Best Song About A City

[Yavin4]

Poll question: Best Song About A City

What's the best song that captures the essence of a city?

[Yavin4]

1. Tony Bennett's Song Is the Best

I lived in SF for four years, and that song completely captures what that city was like.

[JVS]

3. Yeah, that song he did about Capital City in the Simpsons ruled

Tony Bennett: There's a swingin' town I know called... Capital City.
People stop and scream hello in... Capital City.
It's the kind of place that makes a bum feel like a king.
And it makes a king feel like some nutty, cuckoo, super-king. It's against the law to frown in... Capital City.
You'll caper like a stupid clown when you chance to see...
Fourth Street and 'D'! Yeah!
Once you get a whiff of it, you'll never want to roam,
From Capital City, my home sweet, swingin' home!

[Duncan Grant]

29. "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" - Written by a gay couple.

As the unofficial chronicler of all things SF and Gay around here, it's my solemn duty to pass on the following:

http://www.kqed.org/w/hood/castro/castroqa.html

<snip>
Q. A surprising bit of trivia from the documentary is that one of Tony Bennett's signature songs, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," was written by two gay men. What are some other gems that you uncovered?


A. Yes, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" was written by George Cory and Douglas Cross, two songwriters from New York who visited the city in the 1950's and were obviously taken with what they found here. It turns out that San Francisco in the 1950s was pretty well known as a friendly town for gays, despite the routine entrapments, harassment and police raids they suffered.
<snip>

[JVS]

2. WE BUILT THIS CITY

:hide:

[progmom]

5. i hate you

:thumbsup:

[Yavin4]

6. Your Right to Listen To Music Should Be Taken Away from You

Just for posting that crappy song in my thread. How dare you!

[JVS]

8. Click here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RRugApjmk8&search=we%20built%20this%20city%20video

[Yavin4]

16. This Is Why The Internet Needs to be Regulated

Sure, there's the PMRC that goes after violent and sexual music. But, where's the government when it comes to suck ass music like this? Where are they? Where's that commission, huh?

[ovidsen]

12. I like the Latrobe Pennsylvania version

"We Built this City on Rolling Rock"

:hide:

[JVS]

14. Fuck that, Imp n' Ahrn forever!

[Deja Q]

27. Nooooooooooooo

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

:cry:

[Strawman]

4. Dirty Water by the Standells

[arwalden]

7. Wichita Lineman... or Galveston

[JVS]

11. "By the time I get to Phoenix" for the Glen Cambell Trifecta

[JVS]

9. Where is "Galveston"?

[arwalden]

13. On The Texas Coast

[Cocoa]

35. lol

smart guy. :-)

[Throd]

10. "I Love Livin' In The City" by FEAR

[arwalden]

15. El Paso

[Magrittes Pipe]

18. I fell in love with a Mexican girl.

:thumbsup:


edit: "Streets of Laredo" is pretty good, too.

[AlienGirl]

25. Ever hear the sequel, "El Paso City"?

From thirty thousand feet above
The desert floor, I see it there below
A city with a legend -
The west Texas city of El Paso
Where long ago I heard a song
About a Texas cowboy and a girl
And a little place called Rosa's
Where he used to go and watch this beauty whirl.

I don't recall who sang the song
But I recall the story that I heard
And as I look down on the city,
I remember each and ev'ry word
The singer sang about a jealous cowboy
And the way he used a gun
To kill another cowboy
Then he had to leave El Paso on the run.

El Paso City, by the Rio Grande
The cowboy lived and rode away
But love was strong he couldn't stay
He rode back just to die in that El Paso sand
El Paso City, by the Rio Grande
I try not to let you cross my mind
But still I find there's just a mystery
In the song that I don't understand.

My mind is down there somewhere
As I fly above the badlands of New Mexico
I can't explain why I should know
The very trail he rode back to El Paso
Can it be that man can disappear
From life and live another time
And does the mystery deepen 'cause you think
That you yourself lived in that other time.

Somewhere in my deepest thoughts
Familar scenes and memories unfold
These wild and unexplained emotions
That I've had so long but I have never told
Like every time I fly up thru the heavens
And I see you there below
I get the feeling sometime
In another world I lived in El Paso.

El Paso City, by the Rio Grande
Could it be that I could be
The cowboy in this mystery
That died there in that desert sand so long ago
El Paso City, by the Rio Grande
A voice tells me to go and see
Another voice keeps tellin' me
Maybe death awaits me in El Paso

[LynneSin]

17. Other: Philadelphia by Neil Young

Very somber and moving song!

[mucifer]

19. "The City of New Orleans" yeah I know it's about a train,

but it's a beautiful old Steve Goodman song.

[NJ Democrats]

20. NY, NY

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

21. Other: "Rio de Janeiro" by Barry White.

Yeah, you probably saw this coming a mile away. Sue me.

[Hand]

22. Other: "Atlantic City", Bruce Springsteen

[Benfea]

23. Please take that Frank Sinatra song off your list!

That song is what people from outside Chicago think of when they think of Chicago.

For those of us who actually live here, the correct anthem is Robert Johnson's Sweet Home, Chicago.

[Va Lefty]

24. Galveston, oh Galveston

I still hear your sea winds blowin'
I still see her dark eyes glowin'

[MrSlayer]

26. "Straight Outta Compton" - N.W.A.

Someone had to say it.

[flvegan]

28. "An Open Letter To NYC" by the Beastie Boys

"An Open Letter To NYC"

Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin
Black, White, New York you make it happen

Brownstones, water towers, trees, skyscrapers
Writers, prize fighters and Wall Street traders
We come together on the subway cars
Diversity unified, whoever you are
We're doing fine on the One and Nine line
On the L we're doin' swell
On the number Ten bus we fight and fuss
'Cause we're thorough in the boroughs and that's a must
I remember when the Duece was all porno flicks
Running home after school to play PIX * 1
At lunch I'd go to Blimpies down on Montague Street
And hit the Fulton Street Mall for the sneakers on my feet
Dear New York I hope you're doing well
I know a lot's happen and you've been through hell
So, we give thanks for providing a home
Through your gates at Ellis Island we passed in droves

Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin
Black, White, New York you make it happen

The L.I.E. the B.Q.E
Hippies at the band shell with the L.S.D.
Get my BVD's from VIM
You know I'm reppin' Manhattan the best I can
Stopped off at Bleeker Bob's got thrown out
Sneakin' in at 4:00 am after going out
You didn't rob me in the park at Dianna Ross
But everybody started looting when the light went off
From the South South Bronx on out to Queens Bridge
From Hollis Queens right down to Bay Ridge
From Castle Hill to the Lower East Side
From 1010 WINS to Live At Five
Dear New York this is a love letter
To you and how you brought us together
We can't say enough about all you do
'Cause in the city were ourselves and electric too

Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin
Black, White, New York you make it happen

Shout out the South Bronx where my mom hails from
Right next to High Bridge across from Harlem
To the Grand Concourse where my mom and dad met
Before they moved on down to the Upper West
I see you're still strong after all that's gone on
Life long we dedicate this song
Just a little something to show some respect
To the city that blends and mends and tests
Since 911 we're still livin'
And lovin' life we've been given
Ain't nothing gonna take that away from us
Were lookin' pretty and gritty 'cause in the city we trust
Dear New York I know a lot has changed
2 towers down but you're still in the game
Home to many rejecting know one
Accepting peoples of all places, wherever they're from

Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten
From the Battery to the top of Manhattan
Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin
Black, White, New York you make it happen

[XemaSab]

30. Duh! House of the Rising Sun!

[KamaAina]

31. Gotta go with Louie here

now that everyone knows (or should know) exactly "what it means/to miss New Orleans". :(

Extra credit for its having been the theme music for CBS' all-too-short-lived "Frank's Place".

Locally, we have "Honolulu City Lights", which I just this minute learned was covered by...The Carpenters? :shrug:

[Zookeeper]

32. I'm going to chose "Summer in the City" by...

The Lovin' Spoonful as it works well for most cities.

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

Cool town, evening in the city
Dressing so fine and looking so pretty
Cool cat, looking for a kitty
Gonna look in every corner of the city
Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head

But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright

And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city

[femmocrat]

33. "Allentown" by Billy Joel n/t

[RagingInMiami]

34. L.A. Woman

The Doors

[Cocoa]

36. "Lake Shore Drive"

by artist unknown (to me).

[rug]

37. Xanadu

[Tikki]

38. "All's Quiet on the Eastern Front"(NYC)....Ramones...

snip....

...."Stalking the streets till the break of day
New York beauty take my breath away....

.......Down in the alley is where I hunt
All is quiet on the eastern front....."




Tikki