U.S place names in songs
always shaken
LondonPosts: 6,287MI6 Agent
Whilst driving back from B@Q yesterday (its our version of Home depot ,for you U.S guys) Simon and Garfunkel "AMERICA"
came on the Bee M 6 speaker sound system
.I haven't heard this for years, But in the song the guys mention hitch-hiking from Saginaw (where lurf is that) had to look it up when I got home .Turns out Saginaw is a remote peninsular in Michigan ,on the banks of the great lakes ,(wheres A,S going with this ,I can hear you yawn 
) ).American artists from Eminem,Bruce Springsteen , Garth Brooks, REO Speed wagon ,David Soul ,ect ect ect , all have songs with U.S place names in them ?. Whilst us Brits with our world leading music industry ,never sing about ,take the last train from Peterborough ,
0r I get my kicks on the M6 , why is this ? are our place names that crap ,un-romantic ? .U.S music covers every genre from
Delta blues ,C@W, middle of the road, Rock ,heavy metal ,but they all have one thing in common ,they all sing about
Boston ,New York,San Francisco,ect ect.Garth Brooks in one of his songs,sings about a 16 wheeler out of Dover .Now we have plenty of 16 wheelers coming out of Dover (Kent ) every hour of the day ,but it dosnt conjour up the same image .Are our British artist ashamed of our UK towns ,I don't know .Here are a few examples ,(could even be a start of a new game
Caught the Greyhound bus in Pittsburgh. UK version ,caught the 89 in Lewisham
Country road take me home (West Virginia ) UK version ,Country road take me home (West Drayton )
any versions out there you guys want to chip in with)
came on the Bee M 6 speaker sound system
.I haven't heard this for years, But in the song the guys mention hitch-hiking from Saginaw (where lurf is that) had to look it up when I got home .Turns out Saginaw is a remote peninsular in Michigan ,on the banks of the great lakes ,(wheres A,S going with this ,I can hear you yawn ) ).American artists from Eminem,Bruce Springsteen , Garth Brooks, REO Speed wagon ,David Soul ,ect ect ect , all have songs with U.S place names in them ?. Whilst us Brits with our world leading music industry ,never sing about ,take the last train from Peterborough ,0r I get my kicks on the M6 , why is this ? are our place names that crap ,un-romantic ? .U.S music covers every genre from
Delta blues ,C@W, middle of the road, Rock ,heavy metal ,but they all have one thing in common ,they all sing about
Boston ,New York,San Francisco,ect ect.Garth Brooks in one of his songs,sings about a 16 wheeler out of Dover .Now we have plenty of 16 wheelers coming out of Dover (Kent ) every hour of the day ,but it dosnt conjour up the same image .Are our British artist ashamed of our UK towns ,I don't know .Here are a few examples ,(could even be a start of a new game
Caught the Greyhound bus in Pittsburgh. UK version ,caught the 89 in Lewisham
Country road take me home (West Virginia ) UK version ,Country road take me home (West Drayton )
any versions out there you guys want to chip in with
) By the way, did I tell you, I was "Mad"?
Comments
Born and raised in Newcastle
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Randy Crawford - 'Rainy Night In Gosport'
Tony Bennett - 'I Left My Heart In Saffron Walden'
Glen Campbell - 'Whitstable Lineman"
-{
Newport Newport its a wonderful town Swanseas up and Cardiffs down
If your going to Southampton ,be sure to wear some flowers in your hair
Meet me tonight in Aberdeen ( Atlantic ) city , by Bruce Springsteen
I left my Heart in Plymouth
Viva Las Aldershot
" I don't listen to hip hop!"
Ike & Tina Turner - Nuneton City Limits
The Monkees - Last Train to Sackville
Elvis , another baby child is born in the predominantly white suburban middle class area , and his mother cried ,(in the ghetto)
(good ideas lads keep em coming)
and a bit Topical as Ben Elton might say.
shine a light ,yeah shine a light on me, Preston North end freedom ,I love love her yes I do
And I thought Elton was a Watford fan
'Just because nobody complains doesn't mean all parachutes are perfect.'- Benny Hill (1924-1992)
I read the news today, oh boy
Four thousand holes in Burlington, Vermont
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Gutterson Fieldhouse
Hello Always Shaken, well, I guess it takes good old American me to spread some USA cheer to counter your dispirited take on lack of British communities being named in rock/pop songs. I think it depends on how old you and how far back your song memory goes, but from the Swinging 60s on, off the top of my head and these may need a proper lyrics search:
Rolling Stones, Play with Fire, some girl gets her kicks in Stepney not in Knightsbridge anymore and her mother is an heiress, owns a block in St. John's Wood. I have no idea where these places are, but from song's tone and lyrics, I assume Mick is "slagging" on pretentious, wealthy, what you would call "posh" female English socialites??
Beatles, A Day in the Life, John Lennon sings about how many holes it take to fill Albert Hall, giving weird props to famous British music venue? Sir Hilary Bray did take off on this a few msgs up.
The Clash sang tough, punk new wave songs about life in Brixton, which I as an American am led to believe is a rough inner city neighborhood in London, poverty, joblessness, crime, etc. We have plenty of that here, so it isn't hard to make the mental leap across the Atlantic about what conditions might be like.
Queen-Brighton Rock, the late great Freddie Mercury, need I say more.
Rod Stewart-sings about British football, either Manchester or Celtic United in "You're in my heart"-to USA me, Rod is a sort of Scottish and British hybrid, but I will let you guys hash that one out.
Rod and Emerson Lake and Palmer also did amazing versions of your British hymn, "Jerusalem", literally rocking up your esteemed Wm. Blake the poet, "In England's green and pleasant land..." and all that stuff.
I am sure there are lots more, and English bands did a thing or two for the greater cause/good of rock music in all decades, so I found this self chastisement on your part curious. Oh well, I hope being a Yank waving the British flag reminding you of your rock-pop music heritage is helpful and uplifting for you.
Felix the Leitercat
Thanks, regards, -{ B-)
Hi Felix...a couple of points...no such team as 'Celtic United' and Rod doesn't mention Manchester in that song...now...the tricky part
Hello Sir Miles, thanks for your reply. I checked out the lyrics for "You're in my heart...." and they appear to go like this:
You're an essay in glamor
Please pardon the grammar
But you're every schoolboy's dream
You're Celtic, United, but baby I've decided
You're the best team I've ever seen
I garbled up the team names in my post. Is that not a reference to British football? Especially the best team I've ever seen line? Also in the vinyl album copy I have, yes I am an older American geezer ((that term gets used both sides of Atlantic)) who still owns LP records. There is a booklet of cartoons and drawings for each song and "You're in my heart" has Rod with a girl in car listening to a game on radio. The written score of a game, seeming to come out of radio, is "Celtic 2 Manchester United 2" - so it looks like Rod had the game on his mind, and a girl too, though that is a game of a different sort that Mr. Stewart proved quite good at over the years.
"Some guys have all the luck" -- say it ain't so, Rod?!
Also Sir Paul's album "Londontown" was a huge hit in the mid late 70s, The Clash, "London Calling" -- I am sure there are plenty of others. So cheers to England, the Union Jack and all that kinda stuff. Rock n roll............
Felix the Leitercat, thanks, regards -{ B-)
Yes, you need to say more: Brian May.
Hi Felix, yes...I know the lyrics very well...I also have that album on vinyl
Hello Barbel, actually I feel no particular need to sort out complicated UK relations that go back a few thousand years any more than I would expect a British person on this board to tell me about the USA electoral college system or the complex governing compacts among our 50 united states and the federal government. This is a James Bond board with sideways extensions into other pop cultures, like the one we are pursuing now.
Brian May was a fantastic guitarist, very skilled soundtrack composer, and I believe some sort of astrophysics genius on the side. However, it was his destiny to play behind one of the flashiest, most dynamic lead singer talents of his generation--Mr. Freddie Mercury. And they are both immortalized each time, "We will rock you/we are the champions" rings out at some gigantic sports arena-- yes, Keith Richards is an excellent guitarist and he was fated to play behind Mr. Jumping Jack Flash/the Mick Man. Joe Perry and Steve Tyler, Plant and Page, Daltrey and Townsend, Gillan and Blackmore, the list of the great guitarist and the incredible front man goes on....rock n roll being what it is/was, we tend to remember the front man--who sings, dances before us and is our immediate connection to the song.
Now here is a UK zenmaster puzzle for you from when I travelled to England and Scotland years and years ago.
Told by Edinburgh pub guys: "The only thing good that came out of England was a road to Scotland...."
Told by London pub guys: "The only thing good that came out of Scotland was a road to England...."
My diplomatic answer was: "I have enjoyed being in both" as me and a fellow travelling friend were enjoying some mutual UK-USA inebriation and wanted to keep the conversation pleasant--first time I ever drank Guiness, whoooweeee. What is your take on those two statements?
Felix the Leitercat
Thanks, regards, -{ B-)
Hello Sir Miles, thanks again for reply, yes Rod never met a blonde he didn't like. This album Footloose and Fancy Free came out in 1977, so I wonder if he was moving on from Britt Ekland to Alana Hamilton. Which means he was crooning lovey dovey lyrics to a Swedish girl or an American girl for song inspiration, the UK football reference is a mystery, perhaps Rod just having fun. Saw video of him crying when some fave team of his won, they actually showed a little clip on ESPN or some sports channel.
Game of Thrones: The night is dark, and full of terror, The House of Stewart is large and full of blondes.
Felix the Leitercat,
thanks, regards. -{ B-)
The two posts of yours which I cited are full of inaccuracies which at the least negate some of the points and at most could cause offence.
Brian May was the composer and lyricist and lead guitarist of "Brighton Rock", a song which has about 60% of its length devoted to the guitar and only 40% to the vocals. He deserves credit when the song is mentioned.
There was a documentary on him one night, in which he said that ( his latest
Blonde) he used to pick her up from school
By saying, " he means he used to collect me from college not school " ( she
was doing a photography course) ........ Made him sound like a dirty old man
By the way I love Queen. :x
Hello Barbel, I think the board is for fun, entertainment, for us to share opinions, engage in burning debate as spirited as cheering with and/or arguing with your fellow fans at the sports bar watching your favorite team. Not sure how I'd give offense with my counter pointing that there are quite a few famous songs with British bands singing about locations, activities, history of their nation, when the premise was there are not many compared to the USA bands.
I happen to find it stimulating to reach out to and hear from fans from another nation, one that birthed our fave UK spyboy and generated a certain amount of cultural works and performers I have enjoyed throughout my life.
If it makes you happy, thought one of May's great achievements was the Flash Gordon soundtrack, where it's almost all his instrumental conceptions, besides the title track--his music was unique, very baroque like the art deco visuals of the film. Especially the battle and wedding sequence at the end. With Tim Dalton, future 007, as a faux Errol Flynn but pretty well played.
I am sure May is in Rolling Stone top 30 or so in its 100 best guitarists list. So I certainly do not deny him his due.
Felix the Leitercat
Thanks, regards. -{ B-)
Hello Thunderpussy, on Rod Unplugged, live 90s album, he made some comment to intro an old song, Gasoline Alley or something from that era, "most of the band wasn't born yet, me wife was only one" --
or from Maggie May, "it's late september and i really should drive you back to school."
ps I have Queen from Live Aid DVD, the double super rock shows in London, and Philadelphia, 1985ish, and Queen is one of the great highlights. if there was any guy who could pull off lyrics like scaramouche doing the fandango, magnifico, oh, oh, etc. in a great rock number, it was the Merc.
Felix the Leitercat
Thanks, regards, -{ B-)
Nobody said you had caused offence by “counter pointing that there are quite a few famous songs with British bands singing about locations, activities, history of their nation, when the premise was there are not many compared to the USA bands.”
What I did say on this topic: If you’re going to post in a thread like this one, you should be clear on what the words Scottish, English, British mean.
The Brian May discussion was specifically about the song “Brighton Rock”, not about his general recognition.
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