Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Place Names in Rock Lyrics: Rip This Joint

For this feature we've previously done Sweet Little SixteenDancing in the StreetsNight TrainRock'n MePop MuzikGirls, Girls, GirlsFire Down BelowTruckin'Everywhere That I'm NotMess Around, Back in the USABack in the USSR, and America.

The next song is Rip This Joint, from the Rolling Stones' Exile On Main Street album. The lyrics sound to me like the Stones are ready to go on tour but have some trepidation US authorities will let them in to play:

Mister President, Mister Immigration Man,
Let me in, sweetie, to your fair land.

I know they sometimes had some trouble with local police in the US (if you can believe it). I'm not sure I remember hearing about trouble with US immigration, but maybe they did, or maybe it's just rhetorical. In any case, once they get in, they have an expansive list of cities they want to play:

I'm Tampa bound and Memphis too,
Short Fat Fanny is on the loose.
Dig that sound on the radio,
Then slip it right across into Buffalo.
Dick and Pat in ole D.C.,
Well they're gonna hold some shit for me.
Ying yang, you're my thing,
Oh, now, baby, won't you hear me sing.
Flip Flop, fit to drop,
Come on baby, won't you let it rock?
Oh, yeah!

From San Jose down to Santa Fe,
Kiss me quick, baby, won'tcha make my day.
Down to New Orleans with the Dixie Dean,
'Cross to Dallas, Texas with the Butter Queen.
Rip this joint, gonna rip yours too,
Some brand new steps and some weight to lose.
Gonna roll this joint, gonna get down low,
Round and round and round we'll go.
Wham, Bham, Birmingham, Alabam' don't give a damn.
Little Rock fit to drop.
Ah, let it rock.

So the place names in this song are:
Birmingham
Buffalo
Dallas
Little Rock
Memphis
New Orleans
San Jose
Santa Fe
Tampa
Washington, DC

And lots of cities new to our list: Birmingham, Little Rock, Memphis, San Jose, Santa Fe, Tampa

_______________________________________________________________________
And here's the master list:

Notes: The city that has been mentioned most often is New York, with New Orleans in second and Los Angeles and Philadelphia tied for third. The biggest cities we haven't heard from yet, at least in the United States, are Cleveland, Kansas City, and Seattle. Odd to me that Memphis, a huge blues city, has been mentioned only once.

Atlanta x3
Baltimore x3
Baton Rouge
Birmingham
Boston
Buffalo x2
California
--(northern) California
--(coast of) California
Chattanooga
Chicago x3
Dallas x2
Delaware (Bay)
Detroit x3
Ft. Lauderdale
Georgia (country)
Houston
Las Vegas
Little Rock
London
Los Angeles x4
Memphis
Miami
--Miami Beach
Moline
Moscow
Munich
New Jersey (turnpike)
New Orleans x5
New York City x6
--Queens
Nova Scotia
Paris x2
Philadelphia x4
Phoenix
Pittsburgh x2
Raleigh
Richmond
Saginaw
San Francisco
--Berkeley
San Jose
Santa Fe
St. Louis x3
Tacoma
Tampa
(heart of) Texas
Tokyo
Ukraine
Vancouver
Washington, DC x3

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