Frank Sinatra sang New York, but it was about Manhattan.
Surely, although the song New York, New York (So Good They Named It Twice) mainly concerns itself with the city, the second “New York” in the title and chorus actually refers to the state. The same is probably true of the several other songs that repeat the name in their title (and any others that may exist that have “New York, New York” in the lyrics somewhere).
No-one yet seems to have nominated a song about Washington (State), and I can’t think of any. Perhaps lyricists avoid it for fear of causing confusion with the national capital.
Any songs about Minnesota?
Perry Como sang “Seattle”, does that count?
Weird Al’s The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
Oh Virginia was a mid-1990s hit by Blessid Union of Souls.
Carolina in my mind by James Taylor - not sure if he specifies which Carolina in the song.
My City Was Gone by the Pretenders:
I went back to Ohio
but my city was gone
John Denver’s Rocky Mountain High is about Colorado.
You beat me to it!
Movin’ to Montana soon, gonna be a dental floss tycoon…
Fer cryin’ out loud, just shout out the state’s full and complete name and be done with it.
Public Image Ltd. also has a song titled “Seattle”.
I mentioned The Del Lords “Cheyenne” earlier. John Denver also wrote and recorded “Song of Wyoming.” Maybe we should ask which singer mentioned the most states in his/her songs. John Denver’s got Wyoming, Colorado, and West Virginia off the top of my head.
A little checking indicates Denver also wrote and recorded “Alaska and Me” and “Wild Montana Skies.”
Louisiana has a metric shit-ton songs about it just because it is unusual and Zydeco music and cajun music in general is centered there. There isn’t much else to write about otherwise. There are quite a few rock, blues, jazz, and country songs about it too.
Come to think of it Louisiana, would probably be in the top 5 for this and maybe in the top 3 along with California and Texas. That is my best guess anyway.
How about “Jim Dandy” by Black Oak Arkanasas?
*
“Once upon a tie I went up to Maine,
Got a ticket on a DC plane.
Mr. Dandy didn’t need no chute.
I was high and ready, to boot.
Jim Dandy to the rescue!”*
Then there’s the end of a verse to John Prine’s Living in the Future
I’m goin’ to Maine on a forty foot crane
Gonna use it for a fishin’ pole.
I’ve done this before with some friends, and I think all we were missing was arizona. Anyone?
“I was standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona…”
“I was standing on a cornier in Winslow, Arizona
Such a fine sight to see.
It’s a girl, my lord, in a flat-bed Ford
Slowing down to take a look at me.”
JoJo left his home in Tucson Arizona
For some California grass.
Get Back!
By a rather well known band.
Unless it actually mentions the state rather than just the city, I would say not.
Gedd, did you and your friends come up with one for Washington (state)?
“Arizona” by Mark Lindsay (former singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders).
Or Steve Miller’s “Rock ‘n’ Me,” which goes
“I’ve been from Phoenix, Arizona all the way to Tacoma,
Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A.”
This is about a woman named “Arizona,” not the state of Arizona. Similarly, “Georgia on My Mind” was originally about a woman named “Georgia,” although it became Georgia’s official state song.