# Where are all the popular songs about Canadian cities? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 14, 2000, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532 "2000-12-14T14:43:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/21 "2000-12-14T17:50:26Z")
Spoons, it’s kinda funny that you didn’t mention one other popular Canadian band from the 80’s - The Spoons 🙂 And yes, I have fond memories of all the bands you listed. The three best concerts I’ve seen were Gowan and Red Rider in the 80’s, and The Guess Who last summer. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/22 "2000-12-14T18:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spoons \* > \*\* . . . you’d also find bands you might never have heard of . . . Gowan . . . \*\* Oh cripes, you just gave me one heck of a flashback! When I was in high school in the mid-80s, there was a program on in the afternoons that I could pick up on the TV in my bedroom that was all videos by Canadian artists. I remember seeing stuff by Platinum Blonde, M+M, Luba, Honeymoon Suite, but the weirdest I ever saw was Gowan’s animated video for “Criminal Mind.” _A criminal mind is all I, all I ever ha-a-a-a-a-ad; ask anyone who knows me if I’m really so bad . . . I am!_. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/23 "2000-12-14T18:06:12Z")
**featherlou** wrote: > [@](#): > > Spoons, it’s kinda funny that you didn’t mention one other popular Canadian band from the 80’s - The Spoons You know, I didn’t even think of that until after I posted the above. Then, of course, I remembered, and I’ve spent the last few minutes kicking myself. The Spoons were a great band though: “Arias and Symphonies,” and “Nova Heart” are the ones I remember best. I think I still have some Spoons buried in the old LPs somewhere–maybe I should dig them out. Thanks for jogging my memory, **featherlou**! ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/24 "2000-12-14T18:08:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Spend some time in Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, or Regina, and you’ll see why there’s no songs you’ve ever heard of written about those places. The Sleeping Giant? The Golden Boy? Wascana Lake? Oi. That’s too bad. If I’m correct about the proper pronunciation of Regina, I can think of some good rhymes. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/25 "2000-12-14T18:16:14Z")
I have a hazy 70’s memory of Glaswegian rock group **Nazareth** ’s song _Vancouver Shakedown_… and yes, **spoke-** , you’ve got the proper pronounciation! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/26 "2000-12-14T18:38:12Z")
Hell, the Tragically Hip are the best-selling Canadian act in Canada, ever. Yes, even more than Rush or Alanis Morrissette or The Queen of Hacks herself, Sarah McLachlan. I can name several Hip songs about Canadian places: “Bobcaygeon” takes place in Bobcaygeon. And Toronto. “38 Years Old” is about a prison breakout in Kingston. “Wheat Kings” is about a guy in Saskatchewan who was wrongfully convicted of murder. However, they’ve got no songs about, say, “Kingston, That’s My Kinda Town.” I think the reason these are few such songs is that Canadian musicians have generally only become nationally self-sufficient in the last twenty years or so; prior to that you really couldn’t be successful just in the Canadian market. At one point they had to get foreign artists to perform at the Juno Awards (our Grammies) just so people would watch. All successful Canadian musicians had to go to the States, and “I’m Goin’ To Sherbrooke” doesn’t cut it with the U.S. demographic. That’s changed; now, many Canadian bands are weighed down with bags of money and gold records before they become popular in the U.S. The Tragically Hip, millionaires all with millions and millions of records sold, are an obvious example, but the Tea Party, 54/40, the Odds, Rheostatics, Great Big Sea et al. are not exactly living hand-to-mouth. The thing is, _nobody makes songs about cities anymore._ So now we have Canadian artists successful enough to sing about Canadian cities, but who the hell writes songs about cities these days? It’s smarmy. The last really popular song about a city I can remember was Starship’s “We Built This City,” which was about S.F., and which is perhaps the worst song ever recorded. Which would explain the kibosh on city songs, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/27 "2000-12-14T18:47:44Z")
No problem, Spoons (actually, that’s where I thought you got your moniker from). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/28 "2000-12-14T18:48:23Z")
There was some country song that used to get a lot of airplay down here about “A Little Bit South of Saskatoon”. Granted, that’s not about a city as such, but about some piece of farmland near it, but we’re desperate here. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/29 "2000-12-14T18:53:25Z")
> [@](#): > > The last really popular song about a city I can remember was Starship’s “We Built This City,” which was about S.F., and which is perhaps the worst song ever recorded. Which would explain the kibosh on city songs, I guess. How about “Under the Bridge” (Los Angeles) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers: _Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner Sometimes I feel like my only friend Is the city I live in The City of Angels Lonely as I am Together we cry_ Or “Tonight, Tonight” by the Smashing Pumpkins, with the reference to the “city by the lake” (Chicago). Or “Love Shack” by the B-52’s: “I’m headed down the Atlanta highway…” Granted, these songs aren’t exactly paeans to the cities mentioned, but heck, at least we do mention them. And as for us U.S.-types not being interested in songs about Canadian cities: who says? There are hit songs that mention cities in Mexico, Europe, even Asia. Why wouldn’t we buy a good song about a Canadian city? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/30 "2000-12-14T18:58:17Z")
**featherlou** , no. Not after the band, but after the eating utensils. It’s a long story… ---
**Author:** ![frolix8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@frolix8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frolix8)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/31 "2000-12-14T19:35:06Z")
“Alberta Bound” is a pretty popular song, at least among people I know. (Yeah I know, it’s not a city, but at least its a place name in Canada.) ---
**Author:** ![ellis555](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e36b37/32.png) [@ellis555](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ellis555)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/32 "2000-12-14T20:07:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\* > I can name several Hip songs about Canadian places: > > “Bobcaygeon” takes place in Bobcaygeon. And Toronto. > “38 Years Old” is about a prison breakout in Kingston. > “Wheat Kings” is about a guy in Saskatchewan who was wrongfully convicted of murder. > \*\* “Montreal” also springs to mind. Most of their songs are about Canada/Canadian life even if they don’t happen to mention a specific place name. Not to mention the fact that whenever Gordie goes on a rant, he generally mentions at least one Canadian town in there somewhere. Also, just for an addition, Blues Traveler’s song “Canadian Rose” is about meeting a girl from Vancouver in Burlington. It’s a little unclear what Burlington they’re talking about, but one might assume it’s Burlington, Ontario. -ellis ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/33 "2000-12-14T20:28:03Z")
I sometimes sing “O Nunavut” to “O Canada.” The title is all I have, though. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/34 "2000-12-14T20:37:21Z")
This probably shouldn’t count, being a too-obvious ripoff, but a long LONG time ago I heard this on a Canadian radio station: “This land is your land, this land is my land, From Bona Vista to Vancouver Island, From the Arctic Circle to the Great Lakes waters, This land was made for you and me.” ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Derfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lord\_Derfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Derfel)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2000, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/35 "2000-12-14T22:43:47Z")
Elvis, I remember singing that song in elementary school! I’ve got a few:[ul] [li]_The Grapes of Wrath_ had a minor hit in Canada in the 80’s with _Backwards Town_ about my hometown (and theirs) of Kelowna, BC.[/li][li]_The Violent Femmes_ included the track, _Vancouver_(performed and recorded at a concert my friend attended) on their greatest hits album[/li][li]Not really about the city, but _Bon Jovi’s_ album, _Slippery When Wet_ was named after the shower at the No. 5 Orange strip club in Vancouver (my favourite piece of music trivia)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/36 "2000-12-15T04:52:49Z")
Blast from the past (kinda) - Tommy Hunter’s “Mississauga” - and we’re out on this end. ---
**Author:** ![Gregor\_Samsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gregor\_Samsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gregor_Samsa)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/37 "2000-12-15T13:51:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\*…If I’m correct about the proper pronunciation of Regina, I can think of some good rhymes. 😉 \*\* Is this song about two sisters named Mulva and Dolores? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/38 "2000-12-15T13:59:37Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by spoke- \* \*\* > [@](#): > > How about “Under the Bridge” (Los Angeles) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers… > > Or “Tonight, Tonight” by the Smashing Pumpkins, with the reference to the “city by the lake” (Chicago)… > > Or “Love Shack” by the B-52’s: “I’m headed down the Atlanta highway…” > > Granted, these songs aren’t exactly paeans to the cities mentioned, but heck, at least we do mention them.\*\* They don’t count. The song has be ABOUT the city, either positive or negative. “Under the Bridge” comes closest, but most people can’t understand what the hell Anthony Keidis is singing, anyway. Actually, didn’t some guy do a cover of “One Night In Bangkok” a few years back? That might have come after “We Built This City.” ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532/39 "2000-12-15T15:10:00Z")
[QUOTE}This land is your land, this land is my land, From Bona Vista to Vancouver Island…[/QUOTE] Gah, I remember that one–the Canadian version of the Woody Guthrie song. We had to sing it in school, too. Thinking of insipid patriotic songs, does anybody here (besides me) remember “Ca-na-da,” that overplayed gem from 1967? Or the film that accompanied it (these were the days before music videos obviously, but it would have qualified as one) that featured Bobby Gimby, that jeezly big trumpet, and a crew of kids mindlessly following him? And no doubt the Ontarians will remember having to put up with this one: _A place to stand, a place to grow, Ontari-ari-ari-ohhh!_ These two songs weren’t popular in the sense they went screaming up the charts, but probably got enough airplay to. I was hoping I could forget them someday. Guess not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-are-all-the-popular-songs-about-canadian-cities/45532.md?page=1)