Saturday 14 December 2013

10 Great Songs About Streets & Roads

Yes it's been a while since i've updated and yes this is not a very inspired topic. It is the holiday season however, and my time is being stretched thin. Hey if you want to check out a list of Christmas songs for the upcoming holidays check out last year's list here! For now though, here are 10 Great Songs About Streets or Roads.

1. "The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" - The Grateful Dead

The first track off of the first Grateful Dead album, which was a self-titled release. It's a acid-trippy, quick little ditty that really sets the tone for The Grateful Dead's typical care free style. That same style that would earn them a legion of devoted fans for decades to come


2. "Allison Road" - Gin Blossoms

Some songs about roads are inspired by actual streets and laneways. Such is the case with the Gin Blossoms' 1994 single. Lead singer Robin Wilson was traveling with a friend through Texas when they passed an exit sign for Allison Rd. His friend's sister was named Allison so they took a picture. That picture would serve as inspiration for Wilson when writing songs for the 1992 album New Miserable Experience.


3. "Grey Street" - Dave Matthews Band

This song has become a staple at DMB live performances. It was originally recorded in 2000 for the band's upcoming 4th studio album. The band decided to not release the songs recorded during that time, which were produced by Steve Lillywhite and instead recorded a new batch of songs with Glen Ballard at the helm. That album became Everyday and produced such singles as "I Did It" and "The Space Between". Even in the early days of the internet though those initial songs were leaked and the fans dubbed the collection as The Lillywhite Sessions. "Grey Street" has since been officially included on one of Dave Matthew's albums: 2002's Busted Stuff.


4. "Across 110th Street" - Bobby Womack

A song written for a movie of the same name, Bobby Womack would go on to be known for his life outside of music more than in it. He had his struggles with drug addiction and has been diagnosed with colon cancer. Perhaps his most public scandal was when he married Sam Cooke's widow just three months after the soul singer's death.


5. "Baker Street" - Gerry Rafferty

Perhap's one of music's most famous saxophone stings is in Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street". It was even used at the end of a Simpsons episode. Rafferty started his career as part of Stealer's Wheel who had in the 70's with "Stuck In The Middle With You"



6. "Copperhead Road" - Steve Earle

From famous saxophone stings to perhaps even more famous bagpipe swells, here we find "Copperhead Road" Steve Earle's biggest hit. Copperhead Rd is a real road in East Tennessee where moonshine was made and eventually became a place to grow marijuana. The song follows a Vietnam vet who winds up in the smuggling business after coming home.


7. "Emerald Street" - Alexisonfire

Taken from the 2009 album Old Crows/Young Cardinals "Emerald Street" paints a not so flattering picture of a real street in Hamilton, Ontario.


8. "Warwick Avenue" - Duffy

Warwick Avenue is in Maida Vale, West London. Though Duffy is from London, she claims to have only been to the area by accident and the song itself is in fact about a few of her ex-boyfriends. One of many great songs off her 2008 release Rockferry.


9. "Love Street" - The Doors

Jim Morrison wrote this song about the street he lived on with his girlfriend in Laurel Canyon, California. Though the address was 1812 Rothdale Trail, they called it Love Street because of all the hippies who also lived in the area.


10. "53rd & 3rd" - The Ramones

This one is actually about 2 streets that intersect. Dee Dee Ramone claims this one is quasi-autobiographical about his time as a young prostitute on the corner of 53rd & 3rd trying to score drugs. The titular corner is in New York City in a part of town called the bowery, which was once known as a dangerous and seedy part of town. It has since been cleaned up, along with most of the city, to attract tourists.


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1 comment:

  1. Sullivan Street by Counting Crows is a very pretty song.

    ReplyDelete