About eight years ago, in the post-wedding scattering of people into variously aligned groups all over a house and property, a sort of transient think tank was formed in jlc’s Aunt&Uncle’s home, which had just seen a wedding reception in the back yard. As the August sun shone through the windows and we all sat around full of food and drink, tired from the early morning and the day’s excitements, jlc was prompted to wonder if there weren’t a recorded song for every state in the Union; not official state songs or anything, but just stuff you’d heard on the radio ect.
From that was birthed the ongoing State Song List, which jlc has been compiling and tweaking since its inception. Below you can find the list, which indicates the state, artist and song and also sites the lyric.
The List
Delaware: Is This Thing On? – The Promise Ring
“Delaware, are you aware of Air Supply and Television?”
Pennsylvania: Allentown – Billy Joel
“So we’re waiting here in Allentown for the Pennsylvania we never found.”
New Jersey: State Trooper – Bruce Springsteen
“New Jersey Turnpike. Ridin on a wet night.”
Georgia: Georgia On My Mind – Ray Charles
“Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.”
Connecticut: The Wives are in Connecticut - Carly Simon
"The wives, the wives are in Connecticut
Trying to forget that they really do regret it
That they moved up to Connecticut."
Massachusetts: Massachusetts – The Bee Gees
“Feeling I’m going back to Massachusetts.”
Maryland: St. Robinson’s Cadillac Dream – Counting Crows
“But Maryland and Virginia have faded away.”
South Carolina: Bug – Vic Chesnutt
“Walhalla is pinned to the edge of South Carolina
We interstate travelled just to free a man from China.”
New Hampshire: New Hampshire – Sonic Youth
“The New Hampshire boys. Steve and Joe.
They’re gonna lead on. They’re doing it for life.”
Virginia: Who’ll Stop the Rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival
“I went down Virginia, seeking shelter from the storm.”
New York: New York, New York – Frank Sinatra
“I want to be a part of it. New York, New York.”
North Carolina: Cigarette State – Robbie Fulks
“The South, she has her diamonds, and every one is great
But North Carolina is the cigarette state.”
Rhode Island: Sweet Rhode Island Red - Tina Turner
"They called me Sweet Rhode Island Red
Sweet Rhode Island Red
'Sweety' is what they said about Sweet Rhode Island Red."
Vermont: Moonlight in Vermont – Ray Charles
“Pennies in a stream. Falling leaves, a sycamore. Moonlight in Vermont.”
Kentucky: Kentucky Woman – Neil Diamond
“Kentucky woman. She gets to know you. She gets to own you.”
Tennessee: Tennessee – Arrested Development
“For some strange reason, it had to be, he guided me to Tennessee.”
Ohio: Ohio – Crosby, Stills & Nash
“This summer I hear the drumming. Four dead in Ohio.”
Louisiana: Down Louisiana – Mark Farrington
“Down Louisana. A thousand miles from home.”
Indiana: Indiana Wants Me – R. Dean Taylor
“Indiana wants me. Lord, I can’t go back there.”
Mississippi: Black Water – The Doobie Brothers
“Old black water, keep on rollin
Mississippi moon, won’t you keep on shinin on me.’
Illinois: Looking Out My Back Door – Creedence Clearwater Revival
“Just got home from Illinois. Lock the front door, oh boy.”
Alabama: Sweet Home Alabama – Lynard Skynard
“Sweet home Alabama. Lord, I’m comin home to you.”
Maine: Little More Time With You – James Taylor
“Why leave the life I love here in the great state of Maine?”
Missouri: Trying to Get to Heaven – Bob Dylan
“When I was in Missouri, they would not let me be.”
Arkansas: Milk & Honey – Beck
“Bangkok athletes in the biosphere. Arkansas wet dreams. We all disappear.”
Michigan: America – Simon & Garfunkel
“’Kathy,’ I said, as we boarded a greyhound in Pittsburgh,
‘Michigan seems like a dream to me now.’”
Florida: Kokomo – The Beach Boys
“Off the Florida Keys, there's a place called Kokomo.”
Texas: Take the Money and Run – Steve Miller Band
“Billy Mack is a detective down in Texas.
You know he knows just exactly what the facts is.”
Iowa: Forklift - Pavement
“And then when I’m drunk I go over to the dealer, Bobbi from Iowa
And say, ‘Hello, Bobbi, give me something more than 21 here.’”
Wisconsin: The Gift - Velvet Underground
‘Then it struck him: He didn’t have enough money to go to Wisconsin in the accepted fashion, true / But why not mail himself?’
California: Hotel California – The Eagles
“’Welcome to the Hotel California. Such a lovely place.’”
Minnesota: Big River – Johnny Cash
“I met her accidentally in St. Paul, Minnesota.”
Oregon: Portland Oregon - Loretta Lynn
"Well Portland Oregon and sloe gin fizz
If that ain't love then tell me what is."
Kansas: Meet Me in the Morning – Bob Dylan
“Honey, we could be in Kansas by the time the snow begins to thaw.”
West Virginia: Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver
“West Virginia, mountain Mama. Take me home, country roads.”
Nevada: Let Me Die – Bob Dylan
“Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho
Let every state in this union seep in your souls.”
Nebraska: Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen
"From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska with a sawed off ,410 in my lap
Through to the badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path."
Colorado: Rocky Mountain High – John Denver
“Rocky mountain high. Colorado. Rocky mountain high. Colorado.”
North Dakota: Truck Drivin’ Man – Lynyrd Skynyrd
“He’s got ladies up in North Dakota. From the Keys, man, to Minnesota.”
South Dakota: The Ballad of Hollis Brown – Bob Dylan
“There’s seven people dead on a South Dakota farm
Somewhere in the distance there’s seven new people born.”
Montana: Fear of Trains –Magnetic Fields
“And in the beet fields of Montana, she's always coming on dead rails
to break the plow and whisper, 'Honey, bound to live is bound to fail."
Washington: America – Marcy Playground
“Lucy came to the Timberline. Climbed up on to Rainer and
Looked out over Washington.”
Idaho: Twin Falls – Built to Spill
“Christmas, Twin Falls, Idaho is her oldest memory.”
Wyoming: I Can Still Make Cheyenne - George Strait
“He aimed his truck toward that Wyoming line
With a little luck he could still get there in time
And in that Cheyenne wind he could still hear her say
She said ‘Don’t bother comin home.’”
Utah: Friend of the Devil – The Grateful Dead
“I spent that night in Utah. In a cave up in the hills.”
Oklahoma: Never Been To Spain – Three Dog Night
“Well, I never been to heaven, but I been to Oklahoma
Well, they tell me I was born there. But I really don’t remember.”
New Mexico: El Paso – Old 97’s
“From the west Texas town of El Paso / To the badlands of New Mexico.”
Arizona: Take It Easy – The Eagles
“Well, I’m standin on a corner in Winslow, Arizona.”
Alaska: Stephanie Says – Velvet Underground
“But she’s not afraid to die. The people all call her Alaska.”
Hawaii: Hawaii – Beach Boys
“Do you want to go to Hawaii? Come along with me.”
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