 "2026-10-16T20:42:47Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > > > Dirty Old Town > > This is the one that sprang to my mind. Many people thing it’s about Dublin as The Dubliners and The Pogues both covered it, but it’s actually an English folk song set in the industrial grime of Salford, just outside Manchester (England). Talking about The Pogues, Shane MacGowan had it in for quite a lot of places. _The Old Main Drag_ is about sex work in London, and _Fairy Tale of New York_ is pretty scathing about that city, which is ‘no place for the old’ (apparently). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/84 "2026-10-16T21:08:31Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > AMBULENCE (in reverse). I see the person who put the lettering on that vehicle is a graduate of the Lubbock school system. > [@Nars\_Glinley](#): > > Having driven through Lubbock several times, I can assure you that Mac’s first impression was the correct one. Flew over it umpteen times and gazed down at the dispiriting nothingness. Been at the airport a time or three which is also dispiriting nothingness. Never made it into town. Thank goodness. The closest I’ve been out on my own on the ground was Amarillo or Midland. And they were each bad enough. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/85 "2026-10-16T21:17:42Z")
Southern Man, and Alabama, both by Neil Young. In response, Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote Sweet Home Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/86 "2026-10-16T21:21:17Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Talking about The Pogues, Shane MacGowan had it in for quite a lot of places. Shane also didn’t have a great time in Germany. From “The Sickbed Of Cúchulainn”: _When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt and got syph down in Cologne_ [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CAKZ9eyuhiY/maxresdefault.jpg "The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKZ9eyuhiY) ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/87 "2026-10-16T21:22:18Z")
> [@ricepad](#): > > I’ve been stuck in Winnemucca, fer cryin’ out loud! So, you’re telling us you’ve been[everywhere](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNj6spCtUE0&list=RDmNj6spCtUE0&start_radio=1)? > I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road > When along came a semi with a high an’ canvas-covered load > “If you’re goin’ to Winnemucca, Mack, with me you can ride” > And so I climbed into the cab, and then I settled down inside > He asked me if I’d seen a road with so much dust and sand > And I said, “Listen, I’ve traveled every road in this here land” ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/88 "2026-10-16T21:23:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > _ **Saturday Night In Toledo, Ohio** _ by John Denver This song was written by Randy Sparks after his own band had a bad (boring) night there. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/89 "2026-10-16T21:25:18Z")
Sorry! Thanks for editing. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/90 "2026-10-16T21:40:42Z")
Uneasy Rider by Charlie Daniels has: Now the last thing I wanted was to get into a fight In Jackson Mississippi on a Saturday night… I think I’m gonna re-route my trip I wonder if anybody’d think I’d flipped If I went to LA via Omaha! ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/91 "2026-10-16T22:01:35Z")
_The Weavers live up the street from me_ _The crackheads, they live down the street from me_ _Shit Towne_ by **Live** is about growing up in York, PA. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Zs7LaACDWD8/maxresdefault.jpg "Shit Towne") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs7LaACDWD8) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/92 "2026-10-16T22:07:24Z")
“Born In The USA” is kind of not that complimentary about the USA. “Little Pink Houses”, I’m not sure who or where that’s about, but it doesn’t seem very complimentary. There’s an interstate running through the front yard, they eat slop in the evening, there’s a lot of pills and stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/93 "2026-10-16T23:06:35Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > “Little Pink Houses”, I’m not sure who or where that’s about, but it doesn’t seem very complimentary. There’s an interstate running through the front yard, they eat slop in the evening, there’s a lot of pills and stuff. Likewise “Little Boxes,” which never mentions a specific locale, but was inspired by Daly City, California. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2026, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/94 "2026-10-16T23:21:27Z")
What about _India-No Place (A Light in the Cornfield)_? That’s insulting Indianapolis pretty seriously. Of course the song doesn’t exist yet but I may still write it someday. And don’t forget that… “There’s More than Corn in Indiana!” (yes it’s true. There are also soybeans). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/95 "2026-10-17T00:07:12Z")
Hackensack, N.J. does not come off well in the Fountains of Wayne song of the same name, about a young man dreaming of a girl who left town and made it big in L.A.:. _I used to work in a record store Now I work for my dad Scraping the paint off the hardwood floors The hours are pretty bad_ There’s a great Fountain of Wayne song ‘New Routine’, about people picking up stakes and going to far-flung locales to escape boredom. _“I’m so, I’m so sick of this place I’m ready for a change of pace”_ Among the places they escape from are Mineola, N.Y. and, bizarrely, Liechtenstein. _But there’s not much going on except for banking and skiing_ ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/96 "2026-10-17T00:16:26Z")
REM wants to make damn sure we don’t waste another year in Rockville. > Going where nobody says hello, they don’t talk to anybody they don’t know And > You’ll wind up in some factory that’s full-time filth and nowhere left to go And > But everybody else in town only wants to bring you down and that’s not how it ought to be In reality, Rockville is a perfectly fine upper middle class suburb with good schools. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rvE1lkLfpnc/maxresdefault.jpg "(Don't Go Back To) Rockville (Remastered 2006)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvE1lkLfpnc&list=RDrvE1lkLfpnc) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/97 "2026-10-17T00:50:25Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > _Fairy Tale of New York_ is pretty scathing about that city One Interesting thing is that, despite the title, It’s much more commonly known in the U.K. and Ireland than in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/98 "2026-10-17T01:28:03Z")
Another one from the Boss ; **My City of Ruins** _There’s a blood red circle on the cold dark ground_ _And the rain is falling down_ _The church door’s thrown open, I can hear the organ’s song_ _But the congregation’s gone_ ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/99 "2026-10-17T01:29:50Z")
“Only 45 Minutes from Broadway,” an old George M. Cohan song poking fun at the yokels who live in New Rochelle, NY. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878/100 "2026-10-17T01:38:17Z")
Stevie Wonder doesn’t exactly paint a flattering picture of Mississippi in “Living for the City”. > A boy is born in hard time Mississippi > Surrounded by four walls that ain’t so pretty > His parents give him love and affection > To keep him strong, moving in the right direction > Living just enough, just enough for the city [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-are-insulting-to-the-city-or-place-that-they-re-about/1033878.md?page=6)