# "You and I" in New Mexico \[Lady Gaga song\]
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [November 20, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575 "2011-11-20T20:39:28Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/1 "2011-11-20T20:39:28Z")
As a few months ago, Lada Gaga released the single “You and I”, and it started getting a lot of radio play. For those unfamiliar with the Corpus Gaga, the song contains a surprisingly large number of mentions of “Nebraska”, because the guy she should have never left and is now going back to is from Nebraska or some such.
The New Mexico stations, however, seem to play exclusively an edited version with every instance of the word “Nebraska” replaced with “New Mexico”, presumably to add some local colour. (Although “New Mexico” has one more syllable than “Nebraska”, so the substitution sounds dorky).
Who decides to do stuff like that? Did Lady Gaga sit down at some point and think, “You know, I think the song works well with any other rural state in there, and the New Mexicans will get a kick out of it” and then record another version? Did the production company do it? The radio station? It seems like the producers, as the copyright holders, would have to at least give assent to a modified version being broadcast.
I’ve heard other songs with the stations call sign sung into the intro in the style of the song, and that sounds like a simple copyright trap. Is this done for a similar reason?
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/2 "2011-11-20T20:41:30Z")
[Gaga releases customized state versions of You and I.](http://www.propagaga.com/2011/08/25/lady-gaga-releases-customized-state-versions-of-you-and-i-to-radio-stations/)
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### Author:  [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/3 "2011-11-20T20:54:44Z")
This is not new. I remember Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” (I think it was done by Pointer Sisters in my example)
“I’m riding in your car, you turn on the radio.”
When I was in Chicago, the version played was:
“I’m riding in your car, you turn on WLS” (the station on which I heard it)
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### Author:  [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/4 "2011-11-20T21:08:25Z")
I recall this being done with the DJ’s part on Starship’s _We built this City_ as well.
Wonder why Gaga only released 8 versions.
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### Author:  [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/5 "2011-11-20T21:11:33Z")
Moving to Cafe Society; edited title to better indicate subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
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### Author:  [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/6 "2011-11-20T21:24:59Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#):
>
> [Gaga releases customized state versions of You and I.](http://www.propagaga.com/2011/08/25/lady-gaga-releases-customized-state-versions-of-you-and-i-to-radio-stations/)
Wow. I didn’t actually think that this was actually done from the top. I was assuming that a most a distributor for the radio station was doing the dubs.
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### Author:  [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/7 "2011-11-20T23:18:06Z")
> [@Terr](#):
>
> This is not new. I remember Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” (I think it was done by Pointer Sisters in my example)
>
> “I’m riding in your car, you turn on the radio.”
>
> When I was in Chicago, the version played was:
>
> “I’m riding in your car, you turn on WLS” (the station on which I heard it)
Man, thank you for reaffirming what I thought was just a teenaged hallucination, lol. 😛
Whew!
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### Author:  [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)
#### Post date: [November 20, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/8 "2011-11-20T23:32:17Z")
_Caribbean Queen_ by Billy Ocean was also released as_African Queen_ and _European Queen_.
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### Author:  [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/9 "2011-11-21T00:25:18Z")
Such localized songs were very common on radio stations in my hometown in the 1970s and 1980s.
One example: [My Town](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl-zQhr0V6g) by The Michael Stanley Band, got a lot of airplay on rock stations in the Great Lakes region. The band is from Cleveland, the song is about Cleveland, and the linked video was filmed in Cleveland. However, when played on stations in _my_ hometown, the lyrics were slightly altered …
_Oh, and this town is my town
**BUFFALO!**
Allright
Love or hate it, it don’t matter
'Cause I’m gonna stand and fight
This town is my town
**BUFFALO!**
She’s got her ups and downs
But love or hate it, it don’t matter
'Cause this is my town_
One local station always inserted their call letters into Elton John’s _Crocodile Rock_.
_While the other kids were rocking round the clock
we were hopping and bopping to the crocodile rock
wahhhh
wahhhh wah wah wah wahhhh
wahhhh wah wah wah wah **GRrrrr Fifty Fiiiive!**
wahhhh wah wah wah wahhhh_
Even the worst rock song ever, Starship’s _We Built This City_, was localized. The DJ announcing “It’s your favorite radio station in your favorite radio city, the city by the bay, the city that rocks, the city that never stops” was replaced by “It’s your favorite radio station in Buffalo, New York, the city by the lake, the city that rocks, the city that never stops”, voiced by Joey Reynolds, an iconic local DJ who was immensely popular in the 1950s and 1960s.
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### Author:  [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/10 "2011-11-21T00:52:26Z")
I could have sworn that when I was in Los Angeles in the early ‘80s, I heard _The Standells_’ “Dirty Water” on the radio and one line had been changed to “Awww, L.A. you’re my home.” Can’t find evidence of this on the intrawebs, though. My search-fu is pathetically weak tonight. ☹
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### Author:  [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/11 "2011-11-21T03:14:11Z")
Two examples of this phenomenon I remember: Nena’s 99 Luftballoons was changed to “95” (and possibly other variations) for radio stations whose call number was 95, such as 95.5 WPLJ in New York City. The other is in Miley Cyrus’s song “Party in the USA” there’s a line that mentions turning on the radio, and that line apparently has customizable versions for various stations airing the song.
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### Author:  [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/12 "2011-11-21T15:37:08Z")
I just heard the Gaga song near DC and it was dubbed to say “Washington Washington I love you!”
I immediately changed the station. Ick. I hate that crap. It doesn’t even fit the beat. Lame.
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### Author:  [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/13 "2011-11-21T15:48:35Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#):
>
> _Caribbean Queen_ by Billy Ocean was also released as _African Queen_ and _European Queen_.
But everyone heard it as _Caribou Queen_.
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### Author:  [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/14 "2011-11-21T16:00:26Z")
I’ve heard it with “Detroit” and “Ohio” (in Detroit and Ohio, respectively), so there’s more than just the original 8 versions now.
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### Author:  [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/15 "2011-11-21T19:15:28Z")
> [@Terr](#):
>
> This is not new. I remember Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire” (I think it was done by Pointer Sisters in my example)
>
> “I’m riding in your car, you turn on the radio.”
>
> When I was in Chicago, the version played was:
>
> “I’m riding in your car, you turn on WLS” (the station on which I heard it)
I remember this too, only for me it was in SoCal and went “…you turn on the radio KHJ”
Anyway, I’m glad to read this thread because I _knew_ GaGa was saying "Florida, Florida . . . " and whatever the rest of the words are. I had read the story about it being about the Nebraska dude so that didn’t seem to make sense. I looked up the lyrics and of course it doesn’t say “Florida” but when you listen to the local version it doesn’t sound like anything else. Good to know I’m not imagining.
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### Author:  [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/16 "2011-11-21T19:19:51Z")
This is a common thing. Just the other day, I heard a New York dubbed version of the Ke$ha song “Tik Tok” on my satellite radio. As far as Gaga’s You and I, I’ve heard California, New York, Los Angeles, and even Las Vegas.
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### Author:  [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)
#### Post date: [November 21, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/17 "2011-11-21T19:58:03Z")
Montgomery Gentry’s country song, Lucky Man, has a line in which he complains about the Bengals losing. It was customized with different teams for different markets. Wikipedia says there were [81 different versions,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Man_%28Montgomery_Gentry_song%29) for pro and college teams.
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### Author:  [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2011, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/18 "2011-11-22T03:45:24Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#):
>
> Wonder why Gaga only released 8 versions.
Maybe it was already selling well enough in the other 42 states?
If you go into a music store, which version(s) can you buy?
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### Author:  [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/19 "2011-11-22T04:25:35Z")
I forget the exact year, but it was probably the late '80s when a band named Autograph released their first single “Turn Up The Radio”. I don’t know if they did it for other markets, but the Los Angeles radio station KLOS had a customized version of the song. The chorus originally started with “Turn up the radio/I need the music, give me some more,” but the KLOS version went “Turn up the radio/_ **KLOS!!!** _, give me some more.”
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### Author:  [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)
#### Post date: [November 22, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-and-i-in-new-mexico-lady-gaga-song/603575/20 "2011-11-22T04:49:23Z")
> [@Toucanna](#):
>
> I could have sworn that when I was in Los Angeles in the early ‘80s, I heard _The Standells_’ “Dirty Water” on the radio and one line had been changed to “Awww, L.A. you’re my home.” Can’t find evidence of this on the intrawebs, though. My search-fu is pathetically weak tonight. ☹
What did they call the river in this song? Could be important.
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