I don’t know how many minutes I have before the computer slides off the Internet again. Verizon informs us we have “an issue” in our area. Ya think?
Anyway, here’s a little game Patty and I were playing yesterday, and we had fun with it. You can also play it solitaire. Simply provide an answer to this question:
How many cities can you name that have songs written about them? Let’s see how many we can come up with.
Here are three to get you started:
“Meet Me in St. Louis, Louie”
“The Streets of Laredo”
“Galveston” (Glen Campbell)
I’ve just been told we’re likely to have a thunderstorm. So I’d better wrap this up… NOW!
“New York, New York, It’s a H*ll of a Town” – from the Show “On the Town.”
“New York, New York” – Sinatra song
“Chicago, My Kind of Town.”
“Chattanooga Choo-Choo.”
“St. Louis Blues.”
“Nashville Cats.”
“Buffalo Gals Won’t You Come Out Tonight.”
That’s just off the top of my head. I just got home from a day at a friend’s house. Maybe I’ll come up with more tomorrow.
I wonder how many we’ll get.
I’ve loved this song since the first time I heard it. I still can’t sing it right, all those names without stumbling over some of them.
Johnny Cash and his song “I’ve been everywhere”
I was totin’ my pack along the dusty Winnemucca road,
When along came a semi with a high and 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!”
I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.
I’ve been to
Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota,
Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota,
Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma,
Tampa, Panama, Mattawa, La Paloma,
Bangor, Baltimore, Salvador, Amarillo,
Tocopilla, Barranquilla, and Padilla, I’m a killer.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.
I’ve been to
Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana,
Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana,
Monterey, Faraday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa,
Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa,
Tennessee to Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake,
Grand Lake, Devil’s Lake, Crater Lake, for Pete’s sake.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.
I’ve been to
Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Ombabika,
Schefferville, Jacksonville, Waterville, Costa Rica,
Pittsfield, Springfield, Bakersfield, Shreveport,
Hackensack, Cadillac, Fond du Lac, Davenport,
Idaho, Jellico, Argentina, Diamantina,
Pasadena, Catalina, see what I mean-a.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.
I’ve been to
Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado,
Ellensburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, El Dorado,
Larimore, Admore, Haverstraw, Chatanika,
Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika,
Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City,
Sioux City, Cedar City, Dodge City, what a pity.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
I’ve been everywhere, man.
Crossed the desert’s bare, man.
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I’ve a-had my share, man.
I’ve been everywhere.
I’ve been everywhere.
Well, now, that’s not quite fair, is it? That’s not a song–that’s an atlas.
Did I win yet?
It isn’t a contest… just fun.
Yes, I know, I’m just having fun.
Another fun song, from 1953 is by The Four Lads – Istanbul (not Constantinople). A number of cities are mentioned.
How about Charley Pride’s “Is Anybody Goin’ to San Antone.”
Sometime about 1973, he was singing at Summerfest, in my hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He sang that song and changed a few of the words:
“Is anybody goin’ to San Antone, or Milwaukee Wisconsin.” The crowd loved it.
That’s one I haven’t thought of.
How could I have forgotten “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”? (Maybe because the heart was buried under all the syringes and human feces.)
Also “There’s a Pawn Shop on the Corner in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”
And “Way Down Yonder in New Orleans.”
As well as “The Battle of New Orleans.”
And if we’re going international, of course “April in Paris.”
But I’m going to limit myself to the USA as a special challenge. See you tomorrow.
Don’t forget, if you’re going to San Francisco,
“be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
In the streets of San Francisco
summertime will be a lovein’ there
You’re going to meet some gentle people there”
Wow what a difference from when that song was a hit. All those gentle people with flowers in their hair, turned that city into a toilet.
As long as we’re in San Francisco, California, how about a taking a trip with Susan Raye to the – L.A. International Airport. I really like that song.
Wow, haven’t thought of that one in a long time!
Everything’s Up to Date in Kansas City.
You got me, I didn’t have a clue. I had to look that phase up. Of course, I should have known, it’s from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma, which I did watch many moons ago. The only song I remember from that movie, which I really liked is Oklahoma, “where the wind comes sweeping down the plain…” I think that’s how it went.
That one, I thought of.
Does a TV Jingle count? “Rice-A-Roni the San Francisco treat.” That’s all I can remember from that add.
Shanghai Breezes by John Denver. That song brings back memories. Before I met my wife, and she was living in the Philippines, I would often call and talk with her. That song fit so well, our long-distance courtship. She truly was, half a world away. That first stanza rings true, as does the refrain.
It’s funny how you sound as if you’re right next door
When you’re really half a world away
I just can’t seem to find the words I’m looking for
To say the things that I want to say…
And the moon and the stars are the same ones you see
It’s the same old sun up in the sky
And your voice in my ear is like heaven to me
Like the breezes here in old Shanghai
I do have a good singing voice, and I would sing this for, and to her. And the last week of her life, she would often ask me to sing for her.
Are we still “California Dreamin’ about L.A.? I know the Mamas & the Papas might be.
I opened my Doors, and an L.A. Women came in.
Gary, Indiana.
I was waiting for that one.
Gary, Indiana. I thought about that for a long while…a song about Gary? Another one I had to look up. It’s from “The Music Man,” a 1962 film, I had heard about, but never listened nor watched. I listened to “Gary” and a few other songs, but I didn’t like any of them, that’s why I had no idea.