In the spirit of the 'Roll Call' thread...post a song written about/inspired by where you live...


Panic in Detroit
David Bowie

He looked a lot like Che Guevara
Drove a diesel van
Kept his gun in quiet seclusion.
Such a humble man
The only survivor
Of the national people's gang.

Panic in detroit. I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home. I wish someone would phone
Panic in Detroit.

He laughed at accidental sirens
That broke the evening gloom
The police had warned of repercussions
They followed none too soon
A trickle of strangers
Were all that were left alive

Panic in detroit. I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home. I wish someone would phone
Panic in Detroit

Putting on some clothes I made my way to school
An' found my teacher crouching in his overalls
I screamed and ran to smash my favourite slot machine
An' jumped the silent cars that slept at traffic lights.

Having scored a trillion dollars,
Made a run back home.
Found him slumped across the table.
A fun and me alone.
I ran to the window.
Looked for a plane or two.

Panic in detroit. he'd left me an autograph
Let me collect dust. I wish someone would phone
Panic in Detroit



Don't Stop Believin'
Lyrics by Journey

Just a small town girl living in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere
Just a city boy born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere

A singer in a smoky room the smell of wine and cheap parfume
For a smile they can share the night.
It goes on and on and on and on

Strangers waiting up down the boulevard.
Their shadows searchin in the night
Streetlight people living to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night

Working hard to get my fill everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice. Just one more time.
Some will win some will lose some were born to sing the blues.
Oh the movie never ends. It goes on and on and on and on...

Don´t stop believing.
Hold on to the feeling.
Streetlight people.

Cleveland Rocks

All this energy callin' me,
Back where it comes from
It's such a crude attitude,
It's back where it belongs.
All the little kids goin' up on the skids go
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Jumpin' Jane Jean, and moonin' James Dean go
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Momma knows, but she don't care. She's got her worries too.
Seven kids, and a phony affair, and the rent is due.
All the little chicks with the crimson lips go
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Livin' in sin with a safety pin goin'
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
I got some records from World War II
I play 'em just like me grand dad do
He was a rocker, and I am too,
Now Cleveland rocks, Now Cleveland rocks
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks! Cleveland rocks!
Cleveland rocks!
OHIO

WICKED LITTLE TOWN

You know, the sun is in your eyes
And hurricanes and rains
and black and cloudy skies.

You're running up and down that hill.
You turn it on and off at will.
There's nothing here to thrill
or bring you down.
And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
through the dark turns and noise
of this wicked little town.

Oh Lady, luck has led you here
and they're so twisted up
they'll twist you up. I fear.

the pious, hateful and devout,
you're turning tricks til you're turned out,
the wind so cold it burns,
you're burning out and blowing round.
And if you've got no other choice
you know you can follow my voice
through the dark turns and noise
of this wicked little town.

The fates are vicious and they're cruel.
You learn too late you've used two wishes
like a fool

and then you're someone you are not,
and CHICAGO ain't the spot,
remember Mrs. Lot
and when she turned around.
And if you've got no other choice
You know you can follow my voice
through the dark turns and noise
of this wicked little town.

Song written by Stephen Trask (with minor liberty taken)

see pretty much all of stevie ray vaughn's music, and imagine that i typed it out in this space...

Anxiety said:

HEDWIG!!!
god damn, i love that play and movie

Cool idea! I'm from Detroit too.

But the inspiration for "Panic In Detroit" is Iggy Pop. The song was written about Bowie's early impressions of him.

does it have 2 be about your hometown, or where you're livin at the moment?

TRON said:

(sshhh...I knowww...but, at least it is set in Detroit )

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

either both or none

Blondie - DETROIT 442 - (Stein/Destri)

You know he can't be tested
He can't be read or found
Urban gray takes breath away
He wants to push his pedal to the ground
And the night's what's right
Puts him at the wheel
Well I eat danger
Any stranger is all right
Feel hot to go like Jimmy O
Dodging flying objects at the show
And the lights make me fight
In Detroit 442
Maybe baby I can ride with you
This town's a concrete factory and dad and mom look just like me
I'm on the plant assembly line
Too late now
Too far behind!
You said you wanna hang around
No one really cares where you go
Take your time
Things never change
In Detroit 442 maybe baby I could ride with you
One more to market one more pig in
And they all come to find me yeah

applekisses said:

When Detroit Was Burning
(words and music by Cathie Ryan)

There was a fire in the sky over Gratiot
You could see it all the way from Springwells
Standing on the front lawn in the blackness
Holding fast to mama's knees
The whole block on the street
When Detroit was burning

Dad said this had been coming for sometime
The black guys on the line had told him so
The city of the ghettoes burned on fire
There was nothing on the news
But all the neighbors knew
When Detroit was burning

Chorus
When Detroit was burning, burning down
When Detroit was burning, burning down
There were no kids in the park on Saturday
The Guardsmen set up tents under the swings
They drove their jeeps around Vernor Highway
Then they'd go downtown at night
And shoot everything in sight
When Detroit was burning

Bridge

I was just a little kid playing with my friends
I didn't know what it meant to live in a black kid's skin;
I'm older now and there's still so much that I don't understand...

The Farmer's Market's thriving down on Gratiot
But there's fire in the night around Springwells
Detroit wasn't reborn from the ashes
It's been nearly 30 years
And hate's still living here
Where Detroit was burning

Chorus:

Our hometown burning down


Detroit Rock City
Lyrics by Kiss

"... congressional reports. President Ford says that he's disappointed with
Congress's performance. In Detroit, a Pontiac, Michigan youth was reported
dead at the scene of a head-on collision on Grand Avenue this morning. The
youth was reportedly driving on the wrong side of the boulevard when he
struck a delivery truck and was catapulted through the windshield of his
car. The driver of the truck is reported to be uninjured. The identities
of both men are being withheld by local police.
County legislatives today are expected to rally to the aid of striking
longshoremen in hopes of ending the 9 month deadlock ..."

"..roll all night and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day"

I feel uptight on a Saturday night
Nine o' clock, the radio's the only light
I hear my song and it pulls me through
Comes on strong, tells me what I got to do
I got to

Get up
Everybody's gonna move their feet
Get down
Everybody's gonna leave their seat
You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City

Get up
Everybody's gonna move their feet
Get down
Everybody's gonna leave their seat

Getting late
I just can't wait
Ten o'clock and I know I gotta hit the road
First I drink, then I smoke
Start up the car, and I try to make the midnight show

Get up
Everybody's gonna move their feet
Get down
Everybody's gonna leave their seat

Movin' fast, doin' 95
Hit top speed but I'm still movin' much too slow
I feel so good, I'm so alive
I hear my song playin' on the radio
It goes

Get up
Everybody's gonna move their feet
Get down
Everybody's gonna leave their seat

Twelve o'clock, I gotta rock
There's a truck ahead, lights starin' at my eyes
Oh my God, no time to turn
I got to laugh 'cause I know I'm gonna die
Why

Get up
Everybody's gonna move their feet
Get up
Everybody's gonna leave their seat

TRON said:

This is a great one! I knew you were from here, Tron...I've met Ian, he's come to some of The Detroit Crawl stuff.

cborgman said:

I do too... Hedwig rocks.

applekisses said:

i'm originally from iowa, and nobody's ever written any cool songs about iowa (folks think it's deadsville )...as 4 mpls, where i am now...ummm...hell if i know.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

For you, girl...


Rock And Roll Is Alive!
(And It Lives In Minneapolis)
(Rock 'n' roll is alive!)
Rock 'n' roll is alive (Rock 'n' roll is alive!)
(Rock 'n' roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis!) {x2}
From all over the world the people came
Even the President flies in 2 worship a thing called fame
Red, white, and blue boy / girls - 2night everyone's the same
Some people say it's dyin', but we don't wanna play that game
Rock 'n' roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis! (Sing!)
Rock 'n' roll is alive (and it lives in Minneapolis!)
Rock 'n' roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis! (Sing!)
Rock 'n' roll is alive (and it lives in Minneapolis!)
Sure as the drive around Lake of the Isles is cool I know (Oh)
Rock 'n' roll will never die like the Minnehaha flow (Oh)
Sure as the land of a thousand lakes is sometimes made of snow
There'll always be another king 2 die butt-naked on the floor (Oh)
Rock 'n' roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis! (Sing!)
Rock 'n' roll is alive (and it lives in Minneapolis!) (Oh)
Rock! Rock!
(Very impressive)
Rock! Rock!
(Sing!)
(Rock 'n' roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis!) (Sing damn it!)
Rock! Rock!
Rock 'n' roll is alive! (Yeah!)
(Rock 'n' roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis!) {x4}
(Rock 'n' roll is alive and it lives in Minneapolis!) {x4}

Lammastide said:

Hey if you are from Cleveland I think you should/could have used this song.

Many people seem to believe that John Mellencamp's "Small Town" was written about Bloomington, Indiana, where I lived for many years and did my undergraduate studies. (John lives in a rural area outside of Bloomington.) I don't believe it, though. According to the 2000 Census, Bloomington had a population of 69,291, and I'm pretty sure that does not include maybe 20,000+ students who attend Indiana University but have a permanent address outside of Bloomington.

My suspicion is that his birth city of Seymour, Indiana (now that's a "small town"), was the inspiration for the song. But I'm not a Mellencamp fan, although I've seen him in concert once... I worked for someone who had connections to the Mellencamp family and got us some tickets.

My City Was Gone-Pretenders..even though Im not from Ohio.

The Colorado Trail Song

Its nearly 500 miles from Denver to Durango And its
all uphill -- seems its all uphill. And the days are
long, I am weary to the bone. But its the grandest
thing that I have ever done!

CHORUS
And The Colorado Trail Is A little Piece Of Heaven
Where Flowers Sing like Angels To The Colorado Sky
And The Eagle Flies On The Great Divide
And So Go I
On The Colorado Trail

Its step by step, one foot, then the other
And I'm on my way -- I'm on my way,
And somehow that blue horizon in the early morning light
Will be laying down behind me, come the night.

On shy columbine and aspens all a-shimmer
I will feast my soul -- I will feast my soul.
Where the little picas play and sweet waters wash away
Every care that would keep me in its hold. (CHORUS)

And when evening falls, and the coyotes are a-howling
I will lay me down -- I will lay me down
In my cathedral in the pines, with the full moon in my eyes
And diamonds falling 'round me from the sky. (CHORUS)

And I found you here, between Denver and Durango,
How you filled my eyes! How you filled my eyes!
You won me, heart and soul, and I am coming home
To walk again the Colorado Trail. (CHORUS)

I spent my adolesence and young adulthood in Longview, WA, which inspired Green Day's famous song.

The sad thing is...these lyrics ring ABSOLUTELY true. Longview is like that town in "Boys Don't Cry" or Xenia, OH in the film "Gummo."





"Longview"

Sit around and watch the tube,but nothing's on
Change the channels for an hour or two
Twiddle my thumbs just for a bit
I'm sick of all the same old shoot
In a house with unlocked doors
And I'm freaking lazy

Bite my lip and close my eyes
Take me away to paradise
I'm so darn bored I'm going BLIND!!!
And I smell like shoot

Peel me off this velcro seat and get me moving
I sure as heck can't do it by myself
I'm feeling like a DOG IN HEAT
Barred indoors from the summer street
I locked the door to MY OWN CELL
And I lost the key

Bite my lip and close my eyes
Take me away to paradise
I'm so darn bored I'm going BLIND!!!
And I smell like shoot

I GOT NO MOTIVATION
WHERE IS MY MOTIVATION
NO TIME FOR THE MOTIVATION
SMOKING MY INSPIRATION

Sit around and watch the phone,but no one's calling
Call me pathetic,call me WHAT YOU WILL
My mother says to get a job
But she don't like the one SHE'S got
When masturbation's lost its fun
You're freaking lazy

Bite my lip and close my eyes
Take me away to paradise
I'm so darn BORED
I'm going blind
And loneliness has to suffice
Bite my lip and close my eyes
I was slipping away to paradise
Some say,"Quit or I'll go BLIND."
But it's just a myth

This is from ICP and is all about growing up near Detroit (I'm currently living in Dearborn, which borders the city)


Take Me Home

Look at me I'm famous on top of the world
I finally reached up in time (I'm a superstar)
Stand up, step back and take a look
Is this really what I had in mind? (I don't really think so)
I guessed them goals that we set in the day
They actually came to be. (yup yup)
But now I'm looking at a black white paper
And with a whole book of memories (but we never read)

Seven deep in the jeep with the camo top
Everybody and they drunk as hell
?? and awesome Dre and Anybody by the right would see us
(Cause we always went there)
Summers were long and polution strong, and the faygo always warm and flat
(That's nasty)
But if now if this supposed to be heaven for me, then just give me my own hell back

So take me home
(To my empty refridgerator)
C'mon and take me home
(To a life in which I understand)
So take me home
(To my old school down in delray)
C'mon and take me home
For what little time I have left

(C'mon C'mon) let's go ya'll

There's another festival down town
Take some bottles back up to the store
(I found two of them)
That would get us bus money down there
To get back we have to find some more
(Might as well get drunk)
Hanging our flyers up everywhere
We could've sworn we was making noise
(everybody knew us)
finally we had everyone in southwest
Representing with the JJ boys (everybody)

I stole to eat (I stole)
I stole to live (I stole)
I stole only to survive (if you's a hoodlum)
Just like J said in 'ghetto zone' I stole a car with my tape inside
All we did was try to talk to hoes
And none of them was trying to hear (not 1 hoe)
It would've meant so much more back then
Cause now it's fake hoes everywhere

So take me home
(To my empty refridgerator)
C'mon and take me home
(To a life in which I understand)
So take me home
(To my old school down in delray)
C'mon and take me home
For what little time I have left

Mike P ya'll

Southern rock for ya

Rudeboy

Oh lord dont let me get my girlfriends call
If she don't get off until two (we got all night long)
I finally show up at 4:30 am
And I still have to drop my crew off (but I'll be back)
Now I'm alone and ontop of it all
Looking deep in the back of my mind (looking deep in the back of my mind)
I realised the key to a happy life
Was right here with me the whole time

Chorus x2
So take me home
(To my empty refridgerator)
C'mon and take me home
(To a life in which I understand)
So take me home
(To my old school down in delray)
C'mon and take me home
For what little time I have left

rdhull's got the right idea, so i'm gonna borrow it if you don't mind. and i AM from ohio.

the pretenders, "my city was gone"

I went back to Ohio
But my city was gone
There was no train station
There was no downtown
Southtown it had disappeared
All my favorite places
My city had been pulled down
Reduced to parking spaces
Ay! Oh! Where did you go, Ohio?
I went back to Ohio
But my family was gone
I stood on the back porch
There was nobody home
I was stunned and amazed
My childhood memories
Saw this world past
Like the wind thorugh the trees
Ay! Oh! Where did you go, Ohio?
I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that had no pride
The farms of Ohio
had been replaced by shopping malls
And Muzak filled the air
From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls
Said Ay! Oh! Where did you go, Ohio?

"Hotel California"

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year, you can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Captain,
'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'
And still those voices are calling from far away,
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say...

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise, bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
The stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man,
We are programmed to receive.
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave!

that song def. rings true i say

I'll be damned if anyone has ever written a song that was inspired by Santa Cruz, but these songs all mention it. That counts, goddamnit!

___

The Ataris - Alone in Santa Cruz

Did I ever tell you that I really love you...
and I think about you all day?
I really miss you and wish I could kiss you
but why are you so far away?

(Chorus)
Since you've been gone
I've thought over and over about you inside my
head
and where I went wrong, where I went wrong
Everyday...
I've been thinkin' alot about all of the things
you'd say
Since I went away...
Since I went away...

I guess I could call you
and ask you "How are you?"
But I really don't have much to say
I sit all alone
and I stare at the phone
and I hope that you're doing o.k.

(repeat chorus)

___

Lonely Kings - Santa Cruz

Crosswed wires inspire a subtle sting
Stop when you've spoken a mouthfull
Stop when you choke it down
Sold when you have expensive tastes
I bit this silver tounge
It tasted bittersweet
And if I'm lost for words I'll say it one more time
I told 10,000 stories the one I heard last night
They'll hunt for the weakest one
And what have you, and what have you
There's smoke theres fire inside of me
I tried to put it out
I should've let it breathe
And I shut my eyes yet still I see
What are you running from?
And if I'm lost for words I'll say it one more time
I told 10,000 stories the one I heard last night
They'll meet under the boardwalk; they'll meet about midnight
Whisper sweet sweet words together
And then they'll say good bye
They tought no one could understand
They both had problems afraid to make demands
Trapped in a world they did not choose
Like a spirit caught on a runway
In a warm unending night

___

The Beach Boys - Sufin' USA

If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californi-a
You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U.S.A.

You'd catch 'em surfin' at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Trestle
Australia's Narabine
All over Manhattan
And down Doheny Way

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

We'll all be planning that route
We're gonna take real soon
We're waxing down our surfboards
We can't wait for June
We'll all be gone for the summer
We're on surfari to stay
Tell the teacher we're surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Haggerties and Swamies
Pacific Palisades
San Anofree and Sunset
Redondo Beach L.A.
All over La Jolla
At Waimia Bay

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.



Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A...

"Hello, I Love You"

Hello, I love you
Won't you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you
Let me jump in your game
Hello, I love you
Won't you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you
Let me jump in your game

She's walking down the street
Blind to every eye she meets
Do you think you'll be the guy
To make the queen of the angels sigh?

Hello, I love you
Won't you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you
Let me jump in your game
Hello, I love you
Won't you tell me your name?
Hello, I love you
Let me jump in your game

She holds her head so high
Like a statue in the sky
Her arms are wicked, and her legs are long
When she moves my brain screams out this song

Sidewalk crouches at her feet
Like a dog that begs for something sweet
Do you hope to make her see, you fool?
Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel?

Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello
I want you
Hello
I need my baby
Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello

Wrote it and alot more while chillin on Venice Beach,

Christopher said:

...


the distillers fuckin' rock...

...

i'm sure there are some songs about charleston...


...


ahh... hootie & the blowfish... at least half of their songs mention charleston in it somewhere.. :LOL:...

The Streets of London


Have you seen the old man in the closed down market
Kicking up the papers with his worn out shoes
In his eyes you see no pride, hand held loosely at his side
Yesterdays paper telling yesterdays news

CHORUS
So how can you tell me you're lonely
And say for you that the sun dont shine
Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of London
I'll show you something that will make you change your mind

Have you seen the old girl who walks the streets of london
Dirt in her hair and her clothes in rags
shes no time for talking she just keeps right on walking
Carrying her home in two carrier bags

CHORUS

In the all night cafe, at a quarter past eleven,
Same old man sitting there on his own
Looking at the world over the rim of his teacup
Each tea lasts an hour and he wanders home alone

CHORUS

Have you seen the old man, outside the seamans mission?
Memory fading with the medal ribbons that he wears
In our winter city the rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotton hero and a world that doesnt care