I know there are state songs, but I thought it might be a lot more interesting to compile a list of songs that mention states in the title.

There are various reasons artists use states in song titles. Bands travel a lot, driving in vans across states that not many visit. This might be inspiration for a song. Or they may be homesick for their home state. Others might take the idea of a state to bring up the associated imagery; a songwriter from the Northwest may take a middle America state to bring up the imagery of small towns where everyone knows everyone but there are problems under the surface. A songwriter may just be effectively telling a story by setting a story in a particular place. States may be metaphors for bigger or smaller or just different things. There are travel songs, narratives that tell of going places. There are songs about running away to somewhere else, a different state. The reasons are endless, but the fact remains that there are an almost endless list of state songs and whatever the reason, the end results are often good.

As I’m off traveling across the globe, this acts as a way for me to remember the States, as it is, made up of 50 smaller and distinctive states. That’s not a bad country we’ve got going over there.

The “rules”:

• The song has to mention the name of the state in the title
• No repeating artists. (It’d be too easy–just use the Mountain Goats for pretty much every one)
• State abbreviations and and unambiguous nicknames are okay e.g. “buckeye” == Ohio
• “[state name] city” is not great, but depending how good the song is, might be okay. If the city isn’t in the state, it is not cool. e.g. a song called “Kansas City” wouldn’t count for Kansas
  (and don’t tell me there’s a Kansas City in Kansas–if there’s a “Kansas City” song they’re almost definitely talking about the Missouri one)

As an added bonus, you may have noticed San Francisco’s state-named streets while going around the city. Clicking * if it appears after a state name will bring you to a map of that state street.

Alabama *
Drive By Truckers - The Boys from Alabama (mp3)

Also considered: : BB & Group “Old Alabama”; No Wait Wait “Alabama”; Mountain Goats “Stars Fell on Alabama”; Mountain Goats “Alabama Nova”; Yonder Mountain String Band “Pride of Alabama”; Emmitt Cole “Alabama Girls”

Not considered: Lynard Skynard “Sweet Home Alabama”

Alaska
the Long Winters - Fire Island, AK (mp3)

Also considered: the Softies “Alaska”

Arizona
Kings of Leon - Arizona (mp3)

Also considered: Pedro the Lion “Arizona”; the Constantines “Arizona”; Light Footwork “Mensa, AZ”; Damien Jurado “Yuma, AZ”

Arkansas *
Hobart Smith - Arkansas Traveler (mp3)

Also considered: Brian Jonestown Massacre “Arkansas Revisited”; Norman Blake & Tut Taylor “Arkansas Traveler”; Prefuse 73 “Sao Paulo Arkansas”; Harley Allen & Mike Lily “Arkansas”; Amelda Riddle “Down in Arkansas”

California *
Rogue Wave - California (mp3)

Also considered: Beach Boys “California Girls”; Her Space Holiday “Sleepy California”

Colorado
Flying Burrito Bros - Colorado (mp3)

Also considered: Pavement “Colorado”

Connecticut *
Superchunk - Connecticut (mp3)

Also considered: Bing Crosby “Connecticut”; Summer Blanket “Connecticut”

Delaware
Drop Nineteens - Delaware (mp3)

Also considered: The Dambuilders “Delaware”;

Florida *
John Vanderslice - Gainesville, FLA (mp3)

Also considered: Superchunk “Florida’s Burning”; Patty Griffin “Florida”; Modest Mouse “Florida”; Vic Chesnutt “Florida”

Georgia
Iron & Wine - Sodom, South Georgia

Also considered: Mountain Goats “Going to Georgia”; Ray Charles “Georgia On My Mind”; Ray Charles “Rainy Night in Georgia”; Elliott Smith “Georgia, Georgia”; Gladys Knight and the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia”; Ida “Georgia”; Yo La Tengo “Georgia vs. Yo La Tengo”

Hawaii
Certainly Sir - Hawaii (mp3)

Also considered: Elvis “Blue Hawaii”; Ray Charles “Blue Hawaii”; Future Bible Heroes “My Blue Hawaii”

Idaho
Finest Dearest - Idaho (mp3)

Also considered: Neriah Benfield “Benfield Hoedown (Idaho Girl)”; the New Amsterdams “Idaho”; the Dambuilders “Idaho”; Pinetop Seven “His Aging Miss Idaho”; These Arms are Snakes “Idaho”

Illinois *
Sufjan Stevens - Come on Feel the Illinoise (mp3)

Also considered: Erica Wheel “Casey, Illinois”

Indiana *
Chet Baker & Charlie Parker - Indiana (mp3)

Also considered: Jackson 5 “Going back to Indiana”; Patrick Street “the Dream/ Indiana”

Iowa *
Eleni Mandell - Iowa City (mp3)

Also considered: Dar Williams “Iowa (Traveling Ill)”; Roadside Monument “Iowa Backroads”

Kansas *
Tullycraft - Our Days in Kansas (mp3)

Also considered: Beatles “Kansas City/ Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey”; Get Up Kids “Campfire Kansas”; Mountain Goats “Going to Kansas”; Troublesome Creek String Band “Walk Along to Kansas”

Kentucky
Neil Diamond - Kentucky Woman (mp3)

Also considered: Pavement “Kentucky Cocktail”; Bill Cornett “Born in Old Kentucky”; Ray Charles “Blue Moon of Kentucky”

Louisiana
Henry Ratcliff - Louisiana (mp3)

Also considered: Harry Choates “Louisiana”

Maine
Mountain Goats - Going to Maine

Maryland
Erica Wheeler - Maryland County Road (live) (mp3)

Also considered: Cobalt “Maryland”

Massachusetts
Get Up Kids - Mass Pike (mp3)

Also considered: Get Up Kids “Newfound Interest in Massachusetts”; Ladybug Transistor “Massachusetts”; Hallelujah the Hills “Wave Backwards to Massachusetts”

Michigan *
Red House Painters - Michigan (mp3)

Also considered: Rogue Wave “Lake Michigan”; Sufjan Stevens “Say Yes to Michigan”; Moxy Fruvous “Michigan Militia”; Califone “Michigan Girls”; Extra Glens “Going to Michigan”

Minnesota *
Kind of Like Spitting - We Got as Far as Minnesota (mp3)

Also considered: Tullycraft “Secretly Minnesotan”

Mississippi *
Waylon Jennings - Mississippi Woman (mp3)

Also considered: Half Japanese “Mississippi”; The Masked Marvel “Mississippi Boweavil Blues”; Ray Charles “Mississippi Mud”; Roscoe Holcomb “Mississippi Heavy Water Blues”

Missouri *
Low - Missouri (mp3)

Montana *
Emmylou Harris - Montana Cowgirl (mp3)

Also considered: Amps for Christ “Montana Storm”;

Nebraska *
Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska (mp3)

Also considered: Chrissie Hynde and Adam Seymour “Nebraska”; The Lawrence Arms “Nebraska”

Nevada *
Deer Tick - Nevada (mp3)

Also considered: Scout Niblett “Nevada”; Icky Boyfriends “Miss Nevada”

New Hampshire *
Matt Pond PA - New Hampshire (mp3)

New Jersey *
The Ladybug Transistor - Jersey Streets (mp3)

Also considered: Red House Painters “New Jersey”; Washington Social Club “New Jersey Malls”

New Mexico
Brightblack - New Mexico (mp3)

Also considered: Johnny Cash “New Mexico”

New York *
Simon & Garfunkel - The Only Living Boy in New York (mp3)

Also considered: Bob Dylan “Hard Times in New York Town”; Belle & Sebastian “Piazza, New York Catcher”; All Time Quarterback “Empire State”; Son House “Empire State Express”; U2 “New York”; the Pogues “Fairytale of New York”; Ray Charles “New York’s My Home”

North Carolina *
Mike Seegar & Paul Brown - Way Down in North Carolina (mp3)

Also considered: the Oranges Band “North Carolina”

North Dakota *
Lyle Lovett - North Dakota (mp3)

Also considered: Chris Night “North Dakota”

Ohio
Damien Jurado - Ohio (mp3)

Also considered: Sun Kil Moon - Carry Me Ohio; Gillian Welch - Look at Miss Ohio

Oklahoma
Scud Mountain Boys - Oklahoma (mp3)

Also considered: Ramblin Jack Elliot “Oklahoma Hills”; Arlo Guthrie “Oklahoma Hills”; Bruce Springsteen “My Oklahoma Home”

Oregon
Loretta Lynn - Portland Oregon (mp3)

Also considered: Mantissa “Boy from Oregon”; Poole “Oregon”

Pennsylvania *
the Mommyheads - Needmore, Pennsylvania (mp3)

Also considered: Tim O’Brien & Darrell Scott “Helen of Troy, Pennsylvania”; 16 Horsepower “South Pennsylvania Waltz”

Rhode Island *
Jennifer O’Connor - Exeter, Rhode Island (mp3)

Also considered: the Softies “Holiday in Rhode Island”, Elephant Micah “Rhode Island Redo”, Kinski “Rhode Island Freakout”

South Carolina *
Archers of Loaf - South Carolina (mp3)

Also considered: Her Space Holiday “From South Carolina”

South Dakota *
Becky Buller - On the South Dakota Wind (mp3)

Also considered: Lillebjorn Nilsen “Route 90, South Dakota”; Tim & Mollie O’Brien “Floods of South Dakota”

Tennessee *
Sam Cooke - Tennessee Waltz (mp3)

Also considered: the Beatles “Memphis, Tennessee”; Rocky Votolato “Tennessee Train Tracks”; Carl Perkins - Tennessee; Johnny Cash “Tennessee Flat-top Box”

Texas *
Explosions in the Sky - To West Texas (mp3)

Also considered: Magnolia Electric Co. “Texas 71″; Damien Jurado “From Texas to Ohio”; Damien Jurado “Denton, TX”; Explosions in the Sky “From West Texas”; Low Red Land “West Texas”; Rambin’ Jack Elliott “Texas 71″; Ray Charles “Deep in the Heart of Texas”; Her Space Holiday “A Match Made in Texas”; Reeltime “Gort to Texas to Honolulu”; Tommy Jarrell & Jack Cockerham “Yellow Rose of Texas”

Utah *
Camper Van Beethoven - History of Utah (mp3)

Vermont *
Magnetic Fields - Long Vermont Roads (mp3)

Virginia *
Johnny Cash - East Virginia Blues (mp3)

Also considered: Damien Jurado “East Virginia”; June Carter Cash “East Virginia (Blues)”; Buel Kazee “East Virginia”; The Carter Family “My Virginia Rose”; John Davis in Group “Hard Times in Ol’ Virginia”; Rolling Stones “Sweet Virginia”; Roscoe Holcomb “East Virginia Blues”; Scott Boatright “My Virginia Rose”; This is the Process of a Still Life “Skywriting Over Virginia”; Tommy Brown & the Country Line Grass “Let ‘em Know I’m from Virginia”; Ray Charles “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny”

Washington *
The Clash - Washington Bullets (mp3)

Also considered: Elizabeth Cotton “Washington Blues”; Joan Baez “Christmas in Washington”

West Virginia
Louis Jordon - Salt Pork, West Virginia (mp3)

Also considered: Tommy Brown & the Country Line Grass “Girl from West Virginia”; Hazel Dickens “West Virginia, My Home”;

Wisconsin *
Wolf Colonel - From Wisconsin (mp3)

Also considered: Japancakes “Wisconsin”

Wyoming
the Lucksmiths - Wyoming (mp3)

Also considered: Petrocovich “We’re Wyoming”; Yonder Mountain String Band “Winds O’ Wyoming”

Bonus territories and songs

“51st States” (note: tongue-in-cheek. none of these are actually states)

Washington, DC:
the Postal Service - the District Sleeps Alone Tonight (mp3)

Puerto Rico:
Pepe y Flora - Puerto Rico Tiene Minas (mp3)

Also considered: Ecos de Borinquen - “Somos los puertorriquenos (We Are the Puerto Ricans)”

Canada
Low - Canada (mp3)

Also considered: Jerry O’Sullivan “Green Fields of Canada”; Sufjan Stevens “Lakes of Canada”

Theme
Sufjan Stevens - 50 States Song (mp3)

There are a ton of great artists mentioned here. Support them if you like them. Insound and amazon are places to start at finding the above tunes for sale.

Update: You can now get the whole mix as a zip file here. Warning: it’s fairly big.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 7th, 2007 at 4:07 am Posted by adrian in SF bay area, mp3s. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.