As I think I said last week things are now starting to get a bit more tricky. One sprang to mind immediately and then I got another. I went searching for a particular third and that was me stuck. Thankfully our dear friend Ernie was happy to share his G-Spots with one and all.
The obvious one and the one Alyson alluded to in last week's comments is the Texas Gulf city of Galveston with a population of just over 54K. I was going to be obtuse and post the Sparklehorse cover but you cannot ignore the majesty of Glen Campbell a man who may turn up again later on in this series. There is small village in Galloway called Garlieston which has some interesting WW2 history .Whenever I visit or indeed see a road sign I find myself singing Mr Campbell's song.
I actually have two songs about Greenville. I'm not sure if they refer to the South Carolina one with a population of 72K or the North Carolina one of 87K. Pretty confusing , eh? Whatever - here is another legend, Lucinda Williams with a song called Greenville. The other song in contention was Greenville to Baton Rouge by the Drive By Truckers.
I went looking for a song about Gallup, New Mexico the county seat of Mckinley County with a population of around 22K most of whom are Native American . On the coast to coast drive of America made infamous by the previously mentioned Amarillo we spent a night there in a motel so filthy that we slept fully clothed on top of the beds.Gallup Ain't Going Nowhere is a Mickey Newbury number which is sung here by Clay Hart.
Time for Ernie's G Spots of which he has three although it looks to me that two are not actually US cities. Todd Snider sings Greencastle Blues. From what I can ascertain Greencastle is in fact a fishing port in County Donegal, Ireland. Happy to be proved wrong. Ernie wasn't too sure about Gettysburg a song by Simone Felice.He was right to be unsure as it is merely a borough and the county seat of Adams County. Pennsylvania.
He was correct however with Glendale which is a large city in the Los Angeles County area of California with a population of c200k. I looked out the Neil Young album Glendale but alas there are no songs which reference the name in their title. Thankfully the New Riders of the Purple Sage are season ticket holders on the Glendale Train.
In case you were wondering the map above, despite the reference to Las Vegas Limousines, is actually from North East Glasgow as opposed to California.
H next week. It is early days but I only have two so far. More research is required. Meanwhile hopefully Ernie is busy looking out the Preparation H.
Travelling Ernie here. There is a city if Greencastle in Indiana, but no idea which place Todd is singing about.
ReplyDeletePS Will pile on the research for H when I get home tonight
DeleteHappy to be corrected.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your trip wherever you are
Galveston is just so good, yes you had to have the original!
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest Hackensack by the Fountains of Wayne for H? A personal favourite.
Noted!
DeleteThe place that also pops up in Billy Joel's song Moving Out.
DeleteCan I suggest Hollister for next month? We stopped off there during our California road trip.
ReplyDeleteAre there any songs about it?
DeleteIt would be criminal to put up a cover of a Glen Campbell place name song - I'm pretty sure he'll be slotted in for at least another couple of letters.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I think of Greenville (which isn't often to be fair) I think of the song Mississippi by Pussycat who reference it frequently in the lyrics.
Thought there might have been some song with Hawaii's state capital in the title but nothing obvious. Likewise I thought Frank might have sang about his hometown Hoboken but again, nothing. Good luck for next time.
I second C's suggestion of Hackensack. And there are loads of Houston songs, so I'll leave them with you.
ReplyDeleteOther than those, you might have...
Jan & Dean - Honolulu Lulu (worth it for the title alone)
Midnight Oil - Harrisburg