This was a fun question. I started yesterday, and then last night before I went to sleep, I lay there thinking of all these different songs, most of which I forgot this morning, of course!
You would probably be able to guess my age pretty much by the songs I chose. Yep! I'm a child of the '60s and '70s! Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane!
1. Allentown - Billy Joel
2. Galveston - Glenn Campbell (I think it was him!)
3. Do You Know the Way to San Jose? Dionne Warwick
4. Amarillo by Morning - George Strait
5. Ohio ("Tin soldiers and Nixon coming....") - CSN&Y
6. New York State of Mind - also Billy Joel
7. The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Vicki Lawrence
8. Battle of New Orleans - Johnny Horton
9. I’m Proud to be an Okie from Muskogee - I don’t remember who -- some country music guy.
10. Sweet Home Alabama - Neil Young
11. Country Roads (Take Me Home) - John Denver "Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shennandoah River...
12. Bad Bad LeRoy Brown - Jim Croce "South Side of Chicago is the baddest part of town/And if you go down there, you’d better just beware of a man named LeRoy Brown...
13. Please Come to Boston - Dave Loggins
14. If You’re Going to San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers...) - Scott McKenzie
15. Ballard of Billy the Kid - Billy Joel (From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia... and later, From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island....)
16. The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace
17. Going to California - Led Zeppelin
18. California - Joni Mitchell
19. The Little Old Lady from Pasadena - Beach Boys
20. Manhattan (Often sung as "I’ll take Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten..., although it’s supposed to be "We’ll have Manhattan...") - Ella Fitzgerald and many others, including Rod Stewart
21. Kokomo - Beach Boys
22. Indiana Wants Me - R. Dean Taylor (I admit I had to look up his name--hadn’t a CLUE)
23. Woodstock - Joni Mitchell
24. Georgia on My Mind - Ray Charles did my fav. version
25. Ventura Highway - America
26. Take it Easy - Eagles ("Standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, such a fine sight to see...")
Songs I rejected but thought were worth mentioning, anyway:
Starship did "We Built this City," which is all about San Francisco, but since it’s never mentioned by name, I don’t know if it counts...
MacArthur Park - Richard Harris and a billion others -- does it count? Probably not, it’s a place (a park in LA), not a city or a state....
Barry Manalow did "Weekend in New England," but I guess that doesn’t count, either, ’cause that’s a region.
Reverse Order: Remember that song "The Worst that Could Happen," by the Brooklyn Bridge?
Bonus Songs: Kathy’s Song by Simon & Garfunkel - "Kathy, I said, as we boarded the Greyhound in Pittsburgh/Michigan seems like a dream to me now/It took me 4 days to hitchhike from Saganaw/....Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, they’ve all come to look for America...."
Keep on Rocking Me - "I’ve been from Phoenix, Arizona, all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A. Northern California, where the girls are warmer so I can hear my sweet baby say.....
...and finally, this one wins the prize: The answer to your question in ONE SONG: "I've Been Everywhere," by Johnny Cash. (I had to look up these lyrics. Couldn't possibly remember them all! They're from:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/johnnycash/ivebeeneverywhere.html ).
JOHNNY CASH LYRICS
"I've Been Everywhere"
I was totin' my pack along the long dusty Winnemucca road,
When along came a semi with a high an' 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 deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've 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,
Tocapillo, Baranquilla, and Perdilla, I'm a killer.
I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've 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, Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake,
Grand Lake, Devils Lake, Crater Lake, for Pete's sake.
I've been everywhere, man.
I've been everywhere, man.
Crossed the deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've 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 deserts bare, man.
I've breathed the mountain air, man.
Of travel I've had my share, man.
I've been everywhere.
I've been to:
Pittsburgh, Parkersburg, Gravelbourg, Colorado,
Ellisburg, Rexburg, Vicksburg, Eldorado,
Larimore, Admore, Haverstraw, Chatanika,
Chaska, Nebraska, Alaska, Opelika,
Baraboo, Waterloo, Kalamazoo, Kansas City,
Sioux City, Cedar City, Dodge City, what a pity.
