Songs That Mention California

Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket

The 69 Eyes are a rock band formed in 1989 in Finland, where the Prime Minister likes to party. This song, released in 2022, is about the seedy side of L.A., including a reference to the Night Stalker serial killer.

"Sweet taste of your Hollywood coke
And a sweet taste of your lips
What's a matter with you baby
Can't you get your kicks

Another suicide in an L.A. style
Another dead star home
Don't you know when the heat is on
Baby you're on your own

California
I really need ya
I really need ya
California
I really need ya
I really need ya

It's freedom that they're lookin' for
And it's freedom that they sell
What you want pretty Sunset babe
You know I can tell

Someone's got it in an overnight
Someone's got an OD
Don't you know when they think you're done
Baby nothing's for free

California
I really need ya
I really need ya
California
I really need ya
I really need ya
California
I really need ya
Baby I need ya
California
I really need ya
I really need ya

Night Stalker in a traffic jam
When the heat is on
Palm trees of Venice
Don't you change that song

California
I really need ya
I really need ya
California
I really need ya
I really need ya...."

The 6ths (featuring Robert Scott)

The 6ths is a band formed by Stephin Merritt, the main singer-songwriter for The Magnetic Fields and other bands, who comes from New York. For the 6ths, he writes the songs but he brings in other singers to do the vocals.This one is sung by Robert Scott, a musician from New Zealand, a member of the great '80s Dunedin indie rock bands The Clean and The Bats, and others. This is from the album "Wasps' Nests" released in 1995.

"She'll be leaving on a Sunday morning train
You'll be hanging around the docks again
Some work is never done
Can't sleep for holding on till then

Heaven in a black leather jacket
Hit me like a hurricane
Heaven in a black leather jacket
I don't even know your name
Heaven in a black leather jacket
Kiss me in the Hollywood rain

You've been running through the limbic system maze
Drowning it in a dull lysergic haze
Can't find much peace of mind
But after sunset you'll be fine

Heaven in a black leather jacket
Hit me like a hurricane
Heaven in a black leather jacket
I don't even know your name
Heaven in a black leather jacket
Kiss me in the Hollywood rain

Can't find much peace of mind
But after sunset you'll be fine

Heaven in a black leather jacket
Hit me like a hurricane
Heaven in a black leather jacket
I don't even know your name
Heaven in a black leather jacket
Kiss me in the Hollywood rain"

The 6ths (featuting Barbara Manning)

San Diego Zoo

This song is sung by Barbara Manning, a singer-songwriter from San Diego. It's from the first 6ths album "Wasps' Nests" released in 1995. You have to love a song that comes with driving directions....

"Met you on a traffic island
We were there all day
In the middle of the world's highway
Summer left its light green lipstick
On our faces
Took us to all the pretty places

Highway 405 will take you
From the Boom Boom Room
To Interstate 5 which goes right to
The San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
How could I have ever left you?

Left you in a sidewalk cafe
I'm the restless kind
And I must have been out of my mind
'Cause I haven't slept since Wednesday
I've been getting thin
I just want to see your silly grin

Highway 405 will take you
From the Boom Boom Room
To Interstate 5 which goes right to
The San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
How could I have ever left you?
How could I have ever left you?

Highway 405 will take you
From the Boom Boom Room
To Interstate 5 which goes right to
The San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo (San Diego Zoo)
San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo (San Diego Zoo)
How could I have ever left you?
How could I have ever left you?"

The 95's

Like California

The 95's are a pop band from Los Angeles. This song was released in 2022.

"Soft sounds
Faded jeans, rest your head, come lay down
Like the first time in L.A. by downtown
My heart was on borrow time
'Cause I knew you be mine

With you in California
Your perfect heart a perfect sight to see
With you in California
I never want to leave
Stay with me

Late nights
See the city lights in our car as we pass by
The old park we would sit and watch the stars fly
In my jacket as you would look and tell me
Your heart was with me

With you in California
Your perfect heart a perfect sight to see
With you in California
I never want to leave
Stay with me

With you in California
Stained Nike’s and a sunset with me

With you in California
Your perfect heart a perfect sight to see
With you in California
I never want to leave

Let's Take a drive night or day
With no end or place to stay
We’ll hide out from the pouring rain
Take my hand come lead the way
I'll love you through the high and lows
Take me to the Laguna Coast
There’s no place that I’d rather be"

10,000 Maniacs

City of Angels

10,000 Maniacs is an alternative rock band founded in New York in 1981, with most of their success between 1987 and 1993 when Natalie Merchant was the lead singer and main songwriter. This song is from their 1987 album "In My Tribe." The title of the song refers to the literal translation of the Spanish language name for the city of Los Angeles.

"Heaven, is this Heaven
Heaven, is this Heaven
Heaven, is Heaven where we are?
See them walking, if you dare oh, if you call that walking.
Stumble, stagger, fall and drag themselves along the streets of Heaven.

Where is the blessed table to feed all who hunger on Earth,
Welcomed and seated each one is joyfully served?
See them walking, if you dare oh, if you call that walking.
Stumble, stagger, fall and drag themselves along the streets of Heaven.

Where is the halo that should glow 'round your face,
And where are the wings that should grow from your shoulder blades?
Show them to me.
Sobering sights I've seen in the City of Angels
Have all been one rude awakening that was due to me in Heaven.

Sobering sights I've seen in the City of Angels
Have all been one rude awakening that was due to me in Heaven.

There would have been heavenly music I was convinced before.
A host of the dearly to meet me with Hosannas sung at the door,
But these sobering sights I've seen in the City of Angels
Have all been one rude awakening that was due to me
In this city of fallen angels."

Here We Go Again (I Love Lake Tahoe)

'A', sometimes written A (the band), is an alternative rock band from Suffolk, England, formed in 1993 during the Britrock movement. This snowboarding anthem is from their second album "A vs. Monkey Kong." This is the title of the song that was released in the US. In the UK it is titled simply "I Love Lake Tahoe". In the US the title is sometimes stylized with a heart symbol instead of the word "love". There is a really long pause in the middle of the song, then a light cymbal hit. The video pauses, hilariously, in that spot to wait for a dog to defecate on the shore of the lake, with the cymbal hitting when the poop drops. It seems like they probably recorded the music just to fit the video. So, do Brits really fly all the way to California's ski resorts? It takes about 17 hours to fly there from London.

"Four long years ago
Searching for the snow
We found the Tahoe lakes
Just about the perfect place

Fifty rooms at Heavenly
And the nights at Squaw Valley
Yeah, the trees are pretty wide-
That's where Sonny Bono died

All is quiet on New Year's day
Think I'll try'n impress my mates
So I jump into the lake
Yeah, I won't do that again!

Here we go again!
Here we go again!
Here we go again!

The South Shore has the lot
And last month Dave Lee Roth
He did a solo spot
And some German bloke got shot

Every year we say the same
'Try somewhere different for a change'
But we jump onto the plane, yeah
And here we go again!

Here we go again!
Here we go again!
Here we go again!...."

Chris Aable

California State Anthem

Chris Aable is a singer-songwriter and actor who, according to his IMDB biography, has lived in the "four corners" of the United States. This song was released in 2019, but don't be confused - it's not the official California state anthem.

Aable also made a dance version of the song - California State Dance Anthem with the same lyrics.

"California, California
A million things to see and do
A million places to go to
A million miles I've traveled through
Or the millions of smiles I see in you

California, California
To me you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
California, California

Where the clouds are brighter white
Where the skies are filled with brighter stars at night
Where the sun sets in golden hues
The prettiest views I ever knew
The prettiest place I've ever seen
Fall, winter, summer, and spring
Ever growing and evergreen
Bringing out the best in everything

California, California
To me you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
California, California

I give praise for California, California
I give praise for California, California"

ABIV (Antoine Bradford)

California Republic

Antoine Bradford, formerly known as ABIV, is a singer-songwriter from Southern California. This song is from his album "Without You" released in 2016. It's an alternative soul or R&B sound but without any bass and drums, just acoustic guitar.

"It's so wonderful how you came into my life
Like a shooting start, you brightened up my sky-y-y
Out of nowhere, you appeared in brilliant light
And I was blinded by your beauty

Now every single day, I see you passing by
And I feel free just like a bird up in the sky
But you don't notice me, I'm just some random guy
Hidden underneath this blue, California sky

The way you smile, I love it
And wear your hair, I love it
The look in your eyes, I love it
Everything about you, I love it
And it might seem strange for me to say this
But you're so amazing
And I don't think there's any flaws in you

And you got me daydreamin'
You got me daydreamin'
You got me daydreamin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah

You got me feelin' hungover by the fragrance that you bring
And when you move, I swear, the wind's beneath your feet
You got style and grace like I have never seen
How could someone like you even be reality?

And now I'm tryin' new things to get you to notice me
Like opening doors and giving compliments for free
But it's not working 'cause you still don't speak to me
Why is it so hard for you to turn your head and see?

The way you smile, I love it
And wear your hair, I love it
The look in your eyes, I love it
Everything about you, I love it
And it might seem strange for me to say this
But you're so amazing
And I don't think there's any flaws in you

And you got me daydreamin'
You got me daydreamin'
You got me daydreamin'
Yeah, yeah, yeah...."

Above The Law (featuring Kokane)

Kalifornia

Above the Law was a hip hop group from Pomona active from 1989-2021. This classic G-funk from their third album "Uncle Sam's Curse," released in 1994, name checks classic California songs and shows lots of love for all of Southern California - as long as you don't visit the Valley.

"[Cold 187um]
"Yeah. Wanna give a shout out to all my ni***s out there in the West Coast. On the West Coast, yeah. Yeah, uhh. Yo, I got to give a shout out to Pomona. Got to give it out to South Central, Watts, Compton, Long Beach. But for now, KM.G, won't you spit, spit, spit for 'em."

[KM.G]
Motherf***ers don't get mad, cause Cali's kind of fly
We be the gangsta town, the n***s that like to stay high
The land of big diamonds, y'all
Palm trees, lowriders and movie stars, hey
Where fools be mobbin' we the real original
Where jackin' is an art, punk n***s get their caps peeled
And the hoes ain't scared to show they body
They wear the fly s**t and freaks the set party
Give it up and the hoes wearin' baggy s**t
They're showin' the world why n***s out here pussywhipped
They got n***s goin' to pens, got n***s stealin' ends
For friends, for foes, for shows and mo' hoes
'Cause it costs a grip to live on the West Coast
Cause we be flossin', we leave the world a comatose
It's all about the paper here, so here, my dear
Roll me up a little chronic, 'cause L.A. got the bionic

[Hook]
Cause you got to have heart, to live in Cali, y'all
You got to have the fly s**t, to live in Cali, y'all
It'll cost you a grip, to live in Cali, y'all
See, the hoes be legit, when you live in Cali, y'all

[Kokane]
They say it never rains in Southern California
That's what they tell me
G's with the big bank, gold wire players
Livin' it up just to be a ho layer
All West Coast Cali funk, we got them runnin' in flocks
Now, Freddie's dead but his partner superchicken got shipped to the dope spot
Ugh, and like KM.G, they said them hoes be trippin'
'Cause b***es be settin' a n**a up, when you're all flossin'
Still tossin, yeah, I'm bound to break bread
Wake up in the mornin, found a mother****in' bullet in my head
But it's alright, if your game's hooked up tight
And in the summer time riders on corners
I wish you all could be California...
You save up all winter from slingin' dope to get a fly ride
But still funkin' on them switches for the b****es
This is how the West ball
They call me Mr. Flossy, dollar dollar bill y'all, ugh

[Hook]
Cause you got to have heart, to live in Cali, y'all
You got to have the fly s**t, to live in Cali, y'all
It'll cost you a grip, to live in Cali, y'all
See, the hoes be legit, when you live in Cali, y'all

[Cold 187um:]
"Yeah, and that's the West Coast anthem, Cali style, boy."
[KM.G]
"Straight up, straight up. Yo, yo, homeboy, they don't know, we be like flossin', man."
[Cold 187um:]
"Yo man, let me set it off for them, let me set it off for them, uh."

[Cold 187um]
It's the first of the month and I just came up
I'm headed to the shop to put some rims on my truck
Yeah, and you know I'm like cold on them hoes
'Cause I'm rollin' in a black-on-black 4-54
It's time for me to check my connect
So I could be on deck before them fiends get their county checks
I left about 11:15
I spotted this fly fly cutie in some Karl Kani jeans
And you know, I'm on them gold ones
So, here she come, here she come
Here she mother****in' kitty come
Ah s**t, it's Sabrina from Covina
I hope she don't remember that I tossed her cousin Tina
Uh, she probably don't care anyway
'Cause b****es up in Cali got game for days
She needed a ride to the mall, I said stall, I got s**t to do
I ain't got no time to be f***in' with you
Ugh, and plus, do I look like a cab?'
Turn the Alpine up, then I stab
It was hot like a motherf***er, headed to the store
Saw a couple little homies kickin' it at the front door
They said: 'Yo, hook us up, man'
Bought them a 40, for me I got a tall can
I said peace, don't be trippin', little comrades
But I should be worried 'bout my own ass

[KM.G]
Yeah, 'cause we're on hit to bring you the fly s**t
To make you feel pressure, cause Cali can test ya
Comrades still hangin', my n***s still bangin'
And there's a whole lot of n***s still movin' yaya

[Cold 187um]
Because it's highly compatible to come up
You got to have heart and you got to have a lot of luck
So if I hear you sayin' Cali' ain't s**t
Yo, you probably visited the Valley, little b***h"

Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point Third Grade Class

Mill Valley

This soft pop song was written by Rita Abrams and recorded by the class she was teaching in 1970. Somehow it got played on the radio and made it onto the Billboard charts, peaking at #5 on the Easy Listening chart, so then they recorded an entire album. Abrams quit teaching to pursue a successful career in writing music after that. Mill Valley is a small town 14 miles north of San Francisco in Marin County.

"I'm gonna talk about a place
That's got a hold on me,
Mill Valley
A little place where life
Feels very fine and free,
Mill Valley
Where people aren't afraid to smile
And stop and talk with you awhile,
And you can be as friendly
As you want to be.
Mill Valley!
Talkin' 'bout Mill Valley,
That's my home!
It looks as pretty in the rain
As in the sun,
Mill Valley
And there's a mountain
That belongs to ev'ry one,
Mill Valley
And there are creeks
That run on endlessly,
And trees as far as you can see
It makes you feel as if
Your life has just begun.
Mill Valley
Talkin' 'bout Mill Valley,
Talkin' 'bout Mill Valley, California,
That's my home!
I know that there may come a time
I'll have to leave Mill Valley,
And ev'ry memory
Will seem like make-believe Mill Valley
And all the good things
That are mine right now,
Will call to me and ask me how
I could have left them all behind
How could I leave Mill Valley,
Talkin' 'bout Mill Valley,
Talkin' 'bout Mill Valley, California,
That's my home!"

Ace of Base

Southern California

Ace of Base is a pop group from Sweden formed in 1990 that had several huge hits in the 1990s, including the best-selling album of 1994, "The Sign." This song is from the album "The Golden Ratio" released in 2010. It's a revision of the song "Sunset in Southern California" which you can see below, with much different lyrics and a similar chorus. When I hear this song I can't help but think of the Heaven's Gate religious cult that was based in San Diego in 1997 when 39 members committed mass suicide and hope it's not the cult the singer apparently joins in San Diego.

""On the road to nowhere, every day was just the same
So I took my belongings, and hitchhiked no more to blame
To California, in the warm Summer of love
All my life I've been searching
All my life I've been searching

I came to a crossroad, where a stranger gazed and spoke
He was looking kinda peculiar
In a purple-colored cloak
He wore a token, never seen before
He said: "All my life I've been searching"
All my life I've been searching

Sunset in Southern California
And the morning seems so far so far away
Sunset in Southern California
In the distance there's the light of San Diego

I came to his temple at noon the second day
It was a lot of mumbling, in the shadows did they pray
Feeling kind of dizzy, a gong struck and people chant
All my life I've been searching
All my life I've been searching

Sunset in Southern California
And the morning seems so far so far away
Sunset in Southern California
In the distance there's the light of San Diego

Then a kind of a leader, appeared in fume and smoke
All dressed in silver
An authoritarian bloke
He turned around and talked to me
With a demagogic voice
All my life I've been searching
All my life I've been searching

Sunset in Southern California
And the morning seems so far so far away
Sunset in Southern California
In the distance there's the light of San Diego
In the distance there's the light of San Diego
In the distance there's the light of San Diego
In the distance there's the light of San Diego""

Ace of Base

Sunset in Southern California

This is from the album "Hidden Gems" released in 2015, a compilation of unreleased songs and b-sides recorded between 1991 and 2005. It was revised with much different lyrics and made into the song "Sunset in Southern California" which you can see above, though it's mostly the chorus that's similar.

"All the couples on the beach are tellin' me
Oooh, take me home
I will stand here star-gazing so I might
See a glimpse of someone like you

Sunset in Southern California, a-aah
Where the light is low, it's reaching for the night
Sunset in Southern California
In the distance there's the light of San Diego

Where the morning seems so far, so far away
Oh Lord, take me home
And the sea so purple tells me about you
My love, as you are in a

Sunset in Southern California, a-aah
Where the light is low, it's reaching for the night
Sunset in Southern California
In the distance there's the light of San Diego

The roaring of the sea
Will tell you about me
I'm not so far away, I'm so much like you
My story is come to an end
I liked you as a friend
But now it's so much more
Oh how I love you

Sunset in Southern California, a-aah
Where the light is low, it's reaching for the night
Sunset in Southern California
In the distance there's the light of San Diego

Sunset in Southern California, a-aah
Where the light is low, it's reaching for the night
Sunset in Southern California
In the distance there's the light of San Diego
In the distance there's the light of San Diego
And the light is telling me how much I miss you"

The Acousticats

California Republic

The Acousticats were a bluegrass group active in the early 1990s who formed in Santa Barbara. This is from their 1992 debut album “Down at Evangelina’s.”

"Roll on California
The Republic is ridin' high
You're my final destination
I will be here when I die

From the streets of San Diego
On up the Mission Trail
Follow ancient footsteps
Where ...... avail

From Shasta to goldfields
Tahoe to Death Valley

Where the hills of California
Are always home to me"

Ryan Adams

Goodnight, Hollywood Blvd.

Ryan Adams is a rock/alt-country musical artist originally from North Carolina, active since 1990. This is a slow sad piano song with strings from his second album "Gold" released in 2001.

"It's happening baby
They're putting up the chairs
Taking the money
And all we can do is pray
Pray for tomorrow

So close your eyes
So close your mouth
And do this all in time to the music
That screams like a child in the back of your mind
In a clown's saloon

So goodnight Hollywood Blvd, goodnight,
See ya soon
Goodnight Hollywood Blvd, see you sometime
Yeah, right "

Ryan Adams

La Cienega Just Smiled

This is another song from Adam's 2002 album "Gold." La Cienega is a major boulevard in Los Angeles that is the apparent subject of this song though I don't know what is Adams' connection with it. If it's not about the street, then "la cienega" in Spanish means "the swamp" which could also be a description of L.A.

' "Oh the night...here it comes again"
It's on with the jeans, the jacket and the shirt
How'd I end up feeling so bad
For such a little girl
And I hold you close in the back of my mind
Feels so good but damn it makes me hurt
And I'm too scared to know to how I feel about you now
La Cienega just smiles..."see ya around"
And I hold you close in the back of my mind
And raise my glass 'cause either way I'm dead
Neither of you really help me to sleep anymore
One breaks my body and the other breaks my soul
La Cienega just smiles as it waves goodbye

"Oh the night...here it comes again"
It's off with the jeans, the jacket and the shirt
How'd I end up feeling so bad
For such a little girl
And I hold you close in the back of my mind
Feels so good but damn it makes me hurt
And I'm too scared to know how I feel about you now
How I feel about you now
La Cienega just smiles and says, "I'll see you around" '

Cannonball Adderly and Ernie Andrews

I'm Always Drunk in San Francisco (And I Don't Drink At All)

Cannonball Adderley was a jazz saxophonist from Indiana active from 1955-1975, best known for his work in the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s, including his recordings with Miles Davis. Ernie Andrews was a jazz, blues, and pop singer from Philadelphia, born in 1927.

This is the first recording of this song that was written by Tommy Wolf, a composer and piano player from Missouri, who was born in 1925 and active until 1975. It was first released on the album "Live Session! Cannonball Adderley With The New Exciting Voice Of Ernie Andrews!" in 1964, recorded live at The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, CA, October 4, 1964.

Carmen McRae released a version of the song in 1967 that is probably the most widely known version.
Nancy Wilson also released a version of the song in 1968.
San Quinn, Tuf Luv and B-Legit made a rap song in 2012 that uses a sample from the Nancy Wilson song for the hook.

"I'm always drunk in San Francisco
I always stay out of my mind
But if you’ve been to San Francisco
They say that things like this go on all the time

It never happens nowhere else
It must be in the air
Can't really seem to help myself
And what’s more, I don't care

I'm always drunk in San Francisco
I'm never feeling any pain
But tell me why does San Francisco
Just like a lover's kiss go straight to my brain

I guess it's just, it's just the mood I'm in
That acts like alcohol
Because I'm drunk in San Francisco
And I don’t drink at all"

Admiral Radley

I Heart California

A 2010 song from a California Indie rock band made up of members of two influential California Indie rock bands, Earlimart, from LA, and Grandaddy, from Modesto. Long walks on the 5? What, did his car break down?

"I am California... yeah?
Ice tea in my hair
Drugs fall out of diaper bags
As midwesterners stare
I am California
Long walks on the 5
Truck stops and the symphony
And I'll be here when I die

I heart California... I love California
I heart California
I heart California... I love California
I heart California"

Adele

Hello

Adele (Adkins) is a singer-songwriter from England, and one of the worlds' best-selling music artists. She does a little bit of California Dreaming In this song that went to #1 in most of the world and won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, from her album "25" released in 2015.

"Hello, it's me
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet
To go over everything
They say that time's supposed to heal ya
But I ain't done much healing

Hello, can you hear me?
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet

There's such a difference between us
And a million miles

Hello from the other side
I must've called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry
For everything that I've done
But when I call you never
Seem to be home

Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry
For breaking your heart
But it don't matter, it clearly
Doesn't tear you apart anymore...."

The Adolescents

L.A. Girl

The Adolescents are a punk band from Fullerton (in the O.C.) formed in 1980. This song is from their first studio album "Adolescents" released in 1981. The song was also featured in the 1995 movie "Empire Records."

"We don't care, you say we're too young
Waste our time tanning in the sun
We don't care what you know or think
Spoiled rich brat you ain't so neat

L.A. girl, L.A. world
Don't tell us how to act, don't tell us what to wear
L.A. girl, L.A. world
You didn't create our scene

We don't care
We can't see why
We don't live our lives
To keep you satisfied

Stuck in your world of dreams again
My life starts where your life ends
You've burned out your battery has died
If it wasn't for O.C. your scene wouldn't be alive

L.A. girl, L.A. world
Don't tell us how to act, don't tell us what to wear
L.A. girl, L.A. world
You didn't create our scene...."

The After Party

The After Party is a group from Kansas City. This is a pop song that was released in 2011.

"Its too late for me,
I'm tired and I'll catch up on sleep,
Sometimes next week,
My friend.

If there's love I'm going to chase it,
Even if it takes me 50 states I'll,
Never let a love like this
Go again.

Oh California,
I've been MIA, but I'm on my way
Back home

Sweet sweet Virginia,
If it starts to rain, I'll still be on my way,
My way

You want me to be,
Strong without you,
But sometimes you seem,
So far.

I believe in love and chase it,
Even if it takes some time lets face it,
I'll never let a love like this,
Go again.

Oh California,
I've been MIA, but I'm on my way
Back home

Sweet sweet Virginia,
If it starts to rain, I'll still be on my way,
My way
I'll still be on my way

All the things that we've been though,
The distance between me and you,
Can't keep me from loving you

When times get hard know in the end,
That you'll still be my everything,
I'm so in love with you

Oh California,
I've been MIA, but I'm on my way
Back home.... "

Afroman

Palmdale

Afroman is the stage name of Joseph Foreman, a rapper from L.A. This song is from his second studio album "Sell Your Dope" released in 2000.

"Just like bums, we used to stay in the slums of L.A. by the way
Gang-bangers killin' each other for rep, sellin' rock cocaine on my doorstep
Had a ball to bounce plus a bike to ride, but my mama never would let me play outside.
But when I got enrolled in elementary school, started bangin' like a f**kin' fool.
So cool, throwin' up gang signs to the gangster beat,
shot an enemy from across the street
Mama came home, said she got a good job.
Daddy did too. Now they don't squab.
Financially, we improvin'.
2 months later, son, we movin'.
No more duckin' from shotgun shells.
Bought a two-story house in East Palmdale.
(give it to me now.)

Palmdale, come back to me.
I need you and I love you, baby.
Palmdale, come back to me.
(Check it out, check it out, check it out.)

No more rats and no more roaches, livin' next door to football coaches.
Now I got a new place to sell me crack. Now I got little white kids to jack.
I stopped wearin' blue, wasn't trippin' on red. Too busy squabbin' with the skinheads.
Stupid questions, distract the class. Rubbin' little white girls on the a**.
I didn't really care if I passed or failed, I knew I was headed for the NFL,
Until the playoff game, shoulder got hurt. I thought about my future, layin' in the dirt.
I can't jump, I can't flinch. Superstar player, ridin' the bench.
Graduate from school? Don't make me laugh. I got an F+ in basic math.
(give it to me now.)

Palmdale, (Hell, yeah.) come back to me.
I gotta do one song for my neighborhood. Bucccoooc!
Palmdale, come back to me.
(check it out.)

I knew I couldn't make it in the white man's world, so I bought me some khakis and a jheri curl.
I knew I couldn't make it to the NFL, so I went to East Palmdale and started slingin' yayo.
For sure! I was makin' crazy dough. Should've dropped outta school a long time ago.
Bought a cell phone, like a nut. Now I deliver like Pizza Hut.
I drunk whisky and Bacardi. I sold dope to anybody.
Me and my homies sold dubs and dimes, took turns bustin' rhymes just to pass the time.
A white man drove up to my spot. He said, Hey, homeboy, what you got?
I put a fat rock inside his hand. About 25 sheriffs jumped out the van.
(Get down, punk.)

Palmdale, (Hell, yeah) come back to me.
I need you and I love you, baby.
Palmdale, come back to me.
(check it out, check it out, check it out.)

Can't get drunk. Can't get blunted. L.A. County, 95 hundred.
Crips wanna take my All-stars. Bloods wanna eat my Snicker bars.
Them peckerwoods don't want none, but the Mexican's straight own one.
Them Ese's, Catorces, Treces, always tryin' to test me
So I jumped off the bed, cause I ain't no punk. Jammed his head up against the bunk.
Socked that Cholo in his chin. Black motherf***ers scared to jump in.
Sheriff broke it up when we hit the floor. I kept talkin' s**t cause I want some more.
Back in town, we get along with the brown. Now I'm in jail, they tryin' to beat me down.
Jail is Hell, but I'll adapt. Won't hesitate to get in a scrap.
'Cause I'm down for mine, and that's for certain, sittin' in the hole with my knuckles hurtin'.
(Palmdale)

Palmdale, (Hell, yeah.) come back to me.
I need you and I love you, baby.
Palmdale, come back to me.
(check it out, homeboy.)

Now I got a f**ked up life. Two bad kids and a naggin' wife.
Dead end job at the airport. Check too short to pay the house note.
Turn on the TV, then I see different homeboys that went to school with me
Playin' in the NFL. We used to kick back in East Palmdale.
Rodney Williams. Lorenz Tate. Zeno plays for Colorado State.
I wish my homeboys much success, but at the same time, I still get depressed.
Walkin' through the wind with a cup full of gin thinkin' 'bout things that could've, would've, should've been.
I wipe my tears, sip my beers, wish good luck to my peers.
(Palmdale.)

Palmdale, come back to me.
I need you and I love you, baby.
Palmdale, come back to me.
Cause that's where my heartache began, heartache began....."

The Airborne Toxic Event

The Airborne Toxic Event is a rock band from Los Angeles formed in 2006. This song is from the album "Dope Machines" released in 2015.

"Someday they’re going to write about us, living here in the shadow of this gathering dust,
As the waves build up and drown the light, while we’re hanging from buildings on a Saturday night.

And the words she said… I could barely hear over the blare of the speakers and the smell of beer,
As she got up to speak, she lifted her dress. I remember her face but I forget the rest.

Here in California, I was
Just a name and a number, a face on a tumblr.
Here in California, we’re all stuck in the same scene,
All nightmares and daydreams
In California.

She said, “I got money, but I got no friends,” as we drove through the valley in her daddy’s Benz.
She said, “These pills wear off, but the pain don’t end. I never thought it would matter so much to pretend.”

And the thing about her that haunts me still: as her hands fell down to the steering wheel,
And a shock of light fell across her face, she said there’s only two ways out of this place.

Here in California, I was
Just a name and a number, a face on a tumblr.
Here in California, we’re all stuck in the same scene,
All nightmares and daydreams
In California.

And oh, I hope it’s clear: there’s no room for us anymore in the atmosphere,
But darling I always liked the desperation in your eyes,
The way you’d dance in the glow of the Hollywood Freeway lights.

Someday they’re gonna forget about us and we’ll wonder if we were ever good enough.
It hit me last night, in this song I heard, I remember the feeling but forget all the words.

Here in California, I was
Just a name and a number, a face on a tumblr.
Here in California, we’re all stuck in the same scene,
All nightmares and daydreams
In California."

The Airborne Toxic Event

Hollywood Park

This song is from the band's album "Hollywood Park" released in 2020. The singer must have really liked going to the track to sing so passionately about it, or maybe he was just a gambling addict.

Hollywood Park was a horse racetrack in Inglewood, California that was demolished beginning in 2014 to make room for a planned neighborhood also named Hollywood Park that includes an NFL football stadium, a concert hall, a casino, office buildings, housing and more, all of which made me realize that a racetrack takes up a lot of real estate.

"A73-581 was the number, they burned it in my brain
I could feel it in my veins
We could run, we could run, we could run
We were running away

And the fourteen dollars I made on the bus ride from Chino
I laid it on the third
He was due and I was due
For a change, for a change, I'm tired of living a lie

And they were writing their names up in the sky
And we would watch them as they brought the horses by
And I felt like I was ready to die
When the bell went off and the races would start at Hollywood Park

For fifteen years I had lived in a room with my heart on my sleeve
And my throat dry from heaving the words
You can change, you can change
If you're ready to try

And we would laugh as the horses thundered by
And I would tip my brand new hat up to the sky
And nothing could come between you and I
As the horses ran wild through the dark at Hollywood Park

And when they tore it down, there was a wrecking sound
And it rattled through my bones
And then a cry went out through the streets that night
'Cause we knew we'd lost our home

And there's only the wreckage and this dirt still on my hands
And the roar of the ghosts as they stood up in the stands

Where do we go?
Who are all of these voices I've never heard?
And what becomes of us now?
Buried in concrete and broken earth

As I stare out from the highway at these miles and miles of graves
Under convenience stores and corner malls, all the countless roads they paved

Yeah I wonder if it's lucky, or if you just forget the cost
Or the price of the admission for all endless bets you lost

In fifty years I will dream of this moment from a bed
Tired from lifting, my legs tired from drifting around
Through the dust, through the dust
In all the time that I would spend

But I never claimed I knew how this would end
Or the order of the horses at the bend
All I knew is I would be back again
And we'd stand here as the world fell apart
At Hollywood Park"

Air Waves

Air Waves is an indie rock band based in Brooklyn that is the project of Nico Schneit. This song is from the album "Warrior" released in 2018. I have to wonder what she means by "Listening to Graceland 2." Paul Simon did not release a follow-up to his award-winning album Graceland. Phoebe Bridgers released a song called "Graceland Too" but that was in 2020, two years after this song was released.

"Laying around Morro Bay
Waiting for the sun to save me

You can find us in our room
Listening to Graceland 2
You can find us in our room
Listening to our favorite tune

I'm not gonna say you were the best one
'Cause I've still got all my senses
I found you hanging on the hill
By the sculpture that we drew

You can find us in our room
Listening to Graceland 2
You can find us in our room
Listening to our favorite tune

Is there anything I can do
On the mansion on the hill
Is there anything I can do
To make the memories more true

You can find us in our room
Listening to Graceland 2
You can find us in our room
Huddled in a cocoon

Is there anything I can do
To prove it to you
Is there anything I can do...."

The Aislers Set

The Aislers Set is an indie pop band formed in San Francisco in 1997. This is from their debut album "Terrible Things Happen," released in 1998.

"I've had a bit too much tonight
But I think I'll ride my bike alright
I rode to where the lights collide
And I fell asleep where peaks divide
I dream I'm happy. And I think I'm happy
I read it in a magazine. They said it's all for free
Stop your daydreaming about such silly little things
Is California mine?
I guess I get around alright
And I have a bit of fun at night and I think I'm happy
And I dream I'm happy. I read it a magazine
They said it's all for free. Stop your daydreaming
Is California mine?"

AJR

Way Less Sad

AJR is an indie pop trio of brothers from New York City, named after the first initials of their names. This song is from their fourth studio album "OK Orchestra" released in 2021. I like it because it acknowledges that constant sunshine can be depressing, too. That's why I moved north.

"I should move
Cause New York is getting muddy out
There's L.A.
But it's always kinda sunny out
And I don't wanna hurt no more
So I set my bar real low

I'm A-okay
I'm A-okay
You say it but you just don't mean it
You're so insane
You're so insane
Shut up and just enjoy this feeling

Don't you love it
Don't you love it
No I ain't happy yet
But I'm way less sad

Don't you love it
Don't you love it
No I ain't happy yet
But I'm way less sad

I wake up
And I'm not so mad at twitter now
Living sucks
But it's sucking just a little now
And I don't wanna cry no more
So I set my bar real low

I'm A-okay
I'm A-okay
You say it but you just don't mean it
You're so insane
You're so insane
Shut up and just enjoy this feeling...."

Akwid & Sporty Loco

The Heart of California (for Lowell George)

Akwid is a Mexican-American hip-hop group that combines rap with regional Mexican music, formed in Los Angeles in 1994. Sporty Loco is a rapper from Los Angeles. This song is from their album "Clasificado R" released in 2010. I don't recall hearing a tuba and horns in other rap songs but they sound great in this one.

"California bienvenidos a California
California bienvenidos a California

Bienvenidos al estado donde vivo
Tierra de mi gente
Casa pa' los mas pesados es evidente
La capital de jugadores
Y las hainas mas buenas
Con que nunca te enamores
Aqui es puro pi**he party
De los clubs a las calles
You can ask anybody
Y al equipo no le falles
Aqui todos los compas le van a Lakers
Y los Dodgers para algo
Todos luchan pregúntenle a los homies
Que desde el bote me escuchan
Y te hablo con la verdad
Sabes todos tus sueños si le hechas ganas
Se hacen realidad
Saludos a los que los que pasen
Ya saben que las fachas
Y las bodas aqui nacen
California todo el día
Akwid representando desde
San Diego a la bahía

California bienvenidos a California
California bienvenidos a California

Bienvenidos a California
Tierra del mojado hechicero
Natal de México que no conoce el miedo
Los crimenes me tienen preso en mi castillo
La vida de glamor y lujo viene conmigo
Tengo la reputación de mil amores
Mujeres varios sabores varios dolores
Tuve la desilucion y caí en la pinta
Golpes de la vida, golpes sin medida
En este mundo creo que todo se vale
Las calles de Los Angeles me hicieron buen jale
Hago mis chi**aderas y ahora nunca me rajo
Como un gallito fino nunca se queda abajo
Este es tu homenaje con todo respeto
Mujeres cerveza y mota son tu reflejo
Continuamos con este crimen con el proximo
Asalto en el coro pa' que se animen

California bienvenidos a California
California bienvenidos a California

Por el trafico humo verde
Nadie puede verme
Directamente desde la ciudad que nunca duerme
Meten el dinero y el dinero en mi mente
Balazos explotan en paredes, y nunca la gente
Declaran toque de queda en L.A.
Porque si gana el equipo madreamos la ciudad
Hablando un realidad
Vida mas loca que los tres puntos que quieres
Carros tunning, buena música, palmas y mujeres
Pues todo ruido pero cada quien tiene su sueño
Le sigo dando como un carro que no tiene frenos
Carros robados, un helicoptero
En California es donde todos quieren ser
famosos
Que chi** dos esperas disparan pa' la luna y aunque no llega como se te quedas en las
estrellas
Desde California y Mexico Akwid, Sporty loco no es nada, más que puros exitos

California bienvenidos a California
California bienvenidos a California"

"California welcome to California
California welcome to California

Welcome to the state where I live
Land of my people
House for the heaviest is evident
The capital of players
And the best hainas
With that you never fall in love
Here is pure pi ** he party
From the clubs to the streets
You can ask anybody
And don't let the team down
Here all the compas go to Lakers
And the Dodgers for something
Everybody fights ask the homies
That from the boat they listen to me
And I speak to you with the truth
You know all your dreams if you feel like it
They come true
Greetings to those who pass by
They already know that the faces
And weddings are born here
California all day
Akwid representing from
San Diego to The Bay

California welcome to California
California welcome to California

Welcome to California
Land of the Wet Sorcerer
Natal from Mexico that knows no fear
Crimes have me prisoner in my castle
The life of glamor and luxury comes with me
I have the reputation of a thousand loves
Women various flavors various pains
I was disappointed and fell into the pint
Blows of life, blows without measure
In this world I believe that anything goes
The streets of Los Angeles gave me a good ride
I do my s**t and now I never quit
Like a fine cockerel never stays down
This is your tribute with all due respect
Beer and weed women are your reflection
We continue with this crime with the next one
Assault in the choir to cheer them up

California welcome to California
California welcome to California

By traffic green smoke
No one can see me
Straight from the city that never sleeps
They put money and money in my mind
Bullets explode in walls, and never the people
They declare a curfew in L.A.
Because if the team wins, we'll kill the city
Speaking a reality
Life crazier than the three points you want
Tuning cars, good music, palmas and women
Well, all noise but everyone has their dream
I keep giving it like a car that has no brakes
Stolen cars, a helicopter
In California is where everyone wants to be famous
What the hell two waits shoot for the moon and although it does not arrive how do you stay in the
stars
From California and Mexico Akwid, Sporty loco is nothing, more than pure successes

California welcome to California
California welcome to California"

Sophia Alexa

Going to California

Sophia Alexa is a singer-songwriter who was born in California, raised in Amsterdam, and then based in London. This song is from her album "Before I Go" released in 2022. She wrote this on the YouTube page for this song: "I wrote ‘Going To California’ when I was feeling a bit trapped in London, so I started to romanticize escaping to a different place. I was originally born in California and I’ve always wondered what my life would look like if I grew up there. I’ve kept it as a place in my mind I could escape to, which is what I wanted to say in this song."

"Sometimes I wonder if I grew up in the sunshine state
Would I be happier or would I feel the same
And I like to fantasize driving past the hills at night
In the open air where the coastline knows my name

And I made my bed so I know I should stay here
I don't recognize who I've become here

Oh, I'm going to California to fix myself
Looking at the past and the way it felt
I hope someday I find out what I want
Oh, I'm going to California if that's alright
Sorry for the mess that I left behind
I hope someday I find out what I want

Oh, I blame the city but it wasn't mine to blame
I'd go a million miles, but I'd still be the same

And I made my bed so I know I should stay here
I don't recognize who I've become here

Oh, I'm going to California to fix myself
Looking at the past and the way it felt
I hope someday I find out what I want
Oh, I'm going to California if that's alright
Sorry for the mess that I left behind
I hope someday I find out what I want

Oh, I'm going to California to fix myself
Looking at the past and the way it felt
I hope someday I find out what I want"

Alice in Chains

Check My Brain

Alice in Chains is a rock band from Seattle, Washington, active on and off since 1987. This hypnotic grungy song (with guitars tuned all the way down to Z) is from their fourth studio album "Black Gives Way to Blue" released in 2009. I never check my brain anymore since they started charging extra for it. It's cheaper to carry it on and store it in an overhead compartment.

"So I found myself in the sun, oh yeah
A hell of a place to end a run, oh yeah

California, I'm fine
Somebody check my brain
California's all right
Somebody check my brain
Check my brain

I walk these streets, I creep and I fall, oh yeah
When she sang I answered the call, oh yeah

California, I'm fine
Somebody check my brain
California's all right
Somebody check my brain

Aaaaah tears that filled my bones
Aaaaah years expended gone

I hung my guns and put em away, oh yeah
The trick of the trade, and by the way, oh yeah

California, I'm fine
Somebody check my brain
California's all right
Somebody check my brain

Aaaah tears that filled my bones
Aaaah years expended gone
Check my brain, check my brain
Check my brain"

Gary Allan

She's So California

Gary Allan is a country music artist from La Mirada, California, active since 1996. This is from his album "Living Hard" released in 2007.

"She's a warm summer breeze with bleach blonde hair
Like a fine red wine she can take you there
She's a walk in the sand at sunset
She's the top pulled down on the 405
She'll take you higher than Humboldt sky
She's an earthquake
And you're the fault line
So, when you feel the ground start movin' around
Hold on tight you're in for a ride

'Cause she's so California
She's a wild fire out of control headed for ya
So, when you get burned, don't say I didn't warn ya
'Cause she's so California."

Lilly Allen

Trigger Bang

Lily Allen is a singer, songwriter, author and actress from the UK. Giggs is a London rapper. This is an apparently autobiographical pop song from her 2018 album "No Shame." I like Allen's music and her attitude and the fact that she doesn't try to sing with an American accent as most Brits do, so I'm happy to have a song of hers to put on this list, even if it only briefly mentions L.A. and the Chateau-Marmont (Hollywood's version of the Chelsea Hotel.)

"... When I was young I was blameless
Playing with rude boys and trainers
I had a foot in the rave 'cause I was attracted to danger
I never got home for Neighbours, hey
When I grew up, nothing changed much
Anything went, I was famous
I would wake up next to strangers
Everyone knows what cocaine does
Numbing the pain when the shame comes, hey

And it fuels my addictions
Hanging out in this whirlwind
If you cool my ambitions
I'm gonna cut you out

That's why I can't hang with the cool gang
Everyone's a trigger bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
Goodbye bad bones, I've got bigger plans
Don't wanna put myself in your hands
That's why I can't hang with the cool gang
Everyone's a trigger bang, bang, bang, bang, bang
Goodbye bad bones, I've got bigger plans
Don't wanna put myself in your hands

Back in the day like at Yo-Yo
Then in L.A. at the Chateau
Someone would say did you bang, no
I shake my head, I say no-no
Maybe we did, I don't think so, hey
I need to move on and grow some
Been in the Firehouse for too long
LDN's burning, so tan one
I'm gonna love you and leave some
I'm gonna go out while I'm still strong, hey

And it fuels my addictions
Hanging out in this whirlwind
If you cool my ambitions
I'm gonna cut you out..."

Terry Allen and the Panhandle Mystery Band

Terry Allen is a country singer-songwriter-artist from Lubbock, Texas, active since the early 1970s. (Lowell George was a singer-songwriter-producer from Hollywood, active 1965-1979 and best known as the singer and founder of the band Little Feat that made the great truck driving song "Willin'.") This truck driving song is from the album "Smokin the Dummy" released in 1980. "Diamond Reo" was a brand of truck.

"Runnin' hard an runnin' mean
Down the San Joaquin
Diamond Reo with the crazy rollin' wheels
There's a moon shinin' bright
Like a big eye in the night
Yeah throw'd her light down on that road to
Bakersfield

Yeah the heart of California's
Haulin' hard times again
And the highway she does not make amends
That diesel's got to howl
But the devil's on the prowl
An that white line gone
It won't come along again

Runnin' wired an runnin' fast
Runnin' out of gas
Diamond Reo knows what empty means
An Jesus Christ on the dash
Won't keep it from the crash
If every curve is just your nerves closin' in

Yeah the heart of California's
Haulin' hard times again
And the highway she does not make amends
Your name's out on the door
An your foots down on the floor
But that white line down
It won't come around again

Yeah the Reo's comin' down
Outside of town
Strung out ‘tween the asphalt and the wheel
And L.A. she waits
Like a poisonous snake
Coiled up with her diamonds in the hills

Yeah the heart of California's
Haulin' hard times again
And the highway she does not make amends
That road you're runnin' on's
Hell bent for Babylon
An that white line down
It won't come around again
An that white line down
Will not be found again"

Terry Allen

There Oughta Be a Law Against Sunny Southern California

This is from Allen's first album "Juarez" released in 1975.

"[Chorus:]
Well I'm goin' back
Goin' home again
Yeah I'm goin' back
To my own again
Yeah I'm goin' back
Yeah to my home town
The one that put me out
The one that put me down

Well I wired up a car in East Fontana
I was headed for San Berdoo
Ahhh my midnight oil
It was on the boil
An' boy I was a barrelin' through
Then I took a turn
But I hit the curb
An' spun off the center lane
When I heard the crash
Well I stomped on the gas
An' I was barrelin' on again

I leave a few people dead
But I got open road ahead
I leave a few people dead
But I got open road ahead

An' I remember the cop
With his slicked-back hair
When he told me
To get out a here
An' I remember the judge
With his gold plated mouth
He said "go live in the north
You gonna die down South'
You gonna die down south

[Chorus]

I went flyin' through south San Berdoo
With my mind on East L.A.
Where my pachuco queen
She's cookin' re-fried beans
An she's waitin' for me today
Yeah stopped on off at the liquor store
Made every body lay down on the floor
Took all their whiskey
Took their bread
Then shot out their lights
Just before I fled

I leave a few people dead
But I got open road ahead
I leave a few people dead,
But I got open road ahead

An I remember the b**ch
Whose black tongue lied
When she told me
She's dissatisfied
An I remember her daddy
Big as a truck
He said "f**k with me boy
if you want to f**k
Yeah, f**k with me boy
if you want to f**k

[Chorus]

Yeah so there oughta be a law
Against sunny southern California
Oh there oughta be a law
Against puttin' the devil behind the wheel
Yeah 'cause as long as you people gonna sanction such an evil
Well I'm gonna turn your asphalt back into brimstone
Yeah you god damn bet I will"

The Albionauts

American Dream

The Albionauts is a rock band with musicians from Spain and Italy, formed in Spain in 2008. This song is from the album "a (few) thousand miles" released in 2016. It starts off with the melody from Procol Harum's song "Whiter Shade of Pale."

"A bad taste from behind
Creeps in, my lips are dry
I just can’t feel the breeze of a powerful dream
I am down to the floor, but I feel on a shore
Please put this dress on you
And the mind will become blue

High in California’s Sky
Tequila gets so high
But it’s pure imagination
For a while I’m in vacation
The policemen check the streets
The dentist is just cleaning teeth
Well the whores show me their t*ts
And in my hand there only a dream

The American dream
(In American dream)
The American dream
(In American dream)
American dream

Donald Trump, I can’t believe
He should never ever take that lead
It’s simple, it’s easy to understand
He wants to remove my life from this land
The oil, the drugs, and the immigration reform
The wall in Texas, how much is it worth?
Life’s about more than American dreams
Maybe that’s why, I still can be free
I will find a way go back to Mexico
Where I left my family, my ranch, and friends many years ago
Is the policeman right to yell at me?
Says I must respect the authority
You’re illegal, follow me sir
In my hand there's only a dream

In the American Dream
(In the American Dream)
In the American Dream
(In the American Dream)
In the American Dream"

Alesso

Cool

Alesso is a Swedish DJ, producer, and musician. This song is from his 2015 album “Forever.” It’s a hit upbeat dance track that heavily samples the piano intro from one of the better Kylie Minogue songs “Get Outta My Way.” It throws a little shade on Hollywood in the beginning, where the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are visible, but those in the sky are not. (Either because of the smog or the broken dreams. Your choice.)

“I saw stars on the pavement
California dreams
Looked up through the bright lights
No stars that I see

You said, "It’s all yours if you take it there."
I said, "I can’t do it alone, I swear."
You said, "It’s all yours,
It’s all yours when you smile."

It’s only you
Who loves me like you do
Trying to keep it cool
But I can’t keep cool about it
Acting like a fool
Wanna scream it from the roof
I’m trying to keep it cool
But I can’t keep cool about it (about it)

Before you, love, I was lost
Drifting at sea
You were the beacon I’d followed home
You were the one who rescued me….”

Dave Alvin

Artesia

Dave Alvin is a singer-songwriter from Downey, California, active since 1977, and a former founder of the great roots-rock band The Blasters. This is a cover of Chris Gaffney's song, from Alvin's album "A Tribute to Chris Gaffney" released in 2009.

[Spoken Introduction]

"When Chris Gaffney and I were kids, the part of California we grew up in was changing fast. The old orange groves and avocado groves and dairy farms were being torn down and paved over with new tract homes and shopping malls and warehouses, factories and freeways. But still on some mornings you could smell the sweet perfume of orange blossoms in the air. But on hot summer afternoons when the Santa Ana winds would scorch the little cow towns of Bellflower, Cerritos, and Artesia, and that blast-furnace wind would blow across all those old dairy farms until it seemed like the whole world smelled like cow s**t. And one night, many years later, Gaffney called me up and said, 'Hey Alvin, remember that old cow smell? Well I just wrote a song about it.' "

[Song]

"Now he looked at his car
It cost one-twenty-five
He had dreams of a new showroom floor
He got Pete and Rosy, Santos and Richie
Headed straight for the old home turf war
And was the best of all times
In a hot dairy valley
Cruising faster in Georgie's new ride
And with Dee Dee singin'
'Expressway To Your Heart'
Staying home would be just like suicide

Speeding down Carson or north to Alondra
Staying young might be staying alive
Because now when the wind blows from out of Artesia
I can't smell 1965

Hey my old man's in there
And we all knew he was crazy
As we flew by the state hospital gates
He stopped taking names
And he got lost in the bum's rush
And his love turned from violence to hate

He must have seen something
Something you don't see
I guess it comes with the passage of time
Because now when the wind blows from out of Artesia
I can't smell 1965

Speeding down Carson or north to Alondra
Staying young might be staying alive
Because now when the wind blows from out of Artesia
I can't smell 1965
Speeding down Carson or north to Alondra
Staying young might be staying alive
Yeah, now when the wind blows from out of Artesia
I can't smell 1965"

Dave Alvin

California Bloodlines

This is a great cover of the John Stewart song from "West of the West" released in 2006.

Dave Alvin

California Snow

Dave Alvin is a singer-songwriter from Downey, California, active since 1977, and a former founder of the great roots-rock band The Blasters. He also sings beautiful folksy acoustic-guitar-based songs like this one, from his album "Blackjack David" released in 1998. He co-wrote the song with Tom Russell, who released his own version of the song in 2001.

"I’m just tryin’ to make a livin’
I’m an old man at thirty-nine
With two kids and an ex-wife
Who moved up to Riverside
I’m workin’ down on the border
Drivin’ back roads every night
Mountains east of El Cajon
North of the Tecate line

Where the California summer sun
Will burn right through your soul
But in the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow

I catch the ones I’m able to
And watch the others slip away
I know some by their faces
And I even know some by name
I guess they think that we’re all
Movie stars and millionaires
I guess that they still believe
That dreams come true up here

But I guess the weather’s warmer down in Mexico
And no one ever tells them ‘bout the California snow

Last winter I found a man and wife
Just about daybreak
Layin’ in a frozen ditch
South of the interstate
I wrapped ‘em both in blankets
But she’d already died
The next day we sent him back alone
Across the borderline

I don’t know where they came from
Or where they planned to go
But we carried her all night long
Through the California snow

Sometimes when I’m alone out here
I get to thinkin’ about my life
Maybe I should go to Riverside
And try to fix things with my wife
Or maybe just get in my truck
And drive as far as I can go
Away from all the ghosts that haunt
The California snow

Where the California summer sun
Can burn right to your soul
And in the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow
In the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow"

Dave Alvin

Here In California

A nice cover version of the Kate Wolf song.

Dave Alvin

King of California

A poor 19th century guy from east of the Ohio river promises his love that he will return and marry her after he makes his fortune in the California gold rush. That didn't work out too well for him, but it probably woudn't have been a great song if it had. This rootsy acoustic song from the 1994 album "King of California" beautifully conjures up the the gold rush era. It's one of my favorite California songs.

"Well I left my home and my one true love
East of the Ohio River
Her father said we'd never wed
For I had neither gold nor silver

But my darlin' dear please shed no tears
Oh I think that it's fair to warn ya
That I'll return to claim your hand
As the King of California

Over deserts hot and mountains cold
I traveled the Indian country
Whispering your name under lonesome skies
Remembering my only company

But my darlin' dear please have no fears
For I think it's fair to warn ya
That I'll return to claim your hand
As the King of California

I went up from Sacramento town
To the Sierra gold fields
And I worked my stake on a river bank
Dreamin' just how a rich man feels

Now my darlin' dear listen here
For I think that it's fair to warn ya
That I'll return to claim your hand
As the King of California

Now the dead man's lying at my feet
Tried to steal my earnings
And I still recall your tender kiss
Oh this bullet in my chest is burning

Oh my darlin' dear please shed no tear
'Cuz I think it's fair to warn ya
That I'll return to claim your hand
As the King of California
That I'll return to claim your hand
As the King of California"

Dave Alvin

Out in California

This is from Dave Alvin's Interstate City album released in 1996. It's a song he wrote with Tom Russell who released a version of it in 1995. It worries me to think what he's going to do with that shotgun after he drives back to California.

"I'm sitting here drinking in the last bar on earth
I'm sitting here drinking in the last bar on earth
Out in California she's taking off her tight red skirt

The mountains out the window - they're a woman lying on her bed
The mountains round here look like a woman lying naked on a bed
She's out in California, but I can't get her out of my head

Out in California

They killed off the Indians, they shot all the grizzly bears
Out in California, they shot all the grizzly bears
She's standing by the window letting down her long black hair

When a man gets to moving, he'll run right into himself
When a man keeps on running he's gonna run right into himself
Out in California she's lying down with somebody else

Out in California
Out in California

I'm gonna buy me a Chevy, as soon as my luck turns around
Probably buy me a shotgun, soon as my luck turns around
Maybe I'll drive on back to that California town

I'm sitting here drinking in the last bar on earth
Sitting here drinking in the last bar on earth
She's out in California takin' off her tight red skirt

Out in California
Out in California
Out in California"

Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men

Highway 99

This Dave Alvin-penned song is from the live album "Out in California" released in 2002.

"Well I woke up this morning in a one room apartment
On the east side of Nashville, Tennessee
Staring out the window on a cold grey morning
Wondering what had happened to me

I was feeling like an old fool
Remembering a girl who
I knew in another life time
I left her waiting for me back home in California
In a small town on Highway 99

But I played every bar from Bakersfield to Modesto
Picking just enough to get us by
Along that San Joaquin highway
I heard every drunk say
Boy go give Nashville a try

Well here this is three years or more here
Just getting nowhere
More and more I ask myself why
I left her waiting for me back home in California
In a small town on Highway 99

And all the rain is falling on the trees and the houses
On the east side of Nashville, Tennessee
But in my mind the sun is shining down on oil fields and orchards
... as far as eyes can see

She lays there beside me holding me tightly
Her kisses sweet as grapes from the vine
I left her waiting for me back home in California
In a small town on Highway 99

And all the rain is falling on the trees and the houses
On the east side of Nashville, Tennessee
But in my mind the sun is shining down on oil fields and orchards
... as far as eyes can see

She lays there beside me holding me tightly
Her kisses sweet as grapes from the vine
I left her waiting for me back home in California
In a small town on Highway 99

She lays there beside me holding me tightly
Her kisses sweet as grapes from the vine
I left her waiting for me back home in California
In a small town on Highway 99"

Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women

California's Burning

After the death of a member of his backing band, The Guilty Men, Alvin assembled a new band composed of women called The Guilty Women, whose voices add a nice dimension to his harmonies. This song needs no explanation to those of us who have watched hillsides and homes go up in flames in the summer and fall and mudslides cover what remains the next winter...

"California's burning,
You can smell it in the air
California's burning
You can smell it in the air
You may be rich or poor
But you know that fire don't care

Coyote's howling
Devil winds are startin' to blow
Coyote's howling
The devil wind is startin' to blow
And them fires gettin' closer
Than they were one hour ago

No rain for four years
And the hills are dry and brown
Yeah, no rain for four years
And the hills are dry and brown
Yeah, well where you gonna run to
When the whole wide world burns down?

California's burning
There's trouble in the promised land
California's burning
There's trouble in the promised land
You better pack up your family
And you better get out while you can

Now red flames are growin'
At the top of the hill
See them red flames growin'
At the top of the hill
Well if the fire don't get you
Well you know the mudslide will

Black clouds are risin'
And they're blockin' out the sun
Black clouds are risin'
And they're blockin' out the sun
Some folks are sayin'
The judgement day has come

California's burning
No one knows when it will end
California's burning
No one knows when this will end
What that fire burns down boys
We'll just build it back again"

Amen Dunes

L. A.

Singer-songwriter Samon McMahon created his musical project Amen Dunes in New York in 2006. This song is hard to squeeze into a genre - psychedelic indie electro folk - something like that. It's from his 2018 album "Freedom." (Also check out the great song Miki Dora below from the same album.)

"Throw the saint in the fire, baby
Long day
Power's something you believe in
Something you gain
At 19 I was king, so supreme
Down to Judea
Memory don't mean much to me
Still, don't go away

High up in the hills, I'm barely awake
Got my arms around some clown who's barely awake
Doesn't we look stupid now
Tears trickle down our face
At 10 I light my first cigarette and drive down to L.A.
At 10 I light my first cigarette and drive down to L.A.

Some say fake it
I don't know, man
Stomp it, take it
Cool it down, babe
I've been trying to make it, years and years and years
Watch them years go by, on fire...."

Amen Dunes

Miki Dora

This 2018 song from the album "Freedom" is very much a California song, even if it mentions only one obscure location in the state - North Beach, which is in Malibu. It's about a charismatic surfer based in Malibu, California, Miki Dora. He had his own line of surf boards and appeared in several "Beach Party" movies in the 1960s as well as the 1966 classic surf movie "The Endless Summer" which praises his surfing style. But he was also a controversial figure, known as the Black Knight of Malibu. Songwriter Damon McMahon describes him this way:

"Miki Dora was arguably the most gifted and innovative surfer of his generation and the foremost opponent of surfing’s commercialization. He was also a lifelong criminal and retrograde: a true embodiment of the distorted male psyche. He was a living contradiction; both a symbol of free-living and inspiration, and of the false heroics American culture has always celebrated. With lyrics of regret and redemption at the end of one’s youth, the song is about Dora, and myself, but ultimately it is a reflection on all manifestations of mythical heroic maleness and its illusions." (Anna Gaca, Spin.com January 17, 2018.)

But enough about him. I must have listened to this song dozens of times before I bothered to find out what it was about. I'm usually pulled in by the music and the beat before I pay attention to the lyrics, and this song's hypnotic rhythm and quirky vocal style hooked me right away.

"Getting on fine
Catch the next wave
Get the move right
Darken the wave

Coasting all day
Coasting all day
The way you're going
We know what you'll say

The waves are gone
The waves are gone
The waves are gone, you said
Man, they all gone

Pride destroyed me man
'Til it took a hold of me
And I feel it when I cry
I can feel it in my dreams

Miki Dora
Taking your time
Waves are gone
Waves are gone

1963
We were up on North Beach
And you're copping all my tricks, man
But you don't do it like me

Sitting on the pier
Sipping on my beer
I come upon a vision
When Mary comes to me
Silver golden waves
And chills that keep me clear
You all recall my name
But don't mean a thing to me

Miki so fine
Catch the next wave
Miki Dora
Darken the wave

The waves they are gone
The waves they are gone
The waves are gone
The waves are gone

Pride destroyed me man
And I didn't know the deal
I said, "I'm sad I'm gonna cry"
Scaring the devil in me

I shouldn't have gone
We shouldn't have gone
But I did not discover the difference
It didn't come to me
Give with nothing to take
Slid along the waves
He could not suffer existence
It wasn't meant to be

Getting on fine
Rolling on me
There's still enough time
To roll around with me
Roll around with me
Roll around with me...."

America

California Revisited

America is a great soft rock band from the 1970s, made up of Americans who lived in Britain as military dependants and didn't want anyone to think they were Brits. That was before they re-located to L.A. This is from their 1972 album "Homecoming."

"Heaven may be an answer
If you're lookin' for Eden in the sky
On your waters I see a strange reflection
Rumor has it I'll see you when I die

Everyone I meet is from California
There's dancin' in the streets in California

In California you watch the shadow dancer
Floating gently, gently on the sea
In California you're such a strange romancer
Come and see me when the world has set you free

Everyone I meet is from California
There's dancin' in the streets in California
Everyone I meet is from California
There's dancin' in the streets in California."

America

Christmas in California

This is from the Christmas album "Holiday Harmony" released in 2002.

"Oh, look out kids it's that time of year
When ole Santa's on his way
Don't look now but the top is down
On his candy apple sleigh

Headin' on down the coast
Over surf and sand
The warm wind in his hair
Make no mistake, it's here
Holiday fun, good cheer
It's Christmas time again
In California, wo-oh

The boulevard, lights of red and green
As the snow birds make the scene
Hollywood doesn't miss a beat
It's another childhood dream

Headin' on down the coast
Over surf and sand
The warm wind in your hair
Make no mistake, it's here
Holiday fun, good cheer
It's Christmas time for sure
In California

People say it can't be true
That the spirit lives here, too
But you'll find Christmas everywhere
Under palm trees, sun and moon - ah

Headin' on down the coast
Over surf and sand
The warm wind in your hair
Make no mistake, it's here
Holiday fun, good cheer
It's Christmas time again
In California

Make no mistake, it's here
Holiday fun, good cheer
It's Christmas time again
In California
In California
In California, wo-oh"

America

Everyone I Meet Is From California

This is from the B-side of the 1971 three-song single "A Horse with No Name," which was the band's big hit. It's the same song as "California Revisited" from the 1972 "Homecoming" album. The lyrics are the same as those above, but the mix is different, leading me to think that the name was changed to "California Revisited" because the song was re-recorded for the album. This song is the one that was put on all of the band's greatest hits albums.

America

This is from the album "Holiday" released in 1974.

"Orange and yellow and purple and green
The lights of the city at night set the scene
Stumble through the bars of forget-me-not lane
Sparkle through the glitter but don't show the pain

In Hollywood
Underneath a golden palm tree
Hollywood
Come to the party the drinks are on me
For free

Heartbeats echo through a cavern of love
Come to the tavern I'll meet you up above
Soaring through the heavens, what a fabulous ride
But everybody's heading for the same place to hide

In Hollywood
Underneath a golden palm tree
Hollywood
Come to the party the drinks are on me
For free
The drink's on me
For free
The drink's on me
For free
The drink's on me
The drink's on me
The drink's on me
The drink's on me"

America

Ventura Highway

From their 1972 album "Homecoming." An upbeat soft rock classic with a catchy acoustic guitar riff from the band who have been to the desert on a horse with no name. For 30 years I wondered how those lizards got up in the air, but thanks to the imaginatiion-killing-internet I now know that they're only supposed to be cloud formations.This is one of the few songs about both California, and herps. (Or at least clouds that look like herps.)

"Wishin' on a falling star
Watchin' for the early train
Sorry boy, but I've been hit by
Purple rain
Aw, come on Joe, you can always
Change your name
Thanks a lot son, just the same

Ventura Highway
In the sunshine
Where the days are longer
The nights are stronger
Than moonshine
You're gonna go I know

'Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair
And the days surround your daylight there
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air
in the air "

The Americanos

In My Foreign

The Americanos are an American electronic dance music DJ trio based in Los Angeles. This song is built on a sample of Chicago’s Saturday in the Park and features rapping and singing by Ty Dolla $ign, French Montana & Lil Yachty. It’s the lead off track on the soundtrack for xXx: Return of Xander Cage, released in 2016.

[Ty Dolla $ign:]
“Do you wanna ride, ride, ride in my foreign? (In my foreign?)
Lift the top back all the way, rolling through the streets of L.A.
Girl, do you wanna ride, ride, ride in my foreign? (In my foreign?)
We can turn up the radio, we ain't got no place to go
Girl do you wanna ride?

[French Montana:]
Fo' sho' she wanna ride, fo' sho' she wanna slide
Fo' sho' we gettin' sauced, fo' sho' we gettin' high
Pull up swaggin', hop out the wagon
Suckers gonna hate but the ladies wanna brag
What you say? What you say? What you say?
Whole team faded like Jordan with the J
Cradle to the grave, NY to the Bay
Millions in the bank and the hunnids in the safe
Ain't nothing to a G baby
Foreign sitting low, climb out the V baby
Haan, ain't nothing to a G baby
Foreign sitting low climb out the V baby

[Ty Dolla $ign:]
Do you wanna ride, ride, ride in my foreign? (In my foreign?)
Lift the top back all the way, rolling through the streets of L.A.
Girl, do you wanna ride, ride, ride in my foreign? (In my foreign?)
We can turn up the radio, we ain't got no place to go

Girl it feels like Saturday, everyday
I'm smoking loud and feeling so high
I'm rolling good through my hood
Getting lit like the 4th of July
I got that exotic that you probably can't afford
We be going up like them butterfly doors
We ain't got no problems cause we counting all this cash
Got a bobblehead with her metro on the dash

Do you wanna ride, ride, ride in my foreign? (In my foreign?)
Lift the top back all the way, rolling through the streets of L.A.
Girl, do you wanna ride, ride, ride in my foreign? (In my foreign?)
We can turn up the radio, we ain't got no place to go
Girl do you wanna ride?….”

American Music Club

California Dreamin'

A very good 1994 indie rock cover (with sitar!) of the 1966 Mamas and Papas classic.

American Music Club

Highway 5

A dark slow dirge off "California," a 1988 album from this San Francisco based alternative rock band. Maybe back in 1988 75 was the cruising speed, but 85 is more like it these days, and that's in the slow lane...

"Highway 5
Takes so much to make us feel like we're alive
A weary traveler at a smooth seventy-five
Make pretend the landscape ain't so dry
Do anything to maintain a lie

To the left, a beautiful California landscape
Dead ends in the sky
And to the right, beautiful mountains rise
High and dry
Another futile expression of bitterness
Another overwhelming sensation of uselessness

Make pretend that the landscape ain't so dry
Do anything to maintain a lie
Make pretend that the lover ain't so barren
Though in Los Angeles things like that don't matter"

Andrea (featuring Mario Joy)

Miss California

Andrea is an artist from Bulgaria. Mario Joy is a Romanian artist. She sings in several languages, including Spanish in this song (Mario Joy sings the English parts.) This dance track was released in 2018. There are several remixes online, also.

"Abre tu soul-oh
Dímelo todo
No estés tan solo nah nah nah
Deja todo y ven pa' acá
Abre tu soul-oh
Dímelo todo
No estés tan solo nah nah nah
Deja todo y ven pa' acá

Miss California
I just wanna know ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you
Miss California
I just wanna love ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you

Ay, tómame regresa
Mueve tu cabeza
Muévete regresa
Toma mi cabeza
Estás contigo un nuevo amor
No me digas que yo ...
Ay, tómame regresa
Mueve tu cabeza
Muévete regresa
Toma mi cabeza
Estás contigo un nuevo amor
No me digas que yo ...

Aquí y ahora
Mi creadora
Siente mi aroma nah nah nah
Mueve tu cuerpo y ven acá
Aquí y ahora
Mi creadora
Siente mi aroma nah nah nah
Mueve tu cuerpo, ven pa' acá

Miss California
I just wanna know ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you
Miss California
I just wanna love ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you...."

"Open your soul-oh
Tell me everything
Don't be so alone nah nah nah
Drop everything and come here
Open your soul-oh
Tell me everything
Don't be so alone nah nah nah
Drop everything and come here

Miss California
I just wanna know ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you
Miss California
I just wanna love ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you

Oh, take me back
Shake your head
Move back
Take my head
You are with you a new love
Don't tell me that I...
Oh, take me back
Shake your head
Move back
Take my head
You are with you a new love
Don't tell me that I...

Here and now
My creator
Feel my aroma nah nah nah
Move your body and come here
Here and now
My creator
Feel my aroma nah nah nah
Move your body, come here

Miss California
I just wanna know ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you
Miss California
I just wanna love ya
I just wanna tu-tuh tu-tuh with you...."

The Andrews Sisters

The Lady From 29 Palms

The Andrews Sisters were a close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras consisting of three sisters from Minnesota, active from 1925 to 1967. They have been called the most popular female vocal group of the first half of the 20th century. This song was a top ten hit in 1947. (Twentynine Palms is a city in the desert just north of Joshua Tree National Park.)

"She left twenty-nine broken hearts
Broken in twenty-nine parts
Now there are twenty-nine fellas complainin' to their moms
About the lady from 29 Palms

She got twenty-nine Cadillacs
Twenty-nine sables from Sach's
They came from twenty-nine fellas who never had their arms
Around the lady from 29 Palms

She's a yip-yip-yippy-eyed dolly
A new kinda gal of the west
And yip-yip-yippy by-golly
Whatever she does, she does her best

She rides twenty-nine trails to bliss
Knows twenty-nine ways how to kiss
She is a gal that you dream of, you'd love to have your arms
Around the lady from 29 Palms

She left twenty-nine broken hearts, baby
Broken in twenty-nine parts were their broken hearts, mmm oy-da doy-da
Twenty-nine fellas complainin' to their moms
About the lady from 29 Palms

She got twenty-nine Cadillacs, baby
Twenty-nine sables from Sach's and them Cadillacs, mmm boy-da doy-da
Twenty-nine fellas who never had their arms
Around the lady from 29 Palms...."

Tori Amos

A Sorta Fairytale

Tori Amos is a singer-songwriter born in North Carolina and raised in Maryland, active since 1979. This song was released as the first single from her 2002 album "Scarlet's Walk."

"On my way up north, up on the Ventura
I pulled back the hood and I was talking to you

And I knew then it would be a lifelong thing
But I didn't know that we, we could break a silver lining

And I'm so sad like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (A sorta fairytale with you)
A sorta fairytale with you

Things you said that day, up on the 101
The girl had come undone, I tried to downplay it
With a bet about us, you said that you'd take it
As long as I could, I could not erase it

And I'm so sad like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (A sorta fairytale with you)
A sorta fairytale with you

And I ride alongside
And I rode alongside you then
And I rode alongside till you lost me there in the open road
And I rode alongside till the honey spread itself so thin
For me to break your bread, for me to take your word
I had to steal it

And I'm so sad like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (A sorta fairytale with you)
I could pick back up whenever I feel

Down New Mexico way, something about the open road
I knew that he was looking for some Indian blood
And find a little in you find a little in me
We may be on this road but
We're just impostors in this country, you know
So we go along and we said we'd fake it
Feel better with Oliver Stone
Till I almost smacked him, seemed right that night and
I don't know what takes hold out there in the desert cold
These guys think they must try and just get over on us

And I'm so sad like a good book
I can't put this day back
A sorta fairytale with you (A sorta fairytale with you)
A sorta fairytale with you

And I was riding by, riding alongside
For a while till you lost me
And I was riding by, riding along till you lost me
Till you lost me in the rearview
You lost me, I said. yeah

Way up north I took my day
All in all, was a pretty nice day
And I, I put the hood right back where
You could taste heaven perfectly
Feel out the summer breeze
Didn't know when we'd be back
And I, I don't, didn't think we'd end up like
Like this"

Tori Amos

Maybe California

Tori Amos is an American singer-songwriter originally from the East Coast. This song is from her 2009 album "Abnormally Attracted To Sin." The singer is a mother who is trying to talk a woman out of jumping off a cliff for the sake of her children. I don't know what "Maybe California" means in the context of the song, but Amos fractures and repeats and stretches those six syllables like a jazz singer until the words themselves almost disappear.

"Hey Mrs. C., please don’t jump
Why not?
Nothing is making sense anymore to me
I don’t know when I stopped making him smile
Now the kids see me crying all the time

From one mother to the other
They’ll never get over this for their lifetime
All their wishes will be dashed upon those cliffs
So let’s be strong for you and me the night is opening
Our angels are falling and they will warm us
She asked, "Right Now? Right Here?"
I'm feelin' soon, soon my dear

Maybe California
Maybe California

As mothers we have our troubles
You’ll leave them with emptiness for their lifetime
All their wishes will be dashed upon those cliffs
So let’s be strong you and me the night is opening
Our angels are falling and they will warm us
She asked, "Right Now? Right Here?"
I'm feelin' soon, soon my dear

Maybe California
Maybe California

Until then there will be starlight shining down
For every tear in every town."

Angelyne

Kiss Me L.A.

Platinum blonde bombshell Angelyne is a Los Angeles icon who became famous when she started putting up giant billboards that showed herself in sexy poses in Los Angeles in 1984. She received lots of recognition and some acting and modeling jobs, but she's still more famous for the billboards and for being a pioneer of self promotion than for her other work. She became famous for being famous long before reality TV and social media made it easier. Her billboards have probably been seen in more movies than she has. Before the billboards, she was also a singer in rock bands, so she actually did have something to promote. This song is from her debut solo album "Angelyne" released in 1982. Angelyne kept her life a mystery for decade but in 2017 it was reported that she was born in Poland to holocaust survivors who immigrated to Los Angeles where she was raised. A TV mini-series about her was released in 2022 and there is at lease one documentary about her.

"You know I'm getting off on you
You know I get off on you
You know I'm getting off on you
You know I get off on you
Off on you, off on you, off on you
You

Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)
Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)
Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)
Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)

You know I'm getting off on you
You know I get off on you
You know I'm getting off on you
You know I get off on you
Off on you, off on you, off on you
You

Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)
Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)
Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)
Kiss me L.A. (K-k-k-kiss me L.A.)"

The Animals (Eric Burdon and)

Monterey

The Animals (aka Eric Burdon and the Animals) is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted English band formed in the early 1960s. This psychedelic rock tribute to the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, which took place two years before Woodstock, is from the band's second album "The Twain Shall Meet," released in 1968.

"The people came and listened
Some of them came and played
Others gave flowers away
Yes they did yeah!
Down in Monterey
Down in Monterey

Young gods smiled upon the crowd
Their music being born of love
Children danced night and day
Religion was being born
Down in Monterey

The Byrds and the Airplane
Did fly
Oh, Ravi Shankar's
Music made me cry

The Who exploded
Into fired light (yeah)
Hugh Masekela's music
Was black as night

The Grateful Dead
Blew everybody's mind
Jimi Hendrix, baby
Believe me
Set the world on fire, yeah!

His majesty
Prince Jones smiled as he
Moved among the crowd
Ten thousand electric guitars
Were groovin' real loud, yeah

If you wanna find the truth in life
Don't pass music by
And you know
I would not lie
No, I would not lie
No, I would not lie
Down in Monterey

Hu! huh-huh!

Alright!

Three days of understanding
Of moving with one another
Even the cops grooved with us
Do you believe me?
Yeah!

Down in Monterey
Down in Monterey, yeah
Down in Monterey
Down in Monterey, yeah...."

The Animals (Eric Burdon and)

San Franciscan Nights

From the album "Winds of Change" released in 1967 this is a song about San Francisco and the Summer of Love, and all that Hippy stuff. But a WARM San Franciscan night? That doesn't sound like summer in The City. Mark Twain gets credit for saying the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Whether he said it or not, it's hard to argue with it after the summer fog rolls in.

"This following program is dedicated to the city and people of San Francisco
Who may not know it but they are beautiful
And so is their city this is a very personal song
So if the viewer cannot understand it

Particularly those of you who are European residents
Save up all your bread and fly trans love airways to San Francisco U.S.A.
Then maybe you'll understand the song, it will be worth it
If not for the sake of this song but for the sake of your own peace of mind

Strobe lights beam creates dreams
Walls move minds do too
On a warm San Franciscan night
Old child young child feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night

Angels sing leather wings
Jeans of blue Harley Davisons too
On a warm San Franciscan night
Old angels young angels feel alright
On a warm San Franciscan night

I wasn't born there perhaps I'll die there
There's no place left to go, San Francisco"

Anjani

The Golden Gate

Anjani Thomas is a singer-songwriter from Hawaii, active since 1983. She worked with other musicians including Leonard Cohen, then became a solo artist in 2000. This minimal voice and piano song poem is from her 2006 album "Blue Alert," an album of songs she co-wrote with Leonard Cohen who also produced the album.

"Looking back, to San Francisco
Wearing my blue Chinese dress
A yellow jacket with padded shoulders
Smoking Sobranie cigarettes
Four o'clock and the fog comes in
We all remember the sea
For several seconds our sins are forgiven
Mine against you, yours against me
Don't wait for me and don't be sorry
Forget all the letters we wrote
Leave to the foghorns our lonesome story
Let them sustain the heavy note
We order another margarita
Sipping it slow by the window
Nobody needs an Indian teacher
All they need is San Francisco
For we are driving most carefully home
Down roads that are floating and veiled
The Golden Gate it's still gold, it's still great
Nobody's drunk
Nothing has failed"

The Anxiety

Meet Me at Our Spot

The Anxiety is a rock band with Willow Smith and Tyler Cole. This song is from their album "The Anxiety" released in 2020. Both musicians are from Los Angeles so there's no doubt the "405" they sing about is the 405 freeway, aka the "San Diego" freeway. I have no idea why they want to hit that particular freeway, maybe it's how they get to their spot, but it's one of many songs to mention a road or highway in the state, including all the songs about the Pacific Coast Highway, the 101, the 5, Ventura Highway, California 37, and don't forget Route 66.

"When I wake up
I can’t even stay up
I slept through the day, f**k
I’m not getting younger
But when I’m older
I’ll be so much stronger
I’ll stay up for longer
Meet me at our spot
Caught a vibe
Baby are you coming for the ride?
(The ride x3)
I just wanna look into your eyes
(Your eyes x2)
I just wanna stay for the night night night
When we take a drive
Maybe we can hit the 405
Hypnotized by the lights
Man, this must be the life

When I go to sleep
I can’t even fall asleep
Something’s got ahold of me
Feel it taking over me
But when I’m older I’ll be moving onward
I just got a drunk text (Meet me at our spot)
We caught a vibe (Yeah Yeah)
Baby are you coming for the ride?
(The ride x3)
When I look into your eyes
(Your eyes x2)
I just wanna hold you all night (All night)
Maybe we can take a drive (Take a drive!)
Baby we can hit the 405
Hypnotized by the lights
Man this must be the life...."

Omar Apollo

Tamagotchi

Omar Apollo is a singer-songwriter from Indiana, active since 2017. This song is from his album "Ivory" released in 2022. (A Tamagotchi is a handheld digital pet created in Japan and first sold in the '90s.)

"Quiere ese Louis Vuitton
Uh, no me deja en paz con ese cabrón, con ese cabrón
No por el otro, borracho los dos (Uh)
Si quieres conmigo, pierde ese control, ese control

[He wants that Louis Vuitton
Uh, don't leave me alone with that bastard, with that bastard
Not for the other, both drunk (Uh)
If you want with me, lose that control, that control]

B**ch, this Tamagotchi
Tour bus through Milwaukee
B**ch, I'm making bread (Bread)
Sound like Pavarotti
B**ch, my bag Céline (Céline)
You can't get it off me (Off me)
B**ch, this not my scene (Scene)
Vamos pa' Miami (Miami)

Feel on my waistline
I'm in L.A., four hours away
Just hit me on FaceTime (FaceTime)
Feeling so good, feeling so good
Singing a bass line (Bass)
Your body is on me, you touching up on me
We cum at the same time (Same time)
At the same time

You with somebody or are you cool?
I want your body, you want me, too
I see you coming, I come for you
Need you around me, I know you do

Ando de gira y todos me siguen, los chicos me quieren tocar
Tengo dinero y ando soltero, dime lo que quiere' comprar (Pop that, pop that)
Aquí está muy frío, no' vamos, te sigo, ¿dónde quieres ir a volar?
Algo sencillo con un cigarrillo me dicen que quieren follar (Pop that, pop that)

[ˆI'm on tour and everyone follows me, the boys want to touch me
I have money and I'm single, tell me what you want to buy (Pop that, pop that)
It's very cold here, no' let's go, I follow you, where do you want to go to fly?
Something simple with a cigarette they tell me they want to f**k (Pop that, pop that)]

B**ch, this Tamagotchi
Tour bus through Milwaukee
B**ch, I'm making bread (Bread)
Sound like Pavarotti
B**ch, my bag Céline (Céline)
You can't get it off me (Off me)
B**ch, this not my scene (Scene)
Vamos pa' Miami (Miami)

Feel on my waistline
I'm in L.A., four hours away
Just hit me on FaceTime (FaceTime)
Feeling so good, feeling so good
Singing a bass line (Bass)
Your body is on me, you touching up on me
We cum at the same time (Same time)
At the same time...."

Aqualung

Fake Tales of San Francisco

Aqualung is Matthew Hales, an English musician working since 1990. This song is from "Magnetic North" released in 2010. It's too short. I could listen to it a lot longer.

"Come with me to California
We'll lose our troubles in the sun
Let's fly away

Let's make our grand escape before we come undone
You know I've always been a dreamer
How you laugh at all my silly silly dreams
Let's fly away
Let's make our big mistake before we come undone
Before we come undone, yeah
Oh, come with me to California
Before we come undone

Come with me to California
We'll lose our troubles in the sun
Let's fly away"

Arcade Fire

End of the Empire I-III

Arcade Fire is an indie rock band from Canada, active since 2001. This song is from their album "WE" released in 2022. In their view of the end of the world, California has disappeared into the ocean, as it usually does in these scenarios.

"I. Last Dance

One last dance
Here at the end of the empire
Makes me cry
Watching the moon on the ocean
Where California used to be
It's not half bad, oh
Spend half your life being sad, woah
Well, don't be scared, oh-oh
Just chronically impaired, oh-oh
Just take my hand, oh-oh
Standing at the end of the American Empire

One last song
Here at the end of the movie
They seemed so sure
At least that's the way I remember the war
When New York used to be
It's not half bad, oh-oh
Spending half your life being sad, woah
Don't you weep, oh-oh
Half your life fast asleep, oh-oh
Feeling uninspired, oh
Standing at the end of the American Empire

II. Last Round

And we know that it's time to go
Heard the news on the radio
One last round before we go
Through the pale atmospheric glow
And the oxygen's getting low
Sing a song that we used to know
One last round before we go
One last round before we go

III. Leave The Light On

(So sad)

Didn't use to get high
Didn't use to drink and I
Didn't use to think I
Could ever dream about losing you

Didn't use to get low
This time of night and I
Didn't use to walk home
In the morning light
Without you
Without you

Didn't use to get high
Didn't use to drink
Didn't use to think I
Could ever dream about losing you, you
But I do

It’s you and I, it’s do or die
Suicide mission, baby by my side
We got one life and half of it’s gone
You know I can’t sleep with the television on

Didn't use to get high
With you by my side
(Leave the light on)"

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in 2002. They're in that lineage of snide, snotty, overly superior British rockers that runs through The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, Oasis and The Prodigy. That's good company to keep. This song is from their acclaimed debut studio album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" which was released in 2006. It's about a pretentious British band that talks about the USA even though they've never been there. I'll bet that band's lyrics are so wank that they rhyme "San Francisco" with "Disco."

"Fake tales of San Francisco
Echo through the room
More point to a wedding disco
Without a bride or groom
And there's a super cool band, yeah
With their trilbies and their glasses of white wine
And all the weekend rock stars are in the toilet
Practicing their lines

I don't want to hear you
Kick me out, kick me out
I don't want to hear you, no
Kick me out, kick me out
I don't want to hear you
Kick me out, kick me out
I don't want to hear you
I don't want to hear your

Fake tales of San Francisco
Echo through the air
And there's a few bored faces at the back
All wishing they weren't there

And as the microphone squeaks
A young girl's telephone beeps
Yeah, she's dashing for the exit
Oh, she's running to the streets outside
"Oh, you've saved me, " she screams down the line
"The band were f***ing wank
And I'm not having a nice time"

I don't want to hear you
Kick me out, kick me out
I don't want to hear you, no
Kick me out, kick me out

Yeah, but his bird said it's amazing, though
So all that's left
Is the proof that love's not only blind but deaf

He talks of San Francisco, he's from Hunter's Bar
I don't quite know the distance
But I'm sure that's far
Yeah I'm sure that's pretty far

And yeah, I'd love to tell you all my problem
You're not from New York City, you're from Rotherham
So get off the bandwagon, and put down the handbook
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah...."

Arielle

Arielle is a singer-songwriter from Austin Texas. This song was released in 2014.

"I want my name in the lights
I wanna swim in the sky
Be the only star at midnight

Before I knew it I was lost
I didn't count all the costs
Now I wonder if I'll ever even make it out alive

I've been chasing dreams
But they're chasing me
In this city of angels
I can't sleep

Cause I'm trading scars
For that concrete star
And I can't find the sunshine in California

I only wanted to be me
I had the best intentions
I was scattered in all directions

It was more than I could take
I would bend just to break

Falling apart wasn't ever my plan
But now I understand

I've been chasing dreams
But they're chasing me
In this city of angels
I can't sleep

Cause I'm trading scars
For that concrete star
And I can't find the sunshine in California

California
California

I want my name in the lights
I wanna swim in the sky
Be the only star at midnight

I've been chasing dreams
But they're chasing me
In this city of angels
I can't sleep

Cause I'm trading scars
For that concrete star
And I can't find the sunshine in California"

Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

Life in L.A.

Ariel Pink is the stage name of a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles active since 1996. He has released records credited to "Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti" including this one, so he is filed here under that name. (Figuring out how to list and alphabetize all these insane band and musician names is not always easy for a non-librarian such as myself.) This is from Mr. Pink's seventh studio album "Worn Copy" released in 2003. If you like a song that opens with a half a minute of wind sounds and features kazoos, you're in luck.

"Life in L.A.
Well, what can I say?
It's a treasure to find
So many ways to unwind

You could be so lonely
Life in L.A. is so lonely
Is so lonely
That way
Yeah

Life in L.A.
Come on out if you're gay
Make your babies and money
Move in together
Take out that loan
Honey, it's now or never

The weather is your boyfriend
On a Saturday
You stay in bed

And you could be so lonely
Life in L.A. is so lonely
Is so lonely
That way

A girl in my car
Doesn't mean I'm getting too far
Unless I'm taking her home
Halfway to Fresno at dark
Every peck on my cheek
When I look at her face
Every time we make plans
I think leather and lace

Life in L.A.
Is like a day in my brain
Cut

And did you know you could be so lonely?
Life in L.A. is so lonely
Is so lonely that way
Take me home"

Arkells

Agent Zero

Arkells is a rock band from Canada, active since 2006. This song is from the album "Michigan Left" released in 2011.

"I used to find a little peace in the lay up line.
When I start sweating, I start to unwind.
I used find a little peace under the bright lights.
When I start sweating, I start to unwind.

A little came to me in 1985.
Got in the car, started to drive.
We headed west, put Overtown behind.
Dad was looking for a Hollywood sign.

There was a time I could only impress you.
You can tell by now, I'm only guessing.

They kept asking me to describe
The logic that was running through my mind.
Ali had Cosell through hard times,
But Wilbon, on this one, had to decline.

There was a time I could only impress you,
you could tell by now I'm only guessing.
If you're saying the clocks run down, and the red light's glowing
If your mind's made up, then I'll get going.
Turn all the lights down low."

The Arlenes

Going to California

The Arlenes are an Americana/Alt-Country Anglo-American husband and wife duo that formed in London England then relocated to California. This is from the album "Going to California" released in 2004. I hope they figured out that all of California is on Pacific Time and not Mountain Time - even in the mountains. (Though I have noticed that way out east by the Colorado River some places use Mountain Time like Arizona.)

"I'm going to California
In the morning I'll be on my way
Going back to the Golden State
I'm going to California
Yes I can hardly wait
I can almost hear blue birds singin' away

Yes I've always dreamed it
Now my dream is comin' true

I'm going to California
Gonna settle down there with you

I want a piece of American pie
A little place that I can call my own
Fill it full of dogs and kids and busted up old cars
'Cause the city's gettin' crowded
And I guess I've done my time

I'm going to California
Gonna drink that summer like wine

And we'll hide up in the mountains
And watch the days go rolling by

Going to California
Set my clock to Mountain Time
Going to California
In the morning I'll be on my way
Going back to the Golden State

Going to California
Yes I can hardly wait
I can almost hear bluebirds singin' away

And as I look back across the runway
Don't know if I'm ever comin' back

Going to California
Let's see how long I last
Let's see how long I last
Let's see how long I last
Let's see how long I last
Let's see how long I last
Let's see how long I last"

Kieran Armitage

Malibu Nights

Kieran Armitage is a music artist from ... somewhere. This electro-pop song is from the album "God Save The Queer" released in 2021.

"Meet me in Malibu
I been here all night
Falling right into you
Oh me Oh my
Meet me in Malibu
We'll do what you like
Do you want to come over?
Do you want to come over?
Meet me in Malibu

Friday night you got me high
All I need is your ya ha ya ha
Setting sun, bubble gum
My hands all over your your ya ha ya ha

I'm out of my mind
I'm out of my mind
I'm out of my mind
I don't want to waste no time

Meet me in Malibu
I been here all night
Falling right into you
Oh me Oh my
Meet me in Malibu
We'll do what you like
Do you want to come over?
Do you want to come over?
Meet me in Malibu

Saturday you bite the bass
Like I'm more than just a friend now
Take a hit baby don't make it quick
Kiss your cherry lips talking that ya ha ya ha

I'm out of my mind
I'm out of my mind
I'm out of my mind
I don't want to waste no time

Meet me in Malibu
I been here all night
Falling right into you
Oh me Oh my
Meet me in Malibu
We'll do what you like
Do you want to come over?
Do you want to come over?
Meet me in Malibu...."

AronChupa, Little Sis Nora, & Jungle Jonsson

California Sun

AronChupa is a Swedish singer and producer active since 2012, Little Sis Nora is a Swedish singer and also the sister of AronChupa. I don't know who Jungle Jonsson is. This electro house track was released in July 2022.

"In the California sun
In the California sun
I'll be long long gone
In the California sun

I've been driving through the city
I've seen the crackheads and the whores
Finding hope inside a bottle
But I know they were meant for more

In the California sun
In the California sun
I'll be long long gone
In the California sun

I'll be long long gone
In the California sun

In the California sun
I'll be long long gone
In the California sun

I've been driving through the city
I've seen the crackheads and the whores
Finding hope inside a bottle
But I know they were meant for more

I know they call it the city of angels
But all of your dreams
Get murdered and die
Still like the rest I want that high

In the California sun
In the California sun
I'll be long long gone
In the California sun

In the California sun
In the California sun
I'll be long long gone
In the California sun

I'll be long long gone
In the California sun
In the California sun
I'll be long long gone
In the California sun"

A$AP Rocky

L$D

A$AP Rocky is Rakim Mayers, a rapper from New York City active since 2007. This beautiful trippy neo-soul song is from his second album "At. Long. Last. A$AP" released in 2015.

""I know I dream about her all day
I think about her with her clothes off
I'm ridin' 'round with my system bumpin' LSD
I look for ways to say "I love you"
But I ain't into makin' love songs
Baby, I'm just rappin' to this LSD
She ain't a stranger to the city life
I introduced her to this hippy life
We make love under pretty lights, LSD (Acid)
I get a feelin' it's a trippy night
Them other drugs just don't fit me right
Girl, I really f**kin' want love, sex, dream
Another quarter to the face system
Make no mistakes, it's all, a leap of faith for love
It takes a place in, feelin' that you crave doin' love, sex, dreams

It started in Hollywood
Dreamin' of sharin' love
My tongue at a loss for words
Cause my feelings just said it all
Party just started up
Dreamin' of sharin' worlds
Held this feeling for way too long
Said, "I really wanna let it go"

I've been gettin' fly because the gimmick's so dope
I've been getting high cause I figured Lord told me
I've been drinking, driving, now we'll never go home
I gon' stay in doubt because the weather's so cold, oh

Feeling low sometimes when the light shines down
Makes me high
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?
Feeling low sometimes when the light shines down
Makes me high
Can you feel it?
Can you feel it?

It started in Hollywood
Duh, duh-duh
Dreamin' of sharin' love
Duh, duh-duh
My tongue at a loss for words
Cause my feelings just said it all

I look for ways to say, "I love you"
But I ain't into makin' love songs""
Baby, I'm just rappin' to this LSD""

JP Ashkar

John Paul Ashkar is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. This song was released in 2021.

"Well it's about morning-time baby should we catch a wave or climb the coastline?
'Cuz I've been waiting for a whole year for a taste of you under the warm sunshine

Out here we make snow angels in the sand
Use styrofoam to build a snowman
Do our shopping while we're working on our tan
In a hybrid sleigh ride

Give me a California Christmas
A beach beneath my feet and lights in the palm trees
Been dreaming of a California Christmas
The way it ought to be

I love the smell of chestnuts roasting on a bonfire somewhere in Malibu
And when we're done I wanna lay under the sky and see the stars in you, oh baby I do

Out here we make snow angels in the sand
Use styrofoam to build a snowman
Do our shopping while we're working on our tan
In a hybrid sleigh ride

Give me a California Christmas
A beach beneath my feet and lights in the palm trees
Been dreaming of a California Christmas
The way it ought to be is that mistletoe for me
I want a California Christmas
Where the girls are dressed to win, check that naughty list again
'Cuz I've been dreaming, dreaming of a California Christmas
The way it ought to be

'Cuz baby I don't need a white Christmas
I just need my minutes with you
And while we're talking I filled up all your stockings
With your favorite candles and booze

Give me a California Christmas
A beach beneath my feet and lights in the palm trees
Dreaming of a California Christmas
The way it ought to be is that mistletoe for me
I want a California Christmas
Where the girls are dressed to win, check that naughty list again
'Cuz I've been dreaming, dreaming of a California Christmas
The way it ought to be, shoobie doobie, shoobie doobie
The way it ought to be, shoobie doobie, shoobie doobie
The way it ought to be"

Ashe

Cold in California

Ashe (Ashlyn Rae Wilson) is a singer-songwriter from San Jose. This song is from her EP "Moral of the Story: Chapter 2" released in 2019. It's a reminder to all visitors to the Golden State to bring a jacket.

"Just out of reach is the gold you're rushing for with bags under your eyes
I’ve been chasing a rainbow, wound up at your door, wanna see the other side

It’s not quite like I imagined, like I did before
When you’re pouring all your heart out
But you’re lying on the floor
All these cigarettes and hotels, could be what you’re looking for
But it’s not what you expected and you’re left wanting more

Don’t mind what anybody told ya
It still gets cold in California
See everybody thinks they know ya
They’re only seeing what they wanna
Don’t mind what anybody told ya
It still gets cold in California

We can dance in the streets with the sun upon our skin and wake up feeling burned
Under stars, we could freeze cause we’ve gotten used to heat where seasons never turn

It’s not quite like I imagined, like I did before
When you’re pouring all your heart out
But you’re lying on the floor
All these cigarettes and hotels, could be what you’re looking for
But it’s not what you expected and you’re left wanting more

Don’t mind what anybody told ya
It still gets cold in California
See everybody thinks they know ya
They’re only seeing what they wanna
Don’t mind what anybody told ya
It still gets cold in California

Talk about the pretty parts
The ones you see on film
Happiness and skinny legs and living on a hill
Don’t talk about the lonely parts, the loneliness you feel
You probably always will

Cause it gets dark in California
I know it well better than most ya
Don’t mind what anybody told ya
It still gets cold in California
See everybody thinks they know ya
They’re only seeing what they wanna
Don’t mind what anybody told ya
It still gets cold in California"

Tigran Asatryan

Tigran Asatryan is a singer from Armenia. This song was released in August of 2022. I don't understand Armenian, but I can understand the word California in it.

Ashe & Finneas

Till Forever Falls Apart

Ashe is a singer/songwriter from San Jose. Finneas is a singer/songwriter/actor/producer from L.A. Both of them have songs on this list individually and now they're on it together with this collaboration from Ashe's album "Ashlyn" released in 2021.

I'm not sure how the tides could take the state. Maybe they're talking about a massive sea level increase due to global climate change, which would be about 230 feet, max. That's enough to flood large amount of the state. This might be a good time to buy oceanfront property in Fresno.

[Ashe]
"Out on our own
Dreamin' in a world that we both know
It's out of our control
But if s**t hits the fan, we're not alone

'Cause you've got me and you know
That I've got you and I know

If the tide takes California
I'm so glad I got to hold ya
And if the sky falls from Heaven above
Oh, I know I had the best time fallin' into love
We've been livin' on a fault line
And for a while, you were all mine
I've spent a lifetime givin' you my heart
I swear that I'll be yours forever, 'til forever falls apart
'Til forever falls apart

[Finneas]
So this is it, that's how it ends
I guess there's nothing more romantic than dyin' with your friends
And I'm not sorry for myself
I wouldn't want to spend a minute lovin' anybody else

[Ashe & Finneas]
'Cause you've got me and you know
That I've got you and I know

If the tide takes California
I'm so glad I got to hold ya
And if the sky falls from Heaven above
Oh, I know I had the best time fallin' into love
We've been livin' on a fault line
And for a while, you were all mine
I've spent a lifetime givin' you my heart
I swear that I'll be yours forever, 'til forever falls apart
'Til forever falls apart

We never had it from the start
'Til death do us part

If the tide takes California
I'm so glad I got to know ya
And if the sky falls from Heaven above
Oh, I know I had the best time fallin' into love
We've been livin' on a fault line
And for a while, you were all mine
I've spent a lifetime givin' you my heart
I swear that I'll be yours forever, 'til forever falls apart"

Ashford & Simpson

Nobody Walks in L.A.

Ashford & Simpson were a husband and wife team of songwriters and performers from New York and South Carolina who started their careers in the mid 60s writing some of the great Motown hits including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." This song is from their 1986 album "Real Love."

"Got off the plane where they say it don't rain
Thought to myself this is for me
Looked all around and everywhere
The streets were empty
Checked in the hotel to unpack my things
Gotta get out find some company
And then it hit me

Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say
In Hollywood they do things a different way
Don't you be caught cruisin' on a sunny day
Cause nobody walks in L.A.
Nobody walks in L.A.

I had some dreams
I was gonna crash the scene
Thought anywhere I can survive
That there must be a special place
Where the beautiful people hide
Begin to wonder what am I doin' wrong
Had to figure it out intelligently
Then it hit me

Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say
In Hollywood they do things a different way
Don't you be caught cruisin' on a sunny day
Cause nobody walks in L.A.
Nobody walks in L.A.

I been around and I like New York and Chinatown
Where rivers of people seem to flow
But bein' here under the sky so blue
What do you do? What do you do?

I've been around and I don't understand this town
You got to know somebody
or be on the party list
And if you're not a big star
You won't be missed

But the most important rule
No matter what games they play
Nobody walks

Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say
In Hollywood they do things a different way
Don't you be caught cruisin' on a sunny day

Don't know if I read it or heard somebody say
In Hollywood they do things a different way
Don't you be caught cruisin' on a sunny day
Cause nobody walks in L.A.
Nobody walks in L.A......"

Ashleigh

Malibu

This sunny pop song is from Ashleigh's album "Malibu" released in 2021.

"Honey take me back
I'm already packed
Started as a thought now baby we're takin' off
I'm not even mad
You're the best I ever had
Now it's gettin' hot so we better just hit the [?]

Tryin' to keep cool by the pool
Malibu it's heaven
Now I'm seein' you and the view
Oh the view I'm gettin'
Chillin' by the pool, by the pool
Me and you it's heaven
Now I'm seeing you, now I'm seeing you ooo hoo

I'm in Malibu hoo hoo
And when I'm with you hoo
I'm in Malibu
I'm in Malibu yeah
I'm in Malibu

What started as a please
Had me droppin' to my knees
I want to ride this wave in the sun or in the shade
Oh, don't be a tease
And let's kiss under the trees
We can misbehave, that's how memories are made

Tryin' to keep cool by the pool
Malibu it's heaven
Now I'm seein' you and the view
Oh the view I'm gettin'
Chillin' by the pool, by the pool
Me and you it's heaven
Now I'm seeing you, now I'm seeing you ooo hoo

I'm in Malibu hoo hoo
And when I'm with you hoo
I'm in Malibu
I'm in Malibu yeah
When I'm with you hoo
I'm in Malibu hoo hoo
When I'm with you hoo
I'm in Malibu
I'm in Malibu yeah
I'm in Malibu

Drop top doin' naughty
Everybody wants somebody
All I know is you have got me, you have got me
Drop top doin' naughty
Everybody wants somebody
All I know is you have got me, you have got me

Now I'm seeing you ooo hoo
I'm in Malibu hoo hoo
And when I'm with you hoo
I'm in Malibu
I'm in Malibu yeah
When I'm with you hoo
(When I'm with you)
I'm in Malibu hoo hoo
(I'm in Malibu)
When I'm with you hoo
(When I'm with you)
I'm in Malibu
I'm in Malibu yeah
I'm in Malibu"

Kassi Ashton

Califiornia, Missouri

Kassi Ashton is a singer-songwriter from California, Missouri. This is a soulful country song was released in 2018. But is it really a California song? I think so - she sings about California dreaming from the middle of the country. The best reason to put it on the list is that she taught me that there is a town in Missouri named California. I had no idea, and I have so many questions about it. (Is that Missouri dreamin'?) Is there a Hotel California there? Do the girls think of themselves as "California girls?" Do they think the other songs on this list are about them? (Maybe they are.) I think I already know the answer to this one - do they get sick and tired of people asking dumb questions like these about the name of their city?

"I graduated with 86 sheep, I was the black one
If there was a reputation to be out in this town, I had the bad one
I was born in the wrong place in the wrong time
But sometimes the wrong way makes you the right kind

I was all in a hurry
And if I got past, then I won't stop like I would get a head start on anything that hurt me
Anywhere I go, don't feel like you was that good or bad
I don't know if I'm wrong in a way
I don't know if I'm wrong and told ya
I guess that's what you get when you're born
And stuck in California
California, Missouri

I just really hope one day that you're gonna love me
I was California dreamin' from the middle of the country
I look for you in the best of them
And every face and city skyline
I got out of your way
But did you get out of my

I was all in a hurry
And if I got past, then I won't stop like I would get a head start on anything that hurt me
Anywhere I go, don't feel like you was that good or bad
I don't know if I'm wrong in a way
I don't know if I'm wrong and told ya
I guess that's what you get when you're born
And stuck in California
California, Missouri

Ain't no shining lights or palm trees
There's more stars in the sky than stars in the streets
It's bittersweet, it's bittersweet, it's bittersweet
There's too many goals and memories

I was all in a hurry
And if I got past, then I won't stop like I nothing could hurt me
Anywhere I go, don't feel like you was that good or bad
I don't know if I'm wrong in a way
I don't know if I'm wrong and told ya
I guess that's what you get when you're born
And stuck in California
California, Missouri"

Fred Astaire

City of the Angels

Fred Astaire was a singer and actor, and some call him the greatest dancer ever in the movies. Active from 1904-1981, he was one of the greatest stars of the Classic Hollywood era. This song is from the album "The Complete London Sessions" released in 1975.

"Gather round and join me in a toast
To that California town I love the most
City of the angels, pretty city of the angels
That's the only place I really want to be

Life's a taste of honey
When the days are bright and sunny
While you dream of picking money
Off a tree

City of the angels, pretty city of the angels
How I hate to leave her even for a while
Especially when it's cloudy
She gets ways of sayin' howdy
Makin' everyone so proud who wears a smile

L.A. doesn't begin to describe her name
She'll stay under your skin like a dame
Who became quite famous

Now if you got a cravin'
If you're lookin' for a haven
All my best advice I'm savin' for the end

Train or boat or jet there
Just as soon as you can get there
And I'll bet that you'll be met there
By a friend

Splash in the sea and foam
Cash in Paris and Rome
Just a little change'll
Make the city of the angels
Your home

Now if you got a cravin'
If you're lookin' for a haven
All my best advice I'm givin' once again

Train or boat or jet there
Just as soon as you can get there
And I'll bet that you'll be met there
By a friend

Oh somewhere the hearts are kind
Somewhere the stars still shine
And you'll be sittin' pretty
In the city of those angels
Of mine"

The Ataris

Summer '79

The Ataris area a pop punk rock band from Indiana, active since 1996. This song is from their best-selling album "So Long, Astoria" released in 2003.

"Our last day of summer
1979
We gotta live up one time before it's over
We will make history tonight

Out at the drive-in
All of our closest friends will be sneaking in
You'll be spending your whole night
Trying everything you can to get that girl to notice you

We Are the Champions
Playing loud on the radio station
Everyone sing along
With these anthems of our generation
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway
Put the top down, crawl into the back seat
Let's create anthems of our own tonight

Down at the roller rink
All the cool kids crowding around the air hockey table
Hey, my best friend likes you
I hear you shout at me as you go skating by

We Are the Champions
Playing loud on the radio station
Everyone sing along with these anthems of our generation
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway
Put the top down, crawl into the back seat
Let's create anthems of our own tonight

Sneak out of the window, darling
Let's live like outlaws, honey
We'll never look back

Climb out on this rooftop
And stare at the city lights below us
This world belongs to us tonight
The kids will keep raging on and they ain't ever gonna stop

We Are the Champions
Playing loud on the radio station
Everyone sing along with these anthems of our generation
Cruising down Pacific Coast Highway
Put the top down, crawl into the back seat
Let's create anthems of our own tonight...."

Atlas

San Diego

According to a Reddit thread, Atlas is the stage name of Luna Kelly, also known online as rapperatlas and by other names, including her deadname, which makes getting information about her difficult. This short song (less than a minute) was released in 2017.

"i knocked on your bedroom door
and waited for you to answer
i bought you a crimson rose
smelled just like you did

i smiled at the view outside
and stood in your empty driveway
could tell that something was wrong
little did i know

my time there was running short
your kisses were my ambrosia
they melted into my skin
'darling, i love you'

it's awful that i must go
it's awful we have to part now
'cause i left my beating heart
in san diego"

Atherton

Pretty Girl From San Diego

I don't know anything about this band except that they are from Atherton, a small city in San Mateo County near Palo Alto. After lots of Googling I gave up trying to find more information. I guess that's what happens when you name yourself after a city. This is the lead off song from the album "Pale Summer" released in 2003. It's a great but obscure indie rock song that I only learned about because someone suggested it for this list. The song was also released on the soundtrack compilation to the MTV series "Laguna Beach" - "MTV Presents Laguna Beach: Summer Can Last Forever" released in 2006.

"Hello hello hello
I'm glad I've found you
Been away a long long time
The sun will rise
And the sun will set tomorrow
And it's been rough on this old heart

You are, you are the only reason I have found
Come down, come down, come get me off the ground
I waited for you yesterday
To come on back and say you'll always stay

Come back home to California
Find a better way to make it through today
Come back home to California
The lights they shine so bright
They shine for you tonight
So come on baby
Come home to California

We can drive the coast of San Fransisco
Head on down to Hollywood
Hurry please
Summer's almost over
You know I'm fading and I wish you would

You are, you are the only reason I have found
Come down, come down, come get me off the ground
I waited for you yesterday
To come on back and say you'll always stay

Come on home to California
Find a better way to make it through today
Come back home to California
The lights they shine so bright
They shine for you tonight
So come on baby
Come home to California

Come home to California
California
California
California
California
California
California"

Augustana

California's Burning

Augustana is a rock band from San Diego. This song is from the album "All The Stars and Boulevards" released in 2005. Anyone who has helplessly watched the sky fill with wildfire smoke so thick it blocks the sun can understand what the narrator is going through here.

"California's burning, burning, burning to the ground...
and my head is turning, turning, turning round and round...
Allie's stomach's churning, churning, like a storm today...
and your mother's crying, crying, closing up the safe...

and I'm here, wondering where the sun has gone...
driving through to Mexico,
asking why there's no one home...

Encinitas likes to miss me, like nobody's child..
and my eyes like rainy Tuesdays, like to watch you smile...

and I'm here, wondering where the sun has gone...
driving through a Midwest storm,
asking why there's no one home..."

The Avalanches (featuring Rivers Cuomo & Pink Siifu)

Running Red Lights

The Avalanches are an electronic music group formed in Melbourne, Australia. known for their first album "Since I Left You" released in 2000 which was a crazy mash-up of all kinds of music and sound effects, my favorite being the scratched vocals from a parrot-training record on "Frontier Psychiatrist." Rivers Cuomo is the lead vocalist from Weezer, who have a lot of California songs here, and Pink Siifu is a rapper from Cincinnati based in L.A. This song is from the album "We Will Always Love You" released in 2020.

"Running, running red lights
Red lights, red lights
I been running red lights
To get to you
Running, running red lights
Where you been running all night
I been running red lights
Boom, boom, boom

I'm a thundercloud
Ready to burst, like Schrodinger
I'm crying in the car
An invalid
I'm off the grid

Hans is looking for Liesel
Living in Union Square
Shoot this rabid canine
Something's gone
Horribly wrong
Running, running red lights
Red lights, red lights
I been running red lights
To get to you
Running, running red lights
Where you been running all night
I been running red lights
Boom, boom, boom

I'm a thundercloud
Ready to burst, like Schrodinger
I'm crying in the car
An invalid
I'm off the grid

Hans is looking for Liesel
Living in Union Square
Shoot this rabid canine
Something's gone
Horribly wrong

Running, running red lights
Red lights, red lights
I been running red lights
To get to you
Running, running red lights
Where you been running all night
I been running red lights
Boom, boom, boom

The light of my life is going out tonight in a pink champagne Corvette
The light in my life is going out tonight
Without a flicker of regret (without a flicker of regret, dude)
I sleep three feet above the street in a pink champagne Corvette

Fly out into space, listen to the music the stars are making
Without a flicker of regret

California life is alright with me
California life is alright with me
We are, we are, we are, we are, we are all we have
California life is alright with me
California life is alright with me
California life is alright with me
We are, we are, we are, we are, we are all we have
California life is all right with me

Running, running red lights
Red lights, red lights
I been running red lights
To get to you
We are, we are, we are, we are, we are all we have
I been running red lights
Boom, boom, boom"

The Avett Brothers

The Avett Brothers are a folk rock band from North Carolina active since 2000.
This is from their fifth studio album "Emotionalism" released in 2007.

"Tell her, tell her what I'm thinkin'
Tell her, tell her what I'm dreamin'
And, hey, she just might just understand
Baby would you listen to me
Come across the kitchen to me
And I will tell ya best I can
'Bout how I know you love me
And how I want to love you back

People, people, people, they make it sound so easy
They say just do what your heart tells you to
But sometimes you cannot feel it
Sometimes you cannot hear it
Sometimes it won't talk back to you
And yeah I know you love me
And yeah I want to love you back
And how I know you love me
And how I want to love you bad

Far away I hear the rhythm of a song
Far away I get the feeling I belong, and so do you
And it goes like this

Oh no, no, don't want to leave you
Oh no, I want to keep you
Oh but I want to let you be
Oh no, I don't want to hear you
Say I don't want to be near you
Oh but I've got to set you free
And how I know you love me
And how I want to love you back
And yeah I know you love me
And yeah I want to love you bad

Far away I hear the rhythm of a song
Far away I get the feeling I belong, and so do you
And it goes like this

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la...."

Avicii

Gonna Love Ya

Avicii was a Swedish DJ/producer/musician who produced some great dance tracks before his 2018 suicide. This song from 2015 has a tropical house feel and a quick mention of California.

“I’m gonna love ya, like no one could
Make your heart feel the way it should
I'm gonna hold ya, when no one would
Cause I swear you deserve so good

Livin' up in California
Lovin' life but I've been waiting for ya
To twist my dreams and turn my fate
But God I hope it's not too late

I'm gonna love ya, I'm gonna love ya
I'm gonna love ya, I know I could

I'm gonna love ya, like no one could
Make your heart feel the way it should
I'm gonna hold ya, when no one would
Cause I swear you deserve so good

Sometimes it's hard to have the upper hand
When every dream you've had is turning into sand
You need someone to make your day
But he took your breath and blew it away

I'm gonna love ya, like no one could
Make your heart feel the way it should
I'm gonna hold ya, when no one would
Cause I swear you deserve so good…..”

Awolnation

California Halo Blue

Awolnation is a rock band formed in Los Angeles, active since 2009, fronted by Aaron Bruno. This song is from "Angel Miners & The Lightning Riders" released in 2020. According to Wickipedia, in the fall of 2018, while the band was on tour, Aaron Bruno's home studio and much of his property was destroyed in the Woolsey Fire. That, along with a mass shooting nearby, inspired him to write the songs in this album.

"Don't wanna talk about it, so I think I'll sing it with you
I thought I had until the morning, and I'd know what to do
And she said
I packed the car, and grabbed the dogs, and packed up plenty of food
Don't worry
And grabbed your journals, packed your soul, and grabbed your favorite shoes

California halo blue
California hang on through
California halo blue
California hang on through

I couldn't walk, I couldn't talk, you know I couldn't sit down
All I could do was wait around and pray for my home town
Remember
Ninth of November, don't forget about the trees and the birds
And their families
Humanity, now I can see the devil’s hold on this world

California halo blue
California hang on through
California halo blue
California hang on through

Remember, remember the ninth of November
Remember, remember the ninth of November
Remember, remember the ninth of November

California halo blue
California hang on through
California halo blue
California hang on through

Halo blue
Hang on through
Halo blue
Hang on through"

Awolnation

Pacific Coast Highway in the Movies

This is another song from "Angel Miners & The Lightning Riders" released in 2020.

"(I wonder why these)
Tears came uninvited to me
I wonder if I told you, would I find some relief
I feel like such a stranger from my head to my feet
My silver screen, my misery, my love, my defeat

Pacific Coast Highway in the movies
You promised me sunshine, why’s it gloomy?
We’ll wait ‘til the night to catch the moonbeam
Pacific Coast Highway in the movies

I swear my shadow knocked me straight to the floor
I’m seeing stars, I promise I will trust you no more
My skin and bones betray me, how the hell should I think?
My silver screen, my misery, my love, my deceit

Pacific Coast Highway in the movies
You promised me sunshine, why’s it gloomy?
We’ll wait ‘til the night to catch the moonbeam
Pacific Coast Highway in the movies

I slept inside of a chandelier last night
I’m always looking for the bright side of life
I’m lonely, I'm confused, and I’m glad that you’re here
Give me shiny things to stop my tears

Pacific Coast Highway in the movies
You promised me sunshine, why’s it gloomy?
We’ll wait ‘til the night to catch the moonbeam
Pacific Coast Highway in the movies

Oh God I think I’m beyond, la la la la
Do you belong? La la la la la
Cause I am beyond, la la la la la
Do you belong? La la la la la...."

Hoyt Axton

California Women

Hoyt Axton was a singer-songwriter originallly from Oklahoma who got his start singing folk songs in San Francisco clubs in the late 1950s. He's best known for writing songs that were hits for other singers, notably "Joy to the World" and "Never Been to Spain" for Three Dog Night. This is from the album "Joy to the World" released in 1971.

"Talk about your women in Birmingham,
And a lady from Baltimore.
But the girls I love get their toes in the sand,
Of the sweet Santa Monica shore.

Singin' California women, in the heat God Almighty.
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.
California women, in the heat God Almighty
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.

California women, in the heat God Almighty
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.
California women, in the heat God Almighty
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.

De, da'd 'n, de, de, de, de'd 'n, de, de'd 'n, de ...

Singin' California women, in the heat God Almighty
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.
California women, in the heat God Almight
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.

California women, in the heat God Almighty
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.
California women, in the heat God Almighty
Gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.
I gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.

California women, in the Greek, God, Amon.
I gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll.
California women, in the Greek, God, Amon.
I gotta sweet, sweet jelly roll."

The Babys

I Wish We All Could Leave California

The Babys are a British rock band that started in 1975. This song comes from their third album "Head First," released in 1979.

"When I came back home
From the USA
I had nothin' in my pockets
And not a lot to say
Though I knew somehow
We would meet real soon
But the way you've been avoidin' me
It's like I'm livin' on the moon

Here I am on this side of the stars
Livin' in California
And sometimes I get out of reach in the bars
Dreamin' about my life
And maybe one day I'll take a wife

Though I spent some
Time on the evil road
I've done things that I'm ashamed of
Oh man it's such a heavy load
Though I knew somehow
We would meet real soon
But the way you've been avoidin' me
It's like I'm livin' on the moon

Here I am on this side of the stars
Livin' in California
And sometimes I get out of reach in the bars
Dreamin' about my life
And maybe one day I'll take a wife
Oh...."

The Babylon Bee

This parody sung to the melody of the Beach Boy's "California Girls" was put on YouTube in August 2022 by The Babylon Bee, a news satire website based in Florida that has been described as a conservative Christian version of The Onion. Both fake news websites are very funny but the difference between them is that the Babyon Bee's audience doesn't realize that the news is fake.

The mask mandates and lockdowns were over before this video was dropped, which leads me to assume that these white supremacist MAGA gun nut bath-salts-smoking face-eating Florida Men and their emotional support pythons were too distracted to know that, probably because they were trying to force an alligator to drink beer, or they were shooting guns in the air to stop a hurricane, or maybe they were jumping on trampolines while naked, or it could be they were throwing an alligator through a Wendy's drive-thru window, or maybe... [insert your favorite Florida Man meme here.] (FYI, Gavin Newsom is roasted in the song because he was governor of California in 2022.)

"Well, SF's packed with feces,
You gotta watch your step up there,
And in Los Angeles with all their homeless camps,
The tents and drugs are everywhere
In Napa Newsom drops some
15 thousand bucks on wine
But in the rest of the state with all the mask mandates,
They keep us all locked up real tight

I wish we all could leave California, now
I wish we all could leave California
I wish we all could leave California, now

Well, Texas has more freedom
And pistol grips out there aren't banned
I'd dig a Florida place with no mask on my face
And no income tax sounds grand

I been all around this commie state
And my time here's about spent
Yeah, but I couldn't spot even one U-Haul lot
That had a single truck left to rent
(Gavin Newsom U-Haul Salesman of the Year)

I wish we all could leave California, now
I wish we all could leave California
I wish we all could leave California, now...."

The Babylon Bee

California Fleein'

This was put online in 2023 in another lame attempt to start a culture war between red and blue states. It's a parody song with uninspired homophobic lyrics sung to the melody of California Dreamin', made by a conservative Christian satirical website based in Florida that wants to make fun of the fact that the population of California has been decreasing. Why are these swamp snowflakes so obsessed with California? Instead of being so scared of people who are different from themselves, shouldn't they worry about their own traffic jams, low wages, rapid population growth, extreme heat and humidity, stinking seaweed, giant pythons, and rising sea levels, and get busy boarding up their windows before the next hurricane disaster?

I couldn't find any parody songs about Florida (because nobody knows any songs about Florida) so I asked ChatGPT to write one. It decided all on its own to use the melody of Green Day's "American Idiot" and wrote a song in about five seoonds. I've put the lyrics below the lyrics to this one. It's a bit out of date with the COVID references, but it's good enough that the Babylon Bee hive better not quit their day jobs....

"All the streets are brown
And the teacher's gay
I went for a walk
Got mugged along the way
I’d be safe from harm
If I moved from L.A.
California fleein’
I gotta get away

Stopped into a woke church
With Rainbow flags displayed
When I pulled out my KJV (with Hebrew and Greek)
The pastor burst into flames (Pastor was aflame)
I know Montana can be cold (It can be cold)
And Florida’s out of the way (Florida’s out of the way)
But still I’m California fleein’ (California fleein')
Just gotta get away

All the lights are down (All the lights are down)
The power’s out for days (power’s out for days)
Now I have to walk (Now I've gotta walk)
Can’t charge my Tesla today (Got no electricitay)
The taxes are so high (They be takin' all my money)
And the traffic's a pain (I’ve been on the 405 for half of the day)
California fleein' (California fleein')
Just gotta get away (I gotta get away)...."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Florida Parody Song - written by OpenAI's ChatGPT 3/23

Sung to the tune of "American Idiot" by Green Day

Verse 1:
Don't wanna be a part of the Florida scene
Where the governor's a clown, and the air is unclean
Ron DeSantis is the man in charge
But his policies are making us all feel large

Chorus:
Welcome to a state of disarray
Where COVID's on the rise, and the climate's in decay
Thanks to our governor, we're in a bad way
Florida's a disaster, we gotta change today

Verse 2:
DeSantis, can't you see what you've done?
Your mask mandates gone, now we're on the run
The virus is spreading, people are dying
You're too busy trying to keep your donors supplying

Chorus:
Welcome to a state of disarray
Where COVID's on the rise, and the climate's in decay
Thanks to our governor, we're in a bad way
Florida's a disaster, we gotta change today

Bridge:
The sea level's rising, the hurricanes are strong
But DeSantis still thinks we can do no wrong
We need leadership that cares for our land
Not just someone who wants to make a quick grand

Chorus:
Welcome to a state of disarray
Where COVID's on the rise, and the climate's in decay
Thanks to our governor, we're in a bad way
Florida's a disaster, we gotta change today

Outro:
We need someone who puts people first
Who won't let our state become the worst
We need change, and we need it now
To make Florida shine, and take us out of this shroud.

Burt Bacharach

Pacific Coast Highway

Burt Bacharach was a songwriter from Missouri, active 1950 to 2023. He is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century pop music for writing so many successful pop songs, for which he won plenty of Grammy awards, Oscars, and Emmys. This song is an instrumental that was released in 1969 on his album "Make it easy On Yourself." It sounds like something that was written for a soundtrack, but I don't know if it was. You can certainly use it for your own '60s sitcom soundtrack. Just pop the cartridge in the 8-track player and dig the groovy easy-listening horns and strings and bob your head to the piccolo solo as you drive the PCH with the top down.

Annie Bacon

California Heat

Annie Bacon is a singer-songwriter based in Ann Arbor Michigan via Maine and San Francisco, California. This song is from her fourth album "Storm" released in 2023. If you're wondering, Robert Dollar Hiking Trail is in northern San Rafael. Bay Area fog stays over the ocean when the temperature inland is hot. That's when it's "at bay." When it cools down you can watch it pouring inland over hilltops or through the Golden Gate over the bay.

"I'm not ready to write a song about you
So I'll write about your bench
On Robert Dollar hiking trail
How I'd wound the roads of San Rafael
Without water and forgetting
The California heat when the fog is still at bay
I'll write about the dust
Kicking clouds around my face

And the manzanita trees
Grown scrubby in the drought
How I whispered to the radio tower
'I'll trade my breath for an easy way out'
But the California heat pushed its weight on me
Then the bench came into view
And a fox did too

He hopped the path in front of me
He hid behind a cottonwood tree
So I started making plans for fending off
An attack that never came
An opportunity for rage

The California heat when the fog is still at bay
I wish you weren't dead
But it is that way
But I didn't feel you
It was just a bench with a beautiful view"

Badfinger

Look Out California

Badfinger was a power pop rock band from Wales, U.K., active from 1961-1975 and 1978-1990. This song is from their album "Airwaves" released in 1979 after the band got back together again with only two of the original four members.

"Bags are packed, jumpin' on a jet today
Feel so good 'cause I'm gettin' back to the U.S.A.
Temperature's risin', I'm flyin' back to the sun
Hangin' around old London town
Ain't good for too, too long

Look out California
I gotta warn ya
Look out solar city
You're lookin' pretty to me, yeah, to me

Feel so good, gettin' back to rock 'n' roll
So long since it felt so right to my very soul
My temperature's risin' 'cause I'm layin' back in the sun
Kickin' around old L.A. town
Too much, too much good fun

Look out California
I gotta warn ya
Look out solar city
You're lookin' pretty to me, yeah, to me

Got a good deal from a prominent record man
We're tryin' our hardest just to follow the plan
Back on the airwaves
Back in the airwaves
Back on the airwaves

(Back, back in the airwaves)
(Back, back in the airwaves)
(Back, back in the airwaves)
(Back, back in the airwaves)

Look out California
(Back, back in the airwaves)
I gotta warn ya
(Back, back in the airwaves)
Look out solar city
(Back, back in the airwaves)
You're lookin' pretty to me...."

Badflower

Johnny Wants to Fight

Badflower is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, active since 2013. This is from their second studio album "This Is How The World Ends" released in 2021.

"Yo, Johnny, man, it's me
I heard some s**t's been going down with your girl
I'm really sorry to hear that, man, that sucks
But hey, look, if you're not doing anything tonight
We're all going out, Hollywood, Sunset Strip
We'll have some drinks, meet some girls
Start some f**king trouble, f**k, I don't know
Should be a good time, man
Maybe help you forget about your situation
I don't know, well hit me back if you wanna come out
Peace, brother

My best friend's home while his girlfriend's sleeping around
He's drunk and he's mad and he's looking for somebody to pound
He cheats all the time and he plays like he don't even miss her
But now he's f**king mad 'cause he knows that somebody was with her

Something must've gave me away

Yeah, if Johnny wants to fight, let him fight
Let him kick some f**king ass into the ground
Saying, 'Hallelujah'
Taking f**king shots on the rocks
With the rockers and the freaks
That sell us the coke and ketamine
Shallow loser
Salvation is so far away, yeah
If Johnny wants to fight, let him fight
Let him paint some f**king face all over the town
Saying, 'Hallelujah'

But I'm guilty and it's starting to show
The truth is the girl told me everything I needed to know
Her clothes were on the ground
She was down, she was ready to go
Anybody would've done something so natural, oh

How the hell'd we end up this way?

Yeah, if Johnny wants to fight, let him fight
Let him kick my f**king ass into the ground
Saying, 'Hallelujah'
Take your f**king shot
Give it everything you've got
Because the people wanna see it, baby
Shallow loser
Salvation is so far away
Yeah, if Johnny wants to fight, let him
Get it, I'm just trying ...
Hallelujah (Yeah)
Hallelujah (Oh-oh-oh)
Hallelujah

And I'm wrong 'cause I slept with her a lot, and I
I wanna tell him, but I think I'd better not
'Cause I shoulda f**king run
But she's hotter than the sun
And every day she's f**king with me
Take this f**king halo from me

Yo, it's Johnny, man
Next time, I see you
You're f**king dead!

Yeah, if Johnny wants to fight, let him fight
Let him break my f**king nose until I'm barely breathing
Hallelujah
Take your f**king shot
Give it everything you've got
Because your girlfriend put her body on me
Shallow loser
Salvation is so far away
Yeah, if Johnny wants to fight, let him fight
Let him paint my f**king face all over the town
Saying, 'Hallelujah'

Johnny wants to fight, yeah, uh
Johnny wants to fight, yeah, uh-uh
Johnny wants to fight, yeah, uh
Johnny wants to fight"

Bad Religion

Land of Competition

Bad Religion is a punk rock band (with harmonies) formed in Los Angeles in 1979. This song is from their 3rd album Suffer, released in 1988.

"See there's a girl who's afraid of the world so she stays at home.
Next there's a boy who seems so lost in his joy, he's all alone.
The camera's on them, they're in the land of competition.
Southern California air feeds them.

And they know they are best 'cause of the way they are dressed,
But you can bet you are not welcome in their home.
See there's a girl who sits and watches the world from her blue screen.
Also a boy who truly wants to destroy his hometown scene.
They both want to travel to the land of competition.

Southern California will destroy them,
And they won't be the best, they'll be the poseurs who dress
Like the plastic idiots who they copy.
Tell me what do you need to make you happy? Indeed, is it out of your reach?
Beware of number one, see all the damage it has done, there are so few of them.
You won't find too many in the land of competition.

Southern California doesn't breed them.
If you just want the best turn to yourself for the rest
And forget about the ones who have it all.
Be careful of the ones who have it all.
Be careful of the ones who have it all.
Be careful of the ones who have it all."

Bad Religion

Los Angeles is Burning

This is another song about California wildfires, from the band's 2004 album The Empire Strikes First.

"Somewhere high in the desert near a curtain of a blue
St. Anne's skirts are billowing
But down here in the city of the lime lights
The fans of Santa Ana are withering
And you can’t deny that living is easy
If you never look behind the scenery
It's showtime for dry climes
And bedlam is dreaming of rain

When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the murder wind
So many lives are on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is burning

This is not a test
Of the emergency broadcast system
Where Malibu fires and radio towers
Conspire to dance again
And I cannot believe the media mecca
They're only trying to peddle reality,
Catch it on prime time, story at nine
The whole world is going insane

When the hills of Los Angeles are burning
Palm trees are candles in the murder wind
So many lives are on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is burning

A placard reads
"The end of days"
Jacaranda boughs are bending in the haze

More a question than a curse
How could hell be any worse?

The flames are stunning
The cameras running
So take warning

When the hills of Los Angeles are burnin
Palm trees are candles in the murder wind
So many lives are on the breeze
Even the stars are ill at ease
And Los Angeles is burning"

Bag of Toys

Bag of Toys' website describes the group as a "...a high energy four piece acoustic surf-rock band founded in San Francisco and currently based in Wilmington, NC." This song is from their album "Nooner" released in 2005

"California's got the sunshine, year round, cheap wine
Fresh waves, hot babes, lather on the sunscreen
Warm days, cool nights, everything is just right
Soft sand, last tan, sleepin' on the rooftop

California, California, California
No I ain't never leaving you

California's got the girl I love, the mountains rising up above
The beach scene, so clean, the parties raging every night
The clean air, millionaire, breathtaking swimwear
Fake boobs, boob tube, something's always going on

California, California, California
No I ain't never leaving you

California's got the earthquakes, mudslides keep awake
Big sharks, homeless parks, traffic jams round the clock
No rain, insane, all the kids on cocaine
Crap luck, dumb struck, man I think I love this place
When I get drinking, man I'm always thinking that

My state's better than your state,
Better than my state, better than all the states put together
My state's better than your state, better than, baby
My state's better than your state,
Better than my state, better than all the states put together
My state's better than your state, better than, baby

California's got the porn stars, strip clubs, wildfires
Hot bods, street rods, everybody's packing heat
The wet sand, rock band, out to get a nice tan
Tan lines, parking fines, gotta do what you can
California's got the nudist beach, freak shows for the world to see
Haight Street, bare feet, Democrats, they own this state
Divorce rate, sounds great, unless you've got yourself a mate
Rocks stars, cool bars, come once you're never far from

California, California, California
No I ain't never leaving you

California's got the earthquakes, mudslides keep awake
Big sharks, homeless parks, traffic jams round the clock
No rain, insane, all the kids on cocaine
Crap luck, dumb struck, man I think I love this place, yeah
When he get's drinking, man he's always thinking that

My state's better than your state, baby
My state's better than your state, yeah
My state's better than your state, baby
My state's better than your state, yeah...."

Bahari

The California Earthquake Song

Bahari is a trio of female pop singer-songwriters and muscians that formed in Manhattan Beach in 2013. One member grew up in Kenya speaking Swahili and "Bahari" means "ocean" in Swahili. One thing I don't understand about this song is the line "Drive down to heaven on the 105." That's not exactly a scenic highway - it leads from Norwalk to El Segundo, but I guess if you go a few miles south you'll get to Manhattan Beach so maybe that's why they mention it. This is beginning to sound like that Saturday Night Live Californians sketch where all they do is give driving directions around L.A.

"It's a state of mind, it's a state of grace
Close your eyes, drift away
The nights are warm and the days are long
Come, pretty baby, where you belong
The taste of her skin makes you feel alive
Drive down to heaven on the 105
Oooh, everybody needs a little
California

I can be your California
I can be your getaway
I love ya, but I have to warn ya
You can visit but you cannot stay
Well I could be your California baby
And we could be a flawed paradise
Nothing perfect lasts forever
But baby wouldn't that be nice?

A kiss from the sun, let it burn your skin
I'll meet you tonight but don't ask where I've been
The liquor store on 7th, they don't check IDs
Yeah a pretty girl can always get whatever she needs

I can be your California
I can be your getaway
I love ya, but I have to warn ya
You can visit but you cannot stay
Well I could be your California baby
And we could be a flawed paradise
Nothing perfect lasts forever
But baby wouldn't that be nice?

California-fornia love
California-fornia love
Love
I can be your, I can be your...

I can be your California
I can be your getaway
I love ya, but I have to warn ya
You can visit but you cannot stay
Well I could be your California baby
And we could be a flawed paradise
Nothing perfect lasts forever
But baby wouldn't that be nice"

Bart Baker

California Boys

Bart Baker is a web-based comedian and parody artist from Chicago, active since 2006. He calls himself the king of music video parodies, and his nearly 10 million YouTube subscribers seem to agree. This 2010 parody of Katy Perry's "California Gurls" has over 50 million views.

"Greetings, loved ones
It's time to get horny

I know a place where boys look like AC Slater
Warm, wet and wild
Like your stepson in the water
Sipping gin and prunes
Constipated by the palm trees (can't dump)
The boys break their necks
Tryna creep a little sneak peek (at us)

You could travel the world but nothing comes close to this bag of bones
Once you see my hips thrust, you'll be falling in love
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!

California boys, we're unforgettable
Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin so hot, we'll melt your popsicle
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!
California boys, we're undeniable
Fine, fresh, fierce, hard as a rock
West Coast represent, now put your hands up
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!

Toned, tan, fit and ready
Staring at boys makes me hot and sweaty
Wild, clumsy, dropping soap
These are the boys I love the most
I mean the ones, I mean like he's the one
Kiss him, touch him, squeeze his buns!
The boy's a freak
I like to spy on him on the beach
Cum boys, bang them out
Big man ass hanging out
Tommy, and Bobby, and Rodney
Three of my favorites that make me horny!

California boys, we're unforgettable
Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top
Sun-kissed skin so hot, we'll melt your popsicle
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!
California boys, we're undeniable
Fine, fresh, fierce, hard as a rock
West Coast represent, now put your hands up
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!
Oooooh-oh-oooooh!

I really wish you could all be California boys"

B. J. Baker

Grant Avenue

This is a big musical number in the Chinese New Year's parade scene from the musical "Flower Drum Song" which was set in San Francisco's Chinatown. The 1961 movie features the star Nancy Kwan lip syncing, but the real singer is B.J. Baker. Kwan and Baker's "I Enjoy Being a Girl" number is another highlight of the movie musical which was groundbreaking in that it featured entertainers of Asian heritage instead of non-Asian actors in "yellow-face" makeup, which was common in those days. I wish someone would have told Rogers and Hammerstein, who wrote the song for the original 1958 musical, that they're called "Cable Cars" not "trolleys" in San Francisco.

Pat Suzuki performed the song in the orignal Broadway musical. Her version is discussed uner her name.

"Western streets with eastern manners
Tall pagodas and golden banners
Throw their shadows through the lantern glow

You can shop for precious jade
Or teakwood tables or silk brocade
Or see a bold and brassy night club show
On the most exciting thoroughfare I know

Grant Avenue, San Francisco,
California, U.S.A.
Looks down from Chinatown
Over a foggy bay

You travel there in a trolley
In a trolley up you climb
Dong! Dong! You're in Hong Kong
Having yourself a time

You can eat, if you are in the mood
Shark-fin soup, bean cake fish
The girl who serves you all your food
Is another tasty dish
(You know that)

Can't have a new way of living
Till you're living all the way
On Grant Avenue
(Where is that?)
San Francisco, That's where's that!
California U.S.A."

Danney Ball and The Hollywood Songwranglers

Danney Ball's LinkedIn page says he's from Hemet, California, and lists him as a performing BMI songwriter and the CEO of Danney Ball Productions since 1973, so he's been in the business for a long time. This country novelty song is from the album "Palm Springs, I Love You" released in 1999. He also has written songs about Palm Springs, Hemet, and Temecula.

"Hold 'er n... she's rarin' Do you hear that rumblin' sound?
Mother Earth for what it's worth Is knockin' on the ground
Move back from that fault line, save your rattled soul
They say if it's the big one we won't ever fill the hole

Please tell Mr. Richter we can't take it any more
Stop the quake, slow down the shake let us off the floor
His silly seismic rumbling has us all scared to death
Until the ground stops movin' we're gonna hold our breath

In California the powers that be are shakin' in their boots
'Cause they might lose their tax base the veggies and the fruits
The vineyards and the studios might fall into the sea
Dont' be scared just get prepared then put your mind at ease
Call the Governor's office, our town has just been hit
This jolting is revolting, terra firma don't exist

Gotta stop this agitation of our houses and our land
We're livin' at the beach now since the shiftin' of the sand
Well it measured over eight point three as shock waves ricocheted
A power that moved the likes of me, who wouldn't be afraid?

What triggered this lambasting we may never understand
A call to wake the universe who shook us with his hand

In California the powers that be are shakin' in their boots
'Cause they might lose their tax base the veggies and the fruits
The vineyards and the studios might fall into the sea
Dont' be scared just get prepared then put your mind at ease
Call the Governor's office, our town has just been hit
This jolting is revolting, terra firma don't exist

It was of such great magnitude, the yard rolled like a tide
I grabbed a china cabinet and hung on for the ride
I can't forget that tremblor tearin' fissures to our town
Our world is just a splittin' trust when the big one's goin' down

Well I felt the San Andreas move, began to roll then rock
Will this be cataclysmic or just an aftershock?
The laughing eyes of nature sees a shaker drives you blind
Don't let this madness crack the epicenter of your mind

In California the powers that be are shakin' in their boots
'Cause they might lose their tax base the veggies and the fruits
The vineyards and the studios might fall into the sea
Dont' get scared just get prepared then put your mind at ease
Call the Governor's office, our town has just been hit
This jolting is revolting, terra firma don't exist...."

Ballyhoo!

California King

Ballyhoo! is a reggae rock and punk band from Maryland active since 1995. This song is from their album "Message to The World" released in 2020. It's another song about the extra-large king bed, just like Rihanna's, but that's good enough for this list.

"You said I act so dumb when I’m drunk and it’s really not cool
I said I’d rather be alone with you makin‘ out in our birthday suits

I’m tired of hanging with your lame ass friends and their phones
Pretending you like em, I know that you don’t
Thought we came to party but instead we’re taking shots and I wanna go home

So Foolish
Why we gotta always do this
Pick it up then we lose it
No, We won’t remember this tomorrow
Save it
The California king is waiting
We should go to bed, stop hating
No, We won’t remember this tomorrow

You know I can’t hold my tongue or my liquor when I’m 20 beers deep
You drank a dozen White Claws, now your claws, are buried in me

Now the tension is bubbling up
People are staring, we don’t give a f**k
It’s a runaway train
An active volcano about to erupt
Enough is enough

Oh, So Foolish
Why we gotta always do this
Pick it up then we lose it
No, We won’t remember this tomorrow
Save it
The California king is waiting
We should go to bed, stop hating
No, We won’t remember this tomorrow

Sleep on it
Baby let’s sleep on it
On our California King
Where our words don’t mean a thing

Sleep on it
Baby let’s sleep on it
On our California King
Where our words don’t mean a thing
Sleep on it
Baby let’s sleep on it
On our California King
Where our words don’t mean a thing

Oh, So Foolish
Why we gotta always do this
Pick it up then we lose it
No, We won’t remember this tomorrow
Save it
The California king is waiting
We should go to bed, stop hating
No, We won’t remember this tomorrow"

The Band CAMINO

California (Live at El Rey Theatre)

The Band CAMINO is a rock band founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 2015.
This rousing rocker is from their album "Heaven" released in 2017.

' Keepin' my mouth shut, 'cause I couldn't tell you
Everything I saw when I was still a boy in school
I was still a boy in school
Sometimes I feel like I've gone insane
'Cause I can't change my mind but I can't stay the same
Except you
I still feel the same about you

I can't help but dream about your song
Your voice in my head makes me feel numb
You said
"I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
Drove all the way from California
I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
I knew I couldn't live without ya
I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
Drove all the way from California
I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
I knew I couldn't live without ya"

So many people, won't make a sound
So many people looking for something to do
We're all looking for something to do
I feel annoying most of the time
But I keep on talking just to keep my mind off you
Just to keep my mind off you

I can't help but dream about your song
Your voice in my head makes me feel numb
You said
"I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
Drove all the way from California
I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
I knew I couldn't live without ya
I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
Drove all the way from California
I've been home, I'm waiting on ya
I knew I couldn't live without ya"

I've been home, I'm waiting on ya, I'm waiting on ya
I've been home, I'm waiting on ya, I'm waiting on ya....'

Banded Future

California Dreamin'

Banded Future is a hip-hop duo formed in Los Angeles in 2021. This fast rap with a great old school soul chorus was released in 2022.

"Don't wake me up, just let me lie
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'
Don't bring me down, I wanna fly
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'
Don't wake me up, just let me lie
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'
Don't bring me down, I wanna fly
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'

You all I need is pretty women and some palm trees
Fruit cup ... and a cool breeze
...rollin' Colorado to Downtown
Top down new keys
Got the weather feelin' heavenly
Comin' out the house it's never under 70
All it takes is ... the melody
Now everybody ... down on my celebrity
I don't know
Papparazzi at the house I'm gated
Car ... worth ... the price I paid it
Got a little lost in the sauce but I never gave up
And I 'm really glad that I waited
Now I'm shaded, sippin' on my juice
I got a little change so I hired a masseuse
She like a hundred pounds but she made my back crack
I feel like Diddy in the city ...
Take that, take that

Don't wake me up, just let me lie
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'
Don't bring me down, I wanna fly
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'
Don't wake me up, just let me lie
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'
Don't bring me down, I wanna fly
'Cause I'm California dreamin'
California dreamin'...."

Band of Heathens

Green Grass of California

Band of Heathens is a rock band from Austin, Texas, active since 2005. This musical history of marijuana in California is from the album "Duende" released in 2017. Sure, if you want to get on Mendocino County time these days a smaller stash might cost you a fortune more than it did in the past, but when you factor in all the former costs of having to find and buy it from a sketchy drug dealer and all the paranoia and fear of jail time that came with the felony use and possession of a Schedule 1 controlled substance, it's actually much cheaper now that it's legal. In California, at least. Texas is another story.

"Back in the '70s
Toking Panama Red to the Pleiades
Constellations falling from the sky
Then came the newest kick
Sinsemilla for the Mexican brick
Never brings you down but gets you high

Oh, the green grass of California
Pacific breeze so gentle and so kind
When your eyes are red
Spinning in your head
Remember it's only in your mind

Then came the stronger stuff
Single props couldn't haul enough
To keep on Mendocino County time
Up and down the PCH
From the black sand beach
To the redwood gate
They engineered a stronger strain and kind

Oh, the green grass of California
Pacific breeze so gentle and so kind
When your eyes are red
Spinning in your head
Remember it's only in your mind

We used to roll up another and another
Don't bogart brother, you're not alone
Now a smaller stash
Will cost you twice the cash
And half as much will lift you to a new time zone

Oh, the green grass of California
Pacific breeze so gentle and so kind
When your eyes are red
Spinning in your bed
Remember it's only in your mind
When your eyes are red
So heavy in your head
Remember it's only in your mind
Remember it's only in your mind"

Wendy Jane Bantam

Rattlesnake Kate

This song is about a Colorado woman nicknamed "Rattlesnake Kate" who reportedly killed 140 rattlesnakes in 1925 to protect her son, and made a dress from their skins. It's from the album "Summer Devil" released in 2017. I hope Kate didn't ship her son to California just to keep him safe from rattlesnakes, because the Golden State's got lots of buzzworms, too.

"Rattlesnake Kate, Rattlesnake Kate
This is a story about Rattlesnake Kate
Rattlesnake Kate, Rattlesnake Kate
Wore a rattlesnake dresssssss

Rattlesnake Kate, Rattlesnake Kate
Born on a dirt farm down by the lake
Rattlesnake Kate, Rattlesnake Kate
Killed a hundred forty snakes with a garden rake

Way back when in the olden days
Women were sold for a bale of hay
Sold rattles and skins to make her way
Stored the venom in a hide-a-way

Shipped her son to Califor-ni-aaaay
Rattlesnake Kate saved the day...."

Bobby Bare

California Dreams

Bobby Bare is a country music singer-songwriter originally from Ohio, active since 1956. This song is from his album "The Real Thing" released in 1970. If anybody knows where I can one of those money-growing trees, let me know.

"Let me carry that old suitcase, hon'
And here's my hat to shade your pretty head from the sun
Let's keep movin' down the road that has no end, it seems
For a long time we've been dreamin' California dreams

Where the sands are gold and blue the sea
Money grows from every tree
It all waits there for you and me, California dreams

This old road gets longer every mile
And honey, I know this is no place for a woman with child
But soon we'll have someone to share our plans and our schemes
And our baby will be a part of California dreams

I should have known this would be too much for you
But I thank you, honey, for lovin' me enough to come along
'Cause you've been so true
And it just won't be the same when I reach California's shinin' sea
'Cause without you there beside me, there's just no California dreams

Where the sands are gold and blue the sea
Money grows from every tree
It all waits there for you and me, California dreams

California dreams
California..."

Warren Barker Orchestra

77 Sunset Strip - TV Show Theme

This is a version of the original theme song to the private detective TV series (based on a non-existant address on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles) that ran from 1958-1964. This version comes from the show's soundtrack album that was released in 1958. The much better original theme, with a faster tempo and finger snaps that sound like a whip cracking, was written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston, but I don't know who performed it.
Listen to the original theme here.

"Seventy Seven Sunset Strip
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip

The street that wears a fancy label
That's glorified in song and fable.
The most exciting people pass you by
Including a private eye

Seventy Seven Sunset Strip
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip

You'll meet the high brow and the hipster
The starlet and the phony tipster
You'll see most every kind of gal and guy
Including a private eye

Seventy Seven Sunset Strip
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip
Seventy Seven Sunset Strip"

Courtney Barnett

Kim's Caravan

Courtney Barnett, from Melbourne, Australia, is an outstanding singer-songwriter and a great guitar player, too. With a deadpan delivery she speak/sings about asthma attacks, organic vegetables, and house shopping, turning the mundane into the universal. After a couple of great EPs she released her first full album in March 2015 "Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit" on which you'll find this song which describes the devastation of Australia's environment, not California's, and mentions the Sunset Strip in Los Angeleeze only to clarify that she's not singing about it, she's singing about the Sunset Strip on Phillip Island, which is south of Melbourne, Australia, but it's a good excuse for me to put her on my list. For more great songs of hers check out Dead Fox, Avant Gardener, Depreston, Pedestrian at Best, An Illustration of Loneliness, and History Eraser.

"Watermarks on the ceiling
I can see Jesus and he's frowning at me
I see a dead seal on the beach
The old man says he's already saved it three times this week
Guess it just wants to die
I would wanna die too
With people putting oil into my air
But to be fair, I've done my share
Guess everybody's got their different point of view

I was walking down Sunset Strip, Phillip Island, not Los Angeles
Got me some hot chips and a cold drink
Took a sandy seat on the shore
There's a paper on the ground, it makes my headache quite profound
As I read it out aloud
It said "The Great Barrier Reef it ain't so great anymore
It's been raped beyond belief, the dredgers treat it like a whore"
I drank 'til I was sinking, sank 'til I was thinking
That I'm thankful for this view
We either think that we're invincible or that we are invisible
When realistically we're somewhere in between
We all think that we're nobody but everybody is somebody else's somebody

Don't ask me what I really mean
I am just a reflection
Of what you really wanna see
So take you want from me...."

Chris Baron

The Sacramento Song

Chris Baron is a music artist based in Portland, Oregon, active since 1998. I'm not sure when this folk/rock song was first released, but it appears to be 2018. There's nothing in the lyrics that mentions Sacramento, but it's titled The Sacramento Song, so here it is. Maybe it's about a family reunion trip to the Capital City and they're driving south from Portland. I'm gonna stick with that for now. There's also a version of this song by Chris Baron and Two Secrets, which his web page calls his funky folk ensemble.

"Wastin’ time when I should be driving
Everyday life can be hypnotizing
Please remind me when I start to spiral away

Southbound four of us, the moon was rising
Freedom and free on the closing horizon
Three of us for a family reunion
And I, for a taste of the times

Hold me close as darkness falls
My skin, my body can feel the pulse
As we move, closing on our destination
Sleep to the hum and the whine

Poolside, morning, forever, awhile
For some it’s a dream and for some a lifestyle
Sweet surrender to the curves of the water
The smile of fortune is kind

Easing my mind as my lady is driving
Troubles will burn where the road does widen
Free and Freedom are words that we seldom believe
Or really know what it means

Southbound four of us, and love was shining
Freedom and free ever mesmerizin’
Too few precious days in a lifetime of strivin’
For some peace of mind"

Nessa Barrett

Tired of California

Nessa Barrett, aka Nessa, is a singer-songwriter and Tik Tok personality from New Jersey, active since 2019 when she was a teenager. This song was released in 2022.

"(I'm so tired of California, I'm so tired of L.A.
Where the real thing comes as often as the California rain)

I get sick of sunshine, on my perfect skin
Vapid conversation, giving me the spins
Driving down Mulholland, closing both my eyes
'Cause they say you get more famous when you die
And everyone seems fine
Am I losing my mind?

I'm so tired of California, I'm so tired of L.A.
Where the real thing comes as often as the California rain
I got all these legal toxins in my blood and in my brain
I keep saying that I'm leaving but it doesn't work that way

I can't feel my heartbeat, way up in the hills
Burning down my mansion, didn't write a will
Front row at my funeral, crocodile tears
Came here for the weekend, but I haven't left in years
(Is that weird?)

I'm so tired of California, I'm so tired of L.A.
Where the real thing comes as often as the California rain
I got all these legal toxins in my blood and in my brain
I keep saying that I'm leaving but it doesn't work that way

Can I be young forever?
Would it be fun, forever?
Can I be young forever?
Would it be fun, forever?

(We're so tired of California, we're so tired of L.A.
Where the real thing comes as often as the California rain
We got all these legal toxins in our blood and in our brains
We keep saying that we're leaving but it doesn't work that way)

I'm so tired of California, I'm so tired of L.A.
Where the real thing comes as often as the California rain
I got all these legal toxins in my blood and in my brain
I keep saying that I'm leaving but it doesn't work that way"

Nessa Barrett (featuring jxdn)

La Di Die

Jxdn is a singer-songwriter and TikTok personality from Tennessee, born in 2001. This was released in early 2021. It's got a brief mention of rain in California and an allusion to California Dreamin', and some nice word play on fame and joining the 27 club like Curt Cobain, in 9 years.

"Does it rain in California?
Only dream I've ever known
Will they love you when you're famous?
Where you'll never be alone?
Hope someday I'll find nirvana
I'll be looking down below
I'll be dead at twenty-seven
Only nine more years to go

I got a bully in my head
Fake love, fake friends
I was broken when you left
Now you hear me everywhere you go

La da di, oh la di da
Gonna be a superstar
Be the girl you used to know
Playing on the radio
La da di, oh la di die
Loving me is suicide
I'm a dreamer, I'm on fire
La da di, run for your life

Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, ah-ah-ah-ah
Yeah-yeah, I'm jxdn, I'm jxdn

Said I'm gonna be a rockstar, yeah yeah yeah
Told her I don't want a war, yeah yeah yeah
I don't see me going far, yeah yeah yeah
That's what happens when I fall apart
All of me wants all of you
But I'm far away and I can't choose
Got a lotta lessons that I need to learn
Got a lotta lessons
My depression and misconceptions
And all the mistakes that lead to lessons
My depression, it makes me question
My depression, it makes me question

La da di, oh la di da
Gonna be a superstar
Be the girl you used to know
Playing on the radio
La da di, oh la di die
Loving me is suicide
I'm a dreamer, I'm on fire
La da di, run for your life

Does it rain in California
Where the angels cry for me?
Want the drugs that taste like candy
And blood diamonds in my teeth
Ah!

La da di, oh la di da
Gonna be a superstar
Be the girl you used to know
Playing on the radio
La da di, oh la di die
Loving me is suicide
I'm a dreamer, I'm on fire
La da di, run for your life

Yeah, I'm gonna be a superstar"

Eef Barzelay

Shaker Star

Eef Barzelay is an Israeli-born singer-songwriter from New Jersey, previously with the noise rock band Clem Snide. This song is from a 2009 EP he made of covers of songs from the band The Transmissionary Six called "Black Tin Rocket (Songs of the Transmissionary Six.) It's a solo acoustic guitar song that mentions the song "" which as far as I know is the song released in 2001 by Steve Wynn. Terri Tarantula wrote this song and released it in 2009, but I prefer Barzelay's version because of his slight changes to the melody that make the song soar.

"We could be unfettered
This I know for sure
Crystalize everything
Ignition contact with you, with you

(Chorus)

Shaker shaker, start the car
Shaker, shaker star
Shaker shaker, start the car
Shaker, shaker star
Let's fall in love with a song
Drums and guitar
Drive around singin'
Death Valley Rain
Again

Sky might drench tomorrow
Flood the whole damn week
Biblical commandment
Ingnition contact with you with you

(Chorus)

This might sound unteathered
The rope's got two ends like we do
Take one and I'll take the other
Ignition to contact with you with you

(Chorus)"

Peter Matthew Bauer

Flowers

Peter Matthew Bauer is a singer-songwriter from the Washington D.C. area, active since 1996, and a member of the indie rock band The Walkmen. This is from his third studio album "Flowers" released in 2022. The production is a bit noisy and distorted which makes the lyrics a little hard to understand but I'm pretty sure he sings "blood moon over Malibu" and not "great move on the melody" as I read on some of the lyrics sites online. To me some of the imagery in the song - fire, mountains, the ocean - evokes a wildfire in Malibu, maybe the big one in 2018.

"I saw flowers on the ocean
They were floating like the dream
Walk daily through the fire
Wander out into the sea

Tread lightly on those flowers
?[Leave those gardens on the stairs]?
The summer′s killers all locked up
We can walk the streets again

We're saving the night
We're saving the night
We′re saving the night
As it was back then

Feeling control
Feeling control
Flowers on the ocean
Peace for your soul

Fire on the highway
Sky turns pink and red
Blood moon over Malibu
The creeps come out again

We're saving the night
We're saving the night
We′re saving the night
As it was back then

Feeling control
Feeling control
Flowers on the ocean
Peace for your soul

At the edge of the darkness
It all comes apart
Sun on the mountain
Rest for your heart...."

Be Brave Bold Robot

Sacramento

Be Brave Bold Robot is a rock band based in Sacramento. This song is from their album "Press E to Continue" released in 2015. If you were expecting an ironic complaint or a criticism you'll be surprised to learn that it's actually an homage to Capital City.

"God bless Sacramento, and the birds in her trees

Rivers and railroads have made up this town
The same waterways that our trees travelled down
To find rest in riverbeds and meet destiny
Keeping us sacred in its grand canopy
God bless Sacramento, and the birds in her trees

A gift for Sierra at the base of the hills
Left by Saint Francisco and growing ever still
A gateway from the bay to Lago Tahoe
As varied our landscape, so be our people
Worldly Sacramento, a melting pot full

Four major highways of shimmering lanes
Supplanting, surrounding the museum trains
In Old Town, the whole town has become a city
Heart of one of the largest economies
God bless Sacramento, and our gorgeous county

Business and poor men and politicians
Artists and lovers, all denominations
It's much less, our differences age rank and class
Than finding your own spot of Capitol Park grass
A peace on Sacramento, tranquil as glass

So find a bicycle and ride it all day
The bike lanes all arranged to safely convey
And know that we're lucky although we may sneeze
Metropolis plopped amidst sanctuary
I miss you Sacramento, everytime I leave

God Bless You Sacramento
And your stiff delta breeze
And your bats and your bees
And the birds in your trees"

Be Calm Honcho

I Love California

Be Calm Honcho is a group from the San Francisco Bay Area. The band is fronted by Shannon Harney from Shannon Harney & the Everybody Band. This song is off the album "Honcho Dreams" released in 2014.

"Along the highway
Cursing with the gang again.
We on another getaway
We are best friends.
And you are better than you think
Wish you could see what I can see
You are better than you think
Wish you could see what I can see

And the boys drove up from Los Angeles that weekend
Hugging the 1 like a bible and smoking all the while
The girls descended down from the clouds of San Francisco
Window draping limbs for better tracing pelicans

I love California like you do
I fall for her harder in the full moon
Meet me by the creek
I’ll be there all day
Wading in waist deep
Beneath the meteor display

Beneath the starlight
Soaking in the deep pools
I am a firefly
Now I can really see you
And you are better than you think
Wish you could see what I can see
You are better than you think
Wish you could see what I can see

And when they finally met midway between Hollywood and The Bay
They entangled at angles and covered each other with each other
Like they’d been doing since they were teenagers
Toasting the coast and beyond and the sand they stood on
Was f**king violet

I love California like you do
I fall for her harder in the full moon
Meet me by the creek
I’ll be there all day
Wading in waist deep
Beneath the firework display"

Be Calm Honcho

Pretty on the West Coast

This song is from the EP "Together" released in 2013, as far as I can figure out. Of course "the West Coast" refers to more than just California, but, no offense to Oregon or Washington, this song is obviously not about either of those states with lines such as "...the land that the sun loves most..."

"Ain't if fun
To be pretty on the west coast
Ain't it a good time
To be free in the land that the sun loves most

I know that we are kings
I swear we'll be big
Just livin out our dreams
Couldn't pay us to quit

I know we are cool
I know we'll be fine
We did everything we could
To not make up our mind..."

Beabadoobee

Beabadoobee is the professional name of Beatrice Kristi Ilejay Laus, a singer-songwriter who was born in the Philippines and raised in London, England, active since 2017. This is from her third studio album "This Is How Tomorrow Moves" released in August, 2024.

"Spending too much time out in California
And for all this time I've been waiting for you
Will you call me a cab so I can finally get back?
Never felt that, I've never felt that

Always the same from the inside
Wanted to change, it took a big fight
Call it a bluff, you'll see it real time
Wish you could see it's been a rough ride

I swear I tried
I swear I tried

Got a fragile heart always thought you knew that
And you said from the start, 'Guess that's how we do that'
Know you're stuck in the past and tired of living so fast
It's not the plan, you wouldn't understand

Always the same from the inside
Wanted to change, it took a big fight
Call it a bluff, you'll see it real time
Wish you could see it's been a rough ride

I swear I tried
I swear I tried

Keepin' it quiet 'till I hit back and I know
They won't listen till I start to crack
And I pick up the pieces of what they left
And I know
Keepin' it quiet 'till I hit back and I know
They won't listen utill I start to crack
And I pick up the pieces of what they left
And I know

They'll never know
They'll never know
They'll never know
They'll never know"

The Beach Boys

California Calling

The Beach Boys are a rock band formed in Hawthorne, CA, in 1961. This is one of many of their songs about California from their album "The Beach Boys" released in 1985.

"If everybody in the U.S.A
Could come with us to Californ-i-a
We could take 'em to a place out west
Where the good sun shines everyday

Now there's a touch o' Californ-i-a
In everyone who's ever been this way
And when your telephone begins to ring
And the operator comes on the line

California callin'
I'll be there right away
There's some beautiful women
Gonna find me one
To show me how to ride the ultimate wave

Now I've joined the surfin' nation and so
I'll take a permanent vacation and go
To the golden shores of 'Frisco Bay
I'll ride 'em all the way to Malibu

And I'll take ya' boogie boardin' with me
'Cause when we're surfin' it's so great to be free
And when you're on a California beach
You might even find 'em windsurfin' too..."

The Beach Boys

This is a great version of the Mamas & the Papas song released in 1965. This one was released in 1986 on the Beach Boys album "Made in U.S.A."

The Beach Boys

California Feelin'

This song was recorded in 1978 but not released officially until it was included on the "Made In California" compilation in 2013. It was first recorded as a demo in 1974, which you can also listen to on YouTube.

Brian Wilson recorded it in 2002 for the album "The Beach Boys Classics... Selected By Brian Wilson." Beach Boy Al Jardine also recorded a solo version on his album "A Postcard from California" released in 2010.

"I was walking down the beach
At San Onofre
It was such a beautiful day, like most days
The wind was blowin' through my hair
Sunlight chased my cares away
And the sun dances in the morning sky

When you're driving through L.A.
Watch the cliffs below
On beautiful Laguna Street Arch Bay
The wind was blowin' through my hair
Sunlight chased my cares away
And the sun dances through the morning sky

California feelin'
California feelin'
California feelin'
California feelin'

When you're down in New York City
And the sky turns gray
Nearly froze thinkin' of Californ-i-a

Ah
Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
Do doo doo doo doo doo ah

California feelin'
California feelin'
California feelin'
California feelin'
California feelin'
California feelin'
California feelin'

Look at the orange groves
And taste a grapefruit from a grapefruit tree
Feel the loveliness and beauty
Of that California, California feeling
Feelin' "

The Beach Boys

California Girls

The classic cosmopolitan surf pop song is from the album "Summer Days (And Summer Nights)" released in 1965.

Lots of covers of the song have been recorded, including a big hit by David Lee Roth, Nancy Sinatra's pop version, a live version by Weezer, and a parody version with alternate lyrics about girls from other planets by Oingo Boingo. The song has also inspired a lot of other songs with the same title or the same subject, including Katy Perry's massive 2010 hit "California Gurls." If you can't get enough of the sterotype, I have also made a list of songs that mention California Girls.

"Well East coast girls are hip
I really dig those styles they wear
And the Southern girls with the way they talk
They knock me out when I'm down there

The Mid-West farmer's daughters really make you feel alright
And the Northern girls with the way they kiss
They keep their boyfriends warm at night

I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls

The West coast has the sunshine
And the girls all get so tanned
I dig a French bikini on Hawaiian island
Dolls by a palm tree in the sand

I been all around this great big world
And I seen all kinds of girls
Yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the States
Back to the cutest girls in the world

I wish they all could be California girls
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls

I wish they all could be California girls
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls

I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls
I wish they all could be...."

The Beach Boys

California Saga: Beaks of Eagles
California Saga: Big Sur
California Saga: California

The Beach Boys were sent to the Netherlands in 1972 to try to snap Brian Wilson out of his depression. The album that followed, Holland, contained three "California Saga" songs - Beaks of Eagles, Big Sur, and California:

Beaks of Eagles

"...An eagle's nest on the head of an old redwood on one of the
precipice-footed ridges
Above Ventana Creek, that jagged country which nothing but a fallen meteor will ever plow: no horseman
Will ever ride there, no hunter cross this ridge but the winged ones, no
one will steal the eggs from this fortress.
The she-eagle is old, her mate was shot long ago, she is now mated
With a son of hers.
When lightning blasted her nest she built it again on the same tree, in
the splinters of the thunder bolt.

In a broken shack an old man takes his time about dyin'
And just at the back a wild flowerbed that he'll lie in
In dawn's new light a man might venture
A horse drawn stage from Monterey.

The she-eagle is older than I: she was here when the fires of eighty-five
raged on these ridges,
She was lately fledged and dared not hunt ahead of them, but ate scorched
meat.
The world has changed in her time; humanity has multiplied,
But not here; men's hopes and thoughts and customs have changed, their
powers are enlarged, their powers and their follies have become fantastic...."

Big Sur

"...Big Sur I've got plans for you
Me and mine are going to
Add ourselves to your lengthy list of lovers
(Big Sur mount)
And live in canyons covered in springtime green
Wild birds and flowers to be heard and seen
And with my old guitar
I'll make up songs to sing.
Where bubbling springs from the mountainside
Join the Big Sur river to the oceanside
Where the kids can look for sea shells at low tide
Big Sur my astrology it says that I am made to be
Where the rugged mountain meets the water ...."

California

"Water, water, get yourself in the cool, clear, water
The sun shines brightly down on the bay
The air's so clean it'll just take your mind away
Take your mind away
Take your mind away Have you ever been south of Monterey
Barrancas carve the coast line and the chaparral flows to the sea
... ... ... ...

Have you ever been down Salinas way?
Where Steinbeck found the valley
And he wrote about it the way it was in his Travels With Charley.
And have you ever walked down through the sycamores
Where the farmhouse used to be?
There the monarch's autumn journey ends
On a windswept cyprus tree."

The Beach Boys

Had to Phone Ya

This song is from the "15 Big Ones" album released in 1976. Brian Wilson said that it's about letting his friends know that they were free to call him for help when their world was upside down. That meant a lot more in 1976 when everybody didn't carry an instant communicator in their pocket.

"Had to phone ya
Had to phone ya just to talk to you
Had to phone ya
just to tell ya I was missing you

It lifts my spirits every single time
Sometimes you're busy for awhile
But when you get through
It makes me smile

An when I phone ya
California's not so far away
You're not alone ya know I'm only just a dial away

I visualize that you're looking fine
Feels so good when you come on the line

You (you) you (you) you (you) you (you)
You (you) you (you) you (you) you (you)
You (you) you (you) you (you) you (you)
You (you) you (you) you (you)

Come on
Come on and answer the phone
Come on come on
(I hope you're home)
Come on and answer the phone
Come on come on
(I hope you're home)
Come on and answer the phone
Come on come on
(I hope you're home)
Come on and answer the phone
Come on come on
(I hope you're home)
Come on and answer the phone
Come on come on
(I hope you're home)
Come on and answer the phone
Come on come on
(Hello, hey Brian!)
(I hope you're home)"

The Beach Boys

Santa Ana Winds

This is from "Keepin' The Summer Alive" released in 1980.

The Santa Ana winds are strong, hot, dry winds that come down from the high deserts towards the valleys and coastal plains, exaggerated by the mountain passes. They often blow during autumn when they're infamous for fanning the flames of wildfires. They're also called "devil winds" and they can make it feel like you're in Hell.

"Here in Southern California there is a weather condition known as the
Santa Ana Winds.

Fire wind oh desert wind
She was born in a desert breeze
And wind her way
Through Canyon Way
From the desert to the silvery sea

In every direction
See the perfection
And see the San Gabriel Mountain scene
Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes
Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes

Fill my sails
Oh desert wind
And hold the waves high for me

Then I will come
And test my skill
Where the Santa Ana winds blow free

In waves of elation
My part of creation
Becoming one with the boundless sea

Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes
Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes

I am the wind
Oh desert wind
On my pilgrimage to the sea

I will prevail
I will not fail
To bring life into humanity

My song is creation
(???) the nation
Whispering the wisdom and its purity

Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes
Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes
Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes
Santa Ana winds keep blowin' across my eyes
Santa Ana winds..."

The Beach Boys

Surfin' Safari

This was the second song ever released by the Beach Boys, as a single in 1962 and on the album "Surfin' Safari" released the same year.

"Let's go surfing now
Everybody's learning how
Come on on safari with me
(Come on on safari with me)

Early in the morning we'll be starting out
Some honeys will be coming along
We're loading up our Woody
With our boards inside
And heading out singing our song

Come on baby wait and see (surfin' surfin' safari)
Yes, I'm going to take you surfing (surfin' surfin' safari) with me
Come along baby wait and see (surfin' surfin' safari)
Yes, I'm going to take you surfing (surfin' surfin' safari) with me

Let's go surfing now
Everybody's learning how
Come on on safari with me
(Come on on safari with me)

At Huntington and Malibu
They're shooting the pier
At Rincon they're walking the nose
We're going on safari to the islands this year
So if you're coming get ready to go

Come on baby wait and see (surfin' surfin' safari)
Yes, I'm going to take you surfing (surfin' surfin' safari) with me
Come along baby wait and see (surfin' surfin' safari)
Yes, I'm going to take you surfing (surfin' surfin' safari) with me

Let's go surfing now
Everybody's learning how
Come on on safari with me
(Come on on safari with me)

They're angling in Laguna in Cerro Azul
They're kicking out in Doheny too
I tell you surfing's mighty wild
It's getting bigger every day
From Hawaii to the shores of Peru

Come on baby wait and see (surfin' surfin' safari)
Yes, I'm going to take you surfing (surfin' surfin' safari) with me
Come along baby wait and see (surfin' surfin' safari)
Yes, I'm going to take you surfing (surfin' surfin' safari) with me

Let's go surfing now
Everybody's learning how
Come on on safari with me
(Come on on safari with me)

With me
Surfing Safari...."

The Beach Boys

Surfin' U.S.A.

This big hit is from the band's second album "Surfin' U.S.A." released in 1963. The music is similar to Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" and he is given writing credit along with Brian Wilson.

"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
Huarache 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 Narrabeen
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 Onofre and Sunset
Redondo Beach L. A.
All over La Jolla
At Wa'imea Bay

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

Beach Bunny

Ms. California

Beach Bunny is an indie rock band formed in 2015 in Chicago, Illinois, fronted by Lili Trifilio.
This song is from the album "Honeymoon" released in 2019.

"The more I try to catch your eye
The less I seem to hesitate
But every time you cross my mind
The words come out in figure 8's

I need to let go of everything
Ooh, it's getting hard to fight the feeling

She's your girl
She's in all your pictures
California girl, I wish I was her
When you're gone
She sleeps in your T-shirts
It hurts, I wish I was her
Ms. California
Ms. California

I love your voice but hate the way
You talk of her consistently
But every time you say her name
It honestly kills me

I need to let go of everything
Ooh, it's getting hard to fight the feeling

She's your girl
She's in all your pictures
California girl, I wish I was her
When you're gone
She sleeps in your T-shirts
It hurts, I wish I was her
Ms. California

And everything's better in California
And everything's better in California...."

Beach House

Drunk in L.A.

Beach House is a duo formed in Baltimore in 2004 that became synonymous with "dream pop" in the 2010s. This song is from their album "7" released in 2018. It's set in L.A. even though it doesn't mention the city except in the title. According to the notes on notes on Genius.com, the singer and lyricist Victoria Legrand said this about the song in an interview "There’s a lot of imagery throughout the record, like the shooting stars on “Woo,” that could be related to that kind of thing. Like an old starlet sitting in a bar in the dark by herself, someone who maybe had an insane life that no one will know about because there’s no one to talk to but themselves now. I think the song’s title symbolizes the darkness of L.A., but it’s more of a poetic acknowledgement of the L.A. of the mind. The actual place too, but we’re aware of the glamour from an outside perspective."

"Can't help seeking corners
Of dark and dead end rooms
Where the drinks keep pouring down
And the candles keep me warm
Isolation tenders
Something fragile coming soon
Skinny angels making eyes at cameras
Perched in every room

I had a good run playing horses in my mind
Left my heart out somewhere running
Wanting strangers to be mine
Memory's a sacred meat
That's drying all the time
On a hillside I remember
I am loving losing life

Strawberries in springtime
Pretty happy accidents
My awareness that I'm lucky
Rolling clouds over cement
Maybe there's a screenplay
Or a bathroom I can hide
Down the hallways of a high school
And the dances left behind

I had a good run playing horses in my mind
Left my heart out somewhere running
Wanting strangers to be mine
I would climb the Eiffel Tower
Write letters on the sky
How many turns it took to reach you

I had a good run playing horses in my mind
On a hillside I remember
I am loving losing life"

Beastie Boys

Get On The Mic

Beastie Boys were a rock and roll hall-of-fame-inducted hip-hop group from New York City, active from 1981-2012, that is still the biggest-selling rap group since Billboard started tracking rap albums in 1991. This fragment is from the group's second studio album "Paul's Boutique" released in 1989, an album composed almost entirely of samples that is viewed by some music critics as one of the greatest albums of all time. This is the second part of a suite of 9 parts titled "B-Boy Bouillabaisse."

"...Get on the mic, get-get on the mic
Just get on the mic, get on the mic, Mike!
Let's be real, and don't cloud the issue
The rhymes are dope, an emcee you must listen to
People say that they been missin' me and missin' you
Get on the mic, and let's show them like we used to
Well, you say f**k that, yo, Holmes, f**k this
I'm the King Ad Whammy and you're Dick Butkus
One half science and another half soul
Nicknamed Mike D, not Fat Morton Jelly Roll
Got busy in 'Frisco, fooled around in Fresno
Got over on your girlie 'cause you know she never says no

So just get on the mic, just get on the mic
Just get on the mic, get on the mic, Mike!

Well, Mike D is a special individual
Pullin' out knots and pullin' in residuals
Go to the movies, get the Rolos
The cholos ridin' slow and low
Mike on the mic and bust with the solo
Mike, my stomy don't be so selfish
Get on the mic cause you know you eat shellfish"

The Beat Farmers

Riverside

The Beat Farmers were a cowpunk band formed in San Diego in 1983. This is from their 1986 album "Van Go." There's probably a town called Riverside in every state, but this song is definitely about Riverside California, which still has some orange groves left for a late night rendezvous.

"When you moved up to Riverside
You thought the answer was hidden there
But it just turned out to be a place to hide
Baby, that town treated you so unfair

So meet me on out in the orange grove baby
We'll never back down at the broad wet storm
If the grove gets wet, it'll freeze tonight
But I got something that'll keep us warm

The moon-cat might be walkin' tonight
The fog's rollin' in, no time to spare
We got the message of love to carry the light
If your daddy gets mad baby I don't care

So meet me on out in the orange grove baby
We'll never back down at the broad wet storm
If the grove gets wet, it'll freeze tonight
But I got something that'll keep us warm

And if I look at you with a wicked smile
It's cause a gypsy saw your face in my eyes
And if you give me an inch, I'm gonna take a mile
I've been waiting for you to see through my disguise"

The Beatles

Blue Jay Way

The Beatles were a rock band formed in Liverpool, England in 1960. The band broke up in 1970 but it is still the best-selling music act of all time. Some people call them the best band of all time, and who am I to disagree? Blue Jay Way is a street in "The Bird Streets" region of the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles where the writer of this song, George Harrison, stayed in 1967.

"There's a fog upon L.A.,
And my friends have lost their way.
"We'll be over soon," they said.
Now they've lost themselves instead

Please don't be long
Please don't you be very long
Please don't be long for I may be asleep

Well, it only goes to show
And I told them where to go
Ask a policeman on the street
There's so many there to meet

Please don't be long
Please don't you be very long
Please don't be long for I may be asleep

Now it's past my bed I know
And I'd really like to go
Soon will be the break of day
Sitting here in Blue Jay Way

Please don't be long
Please don't you be very long
Please don't be long for I may be asleep

Please don't be long
Please don't you be very long
Please don't be long

Please don't be long
Please don't you be very long
Please don't be long

Please don't be long
Please don't you be very long
Please don't be long

Don't be long, don't be long, don't be long
Don't be long, don't be long, don't be long"

The Beatles with Billy Preston

Get Back

This is a 1969 single that reached #1 on the Billboard charts. There is another version on the band's last album "Let it Be" released in 1969. Here's some useless trivia: It's the 12th and final song on the 12th and final released Beatles studio album (though Abbey Road was recorded after it.)

I doubt that the "California grass" Jojo seeks is the kind you have to mow every weekend, but since most of the yards I've seen in Tucson are gravel and cactus, it's possible that he did seek greener pastures, and not just the smokable kind.

"Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn't last
Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
For some California grass

Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, get back
Get back to where you once belonged
Get back, Jojo
Go home"

The Beatles

Honey Pie

This is from the album "The Beatles" aka "The White Album" released in 1968. It's sung by Paul who pines for his former girlfriend who went to Hollywood and became a movie star. The song is in the crooning style of the old music hall jazz (Vaudeville in the US) that Paul's father listened to and it's meant to sound like an old gramophone record from that era.

"She was a working girl North of England way
Now she's hit the big time in the USA
And if she could only hear me, this is what I'd say

Honey pie, you are making me crazy
I'm in love but I'm lazy
So, won't you please come home?

Oh honey pie, my position is tragic
Come and show me the magic
Of your Hollywood song

You became a legend of the silver screen
And now the thought of meeting you
Makes me weak in the knee

Oh honey pie you are driving me frantic
Sail across the Atlantic
To be where you belong
Honey pie come back to me, oh

Ooh, yeah
I like it like that, oh ah

I like this kind of hot kind of music
Hot kind of music
Play it to me, play it to me, Hollywood blues

Will the wind that blew her boat across the sea
Kindly send her sailing back to me?
Tee, tee, tee

Honey Pie you are making me crazy
I'm in love but I'm lazy
So won't you please come home?
Come, come back to me, honey pie

Ooooh, oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Honey pie, honey pie"

The Beau Brummels

Bless You California

The Beau Brummels were a San Francisco band in the mid 1960s, one of the creators of the "San Francisco Sound." This is from their 1968 album "Bradley's Barn." The mixing engineer must have been late for a hot date because this song has one of the fastest fade-outs I've ever heard.

"I'm forced to admit
that I'm too weak to quit
and I don't have the courage to make it alone
I'm too weak to get through a day on my own

wasted once again and I think i've fallen
I tried to stand my ground but I'm fallin' down
yes, I've tasted life again and I think I've fallen
ah tell me my old friend about fallin' down

pick me up, dust me off, but don't run me through it
cause I didn't mean to do it again
tried to find my mind but my head is hollow
it's hard to speak your peace when nothin's there
so if I try to leave, please don't follow
cause I ain't really goin' anywhere

if you're lookin' for a platform
stand with me
stand with me
the true reformer is the new performer
bless you California
you're the only state for me

every little person with a little radio waitin for somebody to tell 'em where to go
what you're singin's in the realm of worldly things and
when it sinks in do ya bring 'em into the fold?
tryin' to find my mind but my head is hollow
it's hard to speak your peace when nothin' there
so if I try to leave, please don't follow
cause I ain't really goin' anywhere."

The Beautiful South

101 Percent Man

The Beautiful South was an English pop rock band formed in 1988. This song is from the band's eighth studio album "Gaze" released in 2003.

"I've seen these people described as mad
But find men kissing too odd
Say all their friends are gay when in fact
They gave a man in tight vest a quick nod

And all those threats, if you keep kissing
They're gonna go report you to God
Yet if Christ really had that many disciples
There was probably one of you in his squad

And any news you receive would lead you to believe
Of the other world little is known
So that every gay presenter should really wear a sweater
With 'Kids, don't try this at home'

There are gay men who've knocked homophobics clean out
When most would have turned and ran
Gay men who hate it when they get called queer
And gay men who don't give a damn

Some gay men go wearing women's makeup
Just to prove to themselves they can
And on the masculine side of this whole wide world
There is no 101 percent man

Those who have only seen Gay Pride
Think it's a lifelong license to shock
But men have kissed men since way back when
If you were caught, you'd be put in the stocks
... ... ...
And when the Tom Robinson band sang
'Sing if you're glad to be gay'
We all joined in, and though most of us weren't
The song seemed to show us the way

And as the song reached it's end, you looked for the friend
That made singing along feel okay
It ain't San Francisco
But you're end-of-term disco
And the dance floor's beginning to sway...."

Beck

Debra

Beck is a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/producer from Los Angeles active since 1989. His breakthrough hit "Loser" in 1994 put him on the map. This song is from his 1999 album "Midnight Vultures." I'm so tired of popular songs product-placing expensive cars and other luxuries, so it always makes me smile when I hear Beck sing "...lady, step into my Hyndai" which in 1999 was about as cheap a car as you could buy. Besides the shout out to Glendale, there's a hidden L.A. reference: Zankou Chicken is a chain of restaurants in the L.A. area.

"I met you at JC Penney
I think your name tag said "Jenny"
I cold step to you with a fresh pack of gum
Somehow I knew you were lookin' for some
Like a fruit that's ripe for a pickin'
I wouldn't do you like that Zankou Chicken
Cause only you've got a thing
That I just got to get with
I just got to get with you
And you know what we're gonna do

I want to get with you
And your sister
I think her name's Debra

I want to get with you
And your sister
I think her name's Debra

I pick you up late at night after work
I said lady, step inside my Hyundai
I'm gonna take you up to Glendale
Gonna take you for a real good meal

Cause when our eyes did meet
Girl you know I was packin' heat
Ain't no use in wastin' no time gettin' to know each other
You know the deal
Cause only you got a thing
That I just got to get with
Got to get with

I want to get with you, girl
And your sister
I think her name's Debra...."

Beck

Hollywood Freaks

This is another song from Beck's album "Midnight Vultures" released in 1999.

"....We drop lobotomy beats
Evaporated meats
On the hi-tech streets
We go solo
Dance floors and talk shows
Hot dogs, No Doz
Hot sex in back rows

I wanna know what makes you scream
Be your twenty million dollar fantasy
Treat you real good
Expensive jeans
Hollywood freaks on the Hollywood scene

Touch it real good if you want a piece
Party people know I'm that type of freak

People look so snooty
Take pills, make them moody
Automatic bazooty
Zero to tutti frutti
Sex in the halls
Niagara Falls
Local shopping malls receive anonymous calls

Hot like a cheetah
Neon mamacita
Eat at Taqueria
Pop lockin' beats from Korea
Looking like jail bait
Selling lots of real estate
Looking like a hot date
Banging like an 808

Do you want to feel this?
Do you want to feel this?

Norman Schwartzkopf!
Something tells me you want to go home!
Champagne, bibles, custom clothes you own
Calling up from special area codes
Hollywood notes with the Hollywood phones
I got nothing to do, nowhere to go
I'll tell you what you want
If you want to know...

Jocking my Mercedes!
Probably have my baby!
Shop at Old Navy!
He wish he was a lady!

Do you wanna feel this?
Do you wanna feel this?

Dance floors, all the talk shows
Hot dogs, No Doz
Hot sex in back rows
You know
Hyundai Dodge, tricked out
Christmas in July
6.2 percent!
Yeah, you fill in the blanks
Sha-na-na-na-na-na, yeah!
Tutti frutti!
Automatic bazooti!
Yeah, I'm mixin' business with leather! (laughs)"

Beck

¿Qué Onda Güero?

This is from the album "Guero" released in 2005.

"¿Qué onda güero?
¿Qué onda Jose?

See the vegetable man in the vegetable van
With a horn that's honking like a mariachi band
In the middle of the street, people gather around
Put the dollar-dollar-dollar in the can, ¡Ay wey!, ¿qué onda?
TJ cowboys hang around
Sleeping in the sidewalk with a Burger King crown
Never wake them up, más cerveza
'Til the rooster crows vatos ver gallos

¿Qué onda güero?
¿Qué onda güero? (¿Qué güero?)
¿Qué onda güero?
¿Qué onda güero?

Mano Blancos roll with crowbars
Singing rancheras on cheap guitars
Abuelitas with plastic bags
Walking to the church with the Spanish candles
Dirty borracho says 'que putas!'
Ándale, Joto, your popsicle's melting
Run better run, da doo run run
Mara Salvatrucha in the midnight sun

Güero, where are you going?
¿Qué onda güero?
Güero, where are you going?
¿Qué onda güero?

Rampart boys with loaded rifles
Guatemalan soccer ball instant replays
Mango ladies, vendedoras
And a bus-stop singing Banda Macho chorus

¿Qué onda güero?
¿A donde vayas?
¿Qué onda güero?
¿A donde vayas?

¿Y donde encontrastes ese? en un hoyo
Alla en la Pico
La Pico y Vermont
Hey vamos a jugar futbol ahí en el Griffith Park
La locura
Yeah now I'm going to LACC, man
I'm taking a ceramics class

See the vegetable man
In the vegetable van

James Joyce
Michael Bolton!

¿Qué onda güero?
Hey where you going?
¿Qué onda güero?
Hey where you going?

Hey what's up güero?
You working out güero?
You doing pushups?
¡No te veo güero!
¡El güero!
¿Que te pasa? ¿Que no te pasa?
Otra vero güero
Yo I saw a puppet at Tang's
With a mullet and a popsicle
Hey güero!
¡Que locura!
Chico
Hey güero
Yeah Bro?
Hehehe, footlong?
Let's go to Cap'n Cork, they have the new Yanni cassette"

Chayce Beckham

Chayce Beckham is a singer-songwriter from Victorville/Apple Valley, CA, active since 2021. This country drinking song is a single that was released in 2021 after his performance of it on American Idol helped him to win the show.

"Simple as my mama said when I was very young
She told me, 'Not to worry, son, one day, you'll be someone'
But here I am at twenty-one as loaded as a stagecoach shotgun
I'm sorry, Mama, please don't look at me

When I got to Oklahoma, I was seventeen
My papa taught me how to work, and Lord, he was mean
Workin' all day in that August heat
And he taught me how to fish, my uncle taught me how to drink

Well, I went to California and I had me a band
And we played in all the bars in all the southern lands
We played all night and we drank for free
All of my boys and me

Now I'm twenty-three
And there ain't nobody who can drink like me
Soon I'll be twenty-four
And the Lord knows that I can't drink no more
I know I shoulda taken it slow
It's not the way that my life goes
Now I know
When you're passed out on the floor
You're sober by twenty-four

Well, I had a girl who loved me the whole damn time
And I'd drink my whiskey and she'd drink wine
But soon, my bottle was too much to comfort me

Yeah, we'd sit on the river and we'd fish all day
And we'd drive across the country, let the radio play
Seven damn years, I never thought she'd leave

Now I'm twenty-three
And there ain't nobody who can drink like me
Soon, I'll be twenty-four
And the Lord knows that I can't drink no more
I know I shoulda taken it slow
It's not the way that my life goes
Lord, I know
When you're passed out on the floor
You're sober by twenty-four

Simple as my mama said when I was very young
She told me, 'Not to worry, son, one day, you'll be someone'
But here I am at twenty-one as loaded as a stagecoach shotgun
I'm sorry, Mama, please don't look at me"

Bee Gees

Massachusetts

The Bee Gees were a pop group from England and Australia that formed in 1958 and became one of the best-selling artists of all time and rock 'n' roll hall of fame members. Unlike a lot of pop groups, they wrote their own songs. This one was a huge hit from 1967. The singer has returned to his home from San Francisco only to find that everybody else had left to become a San Francisco hippie, too.

"Feel I'm goin' back to Massachusetts
Something's telling me I must go home
And the lights all went out in Massachusetts
The day I left her standing on her own

Tried to hitch a ride to San Francisco
Gotta do the things I wanna do
And the lights all went out in Massachusetts
They brought me back to see my way with you

Talk about the life in Massachusetts
Speak about the people I have seen
And the lights all went out in Massachusetts
And Massachusetts is one place I have seen

I will remember Massachusetts...."

Before You Exit

Heart Like California

Before You Exit is a band of three brothers from Florida, based in Los Angeles, active since 2007. This upbeat pop song is a single released in 2014.

"She's got a heart like California
And a smile like a Hollywood dream
She's like a sunset back in Florida
And a top-down summer breeze

Take it back to the night that we met
She was standing there in a little black dress
I was playing it cool, trying hard to impress
She was driving me crazy
I remember she was looking at me
I was looking back, thinking how could this be?
She was doing her best to make it hard for me to breathe
I was feeling so crazy

Like na-na, na-na, na-na
Show me how to get a girl like that
Na-na, na-na, na-na
So she can love me right back

She's got a heart like California
And a smile like a Hollywood dream
She's like a sunset back in Florida
And a top-down summer breeze
We'd be cruising through L.A.
Stopped on the freeway
Doin' what we wanna do
And I'm gonna be there for her
'Cause I'm in love with a girl with a heart like California
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh, oooh
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh
Heart like California
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh, oooh
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh
Heart like California

There we were, I remember that time
She was singing loud, we were feeling alright
And I'm thinking she knew of the way
That she might've been driving me crazy

Like na-na, na-na, na-na
Show me how to get a girl like that
Na-na, na-na, na-na
So she can love me right back

She's got a heart like California
And a smile like a Hollywood dream
She's like a sunset back in Florida
And a top-down summer breeze
We'd be cruising through L.A.
Stopped on the freeway
Doin' what we wanna do
And I'm gonna be there for her
'Cause I'm in love with a girl with a heart like California
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh, oooh
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh
Heart like California
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh, oooh
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh
Heart like California

We'd be out until sunrise
And we'd be dancin' all night
Even if I'm just dreaming
Of being with her, you know I'm still gonna try
And we'd be driving on Sunset
And we'd be doing it right
And I'm getting this feeling, when I'm with her
I'm in love with a girl with a

Heart like California
And a smile like a Hollywood dream
She's like a sunset back in Florida
And a top-down Summer Breeze
She's got a heart like California
And a smile like a Hollywood dream (Smile like a Hollywood dream)
She's like a sunset back in Florida
And a top-down summer breeze
We'd be cruising through L.A.
Stopped on the freeway
Doin' what we wanna do
And I'm gonna be there for her
'Cause I'm in love with a girl with a heart like California
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh, oooh
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh
Heart like California
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh, oooh
Woo, ooh-ooh, ooh
Heart like California

Yeah, I want ya
Yeah, I know that
She's got a heart like California
Yeah, I want ya
Yeah, I know that
She's got a heart like California"

Tara Beier

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Tara Beier is a singer-songwriter fro Canada, active since 2007. This is a country/rock cover of the 1971 Joni Mitchell song from Beier's upcoming EP "Her Story." You can see the lyrics under Joni Mitchell.

Tara Beier

Hollywood Angel

This is a folk pop or country pop song, or maybe it's an alt country song, let's just call it a mixed genre song, from the album "California 1970" released in 2017.

"She’s the Hollywood angel of the light
She calls out alone at night
She tries to remember the happy times
She believes in you and I

Cause all I know
I’m going somewhere
I’m going somewhere

Sometimes she has to say goodbye
To the ones she loves behind
Gotta let go in order to grow
And forgive all your foes

Cause all I know
I’m going Somewhere
I’m going Somewhere

She won’t let go of the light she holds
She won’t let go of the light she holds

There will be storms
There will be grey
There will be cold and dark days
But she can see the light from faraway
Everything’s gonna be ok

Cause all I know
I’m going Somewhere
I’m going Somewhere
She won’t let go of the light
She won’t let go of the light
She won’t let go of the light
She won’t let go of the light now"

The Bellamy Brothers

Blue California

The Bellamy Brothers are a music duo of brothers from Florida, active since 1968. This song is from their album "Life Goes On" released in 2000.

"I hit the road to California down Highway Number One
In my heart and in my mind my country lady
I know every single station, they play the same old song
And I know I’m on the way where I belong

Blue, blue, blue California
(California)
All I wanna do is get on back to you
Blue, blue, blue California
(California)
You’re the only one to make my dream come true

Long ago I had to leave you cos I really had no choice
I was living every night and day for you
Up ahead I see the mountains lying in the blazing sun
And I can feel my heart beating, I’m back home

Blue, blue, blue California
(California)
All I wanna do is get on back to you
Blue, blue, blue California
(California)
You’re the only one to make my dream come true

Blue, blue, blue California
(California)
All I wanna do is get on back to you
Blue, blue, blue California
(California)
You’re the only one to make my dream come true
You’re the only one to make my dream come true"

Belle and Sebastian

Piazza, New York Catcher

Belle and Sebastian are an Indie pop/folk pop band formed in Scotland in 1996.
This song is from their sixth studio album "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" released in 2003 and was on the Juno soundtrack. Mike Piazza is a Hall-of-Fame catcher who played for the Mets when this song was released. Persistent rumors that he was gay forced him to deny it in 2002. I have no idea what the song means and neither does Genius.com. Wickipedia says the singer wrote it for his wife when they were still courting.

"Elope with me Miss Private and we'll sail around the world
I will be your Ferdinand and you my wayward girl
How many nights of talking in hotel rooms can you take?
How many nights of limping round on pagan holidays?
Oh elope with me in private and we'll set something ablaze
A trail for the devil to erase

San Francisco's calling us, the Giants and Mets will play
Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?
We hung about the stadium, we've got no place to stay
We hung about The Tenderloin and tenderly you tell
About the saddest book you ever read
It always makes you cry
The statue's crying too and well he may

I love you I've a drowning grip on your adoring face
I love you my responsibility has found a place
Beside you and strong warnings in the guise of gentle words
Come wave upon me from the family wider net absurd
"You'll take care of her, I know it, you will do a better job"
Maybe, but not what she deserves

Elope with me Miss Private and we'll drink ourselves awake
We'll taste the coffee houses and award certificates
A privy seal to keep the feel of 1960 style
We'll comment on the decor and we'll help the passer by
And at dusk when work is over we'll continue the debate
In a borrowed bedroom virginal and spare

The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day
The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays
He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor
He knows the drink affects his speed he's praying for
a doorway
Back into the life he wants and the confession of the bench
Life outside the diamond is a wrench

I wish that you were here with me to pass the dull weekend
I know it wouldn't come to love, my heroine pretend
A lady stepping from the songs we love until this day
You'd settle for an epitaph like "Walk Away, Renee"
The sun upon the roof in winter will draw you out like
a flower
Meet you at the statue in an hour
Meet you at the statue in an hour"

Alec Benjamin

Jesus in L.A.

Alec Benjamin is a singer-songwriter from Phoenix AZ, active since 2013. This song was released in 2019. Of course you won't find Jesus in L.A. He moved out of town because he couldn't afford the rent anymore, but he did leave behind his giant sign on a trendy hotel downtown.

' Well, I shook hands with the devil
Down on the south side
And he bought us both a drink
With a pad and a pencil sat by his side
I said, "Tell me what you think"

I've been looking for my savior, looking for my truth
I even asked my shrink
He brought me down to his level
Said, "Son, you're not special
You won't find him where you think"

You won't find him down on Sunset
Or at a party in the hills
At the bottom of the bottle
Or when you're tripping on some pills
When they sold you the dream you were just 16
Packed a bag and ran away
And it's a crying shame you came all this way
'Cause you won't find Jesus in L.A.
And it's a crying shame you came all this way
'Cause you won't find Jesus in L.A.

Took a sip of his whiskey
Said, "Now that you're with me
Well, I think that you should stay"
Yeah, I know you've been busy
Searching through the city
So let me share the way

I know I'm not your savior
Know I'm not your truth
But I think we could be friends
He said "Come down to my level
Hang out with the devil
Let me tell you, in the end...

You won't find him down on Sunset
Or at a party in the hills
At the bottom of the bottle
Or when you're tripping on some pills
When they sold you the dream you were just 16
Packed a bag and ran away
And it's a crying shame you came all this way
'Cause you won't find Jesus in L.A.
And it's a crying shame you came all this way
'Cause you won't find Jesus in L.A."

And that is when I knew that it was time to go home
And that is when I realized that I was alone
And all the vibrant colors from the lights fade away
And I don't care what they say

You won't find him down on Sunset
Or at a party in the hills
At the bottom of the bottle
Or when you're tripping on some pills
When they sold you the dream you were just 16
Packed a bag and ran away
And it's a crying shame you came all this way
'Cause you won't find Jesus in L.A.

I won't find him down on Sunset
Or at a party in the hills
At the bottom of the bottle
Or when I'm tripping on some pills
When they sold me the dream I was just 16
Packed my bag and ran away
And it's a crying shame I came all this way
'Cause I won't find Jesus in L.A.
And it's a crying shame I came all this way
'Cause I won't find Jesus in L.A.'

Noah Benjamin (Panda Bear)

Hang Your Head

Noah Benjamin Lennox, better known as Panda Bear, is a singer-songwriter from Baltimore and a co-founder of the experimental pop band Animal Collective. This is a 2019 single from his album "Til My Night Is Gone" released in 2020.

"Shake your hands at the heavens
But you got no cause to cry
You've been asleep for forty years
You just woke up to die
You've got no cause, no conviction
You've got nothing to call your own
And your slight-handed religion
Left your back without a bone
Hang your head down lowly now

You've been climbing Jacob's ladder
Your brothers blood on every rung
Your eyes are blind, your mind is scattered
Got no bullets for your gun
And the words your speak, are like thieves
Swinging from your gallows lips
And every breath you breathe
Reveals a little more
How low your halo's slipped
Hang your head down lowly now

There’s a strange wind blowing
You can feel it from within
Could be your imagination
Could be the Santa Ana winds

There’s a strange wind blowing
You can feel it from within
Could be your imagination
could be the Santa Ana winds
You keep a stone in your pocket
Iron bracelets on your wrists
You keep a thought of me, still thinking of you
Just for a night like this
Hang your head down lowly now"

Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett is a jazz and traditional pop singer born in New York City and active since 1936. This song was released as a single in 1962 that became a big hit and won two Grammy Awards including record of the year. It became Bennett's signature song and one of the official anthems for the city of San Francisco and it's in the Library of Congress. It was written in Brooklyn in 1953, but it wasn't a hit until Bennett recorded it. Lots of other singers have recorded it, including these:
Julie London sang it sad and sexy in 1963.
Stevie Wonder recorded it in 1968 but it was not released by Motown until later.
Bobby Womack made it upbeat and funky in 1969.

"The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gray
The glory that was Rome is of another day
I've been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan
I'm going home to my City by the Bay

I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me
To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars
The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care

My love waits there in San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea
When I come home to you, San Francisco
Your golden sun will shine for me"

Michael Berman

Angels Flight

Michael Berman is a folk singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. Angels Flight is the historic narrow gauge railway in downtown L.A. that takes people up a steep hill, and the devil wind is the Santa Ana winds. This nostalgic ode that mentions several L.A. musicians from the 1960s as well as the great L.A. crime writer Raymond Chandler is from his album "Where I'm From," released in 2023. Since he's from southern California, the album also contains several other songs about the area.

"Last night I woke to the devil wind
Blowing warm through the pass again
Raymond Chandler followed me downtown
Sipping whisky sodas 'til the bars close down
Thought I saw an angel in Pershing Square
Pushing a shopping cart in her underwear

Angels Flight
Shine your beacon in the night
In the sky like a lonely satellite
Tonight we’ll ride on Angels Flight

Met Warren Zevon outside the chicken stand
Told me he and Linda are gonna form a band
Going to the canyon, gonna smoke some grass
On the lawn with Morrison and Mama Cass
Gram rode his Harley past the deputy
Heading for that motel room in Joshua Tree

Angels Flight
Shine your beacon in the night
In the sky like a lonely satellite
Tonight we’ll ride on Angels Flight

Standing by the telescope in Griffith Park
Saw the angel rising in a trail of sparks
Far above the haze I watched her fly
Silver wings waving me goodbye
And on the front page of the L.A. Times
An inventory of the city’s crimes

Angels Flight
Shine your beacon in the night
In the sky like a lonely satellite
Tonight we’ll ride on Angels Flight"

Michael Berman

Drive

Mike Berman is a folk singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. This ode to driving around L.A., from his album "Where I'm From," released in 2023, not only gives a shout out to the Thomas Guide map books that everybody in SoCal used long before GPS, but it also gives driving directions. The song is set in the past because the Sunset Blvd. Tower Records closed in 2006 when the chain went bankrupt. Colin Hanks even made a documentary about it: All Things Must Pass."

"Drive ‘til you find a freeway
The ocean or a mountain
Head east on Sunset Boulevard
And double back on Fountain
And if you find you lose your way
You can consult my Thomas Guide
I would never leave my home
Without it at my side

And there is hardly any reason
Why you would go downtown
The air is thick and brown
And there’s nobody around
The Strip has Tower Records
And Hollywood’s nearby
We can stand outside the Tommy’s
With a side of chili fries

Drive
Drive

The city backs against the hills
Golden legs sprawl in the sea
Gasping as she draws the poison air into her lungs
She looks beautiful to me

And if you say she’s just a freeway
You don’t know her like I do
You have to try out every exit
As you go rollin’ through
And it surely doesn’t matter
If you never see the stars
It takes a thousand miles
Just to find out who you are

Drive
Drive
Drive
Drive"

Michael Berman

Hills of California

Mike Berman is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. This excellent nostalgic folk song about going back to where you came from is from his album "Where I'm From" released in 2023.

"Just a boy sitting on a wagon
San Gabriel Valley suburb cul-de-sac
Looking at a wall of granite boulders
Davy Crockett cap gun in his lap
Fascinated by the giant mountains
And wondering who he could become
As the Santa Anas whip down through the canyon
Of those hills of California where I'm from

Hiking up an endless dusty fire road
Trusty Boy Scout canteen shoulder tied
Looking for the ruins of the railroad
Climbing with his father at his side

Imagining them riding up the mountains
Listening to the steel cable's hum
Nothing but the whistling in the pine trees
Of those hills of California where I'm from

But the sky is burning crimson fire
Smoke and ashes blocking out the sun
Some say we really don't belong here
Some say the ending time already has begun

These days I live in that hazy valley
Not far from where a young boy rode his bike
I'm walking in the shadows of the mountains
Remembering a father and a hike

You never really see it when it happens
It's easy to keep the feeling numb
But now I've come to understand the meaning
Of those hills of California where I'm from
I'm beginning to understand the meaning
Of those hills of California where I'm from"

Chuck Berry

Back In The U.S.A.

Chuck Berry was a pioneer of rock and roll music born in St. Louis. This patriotic rock classic was released way back in 1959. Linda Ronstadt had an even bigger hit with it in 1978. It was famously parodied by The Beatles in "Back in the U.S.S.R."

"Oh well, oh well, I feel so good today,
We just touched ground on an international runway
Jet propelled back home from overseas to the USA

New York, Los Angeles, oh how I yearned for you
Detroit, Chicago, Chattanooga, Baton Rouge
Let alone just to be at my home back in ol' St-Lou

Did I miss the skyscrapers? Did I miss the long freeway?
From the coast of California to the shores of Delaware Bay
You can bet your life I did, 'til I got back to the USA

Looking hard for a drive-in, searching for a corner cafe?
Where hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day
Yeah, and a jukebox jumping with records like in the USA

Well, I'm so glad I'm livin' in the USA
Yes, I'm so glad I'm livin' in the USA
Anything you want, they got it right here in the USA
I'm so glad I'm livin' in the USA
Yes, I'm so glad I'm livin' in the USA"

Chuck Berry

Get Your Kicks (On Route 66)

This is from Berry's nineteenth studio album "Rockit" released in 1979. It covers all the California clichés - sunshine, palm trees, freeways, cable cars, beaches, hollywood movie stars, going to California, and oranges (sorry Florida) but that's OK, because he also branches out and mentions Redding, Fresno, Needles, and Barstow.

"California, California
Much has been told me about your beautiful sunshine
Mountains and snow tops, valleys and rich crops
California, home so far from mine

San Francisco, Sacramento
Will I ever go to Los Angeles or San Diego?
To Redding or Fresno
Needles or Barstow, California I have so far to go

Someday I will be in California
And go to places movie stars have been
Hollywood and trolley cars and oranges
And see the palm trees bending in the wind

California, California
Soon I'll be with you watching your sunset in the evening
Movies and show plays, beaches and free ways
California, for my home I'll be leaving

California, California
Soon I'll be with you watching your sunset in the evening
Movies and show plays, beaches and freeways
California, for my home I'll be leaving"

Chuck Berry

A version ofthe Nat King Cole original discussed below.

Chuck Berry

Promised Land

In this classic 1964 rock 'n' roll version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, the singer finally gets to L.A. and phones home.

"I left my home in Norfolk Virginia,
California on my mind.
Straddled that Greyhound, rode him past Raleigh,
On across Caroline.
… … … … ...
We had motor trouble it turned into a struggle,
Half way 'cross Alabam,
And that 'hound broke down and left us all stranded
In downtown Birmingham. Straight off, I bought me a through train ticket,
Ridin' cross Mississippi clean
And I was on that midnight flyer out of Birmingham
Smoking into New Orleans.
… … … … …
Sure as you're born, they bought me a silk suit,
Put luggage in my hands,
And I woke up high over Albuquerque
On a jet to the promised land.
… … … … …
Los Angeles give me Norfolk Virginia,
Tidewater four ten O nine
Tell the folks back home this is the promised land callin'
And the poor boy's on the line."

Chuck Berry

San Francisco Dues

This is from Chuck Berry's 15th studio album "San Francisco Dues" released in 1971.

"Well, I'm going out to San Francisco
They tell me everything out there is really all right
All the boys are cooling on the corner
The little girls out there are really out of sight
You know I'm a dig all the latest happenings
And keep my dues paid every night

Went on a little trip last night
And the boys was playing some of them old Fillmore Blues
And every head was right on in there digging
Beautiful vibrations, had some heavy grooves
My chick was right on in there with me in Heaven
Yes, we were paying our San Francisco dues

Come on over to me, baby
I want you to satisfy my blues
I want you to let me know how much you really love me
You can tell me any old way you choose
While we lay back and dig the music
And pay our San Francisco dues"

Chuck Berry

Sweet Little Sixteen

This was released in 1958 and became one of Berry's most successful songs, even though it used the same melody on his song "The Little Girl From Central" released in 1955. The melody was so good that the Beach Boys also had to steal it for "Surfin' U.S.A." until they were forced to give the credit to Berry.

"They're really rockin' in Boston
In Pittsburgh, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And round the Frisco Bay
All over St. Louis
And down in New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet little sixteen

Sweet little sixteen
She's just got to have
About a half a million
Framed autographs
Her wallet filled with pictures
She gets 'em one by one
Become so excited
Watch her, look at her run, boy

'Oh mommy, mommy
Please may I go
It's such a sight to see
Somebody steal the show
Oh daddy, daddy
I beg of you
Whisper to mommy
It's all right with you'

... ... ... ...

Sweet little sixteen
She's got the grown up blues
Tight dresses and lipstick
She's sportin' high heel shoes
Oh, but tomorrow morning
She'll have to change her trend
And be sweet sixteen
And back in class again

Well, they'll be rockin' in Boston
Pittsburgh, PA
Deep in the heart of Texas
And round the Frisco Bay
Way out in St. Louis
Way down to New Orleans
All the cats wanna dance with
Sweet little sixteen"

Best Coast

California Nights

Best Coast is a California rock duo formed in L.A. in 2009 that has some west coast attitude right in their name. This song is from the duo's third studio album "California Nights" released in 2015.

"I stay high all the time
Just to get by
I climb into the sky
And my eyes, they cry

California nights
Make me feel so happy I could die
But I try to stay alive

I never wanna get so high
That I can't come back down to real life
And look you in the eyes and say
"Baby, you are mine"

Fading back and forth
I fly through my mind
I take the way I've known
But have I really grown?

California nights
Make me feel so happy I could die
But I try to stay alive

I never wanna get so high
But I can't come back down to real life
And look you in the eyes and say
"Baby, you are mine"

I never wanna get so high
That I can't come back down to real life
And look you in the eyes and say
"Baby you, oh baby you are mine"

Best Coast

The Only Place

This upbeat song is from the duo's second album "The Only Place" relesed in 2012. The song doesn't specifically mention California so it could be about Hawaii, Australia, Bali,Tahiti, Mexico, Goa, Thailand or any other place with great beaches (but not Florida - it's too flat). But the band is from L.A. so the location described in the song is obviously there. I'm still scratching my head about having sun in your teeth. Is it from all the smiling?

"We were born with sun in our teeth and in our hair
When we get bored we like to sit around, sit around and stare
At the mountains, at the birds, at the ocean, at the trees
We have fun, we have fun, we have fun when we please

We wake up with the sun in our eyes It's no surprise that we get so much done
But we always, yes we always, we always have fun
Yes we always, yes we always, we always have fun

Why would you live anywhere else?
Why would you live anywhere else?
We've got the ocean, got the babes
Got the sun, we've got the waves
This is the only place for me

So leave your cold behind
We're gonna make it to the beach on time
Yeah leave the cold behind
We're gonna make it to the beach on time

Why would you live anywhere else?
Why would you live anywhere else?
We've got the ocean, got the babes
Got the sun, we've got the waves
This is the only place
This is the only place
This is the only place
This is the only place for me "

Better Than Ezra

Coyote

Better Than Ezra is an alternative rock band based in New Orleans that formed in 1988. This song is from their 1993 platinum-selling album "Deluxe." It's a road trip song about driving into California, so it would be negligent of me not to point out that the singer appears to be driving west on the 40 from Texas through Tucumcari New Mexico to Barstow and beyond. Taking that route, there is no way he would ever get close to the Grand Canyon or Death Valley, and Phoenix is a couple of hours south. If he did go to Phoenix, then he would take the 10 west, not the 40 through Barstow. I suppose it's possible he took a very long detour up to the canyon and then to the valley then down to Barstow. So enjoy the song, but don't base your travel itinerary on it if you're looking to get to the west coast in a hurry.

"Heading out, you heart beating in your head
Riding of the Texas wind
Raise your feet as you cross the state line
Waking up, the Mesa sun and the sky
All the way to Tucumcari
And Santa Fe seems a stone's throw away, yeah
Coyote!
Coyote!

Coming down, the Phoenix sun on your face
Turns it to red by the afternoon
And to the right, the Grand Canyon is wide
Sing along, the needle skips in the wind
Count the stars of Death Valley
And in the dark, Barstow starts to fade
Coyote!
Coyote!
Yeah!"

Dicky Betts & Great Southern

California Blues

Dicky Betts was a Florida-born singer-songwriter, a great guitar player, and a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, he was active from 1960-2021. He wrote this song and recorded it with his band Great Southern for their album "Dickey Betts & Great Southern" released in 1977. His son Duane Betts released a version of the song also on his album "Sketches of American Music" released in 2018. (It's not hard to guess who he was named after...)

"Sittin' up here in a big house
L.A. goes on far as I can see
Got an old time feelin'
Somewhere down the line is calling me
Been going' through the pages of my mind
Wonder what I think I'm gonna find
It don't matter anyway
Tomorrow I'll be leavin' you, L.A.
California Blues, I know you well
What the hell, you're nothin' new to me
California Blues, you can never tell
Could be I loved her more than she could see
Now, I walked in here grinnin'
I ain't winnin' but I'm leavin' like I came
I gambled with the love she gave
And like a fool I did not know the game
But the closest thing to winning must be losin'
And now and then it gets so damned confusin'
But it don't matter anyway
Tomorrow I'll be leavin' you, L.A.
California Blues, I know you well
What the hell, you're nothin' new to me
California Blues, you can never tell
Could be I loved her more than she could see
Could be I wasn't what she wanted me to be"

Between The Frames

Between The Frames is an alternative pop/rock band from North Yorkshire, UK. This upbeat rock song is from their album "States & Fortunes" released in 2022.

"We would race round this rugged town
Radio loud with the windows down
Such a perfect sight with you by my side
Making mistakes and running red lights

Then you did that thing you do
It was in the white dress you asked me to
Take a walk to your favourite view
On the west coast you said I love you

Take me back to California
Take me back to California
Take me back to California
Take me back to California

It’s been 3 years, how the time flew by
I’m grinding my way through a 9 to 5
So much has changed, people came and went
But I'll never forget the times we spent

Then one night you're in my dreams
It all comes back I miss your kiss
And all the times we'd ride our bikes
Down the coast to watch the rising tide

Take me back to California
Take me back to California
Take me back to California
Take me back to California...."

Beyoncé

Hold Up

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter out of Houston Texas, active since 1997, is one of the best-selling most-celebrated music artists of all time. This Grammy-awarded song, based on a sample from a hit song by Andy Williams in 1963 (when easy listening songs could top the pop charts), is from her 2016 masterpiece "Lemonade", a concept album that deals with infidelity, especially in this song and its accompanying video which shows Beyoncé smashing windows on parked cars. (Whenever I see broken car windows I wonder if Beyoncé and her baseball bat were in the neighborhood.) The song doesn't mention California, exactly, but it has an amusing fractured pun that, as I hear it, when put together refers to Hollywood Boulevard.

"I always keep the top tier, 5 star
Backseat lovin' in the car
Like make that wood, like make that wood
Holly like a boulevard...."

"Wood" in this image about a parked car is probaby not another baseball bat, it's more likely slang for an erection. "Holly" could be a pun on "holler." It makes me wonder if Hollywood Boulevard has any special significance for Beyoncé or her husband Jay-Z. They're certainly no strangers to the neighborhood, though so far neither of them has their own star in the cement.

"Hold up, they don't love you like I love you
Slow down, they don't love you like I love you
Back up, they don't love you like I love you
Step down, they don't love you like I love you
Can't you see there's no other man above you?
What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you
Hold up, they don't love you like I love you
Oh, down, they don't love you like I love you

Something don't feel right because it ain't right
Especially comin' up after midnight
I smell your secrets, and I'm not too perfect
To ever feel this worthless
How did it come down to this?
Scrolling through your call list
I don't wanna lose my pride, but I'ma f**k me up a b**th
Know that I kept it sexy, you know I kept it fun
There's something that I'm missing, maybe my head for one

What's worst, lookin' jealous or crazy? Jealous or crazy?
Or like being walked all over lately, walked all over lately
I'd rather be crazy

Hold up, they don't love you like I love you
Slow down, they don't love you like I love you
Back up, they don't love you like I love you
Step down, they don't love you like I love you
Can't you see there's no other man above you?
What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you
Hold up, they don't love you like I love you
Slow down, they don't love you like I love you

Let's imagine for a moment that you never made a name for yourself
Or mastered wealth, they had you labeled as a king
Never made it out the cage, still out there movin' in them streets
Never had the baddest woman in the game up in your sheets
Would they be down to ride? No
They used to hide from you, lie to you
But y'all know we were made for each other
So I find you and hold you down
Me sing see

Hold up, they don't love you like I love you
Slow down, they don't love you like I love you
Back up, they don't love you like I love you
Step down, they don't love you like I love you
Can't you see there's no other man above you?
What a wicked way to treat the girl that loves you
Hold up, they don't love you like I love you
Slow down, they don't love you like I love you

Hey, this such a shame
You let this good love go to waste
I always keep the top tier, 5 star
Backseat lovin' in the car
Like make that wood, like make that wood
Holly like a boulevard...."

Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus

II Most Wanted

Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus recorded this duet for Beyoncé's "country" album "Cowboy Carter" released in 2024, but this song sounds more pop to me. Sure, there are few highways in the U.S. numbered 405, but I think the one they're singing about is Interstate 405 in southern California for two reasons: it goes through the hills where all the rich celebrities like these live; because SoCal drivers add a "the" in front of the number of their freeways while people in other places don't usually do that. If you disagree and think that they're singing about Interstate 405 east of Seattle, you can make you own songs list.

"Know we're jumping the gun, but we're both still young
One day, we won't be
Didn't know what I want 'til I saw your face
Say goodbye to the old me

Came out of nowhere, didn't give no warnin'
Pedal so heavy like the two most wanted
And I don't know what you're doin' tonight
But I

I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I die
Smoke out the window flyin'
Down the 405
I'll be your backseat baby, drivin' you crazy
Anytime you like
Woah, I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I, 'til the day I die

Making waves in the wind with my empty hand
My other hand on you
Been a while since I haven't tried to pull away
But it's time for something new

Came out of nowhere, didn't give no warnin'
Pedal so heavy like the two most wanted
And I don't know what you're doin' tonight
But I

I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I die
Smoke out the window flyin'
Down the 405
Yeah, I'll be your backseat baby, drivin' you crazy
Anytime you like, woah
I'll be your shotgun rider
'Til the day I, 'til the day I die...."

Beyoncé & Willie Jones

Just For Fun

Willie Jones is a country singer from Louisiana who got his start of a TV singing show when he was 17. This slow bluesy song is from Beyoncé's country and Americana album "Cowboy Carter" released in 2024. It mentions Clovis, a city in Fresno County just east of Fresno, known for its rodeo.

"I'm goin' all out just for fun, I am the man, I know it
And everywhere I go, they know my name
So I laugh and I lie and the coyotes cry
And the time moves quickly and so do I, so do I
So I'll say my goodbye

'Cause time heals everything
I don't need anything
Hallelujah
I pray to her

Here's to hoping I'll fall fast asleep tonight
And I'll just need to get through this
Born in the darkness, who brings the light?
And I just, I need to get through this
Or just get used to it

I'm goin' down south just for fun, I am the man, I know it
And everywhere I go, I hide my face
From the cowboys in Clovis and the rodeo circus
I came here for a reason, but I don't know the purpose
It's all under the surface

But time heals everything
I don't need anything
Hallelujah
I pray to her

Here's to hoping I'll fall fast asleep tonight
And I'll just need to get through this
Born in the darkness, who brings the light?
And I just, I need to get through this
Or just get used to it

'Cause time heals everything
I don't need anything
Hallelujah
I pray to her
I pray to her"

Nishawn Bhullar & Priya

Kali-fornia Uber Alles, 21st Century

Nishawn Bhullar is a Punjabi singer-songwriter. I don't know who Priya is other than she's also an Indian singer. I don't know anything about this song either except that it was put on YouTube in 2019 and it has more than 23 million views, so it's very popular. I ran sone online Punjabi lyrics through Google translator but for some reason a lot of phrases did not get translated and many that did don't make a lot of sense. Still, you can get an idea of what much of the song is saying. If anybody has a better translation, let me know!

"My father was proud of what he said
My father was proud of what he said
Main born America di
After marriage, the beauty returned to me.
After marriage, the beauty returned to me.
You can also share

I am content to stay with you
I am content to stay with you
Take the bread and put it in your mouth

Ho chief did not believe
Ho chief did not believe
On a few war jets (x2)

Ho Behrle Mukh kai mode
Ho Behrle Mukh kai mode
On sixty heads
Ho Daru's shokin wad ton
Ho Daru's shokin wad ton
To do expensive with

Ho vehli tera yar sohneye
Ni Vehli, your friend is beautiful
Do not understand the head.

Ho vehli tera yar sohneye
Ni Vehli, your friend is beautiful
Don't understand the head.

May God bless you every day
May God bless you every day
Of the Jatts asking for truth

May God bless you every day
Of the Jatts asking for truth
California wanders
California wanders
Mitra, the chief end member
When you say yes, say yes
When you say yes, say yes
Mukh kadan takni na jan mitra

Where did the villagers go?
Where did the villagers go?
Sad hearts of the seven

Ho chief did not believe
Ho chief did not believe
On a few war jets (x2)

Ho rolled in a Cadillac
Ho rolled in a Cadillac
Stay strong friends
You are visiting California
You are visiting California
To Mehda Dase Sardara

Ho munda maad kahnda rakhda
Be the boy with all intents and purposes
Lade heart bursting

May God bless you every day
May God bless you every day
Of the Jatts asking for truth
May God bless you every day
Of the Jatts asking for truth

Ho chief did not believe
On the slightly rusted jets
May God bless you every day
Of the Jatts asking for truth"

Jello Biafra with the Melvins

Jello Biafra is a singer-songwriter originally from Boulder, Colorado, who was the lead singer for the Dead Kennedys, a punk band from San Francisco that is listed below. The Melvins are a rock band from Washington state active since 1983.

Collaborating with the Melvins on their 2005 album "Sieg Howdy!," Jello Biafra once again revised his 1979 song "California Uber Alles," originally about California Governor Jerry Brown, then about Ronald Reagan, to criticize the current California Governor at that time, Arnold Schwarzenneger, using several references to his movies. Schwarzenneger was not elected in typical democratic fashion, he was appointed governor after rich opponents of the sitting Governor staged a recall election, that many people considered a coup bought the governorship. The song also criticizes the Bush/Cheney presidential regime with their unnecessary wars that profitted their friends such as Haliburton.

What Biafra did not know in 2005 is that a few years later Bush's policies would drag the nation into the worst economic disaster since the great depression of the 1930s, or that Schwarzenneger, whose supporters ignored and discounted many accusations that he had sexually harassed women (which is alluded to in the song) ended his political carreer in 2011 in disgrace because of a sex scandal never ran for president.

"I am Governor Schwarzenegger
If I can I'll be dictator
When they make me President
Democracy is going away
Hasta la vista, Baby
I will command all of you
Kindergarten cop in every school
Or I vill terminate you

Kali-Fornia Uber Alles
Kali-Fornia Uber Alles
Uber Alles Kali-fornia
Uber Alles Kali-fornia

Enron will control you
Like they staged the recall coup
Steroids for de Master Race
So you all can have my face
Close your eyes, can't happen here
Bush and Cheney are already here
Third Reich won't come back, you say?
Not if Fox News has their way
Can I grope your ti**ies today?

Kali-Fornia Uber Alles
Kali-Fornia Uber Alles
Uber Alles Kali-fornia
Uber Alles Kali-fornia

Mandate of Two-Thousand und Four
Knock Knock at your bedroom door
It's the Homeland Security Police
You're a terrorist and so is your niece
Drag you secretly to a camp
Where we keep all da Girlie Men
Don't you worry, it's for a cause
Feeding Halliburton's claws
Die on depleted uranium gas
North Korea or Iran
Run you over with my Hummer, baby
If you mess with Schwarzenegger
And all the money
That's making him bigger

Kali-Fornia Uber Alles
Kali-Fornia Uber Alles
Uber Alles Kali-fornia
Uber Alles Kali-fornia

I'll be back"

Francesco Bianconi

Zuma Beach

Francesco Bianconi is a singer-songwriter from Italy, active since 1994. This song is from his album "Forever" released in 2020. I don't know what genre this is. It's piano-based with strings and electronics, and it's sung in Italian with strange lyrics that mention kamikazes, the KKK, and the Pixies, as well as Zuma Beach, the popular west Malibu surfing beach.

"" Carissimi elettori, goodbye
La presunta kamikaze ha ucciso il padre e vi sorride agli aeroporti
Ora, in pace, è già partita
Ha un libro in mano e conta i morti
Guarda il mantello di strage che copre il Paese
Bianco come il Ku Klux Klan
Filma il tramonto del senso, racconta l'età
All'armi, patrioti, good night
La ragazza guida bene in California
Tutto brucia, siamo salvi, abbiamo voglia
Di non parlare e ballare al concerto dei Pixies
Alza il volume, se vuoi
Sputa il dolore più forte che puoi

Oggi faccio il bagno nell'oceano
E ti guardo da lontano
Sulla sabbia a Zuma Beach
Ho capito che ti amo
Che potrei morir così
E al transumare umano potrei porre fine qui

Mentre tocco l'acqua dell'oceano
Tu mi dici: "Sei impazzito?
Vuoi morire a Zuma Beach?"
Ma io non sono mai stato più felice di così
E al mio viaggio sulla terra potrei porre fine qui
Oggi mi battezzo nell'oceano
E capisco di esser niente
Sulla spiaggia a Zuma Beach
E vorrei disintegrarmi nella luce insieme a te
Perché quel che è stato è stato
Se mancava, adesso c'è

Anche se arrivasse il dio dei ranger
E dicesse: "Stai attento
Questo è un mare per esperti"
Oggi non lo ascolterei ""

"" Dear voters, goodbye
The alleged kamikaze killed her father and smiles at the airports
Now, in peace, she's already gone
He has a book in his hand and counts the dead
Look at the cloak of slaughter that covers the country
White like the Ku Klux Klan
Film the decline of meaning, tell the story of age
To arms, patriots, good night
The girl drives well in California
Everything burns, we are saved, we feel like it
Not to talk and dance at the Pixies concert
Turn up the volume if you want
Spit out the pain as hard as you can

Today I swim in the ocean
And I watch you from afar
On the sand at Zuma Beach
I understood that I love you
That I could die like this
And I could put an end to human transhumanism here

As I touch the ocean water
You tell me: "Are you crazy?
Do you want to die on Zuma Beach?"
But I've never been happier than this
And my journey on earth could end here
Today I am baptized in the ocean
And I understand that I am nothing
On the beach at Zuma Beach
And I would like to disintegrate in the light with you
Because what happened happened
If it was missing, now it is

Even if the god of rangers comes
And said, "Be careful
This is a sea for experts"
I wouldn't listen to it today ""

Justin Bieber (featuring Daniel Caesar & Giveon)

Peaches

Justin Bieber is a singer-songwriter from Canada. Daniel Caesar is a Canadian singer and songwriter and Giveon is a singer and songwriter from California. This song, from Bieber's sixth studio album "Justice" released in 2021, debuted at #1 in the U.S. when it was released. A lot of songs have been doing that now that streaming and social media plays are counted.

The chorus, which Bieber sings seven times, celebrates one of California's most lucrative agricultural crops.

"I got my peaches out in Georgia (Oh, yeah, s**t)
I get my weed from California (That's that s**t)
I took my chick up to the North, yeah (Bad-ass b***h)
I get my light right from the source, yeah (Yeah, that’s it)"

Big Al Blake (featuring Fred Kaplan)

Leavin' California

Al Blake is a blues musician from Oregon, born in 1945. Fred Kaplan is a blues musician from Los Angeles. Al Blake wrote this song which is from the album "Mr. Blake's Blues" released in 1997.

"Early in the mornin'
Waitin' for that old rooster crow
I'm cryin' goodbye sweet baby Jo
Won't see my smilin' face no more
I'm leavin' California
Headed down into Mexico

I'm tired of this rat race
I'm tired of this Tinseltown
I'm tired of this rat raceI'm gettin' tired of this Tinseltown
By tomorrow mornin'
I'll be south of the border bound

Now I've climbed a mountain high
Walked through the valley so deep
All through the pourin' rain
And in paths I could not see
I made mistakes in life
That I just won't repeat

Yeah that's my story
That's all I've got to say
I'm cryin' easy
That's all I've got to say
I'm leavin' in my walkin' shoes
By now I'll be on my way

I'm cryin' goodbye sweet baby Jo
Won't see my smilin' face no more
I'm leavin' California, hey
Headed down into Mexico"

Big Al Blake & The Hollywood Fats Band

Santa Ana's Blowin'

This song about the devil winds was written by Al Blake, is from the album "Mr. Blake's Blues" released in 1997.

"Santa Ana's blowin'
I can tell by the waves out on the sea
Santa Ana's blowin'
I can tell by the waves out on the sea
I know my baby's got another man
By the way she has treated me

She was my dream
She was a midnight fantasy
She was my dream
She was a midnight fantasy
But when I woke up this mornin'
I was blue and lonesome as a man can be

Now I'm standin' here thinkin'
I'm starin' down in the deep blue sea
I'm standin' here thinkin' and I'm tremblin'
I'm starin' down in the deep blue sea
I feel like lettin' ol sharks and fishes
Have a feedin' frenzy over me"

Big & Rich

Big & Rich is a country music duo formed in Nashville in 1998. Once in a while Shazam comes in real handy, as it did at a truck stop on the 5 in the Central Valley where I first heard this song. It's a nice slightly more rock-based cover of Tim McGraw's song from 2015 which is also on this list. It's from the duo's 2017 album "Did It for the Party." The song was written in part by Rich and he and Big sang vocals on the original, so it's no wonder they eventually made their own version.

Every
"It's a 3 day drive if she drives all night
Says she's leavin' at the crack of dawn
Well she might still be lyin' here with me
But in her heart she's already gone
Already packed up, the Altima's gassed up
She's done put the map up there on the dash
I'm all tore up just tryin' to man up
Dammin' these tears up but can't hold 'em back

Cuz she's in love with California
And that west coast sunshine dream
These ain't no Hollywoods
And these hills ain't Beverly
Ain't no beaches on these backroads
No sunset on the boulevard
She's in love with California
And breakin' my heart

Got a waitress job waitin' in an I-Hop
Throw a rock and hit Universal City
Got a glamour shot in her hip pocket
Hopin' somebody'll think she's pretty
By this time tomorrow she'll hit Colorado
I'll be drownin' my sorrow in a bottle of Beam
Before she hits Flagstaff maybe she'll backtrack
But I wouldn't bet that if I was me

Cuz she's in love with California
And that west coast sunshine dream
These ain't no Hollywoods
And these hills ain't Beverly
Ain't no beaches on these backroads
No sunset on the boulevard
She's in love with California
And breakin' my heart

Well she was all mine
Now it's go time...."

Big Audio Dynamite

Hollywood Boulevard

Big Audio Dynamite was an English band formed in 1984 by Mick Jones who was formerly with the Clash from 1976-1983. This song is from the band's second album "No. 10, Upping St." released in 1986. I don't know if there ever was a place called the "Milk Bar" in Hollywood where all the celebrities in the song hung out, or if it's a reference to the Korova Milkbar in "A Clockwork Orange," or if it just refers to the traditional convenience store "milk mars" found in Britain and Australia, but nowadays the the U.S. The Milk Bar is a chain of dessert bakeries. I don't think Fatty Arbuckle, Hunter Thompson, or Salvador Dali would patronize the place, but I'd love to try their cookies next time I'm in L.A. Sadly, sugar is my vice these days.

"The Messiahs of the Milk Bar, Hellraisers to the end
Had a drop to many in a toast to all their friends
Movie stars and writers are present A to Z
Now these ain't common people, they're personalities

And they've all got a story, ohoh
Tattle talk from Tinseltown, ohoh ("yeah, yeah, look at that, yeah...")
Some of them survivors, ohohoh
Others gone to ground

There's Brendan B and Hunter T, what's a poet got to say
Hunter's looking for a story about the IRA
And Lenny isn't laughing, he nearly lost his life
Transsexual from the Transvaal slipped in as his wife

It's a star-studded scandal, ohoh
So raise your glass my friend, ohoh
The Messiahs of the Milk Bar, ohohoh
Hellraisers to the end

'The rose garden is already littered with my victims...'

And they've all got a story, ohoh
Tattle talk from Tinseltown, ohoh
Some of them survivors, ohohoh
Others gone to ground

Bukowski wants to talk, but he's had too much to drink
Threw up in the piano 'cause he thought it was the sink
Little Richard and Sal Dali singing out of key
Both hallucinated, the Sandoz was for free

Osbourne's at a party, Colin Wilson's on the line
Saying, "Listen Johnny Baby, that catchphrase is mine"
Flynn and Reed in conversation, renowned throughout the land
Used a calculator, work out who's the better man

Now Errol's got the looks and Ollie's got the strength
One is talking numbers and the others' talking length
Fatty's feeling frisky, orders more champagne
Women run out screaming, "Oh no, not again!"

And they've all got a story, ohoh
Tattle talk from Tinseltown, ohoh
Some of them survivors, ohohoh
Others gone to ground

It's a star-studded scandal, ohoh
So raise your glass my friend, ohoh
The Messiahs of the Milk Bar, ohohoh
Hellraisers to the end

The Messiahs of the Milk Bar, ohohoh
Hellraisers to the end"

Billy Strings (featuring Willie Nelson)

California Sober

Billy Strings is William Apostol, a bluegrass musician from Michigan and Kentucky, active since 2013. Willie Nelson has been a country music legend for nearly sixty years. This upbeat bluegrass song was released in 2023. Demi Lovato's 2021 song with the same title is about the same idea of using moderation instead of abstinence to fight addiction, but at the end she is successful but I'm not sure about this guy. In the last verse he "was California sober" and the devil won, and he doesn't get on the wagon, which sounds to me like he's back on the hard stuff.

"Well I used to like to ramble with my good-time friends and neighbors
Now I find I’d rather lie awake in bed
And I don’t get to acting mean when I keep my buzzes clean
And keep the hard stuff and the whiskey from my head

Well I guess that’s just the trouble when you’re always seeing double
And the lines are getting twice as hard to see
I’ve had years I don’t recall but I’m told I had a ball
At least somebody did who looked a lot like me

Well I’m California sober as they say
Lately I can find no other way
I can’t stay out and party like I did back in the day
So I’m California sober as they say

Well I heard out in the hills they got pills to get their thrills
And they love their liquor down in New Orleans
Maybe for a New York minute sugarcane will fit the bill
But in no time flat you’re out of what you need

The old crew don’t get together
Anymore these days much ever
And some went straight and some went straight to jail
Now they’re busy posting vids and just trying to raise their kids
Instead of raising holy Hell and posting bail

Well I’m California sober as they say
Lately I can find no other way
I can’t stay out and party like I did back in the day
So I’m California sober as they say

I was California Sober 'till I thought the world was over
Now I’m sitting on the roadside once again
And when that wagon passes by, I don’t even bat an eye
Because the devil on my shoulder always wins
When that ol' wagon passes by, I don’t even bat an eye
Because the devil on my shoulder always wins"

The Bird and the Bee

The Bird and the Bee is a indie pop duo from Los Angeles. This breezy technopop song is from their album "Recreational Love" released in 2015. I get the impression that they like living in Los Angeles.

"Touch yourself and get yourself
Come alive, just driving it around
I love you more than anyone
Stop asking me where I come from

I'm from L.A., la la la la la
Living in L.A., la la la la la
Living in L.A., la la la la la
Living in L.A., la la la la la

Summer night, take off your clothes
The water's warm, our bodies glowing
Light you up and stretch it out
Now I know I could never live without

(L.A., la la la la la)
Stop asking me where I come from
(Living in L.A., la la la la la)
Tell me how to love someone
(Living in L.A., la la la la la)
Stop asking me where I come from
(Living in L.A., la la la la la)
I love you more than anyone

Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Don't listen to a thing they say
They don't need you in the same way
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Don't ever let them change you
They don't know you like I do
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
No, you don't need their love
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Los Angeles
No, you don't need their love

Touch yourself, get yourself
Let yourself come alive
Put me out, pull me in
Get me off and let's hook in...."

Bizzy Bone

Only in L.A.

Bizzy Bone is the professional name of Bryon Anthony McCane II, a rapper from Cleveland, active since 1992, and a member of the well-known Cleveland rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. This smooth rap song with an R&B feel is from his unpretentiously-named album "The Greatest Rapper Alive" released in 2010. I couldn't find any written lyrics to help me so they're full of holes and probably full of mistakes.

"Where the pimps and playas play
(Only in L.A.)
Where the Crips and Bloods show you the way
(Only in L.A.)
Palm trees and milky sky
(Only in L.A.)
You keep it thuggish
We keep it huggish
(Only in L.A.)
Where the pimps and playas play
(Only in L.A.)
Where the Crips and Bloods show you the way
(Only in L.A.)
Palm trees and milky sky
(Only in L.A.)
You keep it chuggish thuggish
We keep it huggish druggish
(Only in L.A.)
... ... ...
Airport, first class, chauffeur, no luggage
Purple mink, take it off, this is California
I'm cold-blooded, ride past Compton that's for my n***a
Hit the grave site, drop off a flower, you get the picture
I'm still thuggin', on occasion I go clubbin'
Keep it corporate, that's the new sexy
... in a new Bentley, don't even wave
His true colors are shinin' through, that n***as paid
Two local bond a quarter mil, he's in a cage
His children make sure they OK, I'm on the case
Little Layzie meet up with Krayzie, give me the place
Thanks the flesh, bless the greyhound, and good old L.A.

Where the pimps and playas play
(Only in L.A.)
Where the Crips and Bloods show you the way
(Only in L.A.)
Palm trees and milky sky
(Only in L.A.)
You keep it thuggish
We keep it huggish
(Only in L.A.)
Where the pimps and playas play
(Only in L.A.)
Where the Crips and Bloods show you the way
(Only in L.A.)
Palm trees and milky sky
(Only in L.A.)
You keep it chuggish thuggish
We keep it huggish druggish
(Only in L.A.)

In L.A. I've had my baby mothers
City of Angels where my n***as still bang their colors
The pimps and playas like the Oakland Raiders still mackin'
... can't forget the Lakers Michael Jackson
... in Calabasas
Head to the mountains ride the road wherever it takes you
And think about it, rest your soul at Pacific Ocean
Long Beach about it, the Marina Del Rey yacht style
Fish for the pilot, see the stars on the walkway
The Western Union for your people back at home pay
We gotta do it, can't forget about ...
Better watch your step it's sunny California
But quickly it could be your death down in L.A...."

Frank Black

California Bound

Frank Black is a singer-songwriter who grew up in Los Angeles and Massachussets, where he formed the essential alternative band Pixies in the mid 1980s using the stage name Black Francis. Then he used Frank Black as a solo artist, then Frank Black and the Catholics, and then he went back to using Black Francis. Maybe some day he'll make up his mind. This is an alternative rock song from the 2002 album Black Letter Days.

"Don't worry, hey, no need for you to hide among the trees
Come into the light and you'll be free
Don't scurry, hey, it's such a lonely life up in the hills
The valley's gonna cure your every ill
Don't worry, hey, I know that you are lost but you'll be found
God willing we are California bound
God willing we are California bound

No, I never will hate you
I just want to show you the one truth
And spread my love all around

Don't worry, don't bring yourself down
Don't let your mind chase you like a hound
Don't worry, don't bring yourself down
We're coming today to save your town

No worries, heys, I know tomorrow brings the golden sun
Where there's wine and olive fruit for everyone
Do hurry, hey, now spread the news from there upon your mound
God willing we are California bound
God willing I won't put you in the ground

No, I never will hate you
I just want to show you the one truth
And spread God's love all around

Don't worry, don't bring yourself down
Don't let your mind chase you like a hound
Don't worry, don't bring yourself down
We're coming today to save your town"

Frank Black

Calistan

This is from Frank Black's Teenager of the Year album (1994.)
There's a video of him singing the song solo with an acoustic guitar and explaining the song here. He says the song is about the great road, El Camino Real, the King's Highway. (The 600 mile long road that connects 21 Spanish missions in California that runs from San Diego to Sonoma County. It's not really one street anymore, except in the mind, but it's mostly highway 101.) "Wheezy" refers to the L.A. smog, St. Anne, refers to the Santa Anna winds, etc.

"I took three days to drive down one street
The radio on, tuned to the big fleet
Invisible planes are cracking the concrete
That's just what some people say

I put down my blanket on Cigarette Butt Beach
I saw the old man, he was doing OK
He's making his last stand
On old bottles and cans
'Round there, Calistan way

Used to be sixteen lanes
Used to be Nuevo Spain
Used to be Juan Wayne
Used to be Mexico
Used to be Navajo
Used to be yippy-ay-I-don't know

Went in from the weather when I got wheezy
I play some pachinko I play pachisi
And St. Anne is still making it breezy
In the valley of tar that once was L.A.

And my best friend he's the king of karaoke
He struck up a chord and he took it away
Out of the pan
And into Japan
'Round there, Calistan way

Used to be sixteen lanes
Used to be Juan Wayne
Used to Mexican
Used to be Espano Nuevo
Used to be Navajo
Used to be yippie-ay-I-don't know"

Frank Black

This is a great 1992 indie hard rocker from Black Francis of the Pixies about several Los Angeleses - one in So Cal, one in Chile, one in the future (2525), and one in old movies.

"I met a man
he was a good man.
Sailin' and shorin'
dancing the beta can-can
making me foreign, aaaah yeah.

I wanna live in Los Angeles
not the one in Los Angeles
not the one in South California
they got one in South Patagonia
I wanna live in Los Angeles
not the one in Los Angeles

They got a bunch down in moleville
they got a bunch more still.

I wanna live in Los Angeles
not the one in Los Angeles

They got one in 25-2-5
works just like a beehive."

Frank Black

Ole Mulholland

This is from Frank Black's (Black Francis) 1994 release Teenager of the Year.

"Hey, sleepy monster in the sand
Time to get up and have a drink
Pacific Rim has a tank that thinks
That she is really something grand

Let me tell you about
When I was hanging out
Just in my dhoti, running in the dawn
Right across my lawn, I saw a coyote

Ole', Ole', Ole' for Mulholland
See the water fall
Hooray, hooray, the ants are crawling
Down on Bradbury's mall
Ole', Ole', Ole' for Mulholland

All waxed in pride, I've got a comfortable ride
And man, she could take us
Out across the salts
And out of these faults and on into Vegas

So slept a monster in the dune
Woke him up and then he drank
Pacific rim has a think tank
But does she have I.Q. for the moon?

The concrete of the aqua duct
Will last as long as the pyramid of Egypt
Or the Parthenon of Athens
Long after Joe Harriman is elected major of Los Angeles

Ole', Ole', Ole', for Mulholland
See the water fall
And hooray, hooray, the ants are crawling
Down in Bradbury's mall

Ole', Ole', Ole', for Mulholland
Yeah, it's quite a sprawl
So hooray, hooray, the sky is falling
Down on Bradbury's mall
Ole', Ole', Ole', for Mulholland, Ole'"

Frank Black and The Catholics

I Want Rock & Roll

This is from the album "Pistolero" released in 2004. The singer must hate his own music because he craves rock & roll that sounds like Chubby Checker and Freddy Fender, but his own music only sounds like Frank Black.

"I want to go back to fifty-five
Ten before I was burned alive
There ain't no use in a stupid dream
My head is tired from this enthymeme
I want to hear their holy rampage
I don't mind a little ear damage
Henry Sloane in my soca soul
I'm not ashamed to say

I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll

I'd like to hear some Chubby Checker
Crush my heart with Desmond Dekker
Little itty bitty of Freddy Fender
Start me up return to sender

I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll

I want to go back to fify-five
Ten before I was burned alive
The world can be so very cold
Nothing to say except

I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll
I want rock & roll

If you're going to San Francisco
Just remember it all is disco...."

Frank Black and The Catholics

St. Francis Dam Disaster

This is a story song from Dog in the Sand (2006) about floodwaters flowing to the sea after the dam, built in San Fransisquito Canyon in 1926, failed in 1928, killing an estimated 431 people.

"There was a well known water master man
He was the king
He could do anything
The St. Francis dam disaster, man
Thought she was all right
Until around midnight
Because that water seeks her own
She had a desire to flow
She was looking for somewhere to go
She was a slave to the great metropolis
She was feeling choked
She pushed the wall till it broke
When they heard the great apocalypse
At powerhouse number 2
Well, there was nothing they could do

Because that water seeks her own
Five and one half hours she would flow
She had 53 miles to go
A cascade down to Santa Clara way
Near 60 feet high
Now she's a mile wide
It was clear she was going far away
And whole towns were, too
A few got lucky in Piru
Because that water seeks her own
But four more hours she would flow
She had 29 miles more to go
She carried in her every kind of thing
House, tree, and telegraph pole
Some say a thousand souls
At 3 A.M. she gave Santa Paula a ring
She was still 25 feet high
Under a peaceful sky

Because that water seeks her own
But two more hours she would flow
She had 19 miles more to go
It was a real bad night in little Saticoy
El Rio, then Montalvo
How many, no one really knows
Ventura Beach was very scary, boy
Humanity a-pile
She went a final mile
Because that water seeks her own
Into the sea water flowed
Now forever she would go"

Blackbear

Califormula

Blackbear is Matthew Musto, a singer-songwriter-producer from Florida, active since 2006. This song is from the EP "The Afterglow" released in 2014.

"I just bought some drugs
Off a man I didn't know, in the lobby
The lobby of the Roosevelt (Roosevelt)
As if you didn't warn me enough

I got that Califormula-la-la
Got that Califormula, huh-huh
One more night
I got that Califormula

No use in thinking 'bout it now
'Cause you're gone
You're gone
You're gone

So I leave it all behind
I always feel like I'm behind you
I try to sleep but I...
I'm faded out my mind
Lay me down tonight
I always feel like I'm beside you

I got that Califormula-la-la
Got that Califormula, huh-huh
One more night
I got that Califormula

Ooh, ooh
Ooh-ooh
One more night
Got that Califormula-ula
Thinkin' 'bout you now
You now, you now
Where are you?
Where are you going?
You're gone
You're gone...."

Blackbear

Grey L.A.

This is another song from the EP "The Afterglow" released in 2014.

"Was it even real to you baby
Cause it was real to me
Was it even real
Cause if it was real
Where are you going

Is it still the same way that you wanted it
The same way that you needed it
So tell me if it's real
Baby tell me if it's real
Tell me how you feel
Ooohhhoohhh...

I wear no color today
Window sounds of rain
Nobody at the bar
L.A. is grey today

Where are you now
Where are you going
Is it still the same way that you remember it
Or was it ill praised when it was over with
Where are you now
Where are we goin
Do you wanna change the way you remember it
Do you wanna cha-

Was it even real to you baby
Cause it was real to me
Was it even real
Cause if it was real
Where the f**k are you going...."

Blackbear

Valley Girls

This is another song from the EP "The Afterglow" released in 2014.

"Mornin' Mimosa
Cocktails in the summer afternoon
Spent the evening hung over
Champagne for the night time blues
Cuz I got a new girl
She's nothin' like you
She don't do anything like you used to do
And I miss the thunder, in California
All the glory and wonder
Where's the Southern Comfort

In the winter my brother he said man f**k her find another
Keep your head up, this is summer
Funny how I had that same younger attitude
My mother said don't rush to be grown
Cuz them Valley girls will always have some growin' up to do

I ain't lookin' for lookin' for love
Just lookin' for someone to f**k
I ain't lookin' for lookin' for love
I don't need none of that
Cuz I can't wait for you
Can't stay for you
Won't change for you
And I don't want the same things as you
Not chasin' you
Not blamin' you
But I don't want the same things

And forever goes a long way

I'm usually patient
I'm tired of waiting all the time
Usually faded all the time...."

Blackbear (featuring G-Eazy)

90210

Blackbear is a singer-songwriter from Florida. G-Eazy is a rapper from Oakland. This is from the album "deadroses" released in 2015. FIDM is the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising college in Los Angeles, and, as anybody who ever watched TV in the '90s knows, 90210 is the zip code for Beverly Hills.

"(90210, 90210)
Oh,

What are you yellin' for you're screaming out your lungs all day and night
I can't control a girl like you
She need a Saturday away from home to drink more champagne
I can't mold a, girl like you
In all designer, to remind ya
You can't buy her, just her clothes
Can't define her, can't design her
In the 90210

I can't find her, I can't find her
In the 90210
In the 90210

What are you yellin for you're screaming out your lungs all day and night
I can't control a, girl like you
She need a Saturday away from home to drink more champagne
I can't mold a, girl like you
In all designer, to remind ya
You can't buy her, just her clothes
Can't define her, can't design her
In the 90210

I can't find her, I can't find her
In the 90210
In the 90210

What are you yellin' for you're screaming out your lungs all day and night
I can't control a girl like you
She need a Saturday away from home to drink more champagne
I can't mold a, girl like you
In all designer, to remind ya
You can't buy her, just her clothes
Can't define her, can't design her
In the 90210

I can't find her, I can't find her
In the 90210
In the 90210

Yeah, uh
Reverb on guitar plucks
Cigarettes and Starbucks
And her line of credits high
High as the line gets her better credit card cuts
So in love with the scene, uh
So in love with bein' seen
Probably it's time to intervene
But she doesn't care, so she keep the party goin' in the meantime
Kill us all over she can't rewind
If she gets her fix well then she's fine
I should prolly hit her with the peace sign
Says she wants me and I fall for it each time
She's aware she's a bad chick
Studyin' at FIDM, cutting fabric
I really think her soul's made of plastic
End of the story is inevitably tragic
Uh, yeah

I can't find her, I can't find her
In the 90210
In the 90210

90210, 90210
Yeah, yeah
I need you, come get it
I need you, I need you
Come find it, come find it
Oh oh oh oh...."

Black Eyed Peas (featuring De La Soul)

Cali to New York

Black Eyed Peas are a hip-hop group formed in Los Angeles, active on and off since 1995. De La Soul is a hip-hop group from Amityville, New York, active since 1988. The song is from the Black Eyed Peas' second studio album "Bridging the Gap", released in 2000 (before Fergie joined the group). The song emphasizes the popularity of the two groups from both coasts in both California and New York, which was important in 2000, only a few years after the east coast-west coast hip-hop feud that led to the shooting deaths of Tupac Shakur, based in California, and The Notorious B.I.G., based in New York. There is also a romantic acoustic guitar-accompanied outro spoken by a woman in Spanish that feels like it doesn't belong here.

[will.i.am - Black Eyed Peas]
"As soon as [A La] stepped off (the floor)
People started hollerin' (for more)
Beggin' us to bless 'em with an (encore)
You know the Peas they game to that (for sure)
No matter what the coast we, be on
Pacific or Atlantic we, stay strong
Foreign or domestically, we conquer
All obstacles professionally and rock on
And that's exactly how we made it rock, made it rock
We turn this on and then we make it hot, make it hot
We also known to cause a state of shock, state of shock
We start at 2 then go to 10 o'clock, 10 o'clock
10 o'clock the next day that is, day that is
No matter what city or state that is, state that is
Don't ask no questions, that's the way that is, way that is
Don't ask no questions, that's the way that is

[will.i.am - Black Eyed Peas]
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York

[Posdnous - De La Soul]
Introduce Posdnous y'all, 'Nous y'all
Sticky like cous-cous y'all, 'Cous y'all
Be the words that I apply, apply
My peeps mass, karma N.Y., N.Y
Check it out, you see you other MC's, sound like brother MC's
Raised by the same pop and mother emcees
While I got a lot of brand in my name, I'm recognizable
Leavin' me the cash amount, that's quite sizable
Rich in that English that's broke as hell
That's why my ni**as in the hood understand me so well
Its the modern rap type talk, used to walk
All over your ears you hear the thump
This track pumps like, well order
Some others fell short of the line of finish
You didn't practice harder at the scrimmage
Now my image is the golden cup
My career is dirty compared to yours, it's all washed up

[will.i.am - Black Eyed Peas]
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York

[Dove - De La Soul]
We, we, we, we regulate and cross plates, destruct ya
Toss coins to distract it and we bust ya
Minds blow bigger than tempers out in Russia
Cuss like a sailor, make you shame like [thelya]
Stitch a verse tailored to fit, spray paintin' your spit
On the deco we art, spread apart
I raid mo' tracks than flicks in 'Beat Street'
With kicks until the soul wear out, never that
We weather that, you light in the ass and feather that
Heavy like black leather coats, you pleather that
Last dick on the line, we way ahead of that
Squeezin' like Freddie Foxx, and his two Glocks
Rocks don't impress ni**as who speak to God
We get jams to make a tuna melt
Held down by the BEP, we strictly, new getting
Two-fifty up in front of the mic, so what it look like?

[will.i.am - Black Eyed Peas]
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back, back, back, back, and forth
From Cali to New York
Back

Sentada aquí junto a la ventana
Esta soledad, cómo me duele
Mi cuerpo llora por amor
Extraño los besos de pasión
Soñando, sueño con tus besos tan dulces, mi amor
Y tus... tus labios"

[English Translation]
Sitting here by the window
This loneliness, how it hurts me
My body cries for love
I miss passionate kisses
Dreaming, dreaming of your kisses so sweet, my love
And your... your lips

Black Whales

Rattle Your Bones

Black Whales is a Seattle Band their Band Camp site tags: "alternative garage pop psyche-pop rock n roll Seattle. Rattle Your Bones is the A Side of a 7" vinyl single released in 2010.

"And oh, I try and speak,
and open up my teeth,
I can't say anything.

Tell me what you hear,
I like your point of view.
Tell me everything.

And no I can't deny,
no I can't close my eyes,
I can't fall asleep,
'cause I'll only wake up here...

In the wrong place, at the wrong time.
The wrong place, at the wrong time.

We look like trouble I guess,
and people turn their heads,
we are the dead end kids.

Here come the worker bees,
rattle your bones like tambourines.
Don't fall asleep,
'cause you'll only wake up here...

In the wrong place, at the wrong time.
The wrong place, at the wrong time. Time.

I'm going to San Francisco,
and I don't think I'm ever coming back.
I'm goin' out the window,
I'm goin' and I won't cover up my tracks, yeah,
I'm going to San Francisco,
I'm going to San Francisco,
I'm going to San Francisco,
I'm going to San Francisco...."

Perry Blake

The Hunchback of San Francisco

Perry Blake is an Irish singer/songwriter known for his downtempo melancholy style, reminiscent of some songs by Pete Drake and Leonard Cohen. This song is from his third album "California" released in 2002.

"A new life is what we need
A new life out of here
Little moments, don't you know?
Maybe go to California, where it's warm
Get some work
I can see you and I breaking waves
In the sunshine

Don't start slipping away
Don't start slipping away

No sad refrains
They belong to yesterday

Don't start slipping away
Don't start slipping away

California, California"

Perry Blake

This is from Blake's first album "Perry Blake" released in 1998.

"Morning has broken the silence of night
Now you'll have to use kindness to fight
It's just like asbestos, it sticks to your skin
It burns within

Luck is a hunchback, travelling light
With rags and transistors to hold up the sky
Drink to the hearts that San Francisco stole
But drink slow

'Cause I'm a lonely man
And you're a lonely girl
And it's a lonely world

If you make vegas, leave on the lights
I want to see your expression change
Hatred will take you to unknown heights
Drink slow

'Cause I'm a lonely man
And you're a lonely girl
And it's a lonely world"

Mel Blanc

Big Bear Lake

Mel Blanc was a voice actor and radio personality from San Francisco active from 1927-1989, known worldwide for voicing Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, and many other animated characters in movies and television. This swing band novelty song, with man-made motorboat sound effects that I assume are made by Blanc, is about a lake in the San Bernardino Mountains not far from Los Angeles. It's the B side to the song "I'm Just Wild About Animals Crackers" released in 1949.

"The doctor looked at me and said
'Get away from the noise of the city'
And so I packed my bag and fled
To a lake that was quiet and pretty

(Big Bear Lake, with the motor boats a-puttin')
(Big Bear Lake, they're a-buzzin' and a-buttin')
(Big Bear Lake, with the motor boats a puttin')

(Big Bear Lake, with the engines all a-hoppin')
(Big Bear Lake, with the outboards all a-poppin')
(Big Bear Lake, not a single one is stoppin')

Those moonlight nights so calm and serene
The quiet scenes enduring
But comes the dawn, the silence is gone
They're out of their moorings

(Big Bear Lake, with the motor boats a-puttin')
(Big Bear Lake they're a-buzzin' and a-buttin')
(Big Bear Lake, with the motor boats a-puttin')

(Puttin' all day)
Rest, rest!
Relax, relax!
Quiet, quiet, QUIET!!!

'Relax and quiet' the doctors all say
'Is good for your condition'
But how can you relax and be quiet
When there goes the ignition

(Big Bear Lake, with the motor boats a-puttin')
(Big Bear Lake, they're a-buzzin' and a-buttin')
(Big Bear Lake, with the motor boats a-puttin')

Puttin' all day
Puttin' all day
Puttin' all day
Puttin' all day"

Judy Blank

Judy Blank is a singer from the Netherlands who moved to the U.S. to start a music career. This pop Christmas song was released in 2022. Even though the lyrics disparage some Christmas traditions like mistletoe, this song still throws in all the old Christmas song sounds with sleigh bells, harp, bells, and a choir of background voices.

"I don't care for kisses under mistletoe
Being drunk at dinner in my fancy clothes
Makes me so uncomfortable
Rather be with you alone

Don't like singing carols by an open fire
Never seen an angel in the frozen sky
Don't you think it's getting old
What if I don't like this cold

I want a California Christmas
Under California stars
I've been begging Santa
For a ticket to your heart
I would cross the ocean blue
For a common dozy
Super cozy
California Christmas with you

I don't care for sleigh rides in the morning air
Hate those city snow flakes ...
Even if it's just a few
I'd rather ...

I want a California Christmas
Under California stars
I've been begging Santa
For a ticket to your heart
I would cross the ocean blue
For a California Christmas
Under California stars
I've been begging Santa
For a ticket to your heart
I would cross the ocean blue
For a common dozy
Super cozy
California Christmas with you"

The Blasters

Hollywood Bed

The Blasters are a roots rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California by Dave Alvin, who quit the band several years later, and his brother Phil who is still with the band in 2021. Dave Alvin also has several other songs on this list. This song is from their second album "The Blasters" released in 1981.

"Lift up the shade, let's see the light
We came this far, honey, let's see the sights
Hold me close don't try to fight
Let's work up a sweat on a summer night

Hey, hey, hey, rocking in our Hollywood bed

What's that you say, you got a rich old man
I live on the streets doing the best I can
Now he can call his friend, he can raise a fuss
He can call the cops but he won't find us
Hey, hey, hey, rocking in our Hollywood bed

No need to cry, we getting by in our Hollywood bed

Tip the bottle slow, let's get real tight
The stores are closed till the morning's light
You and me baby never got what we could
Wasting our time but it sure feels good

Hey, hey, hey, rocking in our Hollywood bed

No need to cry, we getting by in our Hollywood bed"

Bleachers

Don't Go Dark

Bleachers is a band from New York City fronted by singer-songwriter and producer Jack Antonoff. This song is from the album "Take the Sadness Out of a Saturday Night" released in 2021. It has a verse with a reference to The Mamas & the Papas song "California Dreamin'" and the dark side of the dream, and to their cover of "Dream a Little Dream of Me."

"What are you gonna ride for no one at all?
Hey, are you gonna cry on demand just to get your number called?
Oh, baby, I know gone
I know gone, I know out of this world
'Cause I've slept in my bed alone next to my girl
So do what you want, just don't go dark on me

'Cause you run, run, run
Run with the wild
Then you cry on my shoulder like a little child
Do what you want, just don't go dark on me
And you're waitin' to be saved, but ain't nobody comin'
It's the same party trick
You're a dream until you're running
Do what you want, just don't go dark on me
Oh, just don't go dark on me

Run, run, run
Run with the wild
You always run, run, run
Run with the wild

I dream a little dream, she's not out of it
Then I watch her take another pill
Take another pic, then flip another switch
And now she's gone
Now she's gone, now she's out of this world
It's like California dreamin' got the best of my girl
So do what you want, just take your sights off of me

'Cause you run, run, run
Run with the wild
Then you cry on my shoulder like a little child
Do what you want, just don't go dark on me
And you're waitin' to be saved, but ain't nobody comin'
If you're holdin' on to me, you're holdin' on to nothing
Do what you want, just don't go dark on me
Well, just don't go dark on me...."

Bleiz (featuring Natalia Grzywacz)

Bleiz is a Polish rapper and Natalia Grzywacz is a Polish singer-songwriter. This G-funky rap song was released in 2023. I don't know Polish so I don't know what Morro Bay has to do with the song. When translated into English the words shown on the video don't indicate anything about Morro Bay, but we do see and hear the word "Cali" and we see shots of the California coast in the video.

Blink-182

Blink 182 is an American pop punk band from Poway formed in 1992. It's from their Grammy-nominated 2016 album “California.”

"Beige little boxes in a row
Neighbors and friends that you don't know
Here's a form go wait in line
Can't you see I'm doing fine
It's what I've always wanted

Two little kids out on the lawn
Once we had love now it's gone
Good things haven't happened yet
I'm empty as a movie set
It's what I've always wanted

Hey here's to you California
Beautiful haze of suburbia
Living in the perfect weather
Spending time inside together
Hey here's to you California

Wearing all black out on the beach
Faces I've seen in magazines
Lets take a walk out on the pier
Watch the shoreline disappear
It's what I've always wanted

Hey here's to you California
Beautiful haze of suburbia
Living in the perfect weather
Spending time inside together
Hey here's to you California...."

Blink-182

This is another good uptempo pop punk song from the band’s 2016 album “California” that seems to be a complaint about noise and light pollution. I guess.

“Day in day out
Up at 3 AM with the searchlights shining down
Day in day out
It's the blinding light underneath the dirt downtown
Whoa
Listen to the sound as they bomb the Sixth Street Bridge
Whoa
Listen to the sound of the voices south of Fifth

In Los Angeles when will you save me
Los Angeles when will you save me
Los Angeles when will you save me
Los Angeles I'm never coming home
(I'm never coming, I'm never coming)

Come down
I've been awake for days
Knocked out
By the sound of falling rain
Come down yeah we'll watch the sun just burn away the sky
Watch the city lights die out up on Mulholland Drive

Los Angeles when will you save me
Los Angeles when will you save me
Los Angeles when will you save me
Los Angeles I'm never coming home

Wake me when this war is over
Meet me where the skyline ends
Wake me when this war is over
Meet me where the skyline ends
Wake me when this war is over
Meet me where the skyline ends...."

Blink-182

San Diego

This is another song from the album "California" released in 2016.

“Sometimes I wonder where our lives go
And question who we used to bes
Sometimes I feel like I'm the oxygen between
The cigarette and gasoline

I can't sleep cause what if I dream

Of going back to San Diego
We bought a one way ticket
So we can go see the Cure
And listen to our favorite songs in the parking lot
And think of every person I ever lost in San Diego
(To San Diego)
Can't go back to San Diego
(Can't go back to San Diego)

Abandoned houses with the lights on
Late at night I call your name
Abandoned love songs smashed across the hardwood floors
I read the sadness on your face

I can't sleep cause what if I dream

Of going back to San Diego
We bought a one way ticket
So we can go see the Cure
And listen to our favorite songs in the parking lot
And think of every person I ever lost in San Diego
(To San Diego)
Can't go back to San Diego
(Can't go back to San Diego)...."

Trinity Bliss

California Sun

Trinity Bliss is a singer-songwriter and actress from the West Coast, best known (so far) as the character Tuk in the second Avatar movie. This song was released in 2022 when she was 13 years old. It's not often I hear a song with references to a Harry Potter spell and to Hades and Persephone's pomegranate seeds.

"8 AM, sun's shining
My heart is feeling warm
Dancing to the sunlight so is
Each living soul out there
You beam through the darkest night
Bring the Patronus of my soul
Make every being feel alright

California sun
Makes me think of summer fun
I'm laughing in the shade
Hope it never fades
California sun
California sun

8 AM something's missing
A hole is taking over my heart
Again I'm not ready to get out of bed
Another gloomy day to start
Come back and seal the hole
As if it had never been made
Hades infected my pomegranate
But not eaten for me to love
When will it stop and be enough?

California sun
Makes me think of summer fun
I'm laughing in the shade
Hope it never fades
California sun
California sun

Now you have to board the Dreamer
And leave the California sun behind
Sunflowers have gone away
But I will stay, I will stay
To wait for the California sun
Shine as bright as ever
Even if I wait till I'm twenty one
I will be here, I will be here

California sun
Makes me think of summer fun
I'm laughing in the shade
Hope it never fades
California sun
California sun

California sun
Makes me think of summer fun
I'm laughing in the shade
Hope it never fades
California sun
California sun

California sun
Happiness has just begun
I'm laughing in the shade
Hope it never fades
California Sun
California Sun

One day I'll fall in love in the California Sun
On my beach when it's almost sunset
California sun
California sun"

Blo

Blo is Andrae Wilson, a rapper from Atlanta, also known as Lil Hot. This song was released i June 2023. I can't make out most of the heavily-autotuned words.

".... everybody around me schemin'
Still .... but we California dreamin'
Still ... California
How you ... goin' to California...."

Blondeshell

Joiner

Blondeshell is Sabrina Teitelbaum, an indie rock singer-songwriter from New York City based Los Angeles and active since 2016. Formerly she was an alternative pop artist using the name Baum. This upbeat song with downbeat lyrics is from her debut album "Blondeshell" released in 2023.

"You're disturbed, an exposed nerve
And I'm a creep to be attracted
You've been hurt, now you're crushing cans
And I'm a creep to watch it happen

You've been running around L.A. with trash
Sleeping in bars with a gun in your bag
Asking, 'Can I be somebody else?'
You've been riding around on handlebars
Buying drugs from guys in cars
Asking, 'Can I be somebody else?'

I think I wanna save you
I think I wanna join in
I think I wanna save you
Two people from the bottom of the bin
Bin
Bin

Think you watched way too much
HBO growing up
Now you got one arm cut
And when you eat, you throw up

You've been running around L.A. with trash
Sleeping in bars with a gun in your bag
Asking, "Can I be somebody else?"

I think I wanna save you
I think I wanna join in
I think I wanna save you
Two people from the bottom of the bin
Bin
Bin

You can let it rock and we're getting robbed
Then we're getting off and you're opening your mouth
Like the way you talk
On the internet, always on the internet
Laughing with your hair down
When I asked you what a simp meant
You know it's your playground
My home is your playground
You know it's your playground
But then when you go out

I think I wanna save you
I think I wanna join in
I think I wanna save you
Two people from the bottom of the bin
Bin
Bin"

Blontourage

California Country

Blontourage is a band made up of three women from California with blonde hair. That's all we really need to know. It's one of the best names for a band ever. This song is from their album "California Country" released in 2015.

"From the beaches to the countryside
To the hustle, the bustle of those L.A. lies
Bikini tops and Daisy Dukes and cowboy boots
Take us back to our southern roots

We had stars on the sidewalk and stars in the sky
We .. fire ... whiskey and sip sweet wine
Got that wild west spirit with that ... pass
So come on girls and raise your glass

We're California country
Dreaming of the good times and living our dreams
A taste of southern beauty
Got the best of both worlds and we're lovin' and livin' in
California country

Well we're doin' what comes naturally
Alway a lady but can get a little crazy
We're sweet as candy but strong as steel
So come on y'all let's raise some hell

We're California country
Dreaming of the good times and living our dreams
A taste of southern beauty
Got the best of both worlds and we're lovin' and livin' in
California country

From the mountains to the prairies to the ocean white with foam
We're country girls at heart and California is our home

We're California country
Dreaming of the good times and living our dreams
A taste of southern beauty
Got the best of both worlds and we're lovin' and livin' in
California country

Daisy Dukes, bikinis on top
We're California country
I wish they all could be California girls"

Blue Oyster Cult

Shadow of California

Blue Oyster Cult is a hard rock band formed in New York in 1967. This song is from their album "Revolution By Night" released in 1987.

"Beneath the freeway at the cloverleaf junction
A symbol of good luck emanates darkness
The shadow will grow to cover California
Somewhere on the road from San Bernardino
Its future is steering the past... will not pass

Speed is the game in the shadow of kings
Where the company of angels fly
They appear at the crossroads at once in the future
Clad in the darkness on the highways of night
With no love... From the past

Night makes right
The symbol remains
Into the darkness
Must pour the brains
In the shadow of California

Revolution by night grant me this future
Kings of the shadow on the highways of night
From San Bernardino these angels are racing
This night to your city
The host of angels... Los Angeles

Night makes right
The symbol remains
Into the darkness
Must pour the brains
In the shadow of California
In the shadow of California
In the shadow of California
In the shadow of California

Revolution by night
Into the darkness
Into the darkness
Into the darkness
Into the darkness
Into the darkness
Revolution by night
Into the darkness
Into the darkness
Into the darkness...."

The Blues Image

Ride Captain Ride

The Blues Image was a rock band from Florida who moved to L.A. like most every other band in the '60s. This song was their biggest hit, from their second album "Open" released in 1970.

"Seventy-three men sailed up
From the San Francisco Bay,
Rolled off of their ship
And here's what they had to say.
'We're callin' everyone to ride along
To another shore,
We can laugh our lives away
And be free once more.'
But no one heard them callin',
No one came at all,
'Cause they were too busy watchin'
Those old raindrops fall.
As a storm was blowin'
Out on the peaceful sea,
Seventy-three men sailed off to history.

Ride, captain ride
Upon your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends
You have here on your trip.
Ride captain ride
Upon your mystery ship,
On your way to a world
That others might have missed."

Seventy-three men sailed up
From the San Francisco Bay,
Got off their ship
And here's what they had to say.
'We're callin' everyone to ride along
To another shore,
We can laugh our lives away
And be free once more.'

Ride, captain ride
Upon your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends
You have here on your trip.
Ride, captain ride
Upon your mystery ship,
On your way to a world
That others might have missed.
Ride, captain ride
Upon your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends
You have here on your trip."

Blues Pills

Tonight, Tonight (We're Dancing on the Edge of the Hollywood Sign)

Blues Pills are a rock band from Sweden formed in 2011. This is from the album "Holy Moly!" released in 2020.

"Put your hand into mine
Let me inside your head
I put my faith in a lie
But I promise I won't regret
Oh yeah

I wanna go back
To California
That first time we met
I hope that maybe just then
You'll [?] remember the way
You loved me back then

Oh, put your faith in me (me)
I'll be anything you want me to be
I took away my eyes (eyes)
Don't they say love is blind?
(Don’t they say love)

I wanna go back
To California
That first time we met
I hope that maybe just then
You'll remember the way
You loved me back then

I don't care about your little friend
(About your friend)
Or where your night is spent
(Your night is spent)
I don't mind
I don't mind
How you spend your time
I don't mind
Ahhhh
I don't mind
I don't mind
How you spend your time
Won't be wastin' mine
Ahhhh

So put your hand into mine
And I promise you won't regret"

Daniel Blunt

I couldn't find any information about Daniel Blunt. This pop rock song is from his album "Show Me the Place" released in 2012. It's a cover of the song by Hot Chelle Rae released in 2011.

James Blunt

James Blunt is a singer-songwriter from England, whose album "Back to Bedlam" released in 2000 was the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK. This song comes from his fifth album "The Afterlove" released in 2017.

"High heels, no clouds
Sun-kissed in crowd
Can't stop, slow down
I want ya, I want ya
No cold, no rain
One kiss, no pain
Tell me again
I want ya, I want ya

You don't wanna talk, then you wanna talk
Then you wanna tell me I'm wrong and to move along
Then you wander back in my heart like a bitter song
And we're never done cause I need your love, I need your love

California, Hallelujah
You and me gonna live for today girl
I'm the luckiest man in the whole world
Stole my heart but can't afford ya
All I know is I'm with you today girl
I'm the luckiest man in the whole world

Lies you don't keep
Hurt and I bleed
But you're so sweet
And I want ya, I want ya
Yeah

You don't wanna talk, then you wanna talk
Then you wanna tell me I'm wrong and to move along
Then you wander back in my heart like a bitter song
And we're never done cause I need your love, I need your love

You don't wanna talk, then you wanna talk
Then you wanna tell me I'm wrong and to move along
Then you wander back in my heart like a bitter song
And we're never done cause I need your love, I need your love, yeah

California, Hallelujah
You and me gonna live for today girl
I'm the luckiest man in the whole world
Stole my heart but can't afford ya
All I know is I'm with you today girl
I'm the luckiest man in the whole world

Come on, come on, I see it in your eyes
Come on, come on, just love me for one night
Come on, come on, I see it in your eyes
Come on, come on, just love me for one night

California, Hallelujah
You and me gonna live for today girl
I'm the luckiest man in the whole world
Stole my heart but can't afford ya
All I know is I'm with you today girl
I'm the luckiest man in the whole world

California, Hallelujah
Then you wander back in my heart like a bitter song
And we're never done cause I need your love, I need your love
Stole my heart but can't afford ya
Then you wander back in my heart like a bitter song
And we're never done cause I need your love, I need your love"

The Bodies

California Republic

The Bodies are a punk rock band from Sonoma. This song is from their album "The Bodies" released in 1999, back when state secession movements were not as common as they are today. California's GDP makes up over 15% of the economic output of the U.S.A., enough to make it the fifth largest economy in the world if it was a separate nation. But secession would be a terrible idea - imagine all the waiting in line you'd have to do at Customs when you drive to Vegas to throw away your money.

"We got the surf, we got the sand
We got the sun, we got the f***ing tans
We got the wine 'cause we got the grapes
So why the f**k do we need the other states?

Let's secede today, let's secede today
California Republic, California Republic
Let's secede today, let's secede today
California Republic, California Republic

We got the oil, we got the gas
We got the farms, computers and cash
We make our missilies, we make our own planes
So why the f**k do we need the other states?

Let's secede today, let's secede today
California Republic, California Republic
Let's secede today, let's secede today
California Republic, California Republic

California Republic, California Republic
California Republic
California, one day we will break away"

Body Count

Body Count is a band that mixes heavy metal, punk, and rap, formed in L.A. in 1990 and fronted by rapper and actor Ice-T. This song is from their self-titled album released in 1992 when the violence and crime and police brutality in L.A.'s African American neighborhoods were a common topic in rap songs and movies. The album was released only a month before the Rodney King Riots exploded across L.A. but well after the video of cops beating up Rodney King was shown almost every day on TV. The album also contained the song "Cop Killer" that, of course, angered a lot of cops. But that was 1992 - since the year 2000 until now (2018) Ice-T has played a cop on TV. You gotta love it.

"You know sometimes I sit at home, you know,
And I watch T.V. and I wonder what it would be like
To live someplace like, you know, the Cosby show,
Ozzie and Harriet, you know, where
Cops come and got your cat outta the tree
All your friends died of old age,
But you see, I live in South Central Los Angeles and unfortunately...
S**T AIN'T LIKE THAT! IT'S REAL F****D UP!

Goddamn what a brotha gotta do
To get a message through
To the red, white and blue?
What I gotta die
Before you realize
I was a brotha with open eyes?
The world's insane
While you drink champagne
And I'm livin' in black rain.
You try to ban the A.K.,
I got ten of 'em stashed
With a case of hand grenades.

Tell us what to do... F**k you!
Tell us what to do... F**k you!
Tell us what to do... F**k you!
Tell us what to do... F**k you!

You know what you'd do
If a kid got killed on the way to school
Or a cop shot your kid in the backyard.
S**t would hit the fan, muthaf**ka
And it would hit real hard.
I hear it every night, another gunfight,
The tension mounts,
On with the Body Count.

Yo, Beatmaster, take these muthaf**kas
To South Central.
Ha ha.
Yeah
F**k that.

I hear it every night,
Another gunfight,
The tension mounts,
On with the Body Count.

Last weekend thirty-seven kids killed in gang warfare,
In my backyard.
No!
No!
No!
Yo, Ernie C., take these muthaf**ckas home.
Yeah.
Yeah, we in the house, Body Count fools, 1991 muthaf**uckas.

I hear it every night,
Another gunfight,
The tension mounts,
On with the Body Count...."

Bonez MC & RAF Camora

500 PS

Bonez MC and RAF Camora are German rappers. When listening to this dance rap single from 2018, I kept hearing the words "Los Angeles" so I just had to find the German lyrics and get a translation. I like using Google Translate to translate lyrics, because it can make the lyrics sound like gibberish and I never know if that's because the original lyrics were gibberish. I'm at least sure that this song is about driving. Driving a 500 horsepower black Maserati through L.A. or maybe around Germany, since it mentions the streets of Hamburg. GTA Los Angeles probably refers to the video game Grand Theft Auto 5, which uses a fictitious city called Los Santos that is based on the city of Los Angeles. Gamers have made lists and maps comparing the game places to the real places in L.A. So maybe he's driving in the game.

"Ich drück' aufs Gas, hör' die 500 PS
Fahren durch die Stadt, GTA Los Angeles
Alles mattschwarz, Maserati GT S
Manchmal gibt's Palaver, doch es regelt sich von selbst

Ah, fühl' mich wie Rocky
Rabe graviert aufm Cockpit (ahh)
Lipgloss am Sibbi
Kind der 90er-Jahre wie Mobb Deep, ah
Camora ist topfit
Gib dir den Sound und die Optik (ahh)
Aus reiner Routine die Glock mit
Denn West-Wien ist Gotham, ah
Konkurrenz, mir fällt keine ein
Alle Winner in unserem Team
Bin der Sperrbildschirm deiner Chay
Und auf dem Juice-Magazin
Ihr Sound ist Vanessa Mai
Mein Sound direkt aus Marseille
Wien-Fünfhaus seit Tag eins

Ich drück' aufs Gas, hör' die 500 PS
Fahren durch die Stadt, GTA Los Angeles
Alles mattschwarz, Maserati GT S
Manchmal gibt's Palaver, doch es regelt sich von selbst (alle, alle)

Fühl' mich wie Rambo
Fahr' durch die Straßen von Hamburg
Brauche niemand, der mich schützt, Kaliber
unterm Sitz
Und verdunkelte Scheiben wie ein Phantom, hah
Komm und kauf dir einen Kampfhund, üff
Oder brauchst du ein Gramm Koks?
Denn die Lieder alles Hits, gibt niemand, der
mich fickt
187 übers Land wie ein Sandsturm (come on, dance everybody)

"I hit the gas, hear the 500 hp
Driving through the city, GTA Los Angeles
Everything matt black, Maserati GT S
Sometimes there's palaver, but it's self-regulating

Ah, feel like Rocky
Raven engraved on the cockpit (ahh)
Lip gloss on the Sibbi
Child of the 90s like Mobb Deep, ah
Camora is in top form
Give yourself the sound and the optics (ahh)
From pure routine the Glock with
Because West Vienna is Gotham, ah
Competition, I can not think of one
All winners in our team
Am the lock screen of your Chay
And on the juice magazine
Her sound is Vanessa Mai
My sound directly from Marseille
Vienna-Fünfhaus since day one

I hit the gas, hear the 500 hp
Driving through the city, GTA Los Angeles
Everything matt black, Maserati GT S
Sometimes there's palaver, but it settles on its own (all, all)

Feel like Rambo
Drive through the streets of Hamburg
Do not need anyone to protect me, caliber under the seat
And darkened slices like a phantom, hah
Come and buy a fighting dog, eh?
Or do you need a gram of coke?
Because the songs of all hits, no one gives me who f**ks me
187 across the country like a sandstorm (come on, dance everybody)...."

Debby Boone

When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano

Debby Boone is a singer, author, and actress from New Jersey, active since 1971, the daughter of singer-actor Pat Boone and Shirley Boone, the daughter of country music star Red Foley. She started touring with her family at 14 before beginning a solo career. Her song "You Light Up My Life" released in 1977, was the biggest hit of the 1970s, spending ten weeks at number 1. This song is from her second album "Midstream" released in 1978.

"The Sierra Mountains rise up
As you float down into L.A.
The Pacific roars hello
It's another surfing day
Everyone out here is pretty
Someone's bound to steal your heart away
And you'll find you wanna stay

In California, where the sun is warm
Where the winds called Santa Ana
Make you feel like you belong
California
Wherever you may roam
California keeps calling you home

All the boulevards and back roads
And the brights lights of Hollywood
And the laid-back way of living
Makes you feel all kinds of good
I could meet you at sunrise
We could swim in the ocean blue
And I might just say to you
Hey, it's true, I love you

So come on to California
Where the sun is warm
Where the winds called Santa Ana
Make you feel like you belong
California
Wherever you may roam
California keeps calling you home

So come on to California
Where the sun is warm
Where the winds called Santa Ana
Make you feel like you belong
California
Wherever you may roam
California keeps calling you home

So come on to California
Where the sun is warm
Where the winds called Santa Ana
Make you feel like you belong"

Pat Boone

Nashville-based Pat Boone was a very successful pop singer from 1954 into the early 1960s. He was ranked only behind Elvis Presley by Billboard. This 1940 hit about birds migrating back from their winter territories to the coastal city of Capistrano, was written by Leon Rene and recorded by many other artists, including Glenn Miller, Gene Autry, The Dominoes, The Five Satins,The Ink Spots, Harry James & His Orch, Guy Lombardo, Carmen McRae. Boone's version was released in 1957 as the B-side of his hit single "April Love."

"When the swallows come back to Capistrano
That's the day you promised to come back to me
When you whispered, "Farewell", in Capistrano
Twas the day the swallow flew out to sea

All the mission bells will ring
The chapel choir will sing
The happiness you'll bring
Will live in my memory
When the swallows come back to Capistrano
That's the day I pray that you'll come back to me"

Albert Bouchard

Shadow of California

Albert Bouchard is a musician from New York who was a founding member of Blue Oyster Cult and the drummer for the band. This song was put up on YouTube in August 2022 but I don't know when it was recorded. It's a less heavy, more acoustic version of the Blue Oyster Cult hard rock song that was released after Albert left the band. One of the writers of the song was Joe Bouchard, Albert's brother. Maybe that's how he was able to make a few changes to the lyrics which I think improve it - from "...Its future is steering the past...will not pass" to "...The future is steering and the past will not pass" etc. But I still don't understand what it means. Why are the angels racing to L.A. from San Bernardino? Are they Hell's Angels? Maybe I need to pour my brains into the darkness to get it.

"Beneath the freeway at the cloverleaf junction
A symbol of good luck emanates darkness
The shadow will grow to cover California
Somewhere on the road from San Bernardino
The future is steering and the past will not pass

Speed is the game in the shadow of kings
Where the company of angels fly
They appear at the crossroads at once in the future
Clad in the darkness on the highways of night
With no love at all from the past

Night makes right
The symbol remains
Into the darkness
Must pour the brains
In the shadow of California

Revolution by night grant me this future
Kings of the shadow on the highways of night
From San Bernardino these angels are racing
On this night to your city
The host of angels arriving in Los Angeles

Night makes right
The symbol remains
Into the darkness
Must pour the brains

Night makes right
The symbol remains
Into the darkness
Must pour the brains
In the shadow of California
In the shadow of California
In the shadow of California

Revolution by night
Revolution by night
Into the darkness
Revolution by night
Into the darkness
In the shadow
Into the darkness
of California
Into the darkness
Revolution by night
Into the darkness
Into the darkness"

David Bowie

Cracked Actor

David Bowie was a singer-songwriter and actor from England, active from 1962-2016, and regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, especially for his work in the 1970s. This song, from his 1973 album "Alladin Sane," is about an aging movie actor in Hollywood.

"I've come on a few years from my Hollywood Highs
The best of the last, the cleanest star they ever had
I'm stiff on my legend,
the films that I made
Forget that I'm fifty
cause you just got paid
Crack, baby, crack,
show me you're real
Smack, baby, smack, is that all that you feel
Suck, baby, suck,
give me your head
Before you start professing
that you're knocking me dead
You caught yourself a trick down
on Sunset and Vine
But since he pinned you baby
you're a porcupine
You sold me illusions for a sack full of cheques
You've made a bad connection 'cause I just want your sex
Crack, baby, crack,
show me you're real
Smack, baby, smack, is that all that you feel
Suck, baby, suck,
give me your head
Before you start professing
that you're knocking me dead"

Bow Wow Wow

Do You Wanna Hold Me?

Bow Wow Wow is an English worldbeat pop band assembled by Malcolm McLaren, who also invented the Sex Pistols, to promote a line of clothing. He took several musicians from Adam and the Ants and added 14-year-old Annabella Lwin as the lead vocalist. This song is from the band's third and final album When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going, released in 1983.

"Children, I wanna warn ya (Whoa-oh-oh)
'Cause I've been to California (Whoa-oh-oh)
Where Mickey Mouse is such a demon (Whoa-oh-oh)
Where Mickey Mouse is as big as a house (Whoa-oh-oh)

Ba da ba ba da ba (Whoa-oh-oh)
Ba da ba ba da ba

Life is wasted on illusion (Whoa-oh-oh)
Tom and Jerry's no solution (Whoa-oh-oh)
Evil games for cartoon demons (Whoa-oh-oh)
Pinocchio's a real boy, look around!

Ba da ba ba da ba (Whoa-oh-oh)
Ba da ba ba da ba

And I cry all night
Do you wanna hold me, hold me tight?
Do you wanna hold me? Oh yeah
Do you wanna hold me, hold me there?

Children, you got to hear me (Whoa-oh-oh)
You just got to understand me (Whoa-oh-oh)
Love and death ain't no physical thing (Whoa-oh-oh)
'Cause Mickey Mouse, he don't wanna know! (Whoa-oh-oh)...."

Alex Boyé

Cold in California

Alex Boyé is a singer, dancer, and actor from the UK, active since 2012. This song was released in 2019.

"Man I feel bad for treating you cold
Gave you what I had now I gotta leave you alone baby
It was only four years ago
I put you on a plane, called you from the start
Love for you to stay but I'd hate to break your heart
But I got to do this alone
And now these blue skies remind me of your blue eyes
And it's obvious, 'cause I think about us
And all those late drives riding on the right side
And I miss that rush, 'cause I think about us

Man it's cold in California
Man it's cold in California
It ain't stopped raining since I let you go
Man it's cold in California
Man it's cold in California
Man it's cold in California
It ain't stopped raining since I let you go
Man it's cold in California

I just can't rest, I just can't sleep
California King needs a California queen
Now I'm empty, yeah
I ... you one night the phone ... free
I'm up thinkin' 'bout you and me
I can't get you out of my head

And now these blue skies remind me of your blue eyes
And it's obvious, 'cause I think about us
And all those late drives riding on the right side
And I miss that rush, 'cause I think about us

Man it's cold in California
Man it's cold in California
It ain't stopped raining since I let you go
Man it's cold in California
Man it's cold in California
Man it's cold in California
It ain't stopped raining since I let you go
Man it's cold in California

Man I feel bad for treating you cold
Gave you what I had now I gotta leave you alone baby
It was only four years ago"

Boy in Space

Help Save the Youth of America

Boy in Space is Robin Lundback, a Swedish singer-songwriter active since 2012. He released this electronic pop song as a single in 2018.

"I've been on this phone, sitting all alone, missing ya
You be on Patron, losing self control, living up

They say you live, you learn
But it's hard to learn when you fall out
You left me and it hurts
Bandaids, they don't work and I'm all out

Ooh, you never pick up and I've been tryna call ya
Lately I've been roaming the streets of California
Looking for your red lips, got some roses for ya
I've been running circles, I'm lost in California

Got me turning sticks and stones
Got me breaking every bone
Got me out here looking for ya
Babe, you never pick up and I've been tryna call ya
Lately I've been roaming the streets of California

I've been counting stars on top of my car, wishing ya
Would call me back and talk, mend this broken heart, giving up

They say you live, you learn
But it's hard to learn when you fall out
You left me and it hurts
Pills, they don't work and I'm all out

Ooh, you never pick up and I've been tryna call ya
Lately I've been roaming the streets of California
Looking for your red lips, got some roses for ya
I've been running circles, I'm lost in California

Got me turning sticks and stones
Got me breaking every bone
Got me out here looking for ya
Babe, you never pick up and I've been tryna call ya
Lately I've been roaming the streets of California

And ah, I've been running 'round in California
And ah, I've been running 'round in California

If someone don't love you, let 'em go
Don't try to make fire in the snow
The longer you wait, the fire grows
If someone don't love you, let 'em go
Don't try to make fire in the snow
The longer you wait, the fire grows, grows

Ooh, you never pick up and I've been tryna call ya
Lately I've been roaming the streets of California
Looking for your red lips, got some roses for ya
I've been running circles, I'm lost in California

Got me turning sticks and stones
Got me breaking every bone
Got me out here looking for ya
Babe, you never pick up and I've been tryna call ya
Lately I've been roaming the streets of California

I've been running California
And ah, I've been running 'round in California
I've been running 'round
And ah, I've been running 'round in California
And ah, I've been running 'round in California
And ah, I've been running 'round in California"

Boys Like Girls

Leaving California

Boys Like Girls is a rock band from Boston formed in 2005. This song is from their album "Crazy World" released in 2012.

"Well, I’m holding on, yeah, I'm holding it all in
When it all goes wrong you just can't win
I can’t stand another sunrise and I need a little rain
Well, the angels left this city and they won’t be back again

Now I’m leaving California and I’ll never look back
I took a picture for you but I painted it black
One more dreamer on a runaway drive
Now there's one less burned-out star in the sky
Leaving California tonight

There's a broken dream in Santa Monica and Crescent Heights
And that old moonbeam, well it’s guiding my way tonight
And the lights are in the rear view and the stars up in the sky
And I don’t know where I’m going, baby, but it’s time to say goodbye

And I’m leaving California and I’ll never look back
I took a picture for you but I painted it black
One more dreamer on a runaway drive
Now there's one less burned-out star in the sky
Leaving California

I've got a one way ticket, I’m a rolling stone
I’m a goodbye kiss and then I’m going, going, gone
Like wind, like fire, like rain
Know I’m never coming back again

‘Cause I’m leaving California and I’ll never look back
I took a picture for you but I painted it black
One more dreamer on a runaway drive
Now there's one less burned-out star in the sky
Leaving California tonight...."

BoyWithUke (featuring Blackbear)

IDGAF

BoyWithUke is a DIY singer-songwriter and ukulele player who went viral on TikToc. This hate song (it ain't a love song) includes a Blackbear dig at fake people and the Hollywood Hills.

"You were caught in a lie, said it with your eyes
Said to all my homies that you weren't even mine
You didn't think twice, got a heart made of ice
And that s**t hit me, did me dirty
I never asked why and I never did cry
I never told another how I felt inside
Demons don't hide when I'm dreaming at night
And I won't mislead you, you'll miss me

'Cause I don't give a f**k about you no more
Give me back my hoodies or I'm kicking down doors
You weren't even pretty, looking back and I'm sure
You still miss me, that's so funny
I don't give a f**k about you, you swore
You would never talk about me before
You lied looking filthy in your ugly jean shorts
You still kissed me, now s**t's history

I don't mind if we speak again
I don't wanna be cool, I don't wanna be friends
Leave me half alive, on my homies, you was flirty
Fill me up with lies, and you did me so dirty
'Cause I don't give a f**k about you no more
Left me bleeding with my heart on the floor
You were never really mine, I was never really yours
You're the demon on my shoulder I'm just trying to ignore
And I don't give a s**it about your fake ass friends
Hollywood Hills while we play pretend
I don't wanna say I'm sorry, I don't wanna make amends
I will never make a mistake like you again

'Cause I don't give a f**k about you no more
Give me back my hoodies or I'm kicking down doors
You weren't even pretty, looking back and I'm sure
You still miss me, that's so funny
I don't give a f**k about you, you swore
You would never talk about me before
You lied looking filthy in your ugly jean shorts
You still kissed me, now s**t's history...."

Dylan Brady

I Hate California

Dylan Brady is a country singer/songwriter from New York. This is a single released in 2019. It's another song about a boy who hates California because his girl moved to Los Angeles. Can't blame him for that.

"You always loved the thought of the city
And you're too damned pretty not to be there
You were mine in my arms
But you and L.A. had a love affair
Just like I thought you would
I know I said I understood

But I hate California
That it keeps you warmer
Than I ever could've
Couldn't ever have your heart
Because it was somewhere in those hills
In a studio apartment
Livin' the dream that you always wanted
And I love that you love it
But I hate California

Yeah we fit together, but you fit in better
Way out there on rooftops with stars
Tell me when did you start, to put us in the past?
Forget everything we had
Didn't when I saw you last

But I hate California
That it keeps you warmer
Than I ever could've
Couldn't ever have your heart
Because it was somewhere in those hills
In a studio apartment
Livin' the dream that you always wanted
And I love that you love it
But I hate California

Yeah I hate, I hate, Ohhh
I hate California
I hate that, that's how I lost ya
I hate that I still love ya

And you're somewhere in those hills
In a studio apartment
Living the dream that you always wanted
And I love that you love it
I love that you love it
But I hate California
Yeah
I hate California"

Billy Bragg

Billy Bragg is a singer-songwriter-activist from England, active since 1977. It was a real thrill in the '80s to watch him walk alone onto a stage with just an electric guitar and sing his smart political-punk-folk songs and I'm sure it still is. And this is one of his best songs, from his album "Talking With The Taxman About Poetry" released in 1986. It opens with a mockery of the southern California '60s beach life that a Brit might think is the norm for all Americans. I was going to insert a comment about some similarly vapid English stereotype here, but I couldn't think of one. Maybe they really are as superior to us as they believe... Oh wait - no they aren't - Boris Johnson was once their Prime Minister. Now I feel better.

"Help save the youth of America
Help save them from themselves
Help save the sun-tanned surfer boys
And their California girls

When the lights go out in the rest of the World
What do our cousins say
They're playing in the sun and having fun, fun, fun
Till daddy takes the gun away

From the Big Church to the Big River
And out to the Shining Sea
This is the Land of Opportunity
And there's a Monkey Trial on TV

A nation with their freezers full
Are dancing in their seats
While outside another nation
Is sleeping in the streets

Don't tell me the old, old story
Tell me the truth this time
Is the Man in the Mask or the Indian
An enemy or a friend of mine

Help save the youth of America
Help save the youth of the world
Help save the boys in uniform
Their mothers and their faithful girls

Listen to the voice of the soldier
Down in the killing zone
Talking about the cost of living
And the price of bringing him home

They're already shipping the body bags
Down below the Rio Grande
But you can fight for democracy at home
And not in some foreign land

And the fate of the great United States
Is entwined in the fate of us all
And the incident at Chernobyl proves
The world we live in is very small

And the cities of Europe have burned before
And they may yet burn again
And if they do I hope you understand
That Washington will burn with them
Omaha will burn with them
Los Alamos will burn with them"

Billy Bragg & Wilco

California Stars

On the 1998 Grammy-winning album "Mermaid Avenue," Billy Bragg and Wilco take turns writing new melodies for lyrics that the great folk singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie wrote but never published. In this one, Guthrie wrote about resting his head and dreaming his troubles away on a bed of California stars. Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett from Wilco put a beautiful melody to it.

Bob Seger recorded a nice cover of the song on his album "Ride Out" released in 2014.

Folk Uke (do I need to censor that?) a female folk duo from San Diego, recorded a cover of the song for their 2016 album "Starfu**er".

The Red Dirt Rangers released a live version of the song on their album "Blue Door Nights" released in 2018.

"I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d love to feel your hand touching mine
And tell me why I must keep working on
Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d like to dream my troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my starbed, make another day
Underneath my California stars
They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lovers' glass like friendly wine
So I’d give this world just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars

I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d love to feel your hand touching mine
And tell me why I must keep working on
Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d like to dream my troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my starbed, make another day
Underneath my California stars
They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lovers’ glass like friendly wine
So I’d give this world just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars

So I’d give this world just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars
Dream a dream with you"

Brandon & Savannah

Brandon & Savannah, also known as The Heirs, are a pop singer-songwriting duo made up of brother and sister Brandon Savannah Hudson from Florida, active since 2013. They appeared on America's Got Talent when they were 15 and 13 years old. This song was released in 2014.

"Well it's that dreaded time of year
Where it's all about faux or plastic reindeer
And everybody's always spending money that they don't have

The neighbor's throwin' parties with penguins in the pool
It's 80 degrees but she thinks it's cool
To have a Daisy Dukes Santa prop floatin' around on a raft
It just don't feel like Christmas to me
With palm trees everywhere

Yea, I know everybody's stoked
I'm not so easily provoked
I don't get this California Christmas
So keep your phony mistletoe
I wanna go where the snow ain't just for show
I don't get this California Christmas

... baby it's cold outside
And chestnuts are roasting on an open fire
So it makes no sense when it feels like the Fourth of July

Making snow angels in the sand
Fells about as real as the...
And I don't wanna, I don't wanna play pretend
While you can ... Christmas tree
'Cause I don't really care

Yea, I know everybody's stoked
I'm not so easily provoked
I don't get this California Christmas
So keep your phony mistletoe
I wanna go where the snow ain't just for show
I don't get this California Christmas...."

Brandtson

Earthquakes and Sharks

Brandtson was a rock band from Cleveland, active from 1996-2008. This is from the band's last album "Hello, Control" released in 2008. Since they're from Cleveland I'll forgive them for writing a silly song like this about southern California. You're far more likely to be killed by a gun in a road rage incident in one of the abundant soul-sucking traffic jams than you are by a shark or an earthquake. You're welcome California Office of Tourism. You can quote me.

"Went down to Mexico
I drove my black El Camino
I met up with an old gringo
He showed me round, and said to call him Joe
I was there about a week or so
Wound up in the general hospital
Joe said don't drink the water no more
How the hell was I supposed to know?

Drove up to San Diego
Saw a sign for Mission Beach
And so, went way out deep into the ocean
Saw a shark and had a stroke
Back in the ambulance I go
I had a dream about a girl I used to know
She said 'I got to warn ya bout Mexico and California'
She said 'I got to warn ya bout Mexico and California'
Oh, yeah
She said 'I got to warn ya bout Mexico and California'

Earthquakes and sharks to start us off
If Chupacabras ain't enough
Black widow spiders and killer bees
There ain't no shade, there ain't no trees
Hot desert heat and polluted air
And traffic jams beyond compare
That's all I got to warn ya bout Mexico and California

Woke up and said I got to go
Doc said 'Relax, and take it slow'
I tried to argue, but don't you know
'Bout California and Mexico?
Right then, the doctor hit the floor
The building shook, then shook some more
I looked down at him and swore
'You son of a bitch! I told you so!'

Earthquakes and sharks to start us off
If Chupacabras ain't enough
Black widow spiders and killer bees
There ain't no shade, there ain't no trees
Hot desert heat and polluted air
And traffic jams beyond compare
That's all I got to warn ya bout Mexico and California

Earthquakes and sharks to start us off
If Chupacabras ain't enough
Black widow spiders and killer bees
There ain't no shade, there ain't no trees
Hot desert heat and polluted air
And traffic jams beyond compare
That's all I got to warn ya bout Mexico and California...."

Bran Van 3000

Drinking in L.A.

Bran Van 3000 is a Canadian alternative rock and hip hop collective active since 1996. This song is from the album "Glee" released in 1997.

"....I woke up again this morning with the sun in my eyes
When Mike came over with a script surprise
A mafioso story with a twist
A "To Wong Foo, Julie Newmar" hitch
Get your ass out of bed, he said:
I'll explain it on the way
But we did nothing
Absolutely nothing that day
And I'll say
What the hell am I doing drinking in L.A.
At twenty six?
I got the fever for the flavor
The payback will be later
Still I need a fix
And the girls on the bus kept on laughing at us
As we rode on the ten down to Venice again
Flaring out the g-funk
Sipping on juice and gin
Just me and a friend
Feeling kinda groovy
Working on movie
(Yeah right!)
But we did nothing
Absolutely bupkis
That day
And I'll say
What the hell am I doing drinking in L.A.
At twenty six?
With my mind on my money and my money on my, beer beer!
I know that life is for the taking
So I'd better wise up
And take it quickly

(Yeah one more time at Trader Vics)
Some men there wanted to hurt us
And other men
Said we weren't worth the fuss
We could see them all bitching by the bar
About the fine line
Between the rich and the poor
Then mike turned to me and said
What do you think we got done son?
We've got a conclusion
And I guess that's something
So I ask you

What the hell am I doing drinking in L.A.
At twenty six?
I got the fever for the nectar
The payback will be later
Still I need a fix

(We need to fix you up
Call me monday
And maybe we'll fix it all up)

L.A.
L.A.
L.-L.A.
L.A....."

Liz Brasher

Be In California

This is a single released in 2024. Liz Brasher is a singer-songwriter from North Carolina whose YouTube page say she "...makes her own kind of southern music — one that's caught halfway between the garage, the church, the bar, and the bedroom. She's a soul singer. A guitar-playing rocker. A one-woman girl group. A gospel revivalist who sings the praises of secular bands like the Box Tops."

"They say Paris is for lovers
So I stayed for half an hour
And I tried to reach you
From the telephone tower
By now you should know
The strength you wield in the streets
I would love you like a mirror
I’ll make you see

I wish that I could be in California
Be right by ya
Go to the ocean
And dream inside ya
I wish that I could be in California
I’d be right by ya
Go to the ocean
And dream inside ya

Every collapse holds the pulse
Of me and you
Yeah we’ll leave this world
With an echo of something new
In my bones are all the thoughts
And all the memories of all we are
I would love you like a mirror
I would make you weak

I wish that I could be in California
Be right by ya
Go to the ocean
And live inside ya
I wish that I could be in California
And be right by ya
Go to the ocean
And dream inside ya

The pull the drag
Deep inside is all I am
Heavy, heavy gravity
Ties me up to you

I wish that I could be in California
And be right by ya
Go to the ocean
And live inside ya
I wish that I could be in California
I’d be right by ya
Go to the ocean
And dream inside ya
I wish that I could be in California
Be right by ya
Go to the ocean
And dream inside ya"

Brazzaville

Brazzaville is an indie pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1997. This song is from the album "Morro Bay" released in 2013.

"It's almost dawn
She walks down Market Street alone
Some drunken johns
Left bruises on her arms

This ice cold world
Gas station bathroom roadside girl
Fluorescent stalls
With gang graffiti on the walls

But maybe one day
She'll meet a guy who wants to stay
Someone who loves her
Kisses and hugs her
Along the shores of Morro Bay

The highway home
Back to the sky where we belong
It feels so long
When you're on your own

But maybe one day
Some clear blue Sunday
She'll meet a guy who wants to stay
Someone who loves her
Kisses and hugs her
Along the shores of Morro Bay"

Robbie Breese

Song From Sacramento

Robbie Breese is a singer-songwriter born in Ireland who moved to Minnesota at age 10. This minimal acoustic guitar-based song is from his debut self-made album "The 18th Demos" released in 2020 when he was 18 years old. So why is the song from Sacramento? Maybe he just wanted a place that rhymes with "memento."

"Sunny California,
Clear forecast got me singing sunny blues, Ooh, hoo
'Cause the weather's hot and I'm not
But I'm thinking about the days when you said I was to you, Ooh, hoo

Right now you're in Seattle and I'll be there just next week
We've been texting back and forth and I don't know how to feel
'Cause I've changed a lot since we broke up, I guess that you have, too
These chords were yours and they are once more
Now that I've finally found the right words to use

So this song from Sacramento's one more memento of you

Yellow sun and bright blue skies
Somehow got me thinkin' about your deep brown eyes
That changed color every day
And the butterflies that'd start to rise when you looked at me
And smiled that smile just right, just right

Right now you're in Seattle and I'll be there just next week
We've been texting back and forth and I don't know how to feel
'Cause I've changed a lot since we broke up, I guess that you have, too
These chords were yours and they are once more
Now that I've finally found the right words to use

So this song from Sacramento's one more memento of you

By the time I'm in Seattle, I'll be too late, you'll have left
I don't know how to interpret the messages you've sent
We've both changed a lot since we broke up but I'm glad we're friends again
These chords were yours and they are once more
Now that I've finally found the right words to use

So this song from Sacramento's one more memento of you"

BRESCO & Caesar

Calfornia Song

This is an Italian rap song by two men that was released in 2021.
Despite the title, there is only one verse that mentions California. It's about a guy who wants to impress someone by taking them to exotic places but he's broke. Same old story, different language...

[Verse 1: BRESCO & Caesar]

"...Ne ho fatte di cazzate, saliamo su un seconda classe
Cambiamo a Lambrate, Milano e deserta quando arriva estate
Non ti ho portata al mare, ti ho portato in
popolare
Perche qui la vista e meglio, il sole scompare, wow
Fumo troppo, se sto con
lei il doppio
(Grr, pow)
Non ho sonno, faccio un giro di sotto
Ti porterei a Parigi, baby, ma e troppo chic
E mi sento un po' a disagio come con la police
Ti ho portato a casa mia e non e cosi male
Anche s non vedi il mare, ci possiamo incastrare (Ahahah)
Ti port rei a Parigi sopra la torre Eiffel
Baby, questa citta e busy se ci stiamo io e te
E che a volte quei problemi son piu grandi di te
Poi finisce che ti perdi in giro per le banlieue
Mamma, scusami se a volte mi vedi distratto
E che ho un sogno tra le mani e voglio realizzarlo
E ho passato troppo tempo in giro senza un piano
In quella via sotto la pioggia ti ho strappato un bacio
E allora scusami se esagero, ti metto in imbarazzo
Tu digli a quel coglione che sono io il tuo ragazzo e che gli rompo il naso
Hai il mio cuore in mano e tu sai come usarlo
Babe, fai attenzione se ti sto parlando di me

[Chorus: Caesar]

Non ho soldi per portarti fuori
Torno a casa tardi, mi addormento sul parquet
Sono giorni che starei da solo e ho il portafoglio vuoto (Tu pensi che sia facile?)
Babe, ti passo a prendere, giochi col posacenere
Mi guardi, sei scazzata, non ho voglia di discutere
Sole in spiaggia, il mare accanto mentre penso a tutto quanto
Sto fumando, sono in aria, tu mi mandi sulle nuvole

[Verse 2: BRESCO & Caesar]

Perche ora ripenso a quello che ci spetta
Prendiamoci insieme sto mondo di merda
E quando cadevo eri una spalla destra
Rideremo insieme pensando che
Ce l'abbiamo fatta in dieci rappando, con le pare soltanto
Avevo solo qualche amico e mille rime al mio fianco
Con i soldi contati, i problemi son tanti
Ho giurato a mio fratello: 'Noi faremo i cantanti'
Allora giro e fumo, non serve nessuno
A dirmi cosa devo fare, giuro, scrivo e chiudo
Il mio amico lo sa bene, pure lui ne ha viste troppe
Giriamo in strada, il buio illumina la notte
Ho fatto un casino per dimenticarlo, fumo un altro po'
Mentre pompo nel quartiere la mia California song (Babe)
E non siamo a Dubai, ma da questi tetti puoi vedere lo skyline
Vedi quanto siamo piccoli, parte del paesaggio (Ah)
Arte di passaggio, nella zona il clima e caldo
Carlo ordina due pizze e qualche birra al bar di fianco
Non sediamo al tuo tavolo, ma sto cambiando abito, yeah

[Verse 1: BRESCO & Caesar]

"I've done a lot of bulls**t, let's get on a second class
We change to Lambrate, Milan and deserted when summer arrives
I didn't take you to the beach, I took you to the popular
Because here the view is better, the sun disappears, wow
I smoke too much, if I'm with her twice as much (Grr, pow)
I'm not sleepy, I take a walk downstairs
I'd take you to Paris, baby, but it's too chic
And I feel a little uncomfortable like with the police
I brought you to my house and it's not so bad
Even yes you don't see the sea, we can fit (Ahahah)
I would take you to Paris above the Eiffel Tower
Baby, this city is busy if you and I are in it
And that sometimes those problems are bigger than you
Then you end up getting lost around the banlieues
Mom, sorry if sometimes you see me distracted
And that I have a dream in my hands and I want to make it come true
And I've been walking around too much without a plan
On that street in the rain I snatched a kiss from you
So sorry if I'm exaggerating, I'm embarrassing you
You tell that asshole I'm your boyfriend and I'll break his nose
You have my heart in your hand and you know how to use it
Babe, be careful if I'm telling you about me

[Chorus: Caesar]

I have no money to take you out
I come home late, I fall asleep on the parquet
I've been alone for days and my wallet is empty (Do you think it's easy?)
Babe, I'll pick you up, play with the ashtray
You look at me, you're pissed off, I don't want to argue
Sun on the beach, the sea beside me while I think about everything
I'm smoking, I'm in the air, you send me to the clouds

[Verse 2: BRESCO & Caesar]

Because now I think back to what belongs to us
Let's take this world of s**t together
And when I fell you were a right shoulder
We will laugh together thinking that
We made it in ten rapping, with only apparently
I only had a few friends and a thousand rhymes by my side
With the money counted, the problems are many
I swore to my brother: 'We will be singers'
So I go around and smoke, no one is needed
To tell me what to do, I swear, write and close
My friend knows this well, he too has seen too many
We turn into the street, the darkness lights up the night
I messed up to forget, smoke some more
While I pump my California song around the block (Babe)
And we're not in Dubai, but from these rooftops you can see the skyline
See how small we are, part of the landscape (Ah)
Art of passage, in the area the climate is hot
Carlo orders two pizzas and a few beers at the bar next door
We don't sit at your table, but I'm changing clothes, yeah...."

Jon Brian (featuring WYD)

I Live in California

Jon Brian and WYD, aka Doddy, are musicians from Romania. The YouTube page for the song put up in 2012 describes it as "...a summer club track that will sure make you wanna dance all summer...."

"I live in California
I live in California
I live in California
I live in California

Sexy

Every time I meet a girl like you
I take it slow
'Cause all around the world
If I take a trip I'm sure I won't
Find one who looks like you
Find one who wants the truth
Right now you're goin' through
The city that I built for you
A city inside my heart
Full of colors, full of life
Full of love, you won't see fear
But full of s**t if you're not here

So come come come with me
In California
Come come come with me

I live in California
I live in California
I live in California
I live in California

Sexy

I live in California

Never too late
I'm livin' in the mood
Never too late
I'm feeling all the groove
Never too late
Up in the Golden State
And I wanna scream
'Cause I'm livin' a dream

I live in California
I live in California
I live in California
I live in California"

Rich Brian, 88rising & NIKI (featuring Warren Hue)

If We Make it Through December

This rap song, released in 2021, features three young rapper-singer-songwriters from Jakarta, Indonesia - NIKI, Rich Brian, and Warren Hue, along with 88rising which Wickipedia calls a musical platform and record label that primarily features Asian American and Asian artists who release music in the United States. This song, written by musiians from halfway around the world, has the only mention of "the San Gabriel Valley" that I've heard so far in a song, other than mentioning a city in that valley.

[Warren Hue]

"Yeah I’m faded, fake faces,
I erase ‘em, California,
That fragrance, mad payments,
Fake places, California,
I don’t want to be the one that’s left behind,
I love the way, you lie,
Tryna get my money bag straight this time,
The hills is gon’ decide

L.A. westside mama scared most of the time,
Looking behind what’s this so called life,
Shawty run my other phone yeah,
Fake faces gotta cut em off yeah,
Fake faces they don’t problem solve yeah,
My faith is from the cameras yeah,

Flash flash, Imma take the pictures for my fam damn,
Show em I’ve made it, flashbacks
To the pictures from way back,
The kids were like who’s that, who’s that?
Now I do Hollywood, yeah
Copies everywhere like a walkie talkie,
Imma run the lobby, Speak to nobody,
San Gabriel Valley, might crash your party like.

[Rich Brian]

Yeah you made it, You’ve been anxious,
But you made it, California
Conversations, Til the sun rise,
When you stop by, California
I don’t want to be the one that’s left behind,
I love the way, you lie,
I don’t wanna be the one to lose my mind,
I know you know

Somebody put some brakes on me, I really need rest on me,
Pops callin’ up every couple days I’m smiling so he could think I’m straight,
Why can’t I tell the truth... (wooo)
Playing J Cole back then, with a clear end goal, like it all made sense, I needed myself and nobody else ok let’s go

From how it looks man it’s hard to complain,
Man I just been praying that when I get older that I got some smile in me that can remain,
My money is long but I got some new issues that feel like it’s longer than government names,
Man all I could wish is the mask that I wear and the face that’s below it is looking the same

Like ooooooohhhhh,
You’ve been in this fight, I could see it in your eyes

Like ooooooohhhhh,
I made up my mind, I don’t wanna waste no time

[NIKI]

Moneymaking, while we’re breaking,
It’s amazing, California,
Celebrate it, or berate it,
It’s been fated, California,
Oh Maria, the hills are swarming,
With dead ends and the bots performing,
Don’t mistake it, you can break big,
Til you get sick, Sigh

Shut the f**k up don’t wake another neighbor,
I don’t know you and I don’t want to later,
Praying to God I never run out of His favor,
But we don’t make the textbooks on our best behavior, do we?

I’m the antihero of my own damn movie,
All my exes write songs that I’m based on loosely,
Take after my ma I can be choosy, I can be choosy

And when the sky looks like a painting,
That’s when you look down

[NIKI, Rich Brian & Warren Hue]

California (Money making while we’re breaking)
California (But you made it, California)
California (Yeah I’m faded, fake faces)
California (But you made it, California)"

Phoebe Bridgers

Garden Song

Phoebe Bridgers is a singer/songwriter from L.A. This song is from her album "Punisher" released in 2020 and it's one of my favorites, with a beautiful distortion added to the instruments. There's only one brief mention of the Huntington Gardens, a huge botanical gardens and museum in San Marino, but the song also describes gluing roses on a truck for the Rose Parade in nearby Pasadena.

"Someday I'm gonna live
In your house up on the hill
And when your skinhead neighbor goes missing
I'll plant a garden in the yard then

They're gluing roses on a flatbed
You should see it, I mean thousands
I grew up here till it all went up in flames
Except the notches in the door frame

I don't know when you got taller
See our reflection in the water
Off a bridge at the Huntington
I hopped the fence when I was seventeen
Then I knew what I wanted

And when I grow up, I'm gonna look up
From my phone and see my life
And it's gonna be just like my recurring dream
I'm at the movies
I don't remember what I'm seeing
The screen turns into a tidal wave
Then it's a dorm room, like a hedge maze
And when I find you
You touch my leg and I insist
But I wake up before we do it

I don't know how, but I'm taller
It must be something in the water
Everything's growing in our garden
You don't have to know that it's haunted
The doctor put her hands over my liver
She told me my resentment's getting smaller
No, I'm not afraid of hard work
I get everything I want
I have everything I wanted"

Phoebe Bridgers

This song, released in 2020 as a promotional single, is a cover of the Merle Haggard original which was released in 1973. You can see the lyrics under Merle Haggard's version.

Phoebe Bridgers

Smoke Signals

This song is from her 2017 album "Stranger in the Alps." She explained that the title comes from the way a line of dialog in the movie "The Big Lebowski" was censored on T.V. The line: "This is what happens when you f**k a stranger in the a*s!" was changed to: "This is what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps!"

"I went with you up to
The place you grew up in
We spent a week in the cold
Just long enough to
"Walden" it with you
Any longer, it would have got old
Singing "Ace of Spades" when Lemmy died
But nothing's changed, L.A.'s all right
Sleeping in my bed again, and getting in my head
And then walk around the reservoir

You, you must have been looking for me
Sending smoke signals
Pelicans circling
Burning trash out on the beach

One of your eyes is
Always half-shut
Something happened when you were a kid
I didn't know you then
And I'll never understand
Why it feels like I did
"How Soon Is Now" in an '80s sedan
You slept inside of it because your dad
Lived in a campground in the back of a van
You said that song will creep you out until you're dead

And you must have been looking for me
Sending smoke signals
Pelicans circling
Burning trash out on the beach

I want to live at
The Holiday Inn
Where somebody else makes the bed
We'll watch TV while
The lights on the street
Put all the stars to death
It's been on my mind since Bowie died
Just checking out to hide from life
And all of our problems, I'm gonna solve 'em
With you riding shot-gun, speeding, 'cause f**k the cops

And you, you must have been looking for me
Sending smoke signals
Pelicans circling
Burning trash out on the beach

I buried a hatchet
It's coming up lavender
The future's unwritten
The past is a corridor
I'm at the exit looking back through the hall
You are anonymous
I am a concrete wall"

Bright Eyes

June On the West Coast

Bright Eyes is an indie rock band founded by Conor Oberst in Omaha, Nebraska, active on and off since 1995. This song is from the band's second studio album "Letting Off The Happiness" released in 1998. (FYI: Winnetka is neighborhood of Los Angeles located in the west-central San Fernando Valley.)

"I spent a week drinking the sunlight of Winnetka, California
Where they understand the weight of human hearts
See, sorrow gets too heavy, and joy, it tends to hold you
The fear that it eventually departs

And the truth is I've been dreaming of some tired, tranquil place
Where the weather won't get trapped inside my bones
And if all these years of searching find one sympathetic face
Then it's there I'll plant these seeds and make my home

I spent a day dreaming of dying in Mesa, Arizona
Where all the green of life had turned to ash
And I felt I was on fire with the things I could have told you
I just assumed that you eventually would ask

And I wouldn't have to bring up my so badly broken heart
And all those months, I just wanted to sleep
And though spring, it did come slowly, I guess it did its part
My heart has thawed and continues to beat

And I visited my brother on the outskirts of Olympia
Where the forest and the water become one
And we talked about our childhood, like a dream we were convinced of
That perfect, peaceful street that we came from

And I know he heard me strumming all those sad and simple chords
As I sat inside my room so long ago
And it hurts that he's still shaking from those secrets that were told
By a car closed up too tight and a heart turned cold

And I went to San Diego and the birthplace of the summer
And watched the ocean dance under the moon
And there was a girl I knew there, one more potential lover
I guess that something's gotta happen soon

'Cause I know I can't keep living in this dead or dying dream
And as I walked along the beach and drank with her
I thought about my true love, the one I really need
With eyes that burn so bright, they make me pure

They make me pure
They make me pure
I long to be with you
They make me pure
They make me pure
I long to be with you"

Brim

California Gold

Brim is a country rock group from Visalia, California, a side project from their hard rock band Westing. This is from their album "California Gold" released in 2021. With steel guitar and harmonies it is reminiscent of the Byrds country sound with Gram Parsons. The lyrics are not online so this is the best I could do. A lot of the words escape me.

"Down in the valley
They mostly would fly over you
Down in the valley
The big wheels will come rollin' through

... truck scales and the cheap motels
You can always hurt some humans if the ... fails
But there's a place where the light comes
Yeah ... mountain dew

Those long ...
The wheels still spinnin' waitin' long
... the country born in ... house...
And when summer comes around
Our life beneath the ground
You can did a little deeper
But remember what we found
Yeah the sky it burned like fire
It burned like California gold
California gold

Up from the valley
The hills take on an amber hue
Up from the valley
Our ... knows just what to do
... who's away
The air is very clear but we're thankful and we sing
If you could see the sunset
You'd call it California gold
California gold...."

Now in the valley
Your children try to run away
Now in the valley
Some of us just have to say

... and heart of a state so blue
Our congressmen betrayed us
But the law will see us through
If you looked at our problems
You'd call them California gold
California gold

Now in the valley
We found an empty swimming pool
Now in the valley
Our ... know just what to do
They can read ...
Every thing is going fine
They've learned to love their neighbors
When their skin don't look like mine
You look into their hearts
And see that California gold
That California gold"

Joey Britton

California Daydream

Joey Britton is a musician from Philadelphia, based in Orange County, California. This song was released in September, 2024. His YouTube comments describe it like this: "Moving to Cali was a dream of mine since I was a kid from Philly. When I got the chance I jumped on it and have never left. For me, this place feels like a vacation every day and I couldn’t be more grateful for the beauty it’s given to my life and all the great people I’ve met here. My new song California Daydream is dedicated to this wonderful place and the great vibes it’s given me from the OC and laguna beach, Crystal cove, up to La , San Diego, Santa Barbara and San Francisco."

"It's a California daydream
Would you find peace of mind
In the California sunshine?
Would you ride on the tide?

Take a drive up the coast
From Crystal Cove to San Francisco
The sunset shining on Melrose
Let's raise a glass and make a toast
'Cause I love this place this place the most

California daydream
Would you find peace of mind
In the California sunshine?
Would you ride on the tide?

Take a boat out to sea
On top of the world you can feel the breeze
Driving through the OC
There's no place I'd rather be
Back in Cali with you next to me

California daydream
Would you find peace of mind
In the California sunshine?
Would you ride on the tide?

Oh, it's a California sun
Together we'll forever be as one
Together we'll forever be as one

It's a California daydream
Would you find peace of mind
In the California sunshine?
Would you ride on the tide?

It's a California daydream
Would you find peace of mind
In the California sunshine?
Would you ride on the tide?"

Cleo Brown

When Hollywood Goes Black and Tan

Cleo Brown was a blues and jazz musician from Mississippi who lived from 1907 or 1909 untill 1995. In this upbeat early 40s jazz classic, Harlem crooners, Louis Armstrong, and more will all be heading west when Hollywood goes black and tan. It's a celebration of African American entertainers in the movies, back when there were few of them.

"Creole babies from Manhattan,
Will be leaving Harlem if they can,
Yeah, man! Oh, yeah, man!
When Hollywood goes black and tan!

Louis Armstrong with his trumpet
Will be heading westward with his band,
Yeah, man! Oh, yeah, man!
When Hollywood goes black and tan!"

Geoff Brown

Geoff Brown is a singer-songwriter from the UK. This song was released in 2019. I give it extra credit for both beginning and ending with a cash-register sound effect, and for acknowledging that there's a difference between Northern and Southern California in the song.

"California Christmas

Let's put the holly back in Hollywood
Let's put the Santa back in Santa Monica
Let's put the angels back in Los Angeles
And have a California Christmas

There's a Jaguar for mommy
If she can quit the hooch
A blanket made of cashmere
And especially for the pooch

The son is getting Gucci
And the daughter's dressed in Pucci
All the shopping's done at Prada
Calvin Kline and Fiorucci

So let's put the holly back in Hollywood
Let's put the Santa back in Santa Monica
Let's put the angels back in Los Angeles
And have a California Christmas

Folks up in Northern California
Pretend they like the gloom and try to scorn ya
But in Malibu the Christmas sun'll warm ya
It's just another day in southern Califor-ni-a
(Southern Califor-ni-a)

In Bel-Air there's a swell air
A sophisticated spend
On Sunset and Rodeo Drive in limos end to end
Women thin and waistless and the starlets that are graceless
Are all fighting at the counters over trinkets that are tasteless

So let's put the holly back in Hollywood
Let's put the Santa back in Santa Monica
Let's put the angels back in Los Angeles
And have a California Christmas

All the chills are tinging winging bling-bling
California Christmas
California Christmas"

Nora Brown

Little Satchel

Nora Brown is a singer from New York who plays old-time traditional music on the banjo and guitar. This traditional banjo song is from her album "Long Time to Be Gone" released in 2022. You can see the lyrics under the version by Fred Cockerham.

Jackson Browne

Barricades of Heaven

Jackson Browne is a singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, active since 1966, who started out writing songs for others. This song is from his album "Looking East" released in 1996.

"Running down around the towns along the shore
When I was sixteen and on my own
No, I couldn't tell you what the hell those brakes were for
I was just trying to hear my song

Jimmy found his own sweet sound and won that free guitar
We'd all get in the van and play
Life became the Paradox, the Bear, the Rouge et Noir
And the stretch of road running to L.A.

Pages turning
Pages we were years from learning
Straight into the night our hearts were flung
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of Heaven where I'm from

All the world was shining from those hills
The stars above and the lights below
Among those there to test their fortunes and their wills
I lost track of the score long ago

Pages turning
Pages we were years from learning
Straight into the night our hearts were flung
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of Heaven where I'm from

Childhood comes for me at night
Voices of my friends
Your face bathing me in light
Hope that never ends

Pages turning
Pages torn and pages burning
Faded pages, open in the sun
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of Heaven where I'm from.
Better bring your own redemption when you come
To the barricades of Heaven where I'm from."

Jackson Browne

Culver Moon

This song is from "Looking East" released in 1996. He never names it, but the narrator of the song must be from the small city of Culver City which is surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. Angelyne is an L.A. icon, famous for her giant self-promoting billboards. She's also a singer with one of her songs on this list.

"I live in a small town deep in L.A.
About five miles north of where the Lakers play
Now Everybody here's from someplace else
Working all together like Santa's elves

Baby, Culver me
And I'll Culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of June
And the whole world is lit up by the Culver Moon

Baby don't worry 'bout Angelyne
She ain't the prettiest thing I've ever seen
Nothing she wears ever fits her right
And her complexion is just a little too tight
And the way she looks down from so high above
Makes me think the poor child's never been in love

Baby, Culver me
And I'll Culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of June
And the whole world is lit up by the Culver Moon

Baby I'm going to love you 'til the stars come down
'Til they park their limos and they walk to town
'Til the L.A. river overflows its banks
'Til the whole alternative nation bows its knobby head in thanks
'Til the fish are jumping in Ballona Creek
'Til the earth is inherited by the meek

Baby, Culver me
And I'll Culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of June
And the whole world is illuminated by the Culver Moon

Under the rainbow and behind Versailles
From the aisles of Fedco to the 405
From MGM to Veteran's Park
Way down at Chippendale's fumblin' in the dark
Where the ghostly specter of Howard Hughes
Hovers in the smoke of a thousand bar-b-ques

Baby, Culver me
And I'll Culver you
When the streets are shining with the smoggy dew
When the lights are glowing with the mists of June
And the whole world is lit up by the Culver Moon"

Jackson Browne

Running on Empty

This is from Browne's album "Running on Empty" released in 1977. It has become one of his signature songs, and is included on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. (Number 496, but who's counting?) There's only a quick mention of the 101, a major L.A. highway that actually runs all the way north through Washington, but because Browne is singing about growing up in southern California, here it is.

"Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields
In '65, I was 17 and running up 101
I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just running on

[Chorus:]
Running on, running on empty
Running on, running blind
Running on, running into the sun
But I'm running behind

Gotta do what you can just to keep your love alive
Trying not to confuse it with what you do to survive
In '69, I was 21 and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned on to the road I'm on

[Chorus]

Everyone I know, everywhere I go
People need some reason to believe
I don't know about anyone but me
If it takes all night, that'll be all right
If I can get you to smile before I leave

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
Look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running, too

[Chorus]

Honey, you really tempt me
You know the way you look so kind
I'd love to stick around but I'm running behind
(Running on)
You know I don't even know what I'm hoping to find
(Running blind)
Running into the sun but I'm running behind"

Sebastien Brunet

Closing Time In California

Sebastien Brunet is a French Canadian singer-songwriter. This French pop song was put on YouTube in 2012. Most of it is in French but it begins and ends with a chorus that repeats the words "California" and "Hollywood" several times. It seems to be a love song, though I can't understand the breathy French lyrics and I have no idea why California and Hollywood are involved.

"California
California
Hollywood
California
Hollywood...."

Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan is an award-winning country music singer-songwriter and tv personality from Georgia, active since 2001, and one of the best-selling music artists in the world. This song, in which Calfiornia is once again a homewrecker, is from his upcoming eighth studio album "Mind Of A Country Boy" to be released sometime in 2024. Remember - at closing time you don't have to go home but you can't stay here. And don't forget to tip your firefighters.

"It must be closing time in California
They must be shuttin' down the Sunset bars
That's the only time that I hear from ya
Before my world lights up and yours goes dark
And there's a Western wave that called you out there
There's a Southern voice that wants you back
Can almost smell the smoke and cheap tequila
While I'm about to pour my coffee black

I've been tryin' to forget
And you've been tryin' not to miss me and move on
It must be closing time in California
Baby cut me off or come back home

There's a ghost that dances in the driveway
In a dress that hits this hard pine floor
Bet you're still in heels in your bed, sideways
Wishin' I was there to keep you warm
Damn, I wish that I was too, yeah, Lord

I've been tryin' to forget
You've been tryin' not to miss me and move on
It must be closing time in California
Baby cut me off or come back home

Come back home
Come back home, yeah, yeah

I guess we never got the timin' right
Yeah, it's 3 on your wall and 5 on mine

It must be closing time in California
If what you went to find just ain't out there
Then it's closing time in California
And baby, Tennessee ain't gone nowhere"

BrxkenBxy

BrxkenBxy (Broken Boy) is a musician from Canada. He describes his style as a blend of grunge and hip-hop. This was released in 2022.

"ugh
thats the way it go
yeah

i guess i should’ve known a little better
but you told me to keep you forever
and i put you in ever single letter
are you even reading them
please call me when you get 'em

cause the girls at the club don’t care bout me
they just like my chains and the cocaine
and she coming back home with me
she gon f**k me like she love me
but i never took her whole name
and thats just empty as f**k
this game i’m not playing
i guess you ran out of love
for somebody like me
i’m wasted
every night i close my eyes and

waste all my time
i’ll wake up drunk from all these things i’m mixing
it’s all your fault
baby you made me believe that you’re different
you said you’d call when you get home
i guess you never left California
am i to blame?
i stay awake at night
and watch the moon until the sun's up

i wonder if you ever look back
but you’re not sentimental you would never like that
do i ever show up in your dreams?
cause you’re always in mine and i still don’t know what it means
but maybe i think too much
maybe you never gave a f**k and thats why you’re gone
but baby i don’t know what you want
you tell me let it go but there’s something holding on

waste all my time
i’ll wake up drunk
from all these things i’m mixing
it’s all your fault
baby you made me believe that you’re different
you said you’d call when you get home
i guess you never left California
am i to blame?
i stay awake at night
and watch the moon until the sun's up

don’t lie
you never really cared
no you never really cared at all
it cuts too deep
i hope i
i hope i
i hope i
don't wake up
when you call me
don't wake up
when you call me

guess you never left (i hope i)
guess you never left (i hope i)
guess you never left California
(i hope i don't wake up)
guess you never left (i hope i)
guess you never left (i hope i)
guess you never left California
(i hope i don't wake up)
guess you never left (i hope i)
guess you never left (i hope i)
guess you never left California
(i hope i don’t wake up)
(California)

waste all my time
i’ll wake up drunk
from all these things i’m mixing
it’s all your fault
baby you made me believe that you’re different
you said you’d call when you get home
i guess you never left California
am i to blame?
i stay awake at night and watch the moon until the sun's up

i wonder if you ever look back
but you’re not sentimental
you would never like that

don't lie
you never really cared
no you never really cared at all"

bryska

California Boy (jjjerk)

Bryska is Gabriela Nowak-Skyrpan, a singer-songwriter from Poland. This electronic pop song was released in May, 2023. It's a rare song about a "California boy" instead of a California girl.

"Your love is like amnesia
It’s like a never met ya, yeah
But don’t act like a
J-J-J-J-J-Jerk
J-J-J-J-J-Jerk
J-J-J-J-J-Jerk

Every time time I lay in my bed in the dark
I realize how not OK you are

Things are gonna change in time but lately
Every time I see you I go crazy
California boy I love you maybe
But if it doesn’t work don’t f**king blame me

Things are gonna change in time but lately
Every time I see you I go crazy
California boy I love you maybe
But if it doesn’t work don’t f**king blame me

How’s the party in Nevada?
Your T-shirt from Nirvana
It looks better on her
J-J-J-J-J-Jerk
J-J-J-J-J-Jerk
J-J-J-J-J-Jerk

Every time time I lay in my bed in the dark
I realize how not OK you are

Things are gonna change in time but lately
Every time I see you I go crazy
California boy I love you maybe
But if it doesn’t work don’t f**king blame me

Things are gonna change in time but lately
Every time I see you I go crazy
California boy I love you maybe
But if it doesn’t work don’t f**cking blame me

You can call her now and tell her maybe
That every time I saw you I went crazy
California boy I loved you baby
Well it didn’t work don’t f**king blame me

Things are gonna change in time but lately
Every time I see you I go crazy
California boy I love you maybe
But if it doesn’t work don’t f**king blame me"

Bsuavee (featuring Westside Boogie x Yelly x Yoey Composes)

California Dream

Bsuavee is rapper from Sacramento ("Suaveeamento.) This is a track from the album "Hollywood Made" released in 2022.

[Chorus]

"...California you know how we get down
Get money oh ya ya ya ya ya
West Coast oh ya ya ... L.A.
California you know how we get down
Get money oh ya ya ya ya ya
West Coast oh ya ya ... L.A. ...."

Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé is a Grammy-winning traditional pop & jazz singer from Canada, active since 1994. This song is from the album "Hollywood: The Deluxe EP" released in 2010. Hollywood is not dead yet, but it is being replaced by Albuquerque, Atlanta, Vancouver, New Orleans, and other places with better tax incentives.

"Could you be a teenage idol?
Could you be a movie star?
When I turn on my TV, will you smile and wave at me
Telling Oprah who you are?
So you want to be a rock star
With blue-eyed bunnies in your bed?
Well, remember when you're rich that you sold yourself for this
You'll be famous 'cause you're dead

So don't go higher for desire
Put in in your head
Baby, Hollywood is dead
You can find it in yourself

I don't want to take you dancin'
When you're dancin' with the world
You can flush your caviar and your million dollar car
I don't need that kind of girl
But could you be the next sensation?
Will you set the latest style?
You don't need a catchy song
'Cause the kids'll sing along when you sell it with a smile

So don't go higher for desire
Put it in your head
Baby, Hollywood is dead, you can find it in yourself
So don't fly higher for your fire
Put in your head
Baby, Hollywood is dead, you can find it in yourself

Na na na na na na (Keep it in your head, Hollywood is dead)

Well, you can do the money tango
You can start your little band
You can swing from vine to vine while the cuties wait in line
With the money in their hands
But if you get to California, save a piece of gold for me
And it's the only thing you'll save
But I'll bet you'll never wave when I watch you on TV

So don't go higher for desire
Put it in your head
Baby, Hollywood is dead, you can find it in yourself
So don't fly higher for your fire
Put it in your head
Baby, Hollywood is dead, you can find it in yourself
Keep on lovin' what is true and the world will come to you
You can find it in yourself
Love what is true and the world will come to you
You can find it in yourself
No no no no no
Keep it in your head
Hollywood is dead, babe
Get it in your head
Hollywood is dead
Hollywood is dead, baby"

Buck 65

You Know The Science

Buck 65 is the professional name of Richard Terfry, a Canadian hip hop artist and radio DJ active since 1993. This song is from his album "Man Overboard" released in 2001.

"If you're anything like me, you probably don't read The Source
Anymore, and miss crews like the JVC Force
Don't stop, show no shame, dance to disco
And you know the baddest DJs come from San Francisco
But be sure to tell DJ Static if you see him please
When you're in Denmark, he was robbed at the DMCs
Shouts out to Swamp and other DJs that were fronted on
And all of those that like to dig for oldies, yo, the hunt is on
I'm always down to make trades for s**t with those in the know
I just found another copy of Moog Indigo
I'm on a steady look out for dope breaks, non-stop
All I had to pay was fifty cents at a pawn shop
And when it comes to being phat, the best kind of weight gain
Has to be seeing your name up on a freight train
Moving galleries of steel to show the giants
To the people all over the world, you know the science

Uh-huh, you know the science
Uh-huh, you know the science
Uh-huh, you know the science
Uh-huh, you know the science
You get buck wild!...."

Lindsay Buckingham

Bel Air Rain

Lindsay Buckingham is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted musician and producer originally from Palo Alto and Atherton, active since 1966. He's well-known as the lead guitar player and one of the singers in Fleetwood Mac and as Stevie Nicks' musical partner before they joined Fleetwood Mac. This is from his solo album "Gift of Screws" released in 2008. He's known for his great fingerpicking, which is nicely displayed on this song.

In case you never watched "The Fresh Prince", Bel Air is an opulent neighborhood in the Los Angeles Westside above Beverly Hills - the sort of place that won't allow us common people to visit unless we're carrying a leaf blower...

"Fighting for a cause I can't remember any more
Well I guess you could say that I was framed
Somebody said there'd be a knock at my door
But the knock it never came

I changed my name
I went insane
Still I can't complain

Standing in the Bel Air rain
Standing in the Bel Air rain
Standing in the Bel Air rain

In my younger days I was mistaken for a whore
I guess you could say I lived in shame
Well everyone's peace lives side by side with their war
But eventually everyone gets tamed

I changed my name
I went insane
Still I can't complain

Standing in the Bel Air rain
Standing in the Bel Air rain
Standing in the Bel Air rain"

Aaron Bucks

Aaron Bucks is a singer-songwriter from Canada whose style has been described as country soul. This song was released in 2018 and it's also on his album "California" released in 2020.

"I'm waking on the bright side
'Cause the other's just a waste of time
I'll be a hug and a high five
To ease your worried mind

Like the
Sun over California
I'm always gonna be there for ya
Here's my shoulder, you can count on me
Like
Church on Sunday morning
An umbrella when the rain starts pouring
Here's my shoulder, you can count on me

We all have days
We wanna get away
When the light goes out and we need a spark
Out there in the dark

Like the
Sun over California
I'm always gonna be there for ya
Here's my shoulder, you can count on me
Like
Church on Sunday morning
An umbrella when the rain starts pouring
Here's my shoulder, you can count on me

See the God who made the heavens
Made this promise I believe in
It's my anchor in the ocean
It's the hope I put my hope in
Oh-ooh-oohh-ohhh

Oh, just like the
Sun over California
I'm always gonna be there for ya
Here's my shoulder, you can count on me
Like
Church on Sunday morning
An umbrella when the rain starts pouring
Here's my shoulder, you can count on
You can count on me
(Sun over California)
Oh-ooh-oohh-ohhh
You can count on me
Oh-ooh-oohh-ohhh
You can count on me
(Sun over California)
Oh-ooh-oohh-ohhh
You can count on me
Oh-ooh-oohh-ohhh"

Neek Bucks

For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)

Neek Bucks is a rapper from Harlem, New York City. This song was released in October 2022. Apologies for mistakes and omissions in the lyrics below. They're based on the YouTube closed captioning which is hilariously wrong in parts. For one line it writes: "Trying to build the shrimp to look you in your eyes..."

"...Yeah, look, yeah, well,
I miss you too but you just talk too bad about me
And when I slipped them second losses I heard you wasn't too mad about it
Trying to build the strength to look you in your eyes and ask about it
This time around I gotta cut you off if you ain't adding value
You gotta try and get somewhere
You start to see this whole s**t different when you've been somewhere
And try to treat that paper like it's Visine but my vision clear
Try to hide it from a n***a like I ain't gonna get it
Man f**k with n***as kicking they just talking but we living
So please be specific when you kicking all that s**t that you be kicking when you with us
Quit with all that capping like you gangster and you get it when you know that you ain't with it
Ni**as talking down so much I made my ass sore
If you ain't trying to help us prosper what you here for
They took that bracelet off my ankle straight to the ...
Is this the s**t I dreamed of?
Held this s**t down ... when n***as teamed up
And it's a lot of dirty laundry that ain't getting cleaned up
You know I ain't trying to mess that's what this been for the green...
God forgive me for my sins I still be thinking about revenge
'Cause I sit down and I get high and start to think about my friends
Fell like I'm at this s**t too long will I get closer to the win
Or will my n***a back door me for his Rolie or this Benz
S**t that I been thinking lately
I've been overlinking
Maybe I'm just overthinking
Like Beyonce I've been drinking
... we gonna do right as soon as we hit the ...
No we gonna get right back to that thuggin' and that schemin' I been dreamin'
You finally made it there n***a
Ain't no more California dreaming
Finally made it there n***a
Ain't no more California dreaming"

Buddy

Trouble on Central

Buddy (Simmie Sims III) is a rapper from Compton. This is a great upbeat song that's sung instead of rapped, with a laid-back G-funk rhythm but none of the gangsta attitude. It's from his 2018 debut album "Harlan & Alondra" named after the cross streets of his childhood home. Central Avenue is a long avenue that passes through west Compton.

"Just so good at being in trouble
Spending my days out in the ghetto
Mama say that I need to be careful
Going downtown on the Blue Line Metro
A car overheated indicated for the rental (s**t)
Broke down Chevrolets sitting on Central
Turning on my headphones looking out the window
Lauryn Hill playing, it could be so simple
Damn, I just can't wait 'til I get on
What the hell is taking so long?

I wish I had a girl by my side
Wish I had a brand new ride
I wish I had a light
I wish I had a private flight
I wish upon the stars sometimes
I wish I had a ride
I wish I had the finer things
I wish you wasn't so Cobain
I wish I had you (s**t)
And I wish I wasn't stuck on Central

Just so good at being in trouble
Spending my days out in the ghetto
Papa say that I need to be careful
Heard a n***a just got popped at the Arco
Pros on the hoes stro junkies on narcos
Long Beach Compton to South Central
Damn, I just can't wait 'til I get home (s**t)
That's when a cop had pulled me over
... ... ... ...

I wish I was in control
Really wish I wasn't stuck on Central
I still got so far to go, yeah
Won't be stuck here, not for long
Just hold on, hold on
Work late nights and early mornings
I'm on it, I'm on it
Trouble on Central with the homies
Oh no, oh no
Pretty soon we gon' take control
Just wait on it, wait on it"

Buffalo Springfield

Buffalo Springfield was a rock band active from 1966 to 1968 that featured several musicians who went on to greater fame with other bands or as solo acts - Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay.

The band's most commercially successful song, this is often considered a protest song about the war in Viet Nam, but it was not written as an anti-war song. It was written by Steven Stills who was inspired by the Sunset Strip curfew riots in November of 1966. Basically it was about young people rioting because they couldn't get into clubs late at night. The song was released shortly afterwards in late December 1966. The song never once mentions the Sunset Strip or L.A. or the riots, nor does it mention the Viet Nam war. The lack of a specific subject has let it serve as a universal protest song and anti-war anthem for any time and place.

A California song doesn't always need to mention California. For what it's worth, even if what it is ain't exactly clear, because of its well-know association with the Sunset Strip riots when it was released, this is a song about California. I can't say the same thing about the many cover versions, which include recordings by The Staple Singers, Rush, Cher, Queensryche, Miriam Makeba, Ozzy Osbourne, Oui 3, David Cassidy, Haley Reinhart, and others. The song was also sampled by Public Enemy in 1998 in "He Got Game."

"There's something happening here
But what it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop
Children, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking' their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind

It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

What a field day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly saying, "hooray for our side"

It's time we stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line, the men come and take you away

We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look - what's going down?...."

Jimmy Buffett

California Promises

Jimmy Buffett is a singer-songwriter and more from Mississippi who started his musical career in Nashville in the 1960s as a country music artist. This easy listening song is from the album "One Particular Harbor" released in 1983.

"Beneath the moonlit sky
Shadows walk beside the water
Sad goodbyes whispered on the shore
Hear those wind chimes play
They serenade the shadow lovers
Ring and fade away
Like California promises

I will never love another
Wait for me 'til I return
But she never will
He waits for her beside the water
Faithful still to California promises

I will never love another
Wait for me 'til I return
Though she never will
He waits for her beside the water
Faithful still to California promises"

Jimmy Buffett

Come Monday

This easy listening ballad is basically a postcard to his wife from a musician tired of touring and looking forward to seeing her. (The brown L.A. haze he sings about is the notorious L.A. smog, which was especially bad in 1974 before smog checks became mandatory in 1976.) It's from his 1974 album "Living & Dying in 3/4 Time, which was released 3 years before his monster pop country hit "Margaritaville."

"Headin' up to San Francisco
for the Labor Day weekend show,
I've got my hush-puppies on,
I guess I never was meant for
glitter rock and roll.
And honey I didn't know
that I'd be missin' you so.

Come Monday It'll be all right,
Come Monday I'll be holding you tight.
I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze
and I just want you back by my side.

Yes it's been quite a summer,
rent-a-cars and west bound trains.
And now you're off on vacation,
somethin' you tried to explain.
And darlin' I love you so that's
the reason I just let you go.

Come Monday It'll be all right,
Come Monday I'll be holding you tight.
I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze
and I just want you back by my side.

I can't help it honey,
you're that much a part of me now.
Remember the night in Montana when
we said there'd be no room for doubt.

I hope you're enjoyin' the scenery,
I know that it's pretty up there.
We can go hikin on Tuesday,
with you I'd walk anywhere.
California has worn me quite thin,
I just can't wait to see you again..."

Burna Boy

Devil In California

Burna Boy is Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, a singer-songwriter-producer from Nigeria active since 2010 and one of the most successful Afrobeats artists. This is from his third studio album "Outside" released in 2018.

"Have to understand what I'm trying to show ya
Take you OT where nobody knows ya
I don't know what you've been told baby
Lately I've been on my own baby
I don't even know where I'm taking ya
Probably on a boat in the middle of the ocean
Way too drunk, I'm way too fu**ed baby
Popped a molly in the club babeOoh I met the devil out in California
I've been living on the edge
But I won't fall down

Got a couple hundreds for the spending

You should learn to share baby (oh no)
I'm crazy, I know
How I did it, I don't know
Heart breaker, all yours
I know I, said I'd change my life
But that was last night
I'm so high
Can't open my eyes
Can't look in your eyes

You got the juice
I got the sauce
It's only right we hit it off
But you gotta make a decision
You got the hoes
I got my woes
I cannot lose
But tonight I'm too fu**ked up to make decisions
I got so much bi**hes
It's like all my life I've been knowing something's been missing
Devil on my shoulder
That's why I can't stay sober

Ooh I met the devil out in California
I've been living on the edge
But I won't fall down
Got a couple hundreds for the spending

You should learn to share baby (oh no)
I'm crazy, I know
How I did it, I don't know
Heart breaker, all Yours
I know I, said I'd change my life
But that was last night
I'm so high
Can't open my eyes
Can't look in your eyes

Give it one more time
But I said that last time
I know I said that last time
But this is the last time
This is the last time
This is the last time (oh ya)"

Jeremiah Burnham

A Place In California

Jeremiah Burnham is a singer and producer from Vermont. This song which evokes the '60s Beach Boys sound is from an album released in 2014 called "Burnahm Would" that his website says is material he wrote and produced representing his more than fifty years in the music business.

"Ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
There is a place in California
A special place in California
Down by the sea
Where the surf meets the bay
There's a place there for me
I will go there one day

A girl is there
And I dream of her
And places where
I find and love her

Down by the sand
Where the sea sings its song
(California)
I'll take her hand
And we'll walk on the sand
(Some day)

Those starry nights in California
Will be alright
They seem to warm ya

Down by the shore
It's where I want to be
(California)
The girl I hope for
Will be there for me

There is a place in California
A special place in California
Down by the sea
Where the surf meets the bay
(California)
There's a place there for me
I will go there one day...."

Jake Burns

California Bound

Jake Burns is a singer from Northern Ireland, now based in Chicago, active since 1977. He's best known as the frontman of Stiff Little Fingers. This song is from 2020, so he'll need to set the way-back machine for 54 years in the past.

"I wish I was California bound
Where the sun shines and music's all around
I'd take a guitar in my left hand
A rucksack on my back
Hitchhike to Laurel Canyon
And probably not come back
Wish I was California bound

Just go back in time to '66
Where the music plays loud all year
You've got Jackson Browne in one ear
While Joni MItchell sings all night
Carole King plays piano
James Taylor's getting high
Wish I was California bound

Imagine if David Crosby lived next door
He'd be talkin' about his future summer tour
Telling stories about The Troubador
Truth and lies beneath the floor
Wish I was California bound

Maybe one day I'll take the plane
And stop off at San Francisco Bay
With a guitar in my left hand
A rucksack on my back
Make my way to the canyon
And probably not come back

Wish I was California bound
Oh one day
I will be California bound
Oh one day
I will be California bound"

Sam Bush

California Earthquake

Sam Bush is a progressive bluegrass (or New Grass) singer and mandolin player from Kentucky, active since 1963. This is a bluegrass cover of the John Hartford song, with added lyrics about Mother Nature having indigestion, from the album "Radio John: Songs of John Hartford" released in 2022.

"Well they tell me they exploded the underground blast
What they say's gonna happen, gonna happen at last
That's the way it appears

And they tell me the fault line runs right through here
If that may be, then that may be
What's gonna happen's, gonna happen to me
That's the the way it appears

And they tell me the fault line runs right through here

Atlantis will rise, Sunset Boulevard will fall
Where the beach use to be won't be nothin' at all
That's the way it appears

And they tell me the fault line runs right through here

Mother Nature's got gas, her diet's gone stale
See her acid indigestion on the Richter scale
That's the way it appears

And they tell me the fault line runs right through here

If that may be, then that may be
What's gonna happen's gonna happen to me
That's the way it appears
They tell me the fault line runs right through here"

Caashcow

This Turkish hip-hop song was released in August 2023. The internet doesn't know much about Cashcow yet, other than that he released his first song in 2019, and he's located in Switzerland. Fortunately someone put the Turkish lyrics online which I let Google translate.

"Kaldim sensiz ben yeah (ben yeah)
Üç gün içtim oldum ben yeah (ben yeah)
Shawty oldu benle (benle)
Yalniz kalmayi hiç sevmez (sevmez)

Bitch'im from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Bitch'im from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Bitch'im ayni Cali weed
Bitch'im from the Cali yeah (Cali yeah)
(Cali yeah)

Istedi benle kalmak her gün kalamam baby (kalamam babe)
Istedi benle yatmak her gün isine geldi (isine geldi yeah)
Bitch'ine fendi aldim, oldu yine hanimefendi (isine geldi)

Kapida Bentley, sarkimi dinliyor bitch in the
Bentley
Acaba benmi çok içtim, olmusum fame yeah
Paralar dansöz oldu, kaldim every day yeah
Fi?imi taktim bitch'e dünya verdi back yeah
Gecem arti 18, yaniyor sanki esrar
Sanki esrar, içtim bugün esrar
Oldum esrar, bitch'in adi Esra, adi Esra
Sex, Money, Drugs yeah (sex, money, drugs yeah)

Kaldim sensiz ben yeah (ben yeah)
Üç gün içtim oldum ben yeah (ben yeah)
Shawty oldu benle (benle)
Yalniz kalmayi hiç sevmez (sevmez)

Bitch'im from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Bitch'im from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Bitch'im ayni Cali weed
Bitch'im from the Cali yeah (Cali yeah)
(Cali yeah)"

"I'm left without you yeah (I yeah)
I've been drinking for three days, yeah (I yeah)
Shawty became with me (with me)
She never likes to be alone (she doesn't)

My b**ch from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
My b**ch from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
My b**ch is the same Cali weed
My b**ch from the Cali yeah (Cali yeah)
(Cal yeah)

She wanted to stay with me every day I can't stay baby (I can't stay babe)
He wanted to sleep with me every day, it worked (yeah)
I got the lady for your b**ch, it's done again ma'am

Bentley at the door listening to my song b**ch in the Bentley
I wonder if I drank too much fame yeah
Money became a belly dancer, I stayed every day yeah
I plugged it in b**ch gave the world back yeah
My night is plus 18, it's burning like weed
It's like marijuana, I smoked marijuana today
I'm marijuana, b**ch's name is Esra, her name is Esra
Sex, Money, Drugs yeah (sex, money, drugs yeah)

I'm left without you yeah (I yeah)
I've been drinking for three days, yeah (I yeah)
Shawty became with me (with me)
She never likes to be alone (she doesn't)

My b**ch from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
My b**ch from the California, California (yeah, yeah, yeah)
My b**ch is the same Cali weed
My b**ch from the Cali yeah (Cali yeah)
(Cali yeah)"

Cage the Elephant

Mess Around

This is from a band from Kentucky who have had lots of number one hits on the Billboard Alternative Rock charts, including this song. It's off their 2015 album Tell Me I'm Pretty. There's only a quick mention of California, so don't blink or you'll miss it.

"Ahhhhh, oh no
Ahhhhh, oh no
Ahhhhh, oh no
No, she don't mess around
No, she don't mess around

Oh St. Louis, California
Blue eyes, yeah she's comin' for ya
Land of Mary, Charm City
Oh lord, wish she was my baby
You know she'll drive you crazy
Yeah she's coming for ya
No, she don't mess around
No, she don't mess around

Ahhhhh, oh no
Ahhhhh, oh no
Ahhhhh, oh no
No, she don't mess around
No, she don't mess around

The heat is rising and only getting hotter, ready to blow
I think I'll pour myself a glass of water, let it flow
She'll show you what she's made of
Yeah she's comin' for ya
She's gonna try to break ya
Yeah she's comin' for ya
No, she don't mess around
No, she don't mess around

Ahhhhh, oh no
Ahhhhh, oh no
Ahhhhh, oh no
No, she don't mess around
No, she don't mess around...."

Cake

Arco Arena

Cake is a rock band from Sacramento, active since 1991. This is a bonus song from the deluxe edition of Cake's fourth studio album "Comfort Eagle" released in 2001.The original album version is an instrumental, this versiion adds lyrics. Arco Arena was a sports arena, home to NBA team the Sacramento Kings before they moved downtown to the Golden1 Center in 2016.

After being re-named Sleep Train Arena, the sports complex was demolished in 2022. But the song is still standing! You can put it on your playlist of songs about things that are gone or obsolete - such as Ry Cooder's Chavez Ravine, The Airborne Toxic Event's Hollywood Park, The Beatle's Back in the U.S.S.R., Paul Simon's Kodachrome, Nick Lowe's Switchboard Susan, Want Ads by Honey Cone, or any song about jukeboxes, cassette tapes, pay phones, party lines, 8-track players, the Berlin wall, democracy in America, affordable housing, fair wages, etc.

"Welcome to the King's palace
Arco Arena
Arco Arena
Why walk in circles?
Why walk in circles?
Why walk in circles when you can win?
Move your feet to the spirit of the ball
Move your feet to the spirit of the ball
Welcome to the King's palace

Arco Arena
Arco Arena

Crazy train, daisy chain
People just getting lazy, complaining

Arco Arena
Arco Arena

The parking lot sparkles hot
Around the busy sports complex
Crazy train, daisy chain
People just getting lazy, complaining

Arco Arena
Arco Arena"

Cake

Bound Away

Cake is a rock band from Sacramento formed in 1991. This song, which name checks their home town, is from their 2011 album "Showroom of Compassion.

"I'm an unknown individual in an unattended car
Hey, welcome to Chicago or wherever you are
New York to London, Barcelona to Berlin
Sacramento, California, we are leaving again

Away, away, away, away
Away, I'm bound away

I'm circling, I'm swiveling, I'm waiting just to land
I'm trying to come home, but I'm here with the band
Traveling, unraveling, I'm staying on track
My plastic utensil has broken in half

Away, away, away, away
Away, I'm bound away

There's low visibility, gusty wind and rain
My carry-on luggage is still on the plane
Seconds turn to minutes, minutes turn to hours
Hours give you a lifetime and a grave with pink flowers

Away, away, away, away
Away, I'm bound
Away, away, away, away
Away, I'm bound away"

J. J. Cale

Downtown L.A.

J. J. Cale was a singer-songwriter from Oklahoma known for his great country/blues slide guitar playing. His wah-wah slide on "Crazy Mama" still gets to me after 40 years, not to mention "Magnolia." This is from Cale's "Grasshopper" album released in 1982. Much of downtown L.A. has been developed and gentrified since Cale wrote this, but my impression is that poverty and homelessness in the area is far worse than it was then.

"Downtown L.A. is a depressing place
You can see young men with deep lines in their face
They could all be something if somebody cared
But nobody knows they're even down there
Old woman walking with a sack on her back
Picking up the garbage people put out back
Men down there trying to walk the line
Trading their soul for a bottle of wine

In the inner city it ain't no good
It's a long, long way from Hollywood
Bad kind of people got a hold of the street
They got something that the poor people need
At two in the morning they bust your head
Fat chance walking you'll end up dead
It' the law of the jungle with a gun and a knife
If you stay long enough you lose your life

Man down there he couldn't be lying
He was sleeping in the street and he couldn't keep from crying
Said he'd been there for twenty one years
Through the bars and the brawls and the blues and the tears
Prop up the front the back falls down
All around the canyons of L.A. town
When he asked me for a dollar I looked him in his face
Downtown L.A. is a depressing place"

J. J. Cale

Santa Cruz

This song is from the 1997 album "Anyway The Wind Blows - The Anthology." It mentions two of his songs from the 1970s that were hits for Eric Clapton.

"Oo-wee how did I lose
Talkin' about a night in Santa Cruz
Oo-wee how did I lose
Talkin' about a night in Santa Cruz
Well I came to coast from L.A.
Just to give a little music to boo me away
Hey J.J. can you play Cocaine
Do After Midnight it's all the same
Oo-wee how did I lose
Talkin' about a night in Santa Cruz
Oo-wee how did I lose
I'll tell you about the night in Santa Cruz
Well we didn't play long it booed too soon
I can't do right no matter what you do
A girl in the crowd, at the finale
Shouted at me had I even turned
Another man left 'cause he didn't stay long
I thought we had played his favorite song
Hey you, pull that weight
A soon as it's cleaned up then I'll fade away
My friends and I hope you're glad to see
Me and friends coming off the street
Play, Richard
I don't mean a man can't lose
Just stay by the night in Santa Cruz
Just stay by the night in Santa Cruz
I don't mean a man can't lose"

California Dreams TV Show Cast

California Dreams

California Dreams was a sitcom that aired on NBC for five seasons from 1992 to 1996, about teenagers in a beach town who formed a band. This was the main theme song for the show, which also appeared on the "California Dreams" soundtrack album. It's hard to know who is actually playing and singing on this song by a band that was formed for the show. Apparently, while some of the actors did sing, other voices were dubbed.

"Surf dudes with attitudes
(Kinda groovy)
Laid back moods
Sky above, sand below
(Good vibrations)
Feelin' mellow

Won't give it up
Don't wanna stop

(Don't wake me up)
Don't wake me up if I'm dreaming
(California dreams)
Just let me lay here in the sun
Until my dream is done

Noise and confusion
Tough times in the neighborhood
Let me keep my illusion
These dreams are good

Won't give it up
Don't wanna stop

(Don't wake me up)
Don't wake me up if I'm dreaming
(California dreams)
Just let me lay here in the sun
Until my dream is done"

California Wives

California Wives are an indie rock band from Chicago formed in 2009. This song is from their debut album "Art History" released in 2012. They get extra credit for namechecking California in the song title and in the band name.

"Los Angeles, arrived
The people talk, people talk now
The voices stick inside your head
They make you wait now for so long
All the day you're on the tracks
You wore a flower to impress
A little more than the less
Told you once now you're lost, lost
When you wake up on your own, don't you know that you were wrong?
When you wake up on your own, don't you know that you were wrong?
Don't you know that you are?
I know the deep past
I watch walk with the wrong crowd
I watch you fake it to the end

And you've been waiting for so long
All the day you're on the tracks
You wore a flower to impress
A little more than the less
You're searching lights now they talk, talk
When you wake up on your own, don't you know that you were wrong?
When you wake up on your own, don't you know that you were wrong?
When you wake up on your own, don't you know that you were wrong?
When you wake up on your own, don't you know that you were wrong?...."

Cab Calloway

San Francisco Fan

Cab Calloway was a popular jazz and scat singer, dancer, and bandleader from New York, known as the "Hi-de-ho" man, which comes from the lyrics to his most famous song "Minnie the Moocher." He had several other hits in the 1930s and '40s. This is a slow blues released in 1947.

"San Francisco Fan
Loved a no-good gamblin' man
She drank the coffee dregs
So she could fry his eggs In a golden frying pan

Can-canned by command Of the Gold Rush Cafe Clan
She gave her man her pay
He gambled it away
Playing Chinatown fan-tan

Once they caught him cheatin'
And he knew that he was beaten
When a miner aimed a pistol at his head
Fanny when she'd seen him Ran and jumped right in between 'em
And she stopped a dozen slugs of poison lead

There was Fanny dyin'
While a hundred men stood cryin'
And the angels up above were cryin' too
When seven horses started draggin'
Fanny's coffin in a wagon
Through a dusty Californian avenue

San Francisco Fan
Gave her life to save her man
A man who wasn't worth
A shovelful of earth
From the grave of San Francisco Fan

San Francisco Fan
Loved a no-good gamblin' man
She drank the coffee dregs
So she could fry his eggs
In a golden frying pan

San Francisco Fan
Gave her life to save her man
A man who wasn't worth
A shovelful of earth
From the grave of San Francisco Fan"

Calvin & Juls (featuring Tobey Nize)

California Diva

This is an electronic dance track that was released in July 2022 with mostly German lyrics. The English translation is from Google translate, so - beschuldigen Sie mich nicht, wenn Sie einen Fehler finden.

Intro:
"Augen funkeln wie das Meer
Wir kommen uns immer näher
Love is in the Air

Hook:
Du ziehst mich in deinen Bann
Hattest mich von Anfang an
Deine Kurven like Latina
Meine California Diva

Deine Blicke machen mich verrückt
Wir genießen jeden Augenblick
Für dich steig ich in jeden Flieger
Meine California Diva

Verse1:
California Girls were unforgettable
Bist wie ein Candyshop den ich vernaschen will
Du lebst den California Dream Ein Blick von dir und Baby alles ist verziehen
Von den Beverly zu den Hollywood Hills Eine Frau mit Stil und du weisst was du willst
Ich halt zu dir wie der Professor zu Raquel Nike Sneaker,
brauchst kein Dior oder Chanel Du bist anders als die andern‘
Sag mir was du willst, wir gehen es sanft an
Männer schauen dir nach, alle Frauen wollen sein wie du Cruisen von Venice Beach bis nach Malibu
Wir erobern uns die ganze Welt Babe sag mir Amex oder Visa Du bist… meine California Diva

Hook 1x

Verse2:
Ah Boom Shaka laka laka
Heisser als Shakira, Waka Waka
Ich zeig dir die ganze Welt wie Aladdin
Meine Prinzessin und keine Drama Queen
Saphir blaue Augen Komm mit in die Suite ich werd‘ dir dein‘ Atem rauben
Bis die Gemälde von der Wand fallen
Während meine Hand sich fest um dein Hals krallt.
Reiten durch die Nacht als wärst du Pocahontas
Jeder läuft dir nach, so wie ein Kompass
Du bist mein Talisman Goldbraunes Haar und eine Haut wie Marzipan
Komm wir leben auf Neverland
Unsere Story will never end
Du machst süchtiger als Fifa
Du bist… meine California Diva"

Hook 1x

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intro:
"Eyes sparkle like the sea
We're getting closer and closer
Love is in the Air

Hook:
You cast a spell over me
Had me from the start
Your curves like Latina
My California diva

Your looks drive me crazy
We enjoy every moment
I get on every plane for you
My California diva

Verse1:
California girls were unforgettable
You're like a candy shop that I want to eat
You're living the California Dream One look from you and baby it's all forgiven
From the Beverly to the Hollywood Hills A woman with style and you know what you want
I stand by you like the professor to Raquel Nike Sneaker,
don't need Dior or Chanel you're different than the others'
Tell me what you want, we'll take it easy
Men look at you, all women want to be like you Cruising from Venice Beach to Malibu
We're conquering the whole world Babe tell me Amex or Visa You're... my California diva

Hook 1x

Verse2:
Ah Boom Shaka laka laka
Hotter than Shakira, Waka Waka
I'll show you the whole world like Aladdin
My princess and not a drama queen
Sapphire blue eyes Come into the suite, I'll take your breath away
Until the paintings fall off the wall
As my hand tightens around your neck.
Ride through the night like you're Pocahontas
Everyone follows you like a compass
You are my talisman golden brown hair and skin like marzipan
Let's live at Neverland
Our story will never end
You're more addicting than Fifa
You are... my California diva"

Hook 1x

Camera Obscura

Desire Lines

Camera Obscura is a Scottish indie pop band, fronted by vocalist Tracyanne Campbell, who also writes all their songs. This song is from the band's fifth album "Desire Lines" releasd in 2013. Ginger Rogers Road is a road in Rancho Mirage in the desert near Palm Springs, right off Bob Hope Drive.

"I went to California
I needed sun, I warned you
When the green of your eyes met my blue by surprise
There was a storm yeah

We could send letters
Beautiful, let us?
I could illustrate for you my day to day
Would that mend us?

Desire Lines sent me to Badlands
But I am on my way back now
I'm going to love you as I know how
I know how

The shade of Jacaranda
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
You mention the name
That fills my lungs with pain, eyes like Panda
I could bottle up this love
Find a stall and serve it up
It won't be the same, my heart's calling your name, love

Desire lines sent me to Badlands
But I am on my way back now
I'm going to love you as I know how
I know how

Desire lines sent me to Badlands
But I am on my way back now
I'm going to love you as I know how
I know how

Desire lines sent me to Badlands
But I am on my way back now
Let me love you as I know how
I know how

Ginger Rogers Road
I was heading home
With an official polling card to vote for you, lad
I vote for you, lad
I vote for you, lad
I vote for you, lad
I vote for you, lad
I vote for you"

Steph Cameron

Country Boy (You Got Your Feet in L.A.)

Steph Cameron is a folk music singer-songwriter originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. This song was released in 2016.

"When you woke up here this morning
And the snow was gently falling soft and slow
And the icicles were forming
And reflecting all the colors of the snow

And the radio was playing that old song from California
And you could see the yellow sunset on the beach
You don't know why it always seems so out of reach so far away
Perhaps some distant sunny day you'll get the nerve to pack your bags and you'll be gone
Oh, you'll be gone
They say that time just ... us a way of moving faster every day
One day you'll wake to find you've barely walked a mile

When you walked out of my doorway you could barely help but let the weather in
And your mind was running circles around the world you'd love to see but never been
But if you're mind is off a wandering, boy, your feet are bound to follow on their own
You don't know why you always feel so all alone so far away
Perhaps today's that distant day you'll get the nerve to pack your bags and you'll be gone
Oh, you'll be gone
They say that time just ... us a way of moving faster every day
One day you'll wake to find you've barely walked a mile

If you end up somewhere quiet maybe find the time to write or send a song
You'll be meeting all those people that you've known inside your own heart all along
And when the radio is playing that old song from California
And you've watched another sunset on the beach
You won't know why it always felt so out of reach so far away
Perhaps some distant sunny day you'll find it's time to pack your bags and you'll come home
Oh, you'll come home

They say that time just ... us a way of moving faster every day
One day you'll wake to find it's time to come back home"

Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell was a country boy from Arkansas who worked for years as a studio musician in L.A., so this song might be somewhat autobiographical, even though he didn't write it. He was a member of the loose group of L.A. studio musicans known as "The Wrecking Crew," playing on records for the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Merle Haggard, Phil Spector, The Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, and many, many more. Then he had a long and successful solo career, winning awards and selling over 45 million records of his own, and he did some acting, also. This song was a hit single from his 1975 album "Rhinestone Cowboy."

""Livin' in the city
Ain't never been my idea of gettin' it on
But the job demands that you make new plans
Before your big chance is gone

You get a house in the hills
You're payin' everyone's bills
And they tell you that you're gonna go far
But in the back of my mind
I hear it time after time
"Is that who you really are?"

Country boy, you got your feet in L.A.
But your mind's on Tennessee
Lookin' back, I can remember the time
When I sang my songs for free

Country boy, you got your feet in L.A.
Take a look at everything you own
But now and then, my heart keeps goin' home

Talkin' on the telephone
Settin' up another day of people to meet
You've gotta do what's right
You've gotta spend the night
Stayin' in touch with the street

When you're surrounded by friends
They say the fun never ends
But I guess I'll never figure it out
'Cause in the back of my mind
I hear it time after time
"Is this what it's all about?"

Country boy, you got your feet in L.A.
But your mind's on Tennessee
Lookin' back, I can remember the time
When I sang my songs for free

Country boy, you got your feet in L.A.
Take a look at everything you own
But now and then, my heart keeps goin' home....""

Camper Van Beethoven

Cowboys From Hollywood

Camper Van Beethoven is a band formed in Redlands in 1983 before relocating to Santa Cruz and San Francisco. This song is from their 1985 album "Telephone Free Landslide Victory." The lyrics are simple, just one line repeated a dozen times, in true quirky CVB fashion:

"Aren't y'all cowboys from Hollywood?
"Aren't y'all cowboys from Hollywood?
"Aren't y'all cowboys from Hollywood?...." etc.

Camper Van Beethoven

Dockweiler Beach

From "El Camino Real" released in 2014 - a Southern-California-themed album that's a companion to their Northern-California-themed album "La Costa Perdida" released in 2013.

"I am waiting in the water
I am waiting at El Segundo
I am waiting for that rogue wave
I am waiting for your body

I saw you go into the water
I saw Neptune's trident shine
Took you by the hand my darlin'
Took you in the uh-undertow

I will wait ten thousand years
I will wait ten thousand years
Eternity
Ten thousand years
Montgomery-o

I am living in a trailer
Dockweiler Beach at LAX
Planes take off for To-Tokyo
They are never c-coming back

Oceans filled with suh-submariners
Dark secrets and c-c-chemicals
Night time lit by g-g-g-gas flares
Bring my baby's body back

I will wait ten thousand years
I will wait ten thousand years
Eternity
Ten thousand years
Montgomery-o"

Camper Van Beethoven

I Live in L.A.

From "El Camino Real" released in 2014 - a Southern-California-themed album that's a companion to their Northern-California-themed album "La Costa Perdida" released in 2013.

"She comes in like a star, wearing jewellery and fur
With her own entourage, hanger-onners in clogs
From some small town in Spain, it's never explained.

Sufficiently
Or the security

I live in L. A.
Come and see me someday.
You can stay at my house.
I've got plenty of space.
I live in L. A.
Come and see me someday boy
If you wanna have a good time
A good time with me.

Black SUVs in the drive, tinted windows and guards
Cowboy boots and shaved heads, Italian suits, tattood necks
The party rages inside, but its never explained
La Frontera plates
Oh boy I hope it's not too late."

Camper Van Beethoven

Northern California Girls

Another song about California Girls, from "La Costa Perdida" released in 2013 - a Northern-California-themed album that's a companion to their Southern-California-themed album "El Camino Real" released in 2014.

' Northern California girls say, "Baby come home now"
You don't belong there
Everybody knows this but you
Don't you miss the ocean?
Don't you miss the weather?
Don't you miss me just a little bit?
Northern California girls say, "Come home from Texas"
You could take a fast train
Baby take the next plane
You'd be home by suppertime
There ain't nobody like me
Ain't nobody like me out there
Northern California girls say, "You don't know what you're missing"
I got a good job, stay home and play the guitar
You can raise the children barefoot on the beaches
Teach 'em how to surf and play baseball
Northern California girls say, "Come home from Brooklyn!"
You could take a fast train
Baby take the next plane
You'd be home by suppertime
There ain't nobody like me
Ain't nobody like me out there
Northern California girls say, "Everything happens for a reason"
You did what you had to do
Now it's time for you to come home
Northern California girls
Northern California girls
Northern California girls
Northern California girls '

Camper Van Beethoven

City of Industry

An outtake from "El Camino Real" released in 2014, a Southern-California-themed album that's a companion to their Northern-California-themed album "La Costa Perdida" released in 2013.

"So bring a basket for the lions
Of City of Industry
Don't mind the benzene, the double helix
Don't drink the water from my tap

You know the ZIP code, it's got a good one
90601
You love your husband, but you like danger
That's why you're hanging out with me

I'm growing palm trees in wooden barrels
In City of Industry
I've got a contact, a State employee
He's got big gambling debts

I have these wise guys, we meet at Denny's
That's why you can't keep yourself away
You love your husband, yeah I'm a fella
That's why you can't keep yourself away

You love your husband, but you like danger
That's why you're hanging out with me
Meet me at Denny's, we'll plan a heist there
City of Industry

We got a bad man, we got a rock god
We got a man on the inside too
Don't mind the benzene, the double helix
Don't drink the water from the tap."

Victoria Canal

California Sober

Victoria Canal (Tinius) is a Spanish-American singer-songwriter-actor who has lived and studied around the world. This song was released in 2024.

"You're coming over
California sober
Counting down the minutes
Like the meter's running over
But it's all kosher
You know I'm a stoner
You can bring the vibe
Maybe I can bring the closure

Write your name on my skin
Hotel walls are paper thin
Rip my dress, wipe your chin
Holding my breath as you're pulling me

Savor it, bathe in it
For as long as you can take it, baby
Beg for it, lay in it
So close that you can taste it
Be my guest
Be my guest
Hmm

Sit pretty
Put your faith in me
I can be your muse
Our Olympus in the city
Need that higher power
Worship in the shower
Bedroom in the clouds
And it's only getting louder

Kiss my neck, bite my lip
Holding my tongue but you're letting it slip
Dripping wet, on your knees
Like you should, baby, praise me

Savor it, bathe in it
For as long as you can take it, baby
Beg for it, lay in it
So close that you can taste it
Be my guest
Be my guest
Be my guest
Be my guest...."

Cannibal Valley

California Wildfire

Cannibal Valley is a band from Los Angeles. This was released in 2023. The vocals are buried in the mix so most of the lyrics are hard to understand but the ending is clear:

"...California wildfire burn me away
Burn me away
Burn me away
Burn me away
Burn me away
California wildfire
California wildfire
California wildfire
California wildfire"

Freddy Cannon

California, Here I Come

Freddy Cannon is a rock and roll singer active since 1956. This is a rock and roll cover of the 1924 Al Jolson song, from Cannon's album "The Explosive Freddy Cannon" released in 1960. He skips the first verse and sings the chorus two times.

"California, here I come
Right back where I started from
Where bowers of flowers
Bloom in the sun
Each morning at dawning
Birdies sing at everything
A sun-kissed miss said, 'Don't be late!'
'Cuz that's why I can hardly wait
So open up that Golden Gate
California, Here I Come (yeaaaaaah! wooo!)"

Lewis Capaldi

Wish You the Best

Lewis Capaldi is a singer-songwriter from Scotland, active since 2013. This piano ballad only has a single mention of L.A., but it's a hit that went to #1 on the Official Charts in the UK, so it's worth mentioning. It's from his hit album "Broken by Desire to Be Heavely Sent" released in 2022.

"I miss knowin' what you're thinkin'
And hearin' how your day has been
Do you think you can tell me everything, darling?
But leave out every part about him
Right now you're probably by the ocean
While I'm still out here in the rain
With every day that passes by since we've spoken
It's like Glasgow gets further from L.A.

Maybe it's supposed to be this way

But, oh, my love
I wanna say I miss the green in your eyes
And when I said we could be friends, guess I lied
I wanna say I wish that you never left
Oh, but instead I only wish you the best
I wanna say without you, everything's wrong
And you were everything I need all along
I wanna say I wish that you never left
Oh, but instead I only wish you the best

Well, I can't help but notice
You seem happier than ever now
And I guess that I should tell you I'm sorry
It seems I was the problem somehow

Maybe I only brought you down
But, oh, my love
I wanna say I miss the green in your eyes
And when I said we could be friends, guess I lied
I wanna say I wish that you never left
Oh, but instead I only wish you the best...."

The Capricorns

Sunset Over Malibu

The Capricorns were an indie electronica band consisting of two women from Illinois who sing and played keyboards and tambourine, active from 2000-2006. This is from their second studio album "Go the Distance" released in 2003.

"Tonight on highway 1 I saw the sunset over Malibu
I see the sky, the stars, the lights, and I always think of you
I never drink enough when you're around to tell you how I feel
I can hardly say a word, it's like a dream it's so unreal

Feel my heart jump when you come around
I gotta tell you, you turn my world upside down
You make it too easy for me to pretend
That this won't eventually come to an end

The more I see of you the less I understand
The things I want, the things I need, and if you can
Give me some sign you are thinking of me too
Just takes one kiss to make all my dreams come true

Feel my heart jump when you come around
I gotta tell you you turn my world upside down
You make it too easy for me to pretend
That this won't eventually come to an end

It's Friday night and I'm sitting at home
Waiting for you to call me on the telephone
I can't believe I'm falling for you
And it's no good if you don't tell me the truth

I can hardly stand the way I hold my breath
I hope it's not too late

It's getting harder to keep things at bay
I'm so consumed I haven't been home in days
And I'm concerned that it's driving me mad
To get so close to something I can never have

Tonight on highway 1 I saw the sunset over Malibu
I see the sky, the stars, the lights, and I always think of you
I never drink enough when you're around to tell you how I feel
I can hardly say a word, it's like a dream, it's so unreal"

Mariah Carey (featuring Ol' Dirty Bastard)

Fantsy (Bad Boy Remix)

Mariah Carey is a singer, songwriter, producer and actress from New York active since 1988, and one of the best-selling music artists in the world. She holds the record for the most Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles by a solo artist and only The Beatles have more. The original version of this song, released in 1995, is one of those #1 songs. Ol'Dirty Bastard was a rapper from New York, and one of the founding members of the Wu-Tang Clan, active from 1992-2004.

This remix adds rap verses from Ol' Dirty Bastard and background vocals by Puff Daddy and Kelly Price. It was notable for helping Carey to cross over into the hip-hop market, as well as for helping to introduce R&B and hip-hop collaboration into pop.

The song is so heavily based on samples of Tom Tom Club's 1981 song Genius of Love that its really an interpolation of the song and not an original. When it was released in 1995, some of us Tom Tom Club fans were outraged that Carey could sing over their song and have a massive hit when they only had a minor hit. But that was in the early days of the sampling wars. Sampling is much more common now and these days the original artists are well-compensated and they often get a boost in sales of their version, so everybody wins and the wheels of the music industry keep on turning and taking our money. This is not really a California song, but ODB name checks Sacramento and the West Coast in his first verse, so here it is.

"[Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Keepin' it real, son (That's right)
The shining star, you're my shining star, girl
Yo, New York in the house (Come on)
Is Brooklyn in the house (That's right)
Uptown in the house (Let's go)
Shaolin, are you in the house? (Don't stop)
Boogie Down, are you in the house? (Yeah)
Sacramento in the house (I like that)
Atlanta Georgia, are you in the house? (Come on)
West Coast, are you in the house?
Japan, are you in the house?
Everybody, are you in the house?
Baby, baby, come on
Baby, come on, baby, come on (Bad Boy)

[Mariah Carey]
Oh, when you walk by every night
Talkin' sweet and lookin' fine
I get kinda hectic inside
Mmm, baby, I'm so into you
Darlin', if you only knew
All the things that flow through my mind

[Mariah Carey]
But it's such a sweet sweet, I'm in heaven
With my boyfriend, my laughing boyfriend
There's no beginning and there is no end (So deep, so deep)
Feels like I'm dreaming, but I'm not sleeping (Fantasy) (Remix)
Sweet fantasy (So sweet)
(In my fantasy) Sweet fantasy
Sweet, sweet fantasy

Images of rapture
Creep into me slowly
As you're goin' to my head (I like that)
And my heart beats faster
When you take me over
Time and time and time again

But it's such a sweet sweet, I'm in heaven
With my boyfriend, my laughing boyfriend
There's no beginning and there is no end (So deep, so deep)
Feels like I'm dreaming, but I'm not sleeping (Sweet fantasy) (Remix)
Sweet fantasy
Sweet fantasy
Oh-oh, it's just a sweet
I'm in heaven
With my boyfriend, my laughing boyfriend
There's no beginning and there is no end
(So deep, babe, you're so sweet)
Feels like I'm dreaming, but I'm not sleeping (Fantasy)

[Ol' Dirty Bastard]
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introducing the Old, Dirty, Doggy
Here we go now
Me and Mariah
Go back like babies with pacifiers (That's right)
Old Dirt Dog's no liar
Keep your fantasy hot like fire
Jump, jump, let me see you do the stump
Girls, let me see you shake your rump
Brothers, hit it from the back and front
And let's do it, do it, do it, uh-huh
I'm a little bit of Country
I'm a little bit of Rock and Roll
And I'm soul to soul
Big letters, all big and bold
Old Dirty Bastard across the globe

[Mariah Carey]
I'm in heaven
With my boyfriend, my laughing boyfriend
There's no beginning and there is no end (Sweet fantasy)
Feels like I'm dreaming, but I'm not sleeping...."

Charlotte Cardin

Charlotte Cardin is a model and singer from Montreal, Canada, active since 2013. This is a non-album single released in 2018.

"Miss you every day and L.A. makes me cry
An ocean made its way from your coast to my eyes
You've been hired by them on a brighter side and
Miss you every day, L.A. got me so sad
I wanna kiss your face, tonight it drives me mad
I was separating us, it's never ending 'cause

Dancing in a light
But you're standing
Oh, you're standing
And it burns out when you're high
But you're standing where I'm not
Oh, where I'm not
In California
In California
In California
In California

I miss your skin and your sun in my eyes
When we pole dancing in bed at night
I can't resist you, no, I miss you
I can't resist you
When I see your dark gaze on the shore
No, I can't work any more
'Cause I got a feeling that we're breathing
Together and even

Dancing in a light
But you're standing
Oh, you're standing
And it burns out when you're high
But you're standing where I'm not
Oh, where I'm not
In California
In California
In California
In California

You feel me melting in your hands
My body you held it in the sand
Last night, last night
I'm hot and I'm cold and I'm dry and I'm bleeding
Holding my thoughts and my cries and I'm needing
My, my guy

We're dancing in a light
But you're standing
Oh, you're standing
It burns out when you're high
But you're standing where I'm not
Where I'm not
In California
In California
In California
In California"

Belinda Carlisle

Belinda Carlisle is a musician and singer from Los Angeles who gained fame as the lead singer of the Go-Go's before finding success as a solo artist. This is from her album "A Woman & A Man" released in 1996. (River Phoenix died in October 1993. The Northridge quake happened in January 1994.)
I don't know of other songs that mention River Phoenix, but here's a list of songs that mention California Earthquakes.

"I remember I was In the tanning salon
When I heard that River Phoenix was gone
They say that only the good die young
But that ain't true where I come from
California...California

It took a lot for me to say
I want to walk away, L.A.
From the sharks and the Chardonnay
In California...California

Four in the morning we were in our beds
The swaying palm trees above our heads
Woke up to a primal rumbling sound
When the Northridge quake ripped open the
ground
California...California

It took a lot for me to say
I want to walk away L.A.
from the sharks and the Chardonnay
In California... In California

Golden State, I'm back in the Golden State
Golden State of Mind
Golden State, I'm back In the Golden State
Golden State of Mind

It took a lot for me to say
I want to walk away L.A.
From the sharks and the Chardonnay
In California... In California
Walk, walk away

I remember I was in the tanning salon
When I heard that River Phoenix was gone..."

Belinda Carlisle

Summer Rain

This song is from her album "Runaway Horses" released in 1990. It's another song that mentions southern California's Santa Ana winds.

"Whispering our goodbyes
Waiting for a train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain
I can hear him saying
Nothing will change
Come dancing with me baby
In the summer rain

I remember the rain on our skin
And his kisses hotter than the
Santa Ana winds
Whispering our goodbyes
Waiting for a train
I was dancing with my baby
In the summer rain

I remember laughing 'til we almost cried
(There at station that night)
I remember looking in his eyes

Oh my love, it's you and that I dream of
Oh my love, since that day
Somewhere in my heart I'm always
Dancing with you in the summer rain...."

Vanessa Carlton

Dear California

Vanessa Carlton is an American singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania whose 2002 debut single "A Thousand Miles" was a huge Grammy-nominated hit. This song is from her 2011 album "Rabbits on the Run." The singer of this one is planning on leaving California. Maybe to make room for all the other people who write songs about going there.

"As usual, I'm in a tricky predicament
Weather in my thoughts, on the roof sneaking a cigarette
Dear California, it's been nice to know ya
Tell me, will you miss me when I'm gone?

'Cause he loves me as I leave, so I'm gonna go
And I'm not in companies when you feel it most
And you keep my memory, hope ya keep me close
Would you love me as I leave?

This alchemy is making me suspicious
As if I slipped you some belladonna
That I crossed town to get, don't you know?
Yes, my grand friend checks it

Oh he loves me as I leave, so I'm gonna go
And I'm not in companies when you feel it the most
And you keep my memory, hope ya keep me close
Would you love me as I leave?

Ever-changing as the sea, it's my only hope
It's just me and my pup in the open road
But your face is like a paper-cut to the heart
Slip away while you sleep

It's easy, it's easier
Than it seems
It's easy, it's easier
Than it seems

Just go, I'll go, don't cry
I don't know, I don't know, but you fly
(Hey!)
Paper-cut to the heart

Oh he loves me as I leave, so I'm gonna go
And I'm not in companies when you feel it most
And you keep my memory, hope ya keep me close
Would you love me as I leave?

Ever-changing as the sea
Would you love me as I leave?
Dear California
Would you love me as I leave?
Dear California
Would you love me as I leave?
Dear California
Would you love me as I leave?
Dear California"

Vanessa Carlton

San Francisco

This song is from Carlson's 2004 album "Harmonium."

"I, I know what you did
Like a boy of summer gives his first kiss
Love, is dancing on my finger
He got to the heart of the matter and lingered
Now I'm walking with the living
I always liked Steinbeck and those old men whistling

We're back, we're back in San Francisco
We're back and you tell me I'm home

Talking in the Mission
Over coffee this is my utopia
Man, I'll be your lady
As the ocean rises, the sun is fading

We're back, we're back in San Francisco
We're back, we're back in San Francisco
We're back, we're back in San Francisco

And now I feel the ever after
Over red wine on the eve of summer
The buzz, the buzz of the city
As we settle in it's majesty
I, I know what you did
Like a boy of summer gives his first kiss

We're back, we're back in San Francisco
We're back and you tell me I'm home

You tell me I am home
You tell me I am home
You tell me I am home
Back in San Francisco

And I know what you did in San Francisco
I know what you did in San Francisco
San Francisco"

Hoagy Carmichael

Hong Kong Blues

Hoagy Carmichael was a musician and songwriter and actor from Indiana, active from 1918-1981, who wrote or co-wrote some of the biggest hits of his era, including "Stardust," "Georgia on My Mind", "Heart and Soul," and "The Nearness of You."

Carmichael sings this song in the classic Howard Hawks film "To Have and Have Not" with Humphry Bogart and 19-year-old Lauren Bacall in her first film. I don't understand why the opium addict says he lives in Frisco if he lives in Tennessee, or why they send rice there (Rice-a-Roni?), but it's just a song.

"It's the story of a very unfortunate colored man
Who got arrested down in old Hong Kong
He got twenty years privilege taken away from him
When he kicked old Buddha's gong

And now he's poppin' the piano just to raise the price
Of a ticket to the land of the free
Well, he says his home's in Frisco where they send the rice
But it's really in Tennessee

That's why he said, 'I need someone to love me
I need somebody to carry me home to San Francisco
And bury my body there
I need someone to lend me a fifty dollar bill and then
I'll leave Hong Kong behind me for happiness once again'

Won't somebody believe
I've a yen to see that Bay again
Every time I try to leave
Sweet opium won't let me fly away"

Carne Cruda

Oakland's Tight

Wickipedia calls Carne Cruda a "post-Latin band" based in Oakland, formed from a band assembled in Santa Cruz that re-located to Oakland in 2004. This song is from their album "Carne Cruda" released in 2010. It won Oakland Magazine's "Best Oakland Theme Song" in 2010. (I wonder how many other Oakland-themed songs were released that year.) It's a nostalgic look at the old days in Oakland, before the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, before the Warriors moved to San Francisco, and before the A's made plans to move to Las Vegas. East 14th Street was changed to International Blvd. and Oakland native M.C. Hammer also left town, but at least they've still got the Oakland rapper Too $hort. They even named a part of Foothill Blvd. "Too $hort Way." One more thing, I've never heard San Francisco called "San Pancho" but it makes sense, since "Pancho" is a nickname for "Francisco." That's what I'm calling the city from now on, even if it doesn't rhyme with "disco."

"I was born in San Francisco, down on Portrero
San Pancho's a great city, cosmopolitan and gritty
But right across the bay today is where I stay
Not Berkeley, not Fremont, Alameda or Piedmont
I got to tell you all about it because it feels alright

Oakland's tight
You got a lake to walk around
Jack London Square
Chinatown where you can eat late at night
Oakland's tight
The food you can't beat all up and down East 14th Street
And you can talk bad about it but it'd be despite the fact that
Oakland's tight
How's that?
Hell a tight
Oakland's hella tight

I've travelled across the nation, across the oceans and creation
But the place I understand is my home Oakland
Every place I go when the people wanna know
About where I come from, I grab my guitar and I start to strum
Sing 'em all about it 'cause it feels alright

Oakland's tight
... the Raiders, a bustling port, M.C. Hammer, and Too $hort
Half a million people must be right in singing
Oakland's tight
And if you don't know the whole story
We even got an observatory where you can look up at the stars and sing
Sing it with me now
Oakland's tight
How tight?
Hella tight
Oh yeah
Hella tight, yeah

Oakland's hella tight
You know I'm right
Don't try to fight
Oakland's tight
Oakland's here for you, and by the way, we've got a zoo
We got prices so sweet, down at the swap meet
Oakland's tight
Come in and enjoy some of our beautiful days
Did I mention that we've got the A's?
Home to the Raiders, a bustling port, M.C. Hammer, and Too $hort
Oakland's hella tight, you know I'm right, you know I'm right
Oakland's tight"

Carolina Liar

California Bound

Carolina Liar is an indie rock band from L.A. but the lead vocalist is originally from South Carolina, and other band members are from Sweden. This song is from the album "Coming to Terms" released in 2008. The singer can't wait to get back from a dirty town in the north to that California sun that everyone is always singing about, but he's coming by train and not by car. Good luck getting around in California without a car...

"You're miles away
You just can't relate
Are you what surrounds you?

You feel alive
At least you think that life
Is something in you
What do we know?

There's a southern bound train tomorrow
Takes us out of this dirty town
Chase the sun back to the west coast
In eight hours we're California bound
We're California bound
… … … …

Forget everything tomorrow
We'll be on a brand new road
Chasing the sun back to the west coast
In eight hours we're California bound
We're California bound
We're California bound"

Sabrina Carpenter

Coincidence

Sabrina Carpenter is a pop singer-songwriter and actress from Pennsylvania, active since 2011 when she was 12. This upbreat song is from her sixth studio album "Short n' Sweet" released in 2024.

"The second I put my head on your chest
She knew, she's got a real sixth sense
Now her name comes up once, then it comes up twice
And without her even bein' here, she's back in your life
Now she's in the same damn city on the same damn night

And you've lost all your common sense
What a coincidence

Oh, na-na, na-na-na-na
Oh, na-na, na-na-na-na

Last week, you didn't have any doubts
This week, you're holdin' space for her tongue in your mouth
Now sh?'s sendin' you some pictures w?arin' less and less
Tryna turn the past into the present tense, huh
Suckin' up to all of your mutual friends

And you've lost all your common sense (You've lost all your common sense)
The way you told me the truth, minus seven percent (Minus seven percent)
What a coincidence, uh

Oh, na-na, na-na-na-na
Oh, na-na, na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na

What a surprise, your phone just died
Your car drove itself from L.A. to her thighs
Palm Springs looks nice, but who's by your side?
Damn it, she looks kinda like the girl you outgrew
Least that's what you said (That's what you said)

What a coincidence
Oh wow, you just broke up again
What a coincidence

Oh, na-na, na-na-na-na (Coincidence)
Oh, na-na, na-na-na-na (Coincidence)
Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na (Coincidence)
Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na (Coincidence)"

Car Seat Headrest

Car Seat Headrest is an indie rock band formed in Virginia. This song is from the 2020 album "Making a Door Less Open." As happens often in songs about Hollywood, this song doesn't refer to the district in Los Angeles as much as what the word Hollywood has come to represent, which songwriter Will Toledo said in NME is "...a place where people go to make their fantasies come to life, and they end up exploiting other people and doing terrible things to maintain their fantasy." It's a cliche that could be boring but the music makes it worth listening to again.

"I'm sick of violence
Sick of money
Sick of drinking
Sick of drugs
Sick of f**king
Sick of staring at the ads on the bus

Hollywood makes me wanna puke
Hollywood makes me want to -

You got a face that you think
Will last as long as the sphinx
But the poster's painted over in a week if it stinks
So let the people decide
On a metro ride
Because everyone's an artist but
No one has the time, yeah

Everywhere I go, I'm oppressed by these energies
Like it? Yes, I love it
I hear music in my head
Was that a gun?
(He was snapping his gum)
Are my earbuds on the fritz?
There's a hiss on the bus
And it goes round

Hollywood makes me wanna puke
Hollywood makes me wanna puke
Hollywood
Hollywood
Hollywood
Hollywood

Faces form faces
Phrases come in phases
Take me to the palace
Make me think I'm famous
Okay
Hop inside (Come see my movie)
Hop inside (Come see my movie)
Hop inside (Come see my movie)
(Catch a ride) It's kinda groovy

You can't disengage with one single aspect
Watching from the sidelines
Supervising lines
Why don't you take what you can get?
No disruptions on the set
You're gonna wind up back home
Where the fear splits in two like Moses

Into Mansons and Monroeses
Logic and hypnosis
Good and evil
Only people
They don't talk about the
12-year-olds on pills waking up in beds of big producers
I can make you famous
I can make you something...."

Julian Casablancas

Old Hollywood

Julian Casablancas is a singer-songwriter from New York City, active since 1998, and best known as the lead singer for The Strokes. This song is a bonus track download from his solo album "Phrazes for the Young" released in 2009. Seems like something he wrote after watching a lot of TCM.

"In old Hollywood, proud and gray
All of the ghosts gathered 'round the TV

We can argue all that you like
We can argue until we fight
But the loser may have been right

Glamorous, black and white
Zoning out, most the night

Why do we end up imitating
All the ones that we once were hating?
Men are clumsy, violent fools
Women are a delicate pool of flowers and cobras

Short story long
I put it in a song
As the TV was shouting on

Because being quiet can sometimes
Be more powerful than being right
You could try it

We can argue all that you like
We can argue until we fight
But the loser may have been right"

Rafael Casal & Daveed Diggs (featuring Chinaka Hodge)

Foxy Girls (Candy Store)

Rafael Casal is a musician and actor from Berkeley and Daveed Diggs is a rapper/actor/songwriter from Oakland who won awards for his work in the Broadway production of "Hamilton." Chinaka Hodge is a writer from Oakland. Casal and Diggs are both filmmakers also, and I recommend their 2018 film "Blindspotting" which they wrote and produced and starred in. It's mostly about the gentrification of Oakland, cultural appropriation, loss of identity, and the struggles of a man who witnesses a white police officer gun down a black man.

This hyphy/hip-hop track from the Bay Boy Mixtape, released in 2010, samples Rodger Collins' song "Foxy Little Girls in Oakland" from 1970.

"The Bay
The Bay
The Bay
Candy store
The Bay
Candy store

[Rafael Casal]
There they go
Done up from head to toe
She’s so incredibly town
Guess that’s just how they roll
So I figured I’d say hi
She waved at me “hello”
Just checking if she’s sweet
See, Oakland’s the candy store

[Daveed Diggs]
Maybe I didn’t appreciate you till I left

[Rafael Casal]
But I’m back and I promise you the town got the best

[Daveed Diggs]
Rocking naturals, infallible, impeccably dressed

[Rafael Casal]
Lips smashing, toes going with the tips of your dreads

[Daveed Diggs]
Shake ‘em, pretty little Bay baby
Say, yuh, if I may play you this song would you come into my scrap

[Rafael Casal]
From the Lake to E14 we bending corners
Every day I fall in love when I’m in Oakland, California

[Daveed Diggs]
Oh, Ghost Town girls gon' give me the holy ghost
Ride my (uh) let me get you alone
I’m’a spit it for you, lick it, it be sweeter than the berry
Can I get them panties off by the time we hit Seminary

[Rafael Casal]
Say oh yeah, they’re everywhere I see
So when I was grammy afternoons and yelling “Mami, ven aquí”
So Oaklandish full of Spanish
She all hips and town bidness, I'm tryna get out this young

[Chorus]
Foxy little girls in Oakland
Something like I’ve never never seen before
Candy store
Foxy little girls in Oakland
Something like I’ve never ever seen before
Candy store
Candy store
Foxy little girls in Oakland (where they at)
Foxy little girls in Oakland (I wanna see em baby)
Foxy little girls in Oakland (where you goin’, girl)
Foxy little girls (what’s yo name)

I've gots sweets and
You call home
Come on home to my
Candy store

[Rafael Casal]
There they go
Done up from head to toe
She’s so incredibly town
Guess that’s just how they roll
So I figured I’d say hi
She waved at me “hello”
Just checking if she’s sweet
See, Oakland’s the candy store

[Chinaka Hodge]
First things first, raise a toast to my city
Where the girls go dumb, and the pimps get pretty
Where the metro phone’s got my ringtone playing
It’s a Getback tune but the call is delayed
No problem, I got it
Hi Oakland, it’s 'Naka
Go back to my block where the girls all grown
Packed full of hair in they rat tail combs
Ratchin a scrap of a Mac Dre tome
Slabs full of concrete, pop, call home
So stick with it, get lifted
Throw your weave back like you all mixed it
F**k what you heard about an L.A. beauty
Oakland face, East Bay booty
Get y’all rakes in the gate of the dancer
My kitty go hard, it’s the shape of a panther...."

The Casanovas

Thrice All American (Tacoma)

The Casanovas are a rock band from Melbourne Australia, active since 1999. This song is from their album "All Night Long" released in 2006.

"I'm packing up my suitcase
I'm gonna hit that road
And I don't mind if I never see this place again
I'm going where the sun shines
Almost every day
And I don't know if I'm ever gonna go back home
'Cause I'm so tired of being stuck in this old hotel
Where I'm going nobody knows my name

Far away
In sunny California
Far away
In sunny California

I'm sick of all this bitchin'
I feel like I can't move
And I don't care if I never hear another word
Where I'm going nobody cares about what you've done
On that mountain the snow slowly melts away

Far away
In sunny California
Far away, yeah yeah, yeah,
In sunny California

Far away
In sunny California
Far away, yeah yeah, yeah,
In sunny California

Far away
In sunny California
Far away, yeah
In sunny California"

The Casanovas

Hollywood Riot

The Casanovas are a rock band from Melbourne Australia active since 1999. This song is from "Reptilian Overlord" released in 2020. Are there really still cheap hotels in Hollywood?

"The glitz and the glamour is ready to take for you
But you feel so scared like you ain't ever gonna break it through
Working harder to please for the coke and the sleaze everywhere
Till they're chewing you up, and leave you back on the streets oh yeah.

It's a burning in the night
Burning in the night
Burning in the night
Burning in a nightmare
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
(oh baby don't buy it)

Now you're just a zombie in a glamorous town,
Hollywood riot's gonna bring you down

They tell you you're great with a smile when they talk to you
But they're stabbing your back when you're not around, you know it's true
Disillusion sets in with the lies and the sin everywhere
Now you're lost in a haze on the floor of a cheap hotel

It's a burning in the night
Burning in the night
Burning in the night
Burning like a nightmare
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot
Hollywood riot

Now you're just a zombie in a glamorous town,
Hollywood riot's gonna bring you down...."

Cascada

San Francisco

Cascada is a German dance music group formed in 2004. This is a EuroDance song from their 2011 album "Original Me" that has been criticized as being similar to Katy Perry's "California Gurls." I don't know why the singer wants to go back to 1969. 1967 was The Summer Of Love. That's the year I would set my time machine for, if I was her.

"I'll take you back to 1969
Let's hit the city of freedom, like old times
It's getting dirty
Underneath the blue sky

Imagine you and me count the butterflies

One, two, three
Let's bring it on
Keep on dancing in the streets of love
French kissing on JFK Drive
Till we crash at the beach
Where we watch the sun rise

Tell me what you waiting for

We're crossing the Golden Gate
Party at the Frisco Bay

Wake me up in San Francisco

We knew the power is in your head, girl
Party everywhere, girl

Wake me up in San Francisco

Where the love is in the air
All the people stop and stare
Baby take me back to the city of love
To the place that I've been dreaming of

San Francisco

Wake me up in San Francisco

It's 10 pm
Getting ready for the night
Wanna be a hippie when the city's getting high
I'm cruising down Broadway, you on my side
Pulling over my pink rover at the Hungry Eye

One, two, three
Let's bring it on
DJ play my favorite beats
All night long
Poppin' some bottles, champagne, red wine
And we both giddy up on the rooftop
And watch the city lights

Tell me what you waiting for

We're crossing the Golden Gate
Party at the Frisco Bay

Wake me up in San Francisco..."

Neko Case

In California

Neko Case is a singer-songwriter from Tacoma, Washington, active since 1994. The narrator of this song dreams of snow now that she's living in sunny L.A. where she feels like just another victim of the same show business machine that murdered the Black Dahlia. This song is also included on her album "Live from Austin TX" released in 2017. She recorded it earlier, but I can't find out when that was.

"In California I dream of snow
And all the places we used to go
With the night falling down
With the night falling down
Now I'm living in Korea Town
Waking to the sound of car alarms

I remember your face when I showed you the ticket
Said you were happy for me, your heart wasn't in it
Just a phone call away
Now there's nothing to say
As the days roll by, disconnected

In the land where the sun is always shining on
Crying alone, palm tress are laughing at me
Another fool playing songs that don't matter
For people who chatter endlessly

Another suicide on the 405
The Black Dahlia she smiles and smiles
It's the same old town that bled her dry
One more starlet, one more time
Bound to make it do or die
Talk a walk to Bonnie Brae
Try to wash these dreams away
They try to tell me L.A is beautiful when it rains"

Neko Case & Her Boyfriends

This song from the album "Furnace Room Lullaby" released in 2000 is about Neko Case's home town of Tacoma Washington, which had seen hard times. She gets in a dig at California singing "God bless California, make way for the Walmart. I hope they don't find you Tacoma." I'm sorry to report to her that they did find it. Walmart opened a store in Tacoma in 2013.

"I want to tell you about my hometown
It's a dusty old jewel in the South Puget Sound
Well the factories churn and the timbers all cut down
And life goes by slow in Tacoma

People they laugh when they hear you're from my town
They say it's a sour and used up all place
I defended its honor, shrugged off the put downs
You know that you're poor, from Tacoma

Buildings are empty like ghettos or ghost-towns
It gives me a chill to think what was inside
I can't seem to fathom the dark of my history
I invented my own in Tacoma

There was nothing to put me in love with the good life
I'm in league with the the gangs guns, and the crime
There was no hollow promise that life would reward you
There was nowhere to hide in Tacoma

People who built it they loved it like I do
There was hope in the trainyard of something inspired
Once was I on it, but it's been painted shut
I found passion for life in Tacoma

Well I don't make it home much, I sadly neglect you
But that's how you like it away from the world
God bless California, make way for the Walmart
I hope they don't find you Tacoma"

case/lang/veirs

Best Kept Secret

Case/lang/veirs are Neko Case, a singer-songwriter from Tacoma, Washington, active since 1994, k.d. lang, a singer-songwriter from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, active since 1981, and Laura Veirs, a sijnger-songwriter from Colorado based in Portland, Oregon, active since 1999. This song is from their album "case/lang/veirs" released in 2016.

"December, I was lost in darkness that I couldn't shake
Called you in California and you answered right away
You answered right away
You picked up right away

You were workin' at the table that your father made
You were gonna teach guitar to half the kids across L.A.
All across L.A.
Half the kids across L.A.

You're the best-kept secret in Silver Lake

I talked about my misery, you called it pain of pain
How we let it pile on until we go insane
'Til we go insane
Until we go insane

You're the best-kept secret in Silver Lake

Oh, you can sing and you can really play
(Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da)
You're the real thing
Your heart's in the right place

(Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da)

When we hung up, I was lifted, turned my head up to the rain
Shortest day of winter, but the light found me again
Found me again
The light came rollin' in

Yeah, you're the best-kept secret in Silver Lake

Oh, you can sing and you can really play
(Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da)
You're the real thing
Your heart's in the right place
You're the best-kept secret in Silver Lake
(Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da)
You're the best-kept secret in Silver Lake
(Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da)
You're the best-kept secret in Silver Lake
You're the best-kept secret in Silver Lake

(Ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da, ba-da-da)"

Johnny Cash

Folsom Prison Blues

Johnny Cash was a country music artist from Arkansas active from 1954-2003 and one of the best-selling music artists of all time. This became a signature song for him that often started his shows. The song became a huge hit and Cash later made a classic country album recorded live at the prison.

Folsom State Prison is near Sacramento. Cash said he wrote this 1955 song after watching a movie about the prison when he was in the Air Force in Germany, but he used the melody and many of the lyrics from the 1953 song "Crescent City Blues" written by Gordon Jenkins. Jenkins sued and Cash paid him a settlement in 1968. Some say that Sam Phillips of Son Records is the one who refused to credit Jenkins. Cash's song is much better, but this is just another ugly example of powerful people stealing l from the less powerful.

"I hear the train a comin'
It's rolling round the bend
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when
I'm stuck in Folsom Prison, and time keeps draggin' on
But that train keeps a rollin' on down to San Antone

When I was just a baby my mama told me. Son
Always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry

I bet there's rich folks eating in a fancy dining car
They're probably drinkin' coffee and smoking big cigars
Well I know I had it coming, I know I can't be free
But those people keep a movin'
And that's what tortures me

Well if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I'd move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom Prison, that's where I want to stay
And I'd let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away"

Johnny Cash

Friends in California

This song was written by Waylon Jennings, and released in 2012, but it looks like Cash released it first on his album "American Outtakes" released in 1993. You can see the lyrics under Waylon Jennings.

Johnny Cash

Shamrock Doesn't Grow in Calfornia

This is from "The Unissued Johnny Cash", a compilation album of Cash's unreleased songs that was released in 1978. This song was recorded in 1961.

"You know
Shamrock doesn't grow in California
And your sheleighly is a 45
It's the leaf of all the chiefs
But I can't keep it alive
'Cause shamrock doesn't grow in California

A letter came from my sweetheart in Ireland (ooh)
The envelope was brimming full of tiny shamrock seeds
She said, 'I'm sure you know
You can't make the shamrock grow
Don't plant it over there beside the sage and jimsonweed
'Cuz you know...'

Shamrock doesn't grow in California
(It won't grow)
And your sheleighly is a 45

It's the leaf of all the chiefs
But I can't keep it alive
'Cuz shamrock doesn't grow in California

Well, I planted the shamrock seeds
My sweetheart sent me (ooh)
'Me thumb is Irish green, I said
For me, they're sure to grow'
My good friend, Mike O'Shea
Came every day for 30 days
When cactus grew instead, Mike said
'Well I could have told you so
Don't you know, boy that uh...'

(Shamrock doesn't grow in California)
Yeah
(And your sheleighly is a 45)

It's the leaf of all the chiefs
But I can't keep it alive (ooh)
'Cause shamrock doesn't grow in California"

Cashman & West (aka Morning Mist)

California On My Mind

Soft rock duo and producers Terry Cashman (Dennis Minogue) and Tommy West (Thomas Picardo Jr.) started out as a trio formed in New York in 1967 with Gene Pistilli called Cashman, Pistilli & West. Then they used the name Buchanan Brothers, until Pistilli left to join Manhattan Transfer and they became Cashman & West in 1971 and at the same they time produced several hit albums by Jim Croce and others.

This song was released as a single in 1971 under the artist name "Morning Mist" but it was written and produced and performed by Cashman & West. I don't think they used Morning Mist on other recordings. It was re-released on the album "Cashman & West - The AM-FM Blues (Their Very Best)" in 1993. The song will either make you long for the days of early '70s string-saturated soft rock, or it will make you want to throw up. I think I did a little of both.

"There are moments I remember
Though they're hazy in my mind
When the California sun was shining
And I saw you for the first time
And I felt I heard the morning sing
And I felt the warmth that love can bring
And I'd love to live those moments once again

California on my mind
I remember you and the sunshine
And the love you gave me
California one more time
California on my mind

I remember days of sunshine
When we spoke without a word
There was something in your eyes that sang
The sweetest song I'd ever heard
But now a memory of love that I can't hold
New York's lonely New York's cold
And I can't go on without you
No there's nothing left to find

California on my mind
I remember you and the sunshine
And the love you gave me
California one more time
California on my mind

And I felt I heard the morning sing
And I felt the warmth that love can bring
And I'd love to live those moments once again

California on my mind
I remember you and the sunshine
And the love you gave me
California one more time
California on my mind"

Cashman Pistilli & West

Sausalito

Terry Cashman (Dennis Minogue), Eugene Pistilli, and Tommy West (Thomas Picardo Jr.) were a trio formed in New York in 1967. They also used the name Buchanan Brothers, until Pistilli left to join Manhattan Transfer in 1971 and Cashman & West became a duo.

This is the B-side to the single "Some Of My Best Friends Are People" released in 1969. It was re-released in 1993 on the album "Cashman & West - The AM-FM Blues (Their Very Best)".

"Just about to pack it in
Lord knows what condition I've been in
When I got your letter in the mail
I don't know why you picked this time to write to me
But I'm sure glad you did

Sing me a song so soft and sweet, oh
The guitar played me back to Sausalito

Every morning in New York
I'd wake up and hear those poor birds call
It's enough to bring a body down

I wasn't ready to settle down and plant my roots
But lord I'm ready now

Sing me a song so soft and sweet, oh
The guitar played me back to Sausalito

Sing me a song so soft and sweet, oh
The guitar played me back to Sausalito

Just got time to pack my bags
And say goodbye to disappointment town
Just got time for one last look around
(?) is where I'm bound
Gonna plant my feet and tack 'em to the ground

Sing me a song so soft and sweet, oh
The guitar played me back to Sausalito
The guitar played me back to Sausalito"

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds

All the Gold in California

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a rock band from Australia active since 1983. This 14-minute-long ambient-electronic song is from the band's critically-acclaimed seventeenth studio album "Ghosteen" released in 2019.

"The fires continued through the night
The kid with a bat face appeared at the window
Then disappeared into the headlights

I was halfway to the Pacific Coast
I had left you in your longing
In your yearning like a ghost

There is little room for wonder, now
And little room for wildness too
We crawl into our wounds
I’m nearly all the way to Malibu

I’m gonna buy me a house up in the hills
With a tear-shaped pool and a gun that kills
Cause they say there is a cougar that roams these parts
With a terrible engine of wrath for a heart
That she is white and rare and full of all kinds of harm
And stalks the perimeter all day long
But at night lays trembling in my arms

And I’m just waiting now for my time to come
And I’m just waiting now for my time to come
And I’m just waiting now for my place in the sun
And I’m just waiting now for peace to come

And I’m just waiting now for my time to come
And I’m just waiting now for my time to come
And we hide in our wounds
And I’m nearly all the way to Malibu
And I know my time will come one day soon
I’m waiting for peace to come
I’m nearly all the way to Malibu
Oh babe, we’re on the run, we’re on the run
Half down the Pacific Coast
Well I left you sleeping like a ghost
In your wounds

Darling your dreams are your greatest part
I carry them with me in my heart
Darling your dreams were your greatest part
I carry them with me in my heart
Somewhere, don’t know

Now I’m standing on the shore
All the animals roam the beaches
And sea creatures rise out of the sea.
And I’m standing on the shore
Everyone begins to run
The kid drops his bucket and spade
And climbs into the sun...."

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis

Nick Cave is a singer-songwriter-poet-screenwriter-composer-actor from Australia, active since 1973. He fronted the punk band The Birthday Party before fronting Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. This collaboration, with Australian musician and member of the Bad Seeds Warren Ellis, was made for the HBO Series "True Detective" in 2015. It's a cover version of the 1979 Gatlin Brothers song.

"All the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills
In somebody else's name, so if you're dreaming about California
It don't matter at all where you've played before
California's a brand new game

Tryin' to be a hero, winding up a zero
Can scar a man forever right down to your soul
Living on the spotlight can kill a man outright
'Cause everything that glitters is not gold

And all the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills
In somebody else's name, so if you're dreaming about California
It don't matter at all where you've played before
California's a brand new game...."

Cavo

Cavo is a rock band from St. Louis Missouri, active since 2001. This is a good hard rock song from the album "Thick as Thieves" released in 2012.

"Sitting in a dark room
Falling to pieces
Try to find the right words
So you can sing along

Wear it like a tight noose
I don't wanna feel this
Might of made a wrong move
Now I'm all alone

I never know which way to go
A million thoughts I can't control
The city sleeps, but I can't close my eyes
In California
In California

Drowning in a bright room
Faking the feelings
Wonder if the right words
Are even here at all

I'm living through the hardest part
In a city full of fallen stars
A million dreams but I can't close my eyes
In California
(California)
In California

How many miles until I lose myself
How many miles until I lose myself
How many miles until I lose myself
How many miles until I lose myself
In California
(California)
In California
(California)
How many miles until I lose myself
(California)
In California
How many miles until I lose myself
In California
(California)...."

Cayucas

California Girl

Cayucas (formerly Oregon Bike Trails) is an indie pop band from Santa Monica active since 2011. It's an intentional misspelling of Cayucos, the Central Coast beach town, which is Spanish for a small canoe of the kind the native Californians used. This song is from the album "Blue Summer" released in 2012.

"I was heading down Sunset
Had the fold-up convertible down
I took a left at Patrick's Roadhouse
Past the cliffs up and into town

I said I don't know where I'm going
(Don't know where I'm going)
But I'm out and I'm looking for fun
(Looking for fun)
They say lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice
Well, I'm underneath the summer sun

California girl
(California girl)
Summer in her eyes
(Summer in her eyes)
From the Golden Coast
(From the Golden Coast)
I saw her passing by
(There she goes)
California girl
(Been looking for a)
California girl
(Been dreaming of a)
California girl and there she was
Whoa

She was hanging by the laundry mat
From the trunk of a Wagoneer
I saw a sun-bleached copy of 'On The Road'
While I was countin' empty bottles of beer

I said I don't know where I'm going
(Don’t know where I’m going)
But I'm out and I’m looking for fun
(Looking for fun)
It's the last slow song of the night
So take a chance or you'll regret it for the rest of your life

California girl
(California girl)
Summer in her eyes
(Summer in her eyes)
From the Golden Coast
(From the Golden Coast)
I saw her passing by
(There she goes)
California girl
(Been looking for a)
California girl
(Been dreaming of a)
California girl and there she was
Whoa

California girl
(California girl)
Summer in her eyes
(Summer in her eyes)
From the Golden Coast
(From the Golden Coast)
I saw her passing by
(There she goes)
California girl
(Been looking for a)
California girl
(Been dreaming of a)
California girl and there she was
Whoa

Ooh, California girl
I think I fell in love with a California girl
Ooh, California girl
I think I fell in love with a California girl"

Cayucas

California Inn

This is from "Hangin' On the Westside" released in 2023.

"I can feel the sun and the warmth around me
Far across the room I could hear her whisper
That it's only for the weekend
From the west side of L.A.
See I'm just looking for a cheap vacation
To take me far away

She was a sleepy señorita from a town near Encinitas
When she pulled up on the side of the road
As she checked into her room
Smell the smell of her perfume
Said she's heading down south
On her way to Mexico

One last night at the California Inn
One last night at the California Inn

I can feel her in the shadows
Or down the halls of the hotel
There were spirals spinning in my eyes
She left me under her spell

She was my Blue Hawaii baby
My blonde-haired Bahama Mama
They say don't fall in love with the green-eyed girl
On the night of the iguana

She was a sleepy señorita from a town near Encinitas
When she pulled up on the side of the road
As she checked into her room
Smell the smell of her perfume
Said she's heading down south
On her way to Mexico

One last night at the California Inn
One last night at the California Inn

Was she real
I'll never know
But every now and then
My mind sneaks up to the night we left
At the California Inn

She was a sleepy señorita from a town near Encinitas
When she pulled up on the side of the road
As she checked into her room
Smell the smell of her perfume
Said she's heading down south
On her way to Mexico

One last night at the California Inn
One last night at the California Inn

One last night at the California Inn
Just give me
One last night at the California Inn
Just give me
One last night at the California Inn
Just give me
One last night"

Cayucas

Cayucos

Cayucos is a small beach resort town on the Central California Coast in San Luis Obispo County known for its surfing. This song is from the album "Bigfoot" released in 2013.

"Can you hear it coming?
Feel it all around
Feet are stomping
On the ground
It's that something
So familiar
Strange but not so
Peculiar

Cayucos, past Morro Bay
Shelly, Shelly, Shelly, Shelly, Shelly
Nu-uh, no way
Come on big fat wave, come crashin' through
Back behind the rocks
Paddle from the dunes

Ooooh
O eh Oh eh Oh
C'mon c'mon c'mon
Ooooh
Ca ca ca ca Chameleon
O eh Oh eh Oh

Did you see me up there?
Looking down below
The waves come in
So slow
Saying 'Oh my God! I think I'm falling in love'
I think I'm falling in love

Cayucos
Past Morro Bay
Shelly, Shelly, Shelly, Shelly, Shelly
Nu-uh no way
C'mon bright red fire
Burn ten feet high
No hidden lizards
Caught chasing fireflies

C'mon snap your fingers
C'mon clap your hands
C'mon stomp your feet
As fast as you can
Just shake shake shake shake shake shake
Said I'm going to Cayucos
Hey
Said I'm going to Cayucos
Hey
Oooh
O eh Oh eh Oh
C'mon c'mon c'mon c'mon
Oooh
Ca ca ca ca Chameleon
O eh Oh eh Oh
O eh Oh eh Oh...."

Cayucas

Hella

This is from the album "Dancing at the Blue Lagoon" released in 2015.

"He's no Dora back from Bora Bora
Jumps in head first row, the whitewashed to the shore
And you saw him cannonball, come crashing down the falls
You saw him somersaulting down to the ocean floor

Back to back got beat down bad, no shack
He went from swarms to sewers tagging their attack
Without a T-shirt on, phenom-phenomenon
An old white turtleneck leaving Saskatchewan

He's a Northern Californian, or so he says
Ended up in Carpinteria cause he went the wrong way
Exit Encinitas, in a washed-out sea foam green
T-shirt read, 'Jesus Saves' and he was yelling out 'No Valleys'

Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella

Through the dried up empty field of dirt
On leafy branches peeking through
Down the cliffside, dig and drag your feet
Left to dry your soaking socks and shoes

He's a Northern Californian, or so he says
Ended up in Carpinteria cause he went the wrong way
Exit Encinitas, in a washed-out sea foam green
T-shirt read, 'Jesus Saves' and he was yelling out 'No Valleys'

Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella

Boys in poster red shred, hockey equipment 'neath the bed
Swimsuit calendar on the wall, deflated basketball
Limbo says, 'You don't know no Jose Conseco'
Got dirty laundry on the floor, got piled up against the door

Through the dried up empty field of dirt
On leafy branches peeking through
Down the cliffside, dig and drag your feet
Left to dry your soaking socks and shoes

He's a Northern Californian, or so he says
Ended up in Carpinteria cause he went the wrong way
Exit Encinitas, in a washed-out sea foam green
T-shirt read, 'Jesus Saves' and he was yelling out 'No Valleys'

Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella

He's a Northern Californian, or so he says
Ended up in Carpinteria cause he went the wrong way
Exit Encinitas, in a washed-out sea foam green
T-shirt read, 'Jesus Saves' and he was yelling out 'No Valleys'

Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella
Hella, hella, hella"

Arman Cekin (featuring Snoop Dogg & Paul Rey)

Arman Cekin is a musician from the Netherlands and broke onto the dance music scene in 2014. Paul Rey is a singer from Sweden, active since 2015. Snoop Dogg is a rapper and actor from Long Beach. This dance track was released in 2017, but an earlier version without Snoop Dogg was released in 2016. The singer of this song is already in California but he has to do some California dreaming anyway because he's stuck inside working. We can all relate to that.

[Paul Rey]

"These palm trees they sway
Each night and each day
I'm California dreamin' 'bout you
Ah yeah, got this world class view
But it's you that I think about every time when my mind zoning
It's you that I think about every time that I get lonely
It's you that I call on my FaceTime when I need something real
I work the night shift 'til late in the PM
I'm California dreamin'
You, you, you

California dreamin' 'bout you
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey...)
California dreamin' 'bout you
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey...)

Ah yeah, not quite right sometimes, 'cause I
I've been feeling myself too much
Feeling myself too much oh I'm missing your touch
Missing the way you say my name
Hate that I'm away, you know I'd stay
But I got these songs to cut
In the stu' with an empty cup
I've been sipping this drink too much
But Goddamn, I've been working hard as f**k
And what's work without play in L.A.?

I'm California dreamin'
(California dreamin')
About you, you, you, you-you, you
One time I tell 'em I'm California dreamin', dreamin' dreamin'
One time I tell 'em I'm California dreamin', dreamin' dreamin'

California dreamin' 'bout you
California dreamin' dreamin' dreamin'
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey...)
California dreamin' 'bout you
(Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey)

[Snoop Dogg]

Don't wake me up, just bake-cake me up
And get a whiff of these tasty buds
In HD cuz, I'm thinkin' 'bout safes and hugs
I chase the love, cheese please
Palm trees, breeze, ease your mind I put cream on it
Lay back relax, now dream on it
Watchu think? You want a drink?
You want a sea on the shore, make you walk the plank
Skydive, overview
California what a point of view
The weather, whatever, endure your endeavor
If you ride with me baby we can do this forever
In a day, yessir ain't no other way
This is Cali-for-ni-yay!
Yay, yay, dream on, dream on

[Paul Rey]

One time I tell 'em I'm California dreamin', dreamin' dreamin'
California dreamin' 'bout you
California dreamin', dreamin' dreamin'
California dreamin' 'bout you

You, you, you, you-you, you

California dreamin' 'bout you"

Celeborate

California Breeze

Celeborate is a rapper from Sacramento who started out in the Bay Area in 2011. This is from his album "Hear Me Out" released in 2019.

"I'm just like Kenny from the Cosbys 'cause I'm always with my bud
No‚ I'm not a pothead‚ it just keep me chill as f**k
'Cause you know‚ I think about you from the second I wake up
'Til the numbers on my clock place me in my slumber
And none of these b***hes ever help me with the way I felt 'bout you
'Cause baby, you a blessing like a n***a said hachoo
Andy Dufresne ain't even close compared to what I put you through
I realize now that you are not a plaything for me to use
So just tip this brew, lay your head on my chest‚ my love is Temper-Pedic
I got an appetite for destruction, but won't use you to feed it
Just wanna give you rounds and work you out until you feel defeated
Look you up and down then walk around, act like I'm Willie Beamen
These are just some of the crazy ideas‚ baby, that I've been thinking
Gotta excuse me for being so suggestive, I've been drinking
I've been saving up for you to tell me when you gon' be leaving
And when you'll fly out to me one evening and feel this California breeze, yeah

Feel this California breeze
Come feel this California breeze, yeah
Come feel this California breeze
Come feel this California breeze
Please come feel this California breeze...."

Exene Cervenka

Alone in Arizona

Exene Cervenka was one of the vocalists from the seminal L.A. punk band X. She also sang with the Knitters and other bands. She wrote this song and included it on her 2011 album "The Excitement Of Maybe." Her former X bandmate John Doe also sings a version of the song.

"My heart is blue with losing you
My soul is still losing you
The road is rough, I'm losing you
The sun beats down, I'm losing you

My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona
My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona

Found her where it shouldn't be, I'm losing you
Cactus run away from me, I'm losing you
The shades I've drawn, I'm losing you
My eyes are closed, I'm losing you

My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona
My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona

My heart is blue with losing you
My soul is still losing you
The road is rough, I'm losing you
The sun beats down, I'm losing you

My heart's in California, I'm alone in Arizona...."

Harry Chapin

Taxi

Harry Chapin was a Grammy-winning pop rock singer-songwriter from New York who produced a lot of hits in his short life, including the #1 hit "Cat's in the Cradle." This song is from his 1972 album "Heads & Tales." While the song is about a taxi driver in San Francisco who picks up an old girlfriend, don't bother looking for her address - I already did. It doesn't exist.

"It was raining hard in 'Frisco
I needed one more fare to make my night
A lady up ahead waved to flag me down
She got in at the light

Oh, where you going to, my lady blue
It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain
She just looked out the window
She said, Sixteen Parkside Lane

Something about her was familiar
I could swear I'd seen her face before
But she said, I'm sure you're mistaken
And she didn't say anything more

It took a while, but she looked in the mirror
And she glanced at the license for my name
A smile seemed to come to her slowly
It was a sad smile, just the same

And she said, How are you Harry
I said, How are you Sue
Through the too many miles
And the too little smiles
I still remember you

It was somewhere in a fairy tale
I used to take her home in my car
We learned about love in the back of a Dodge
The lesson hadn't gone too far

You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly
She took off to find the footlights
And I took off to find the sky

Oh, I've got something inside me
To drive a princess blind
There's a wild man, wizard
He's hiding in me, illuminating my mind
Oh, I've got something inside me
Not what my life's about
'Cause I've been letting my outside tide me
Over 'til my time, runs out

(Baby's so high that she's skying)
(Yes, she's flying, afraid to fall)
(I'll tell you why baby's crying)
('Cause she's dying, aren't we all)

There was not much more for us to talk about
Whatever we had once was gone
So I turned my cab into the driveway
Past the gate and the fine trimmed lawns

And she said, we must get together
But I knew it'd never be arranged
And she handed me twenty dollars
For a two fifty fare
She said, Harry, keep the change

Well, another man might have been angry
And another man might have been hurt
But another man never would've let her go
I stashed the bill in my shirt

And she walked away in silence
It's strange, how you never know
But we'd both gotten what we'd asked for
Such a long, long time ago

You see, she was gonna be an actress
And I was gonna learn to fly
She took off to find the footlights
And I took off for the sky

And here, she's acting happy
Inside her handsome home
And me, I'm flying in my taxi
Taking tips, and getting stoned
I go flying so high, when I'm stoned"

Chappell Roan

Chappell Roan is the professional name of Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, a singer-songwriter from Missouri, based in Los Angeles, active since 2017. This song is a non-album single released in 2020. It's another song that criticizes California for not having any seasons, but California does have seasons - the wet season, the dry season, and the fire season.

""I stretched myself across four states
New lands, west coast, where my dreams lay
I trade amber clay roads for the
Sea foam and the endless sun rays

'Cause I was never told that I wasn't gonna get
The things I want the most
But people always say, "If it hasn't happened yet
Then maybe you should go"

Come get me out of California
No leaves are brown
I miss the seasons in Missouri
My dying town
Thought I'd be cool in California
I'd make you proud
To think I almost had it going
But I let you down

Too hard, to find reasons to stay
Even true love could not persuade

'Cause I was never told that I wasn't gonna get
The things I want the most
But people always say, "If it hasn't happened yet
Then maybe you should go"

Come get me out of California
No leaves are brown
I miss the seasons in Missouri
My dying town
Thought I'd be cool in California
I'd make you proud
To think I almost had it going
But I let you down

Come get me out
Come get me out
Come get me out
Come get me out

Come get me out of California
No leaves are brown
I miss the seasons in Missouri
My dying town
Thought I'd be cool in California
I'd make you proud
To think I almost had it going
But I let you down''

Chappell Roan

Pink Pony Club

Chappell Roan is Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, a singer-songwriter from Missouri, active since 2017 when she was 17 years old and moved to L.A. (to be a singer, not a stripper.) This song was released in 2020. It's a common assumption that strippers don't perform because they want to, but because circumstances force them to do it to make a living. But not the singer of this song. Apparently, it's her dream job.

"I know you wanted me to stay
But I can't ignore the crazy visions of me in L.A.
And I heard that there's a special place
Where boys and girls can all be Queens every single day

I'm having wicked dreams
Of leaving Tennessee
Santa Monica
I swear it's calling me
Won't make my mama proud
It's gonna cause a scene
She sees her baby girl
I know she's gonna scream

God, what have you done
You're a Pink Pony girl
And you dance at the club
Oh mama, I'm just having fun
On the stage in my heels
It's where I belong down at the

Pink Pony Club
I'm gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club
I'm gonna keep on dancing down in
West Hollywood
I'm gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club

I'm up and jaws are on the floor
Lovers in the bathroom and a line outside the door
Black lights and a mirrored disco ball
Every night's another reason why I left it all
I thank my wicked dreams
A year from Tennessee
Oh, Santa Monica
You've been too good to me
Won't make my mama proud
It's gonna cause a scene
She sees her baby girl
I know she's gonna scream

God, what have you done
You're a Pink Pony girl
And you dance at the club
Oh mama, I'm just having fun
On the stage in my heels
It's where I belong down at the
Pink Pony club
I'm gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony club
I'm gonna keep on dancing down in
West Hollywood
I'm gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony club, Pink Pony club

Don't think I've left you all behind
Still love you and Tennessee
You're always on my mind
And mama, every Saturday
I can hear your southern drawl a thousand miles away, saying

God, what have you done
You're a Pink Pony girl
And you dance at the club
Oh mama, I'm just having fun
On the stage in my heels
It's where I belong down at the
Pink Pony Club
I'm gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club
I'm gonna keep on dancing down in
West Hollywood
I'm gonna keep on dancing at the
Pink Pony Club, Pink Pony Club

I'm gonna keep on dancing
I'm gonna keep on dancing"

Charlene

I've Never Been to Me

Charlene is a singer from Hollywood who only had one big hit - this one. It's original release in 1977 was unsuccessful, but its re-release in 1982 charted at #3. I have nothing against women who are happily married with children or against women who choose to give up their dreams to stay in a loveless marriage and raise their children (thanks mom!) but this has to be one of the most anti-feminist songs ever written. The singer tries to convince a woman that it's better to give up her dreams and stay in an unhappy marriage than it is to be making love in the sun in paradise and sipping champagne on a yacht - a woman who tries to be free only ends up alone because only babies will make her complete. It's not hard to tell that the lyrics were written by a man, is it? (Along with the awful cloying melody, too.)

"Hey lady, you lady
Cursing at your life
You're a discontented mother
And a regimented wife
I've no doubt you dream about
The things you'll never do
But, I wish someone had talked to me
Like I wanna talk to you

Whoooa, I've been to Georgia
And California and anywhere I could run
Took the hand of a preacher man
And we made love in the sun
But I ran out of places
And friendly faces
Because I had to be free
I've been to paradise
But I've never been to me

Please lady, please, lady
Don't just walk away
'Cause I have this need to tell you
Why I'm all alone today
I can see so much of me
Still living in your eyes
Won't you share a part
Of a weary heart
that has lived a million lies

Whoooa, I've been to Nice
And the Isle of Greece
While I've sipped champagne on a yacht
I've moved like Harlow in Monte Carlo
And showed 'em what I've got
I've been undressed by kings
And I've seen some things
That a woman ain't supposed to see
I've been to paradise
But I've never been to me

[Spoken Bridge - not in all versions]

Hey, you know what paradise is
It's a lie
A fantasy we create about people
And places as we'd like them to be
But you know what truth is
It's that little baby you're holding
And it's that man you fought with this morning
The same one you're going to make love with tonight
That's truth, that's love...."

Sometimes I've been to crying
For unborn children
That might have made me complete
But I, I took the sweet life
I never knew
I'd be bitter from the sweet
I've spent my life exploring
The subtle whoring
That costs too much to be free
Hey lady, I've been to paradise
But I've never been to meeeeeee

I've been to paradise
(Never been to me)

I've been to Georgia
And California and anywhere I could run
I've been to paradise
(Never been to me)

I've been to Nice
And the Isle of Greece
While I've sipped champagne on a yacht
I've been to paradise
(Never been to me)"

Benjamin Charles

Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots

Benjamin Charles is singer-songwriter born in Los Angeles and raised in the U.S. and the U.K. This strange song was released in 2021 and is featured on his debut album "Before The Fire."

"I was dreaming alone like a dog with a bone
And god gave me a thumb to get me into the zone
He said the sicker the bliss is the sweeter the ice cream cone
When there's a million flavors in the star of my hand
When all the people are small and the piano is grand
I said I'm only a thing and I don't have a plan

In my eyes I get so lost in the lightning
That the beat of my heart is cheap as my art upon the market

Shooting for the moon I hit a space station plantation
Slaving for the nation of an ether a provider on the side
I had the fries and the nacho dip
Just trying to get to heaven on a microchip

It's love in the time of robots, we're wired – we're wired
It's love in the time of robots, we're wired – we're wired

California ain't what it used to be
Everyone's looking down at a very black screen
California where did your water go?
You took it from the ground gonna have a new dust bowl
California what are you trying to prove?
To be the exception that only proves the rule?

California it's a golden state of mind
While the devil plays you the blind lead the blind

It's love in the time of robots, we're wired – we're wired
It's love in the time of robots, we're wired – we're wired...."

Ray Charles

California, Here I Come

Ray Charles was a singer-songwriter from Geortia, active from 1947-2004, and regarded as one of the most influential musicians in history. This is from Charles' album "Genius Hits the Road" released in 1960. It's a cover of the Al Jolson 1924 original. He changes the lyrics a bit and skips the intro, singing only the "California here I come" chorus.

"California, here I come
Right back where I started from
Where bowers of flowers
Bloom in the sun
Each morning at dawning
Birdies sing at everything
A sun-kissed miss said, 'Don't be late!'
That's why I can hardly wait
So open up your Golden Gate
California, Here I Come

A sun-kissed miss said, 'Don't be late!'
'Cuz that's why I can hardly wait
Open up that Golden Gate
California
California
California, Here I Come"

Charli XCX

Boys

Charli XCX is a pop singer and songwriter from the UK who has written some very successful songs for other singers, most notably so far - Iggy Azalea's "Fancy." There's only a brief mention of L.A. in this single from 2017, but after hearing so many songs sung by guys bragging about having girls all over the world, it's refreshing to hear a song about a woman with a similar one track mind. (This song pairs well with "Girls" by the Beastie Boys.)

"I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys, boys, boys
Always busy dreamin' 'bout boys, boys, boys
Head is spinnin' thinkin' 'bout boys

I need that bad boy to do me right on a Friday
And I need that good one to wake me up on a Sunday
That one from work can come over on Monday night
I want 'em all, I want 'em all

And when they finally leave me, I'm all alone but
I'm lookin' down and my girls are blowin' my phone up
Them twenty questions, they askin' me where I'm at
Didn't hit 'em back

I'm sorry that I missed your party
I wish I had a better excuse like
I had to trash the hotel lobby

But I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys, boys, boys
Always busy dreamin' 'bout boys, boys, boys
Head is spinnin' thinkin' 'bout boys

In every city I've got one with different ringtones
Flyin' from L.A. all the way to Puerto Rico
My girls are callin' me askin' me where I'm at
Didn't hit 'em back

I'm sorry that I missed your party
I wish I had a better excuse like
I can't even lie you got me

I was busy thinkin' 'bout boys, boys, boys
Always busy dreamin' 'bout boys, boys, boys
Head is spinnin' thinkin' 'bout boys...."

The Charlie Daniels Band

Uneasy Rider

Charlie Daniels is a country, bluegrass, southern rock musician best known for the fiddling duel with the Devil in his hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." This top ten hit is a silly spoken narrative country novelty song with a guitar background from the band's 1973 album, "Honey in the Rock." The title plays with the title of the movie "Easy Rider." It's about a man driving to L.A. who gets a flat tire in Jackson Mississippi. Back then a man with long hair was considered an offensive "hippy-type, pinko fag" with "a commie flag" by red-necks. (Must have been before the longhaired Alman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd got popular.) At the end, the singer considers rerouting his trip to L.A. via Omaha, which doesn't make any sense since it would add about a thousand miles of driving, and since, in 1973, long-hairs weren't very safe anywhere outside of big cities, not even in California, and you can't hid your hair under your hat forever....

"I was takin a trip out to L.A.
Toolin along in my Cheverolet
Tokin' on a number and diggin' on the radio

Just as I crossed the Mississippi line
I heard that highway start to whine
And I knew that left rear tire was about to blow

Well the spare was flat and I got uptight
Cause there wasn't a filling station in sight
So I just limped on down the shoulder on the rim

I went as far as I could and when I stopped the car
It was right in front of this little bar
Kind of a red-neck lookin' joint called the Dew Drop Inn

I stuffed my hair up under my hat
And told the bartender that I had a flat
And would he be kind enough to give me change for a one

There was one thing I was sure proud to see
There wasn't a soul in the place except for him and me
He just looked disgusted and pointed toward the telephone

I called up the station down the road a ways
He said he wasn't very busy today
And he could have someone out there in just about 10 minutes or so

He said, "Now, you just stay right where yer at!"
And I didn't bother to tell the darn fool
That I sure as hell didn't have anyplace else to go

I just ordered up a beer and sat down at the bar
When some guy walked in and said, "Who owns this car
With the peace sign, the mag wheels and the four on the floor?"

He looked at me and I damn near died
And I decided that I'd just wait outside
So I laid a dollar on the bar and headed for the door

Just when I thought I'd get outta there with my skin
These 5 big dudes come strollin' in
With one old drunk chick and some fella with green teeth

I was almost to the door when the biggest one
Said, "You tip your hat to this lady, son!"
And when I did, all that hair fell out from underneath

Now the last thing I wanted was to get into a fight
In Jackson Mississippi on a Saturday night
Especially when there was three of them and only one of me

They all started laughin and I felt kinda sick
And I knew I better think of something pretty quick
So I just reached out and kicked old green teeth right in the knee

Now he let out a yell that'd curl yer hair
But before he could move I grabbed me a chair
And said "Now watch him Folks cause he's a thoroughly dangerous man!"

"You may not know it but this man is a spy.
He's a undercover agent for the FBI
And he's been sent down here to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan!"

He was still bent over holdin on to his knee
But everybody else was looking and listening to me
And I laid it on thicker and heavier as I went

I said, "Would you believe this man has gone as far
As tearing Wallace stickers off the bumpers of cars.
And he voted for George McGovern for President."

"Well, he's a friend of them long haired, hippy-type, pinko fags!
I betchya he's even got a commie flag
tacked up on the wall inside of his garage."

"He's a snake in the grass, I tell ya guys.
He may look dumb but that's just a disguise,
He's a mastermind in the ways of espionage"

They all started lookin' real suspicious at him
And he jumped up and said "Now just wait a minute Jim!
You know he's lying I been living here all of my life!"

"I'm a faithful follower of Brother John Birch
And I belong to the Antioch Baptist Church.
And I ain't even got a garage, you can call home and ask my wife!"

Then he started saying somethin bout the way I was dressed
But I didn't wait around to hear the rest
I was too busy moving and hoping I didn't run outta luck

When I hit the ground I was making tracks
And they were just taking my car down off the jacks
So I threw the man a twenty and jumped in and fired that mother up

Mario Andretti wouldda sure been proud
Of the way I was movin' when I passed that crowd
Coming out the door and headed toward me at a trot

And I guess I should of gone ahead and run
But somehow I just couldn't resist the fun
Of chasing them all just once around the parking lot

Well they headed for their car, but I hit the gas
And spun around and headed them off at the pass
I was slinging gravel and putting a ton of dust in the air

I had them all out there steppin' and fetchin'
Like their heads was on fire and their asses was catchin'
then I figgered I had better go ahead and split before the cops got there

When I hit the road I was really wheelin'
Had gravel flyin' and rubber squeelin'
And I didn't slow down till I was almost to Arkansas

I think I'm gonna reroute my trip
I wonder if anybody'd think I'd flipped
If I went to L.A., via Omaha"

Cheap Trick

California Girl

Cheap Trick is a rock band from Illinois formed in 1973. This is from the band's album "The Latest" released in 2009. It's a good companion to their song "California Man."

"There's a bad little girl
In the neighborhood
She's got backstreet savvy
Up to no good
She looks my way all wound up tight
Bitin' her lips, hoo! Ready to fight

She's a California girl
She's a California girl
She's a bad little girl
And I know I'm gonna make her mine

Oh, just like a cat
She scratched my back
Under the midnight moon
Hollywood baby
Up to no good
She looks that way
All jacked up tight
Bitin' her lips, hoo! Shakin' her hips

She's a California girl
She's a California girl
She's a bad little girl
And I know I'm gonna make her mine, hoo!

She's the devil's little lady
And my little girl
Sex in the city
She looks my way all wound up tight
All bitin' her lips, hoo! Awww yeah!

There's a California girl
In the neighborhood
She's got a back street savvy
Up to no good
She looks my way
She's all half cocked
Walkin' the walk
Get ready to rock!

She's a California girl
She's a California girl
She's a California girl
And I know I'm gonna make her mine whoo!

She's a California girl (California girl)
She's a California girl (California girl)
She's a California girl (California girl)
She's a California girl (California girl)
She's a California girl (California girl)
She's a California girl
Know I'm gonna make her mine whoo!"

Cheap Trick

California Man

This is a cover of the 1972 song by The Move (Roy Wood's band that became The Electric Light Orchestra). It's off the album "Heaven Tonight" released in 1978.

"Goin' to a party,
Meet me on after school.
Well we're goin to a place
Where the jive is really cool.

And if the band stops a playin'
There's a jukebox down the hall.
And with your blue dress on, your folks all gone.
You're sure to give the guys a ball.

Get that real guitar boy shakin',
I'm a California man,
Dance right on till the floors are breakin'
I'm a California man."

Cheat Codes

Home

Cheat Codes is a trio of DJs based in Los Angeles. This is a dance-pop song released in 2018.

"Blonde hair and a sun dress
Cocaine on her lips
She is new to Los Angeles, uh
Not used to the lifestyle
Not used to the rules
Don't know if she can handle it

So come in close and stay right by my side, side, side
Believe me, baby, I know what it's like

And she said
Home, it feels like home when I'm with you
Home, it feels like home when I'm with you
Leave it all behind
Put your hand in mine
Home, it feels like home when I'm with you

Feels like home
Feels like home

Spend time like a Rolex
I'll order a car
Take her where she hasn't been, oh yeah
Undress at the coat check
Make out at the bar
She bad but she's innocent

So come in close and stay right by my side, side, side
Believe me, baby, I know what it's like...."

Cheat Codes

Washed Up

This 2020 pop song from the L.A. DJs wonders if the singer's companion will stay with him after his star fades and he has to move from L.A. to a place with no five star restaurants. Myself, I'd rather be in a place with a good taco truck.

"If you had to wear a coat to the club
'Cause you know we'd have to wait in the line
If I couldn't get you straight to the front
Would you wanna be seen by my side?
If I had to work just a little hard
If I wasn't so quick to provide
Would you be down for the count?
Or would you be up for the ride?

If what we did in public
Wasn't all recorded
Then put up on Perez
'Cause the people love my story
If we don't hide our face
Under shades that are imported
Would you still feel the same
When I'm just not that important?

If they say I'm washed up
Would you still be in love?
If I'm on the way down
Would you stick around when I'm off the wave?
If they say I'm washed up
Would this still be enough?
If I'm back underground
Would you stick around or forget my name?

Would you stay? Would you stay? Would you stay, yeah?
Would you stay? Would you stay? Would you stay, yeah?

If we had to move away from L.A.
'Cause I couldn't handle the lights (handle the lights)
If it was all over today (over today)
Can you tell me, would we survive?
Without the
Five stars and Four Seasons
With three words that have a meaning
You say yes, but do you mean it?
Yeah

If what we did in public
Wasn't all recorded
Then put up on Perez
'Cause the people love my story
If we don't hide our face
Under shades that are imported
Would you still feel the same
When I'm just not that important?...."

Cheech & Chong

Born in East L.A.

Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo who formed in Vancouver Canada. Cheech is from southern California. They did stand-up on stage, made records, and made movies. This song is a parody of the Bruce Springsteen song "Born in the U.S.A." Both were released in 1984. After the duo split up, Cheech Marin made a movie based on the song that was released in 1987. East L.A. is a neighborhood historically made up almost entirely of residents of Latin American heritage (96 percent in 2010.)

(Cheech:)
Took a walk to the corner store
Just to buy a loaf of bread and a box of s'mores
Up pulled a guy in a yellow van
Shiny gold badge flashing in his hand

He said,
(Chong:)
Alright all you mojados down here
I want you all to hit the floor
I got one thing to ask you and nothing more
So answer in English, if you can
Where were ya born, man

(Cheech:)
Huh? Where was I born?
(Chong:)
That's right, I said
Where were ya born?
(Cheech:)
Hey, are you one of those dudes who do horoscopes, man
Hey, I'm a Cancer with a bad moon rising
(Chong:)
Look here el vago, watch my lips
Where were ya born?

(Cheech:)
I was born in East L.A.
Man, I was born in East L.A.
(Chong:)
Oh yeah, you were born in East L.A.
Well let's see your green card, hun?
(Cheech:)
Huh? Green card?
I'm from East L.A.
(Chong:)
Alright, then who's President of the United States
(Cheech:)
Oh, that's easy, man
That guy that used to be on Death Valley Days, John Wayne
(Chong:)
Alright, let's go, come on!

(Cheech:)
Next thing I know, I'm in a foreign land
People talkin so fast, I couldn't understand
There was nobody there to lend a helping hand
I was cold, it was dark, where is a burger stand?

I want to go back to East L.A.
I wish I was back in East L.A.
I don't belong here in downtown T.J.
Cause I was born in East L.A., ole!

I crawled under barbed wire, swam across a stream
Rode in six different trucks packed like a sardine
Walked all day in the burning sun
Now I know what it's like to be Born to Run

Up ahead was the promised land
Shining like a star just beyond my hand
All I could see was a golden door
I looked up, a sign said "Five Zillion Sold Sold"

And I was back in East L.A.
Yes, I was back in East L.A.
You know I'm never gonna stray
Cause I was born in East L.A. Orale!...."

Cheema Y (featuring Gur Sidhu)

California Love

Cheema Y (Sarbit Singh Cheema) is an Indian-Canadian movie and TV actor and a singer who sings in the Punjabi language, active since 1993. Gur Sidhu is also a singer-producer-songwriter associated with Punjabi music and cinema, active since 2019. This sing was put on YouTube in January, 2023. No, it's not a cover of the 2Pac song.

A slowed + reverb version was released in September, 2023: California Love (Perfectly Slowed) - Cheema Y & Gur Sidhu and another slowed and reverbed remix was released in January, 2024: California Love Mexa Rapmix - Bohemia x Gur Sidhu x Chemma Y Prod by Music Full Bass.

LyricsRaag describes the song like this:
"It is a vibrant Punjabi song that celebrates the singer’s love for his life in California while cherishing his roots in Punjab. Sung by the talented Cheema Y, the song captures the essence of appreciation and hard work. The lyrics, penned by Chhina and Cheema Y, showcase the singer’s gratitude for his opportunities and success in California. The composition by Gur Sidhu perfectly complements the lyrics, infusing the song with an energetic and catchy rhythm."

These are the lyrics and English translation from LyricsWiz:

"Sheeshe Down Karwaundiyan Ne
Hans Hans Aundiyan
Te Puchhan Swag Vich Kivein Aa

Label’an Chon Label
Blue Sohniye Ni
Jadon Peene Aa
Te Paani Wangu Peene Aa

40 Killeyan Di Kheti
Addhi Theke Utte Ditti
Munde Sohniye
Punjab De Hi Jaaye Ne

Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote California Laye Ne

Ho Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote Vancouver Ch Laye Ne

Gur Sidhu Music!

Kothe Uggan De Beej
Billo Copy De Kude Ni
Yuba Sydney Naal Kille Nu
Canal Laggi Aa

Kiddan Call Dass Karaan
Teri Pick Main Rakaane
Meri Ungal De Utte
Kaala Maal Laggeya

Ghode Ghoode Hunn Aaye
Dubban Vich Pehlan Dovan
Hathan Vich Dadar Chalaye Ne

Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote California Laye Ne

Ho Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote Vancouver Ch Laye Ne

Gur Sidhu Music!

Ho 6-6 Foote Jatt
Dinde Kise Nu Na F*Ck
Top Shaiba Utte
Rakhde Aa Ankh Ni

Circle Chhota
Kam Kaar Bada Mota
Third Party Naal
Mildi Na Matt Ni

American Dollar
Kamayi Jaane Aa
Khulla Kharchan
Sohniye Dubai Jaane Aa

Chhadd Dena Dhandha
Billo Kahi Jaane Aa
Har Nave Saal
Navi Gaddi Layi Jaane Aa

Book Hummer Karayi
Jehdi Tha Lugi Tabaahi
Paise Sajre Truck Utte Laye Ne

Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote California Laye Ne

Ho Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote Vancouver Ch Laye Ne

Ho Mullanpur Dhaka Ton
Dorahe Sohniye Ni
Khanne Karde Aa Yaar
Wait Chirdi Badi

Ikko Gall Baar Baar
Jaane Ho Kari
Veer Jhanjran Ton
Utte Vi Aa Duniya Badi

Ho Naagni De Bande Ne
Dealer Kude Ni
Kudi Yaaveya Ne
Chemical Paye Ne

Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote California Laye Ne

Ho Loki Taan Mangaunde
Afghan Ton Afeem
Assi Boote Vancouver Ch Laye Ne"

"They Bring Down Glass Panes,
Laughing And Asking,
'What’s In The Swag?'

From One Label To Another,
Oh Beautiful In Blue,
When You Come To Drink,
You Drink Like Water.

Farming Forty Acres,
Half The Distillery Is Given,
Boys, My Dear,
Belong To Punjab.

People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Brought Seeds To California.

Oh, People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Planted Roots In Vancouver.

Gur Sidhu Music!

Seeds For Growing On The Farm,
No Need For Copies,
Connecting Yuba With Sydney,
A Canal Is Dug.

How Should I Call And Tell You,
That I’ve Picked Your Pic?
On My Fingernail,
The Black Stuff Looks Good.

Horses And Mules Have Come,
First In The Tub, Then In The Pond,
They’re Holding The Reins In Their Hands.

People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Brought Seeds To California.

Oh, People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Planted Roots In Vancouver.

Gur Sidhu Music!

A Six-Foot Tall Jatt,
Won’t Give Anyone A F*Ck,
Keeping An Eye On The Top Shelf,
They Won’t Blink.

The Circle Is Small,
The Work Is Big,
With A Third Party,
You Won’t Find A Match.

American Dollars,
We Know How To Earn,
Spending Freely,
Honey, We’re Going To Dubai.

Leaving The Business Behind,
Baby, We’re Going Somewhere,
Every New Year,
We Get A New Car.

We Got A Book Hummer,
Which Causes Havoc Wherever It Goes,
We’re Loading Money Onto Trucks.

People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Brought Seeds To California.

Oh, People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Planted Roots In Vancouver.

From Mullanpur To Dhaka,
Oh Dear, From Door To Door,
We Eat With Friends,
The Wait Is Long.

One Thing Over And Over,
You Know It’s True,
Brother, From The Jingling Anklets,
The Whole World Knows.

They’re The Men Of The Naagni,
They’re The Dealers,
The Girls Are Into It,
They’re Into Chemicals.

People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Brought Seeds To California.

Oh, People Keep Asking,
From Afghanistan To Opium,
We’ve Planted Roots In Vancouver."

The Cheers

The Cheers were a vocal group popyular in the mid-1950s. This hit 1955 single was written by the famous songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. It's a teenage tragedy song that might be the first of the genre. A bunch of similar songs were written in the years following. The filthy biker in the song hits a diesel that was California bound while riding on Highway 101, and apparently then turns into a naked ghost biker. (Maybe he was even one on fire like the fiery biker in the Nicholas Cage movie.) I'm assuming the accident happened on the 101 in Oregon, but maybe it was in California.

"He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
He had a hopped-up 'cycle that took off like a gun
That fool was the terror of Highway 101

Well, he never washed his face and he never combed his hair
He had axle grease embedded underneath his fingernails
On the muscle of his arm was a red tattoo
A picture of a heart saying "Mother, I love you"

He had a pretty girlfriend by the name of Mary Lou
But he treated her just like he treated all the rest
And everybody pitied her 'cause everybody knew
He loved that doggone motorcycle best

He wore black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
He had a hopped-up 'cycle that took off like a gun
That fool was the terror of Highway 101

Mary Lou, poor girl, she pleaded and she begged him not to leave
She said "I've got a feeling if you ride tonight I'll grieve"
But her tears were shed in vain and her every word was lost
In the rumble of his engine and the smoke from his exhaust

Then he took off like the Devil and there was fire in his eyes
He said "I'll go a thousand miles before the sun can rise"
But he hit a screamin' diesel that was California-bound
And when they cleared the wreckage, all they found

Was his black denim trousers and motorcycle boots
And a black leather jacket with an eagle on the back
But they couldn't find the 'cycle that took off like a gun
And they never found the terror of Highway 101."

The Cheetah Girls

Christmas in California

The Cheetah Girls are an American girl group that was formed for the 2003 Disney TV movie "The Cheetah Girls," based on a series of books, about four teen girls in Manhattan who are in a girl group. There are three Cheetah Girls movies, a few albums and some video games and probably lots of other marketing products, but I had never even heard of them until I discovered this song 14 years later. (Probably because I was never a tween girl.) This song is not from the movie soundtrack, it's from their 2005 album "Cheetah-licious Christmas." The title should have been "Christmas in Southern California" because you won't be getting a tan in Nor Cal in late December or catching any waves (at least not without a wet suit.)

"They got the snow
But we got the beach now
They're getting cold
We're getting pool side seats now

Yeah, we're surfin' through the holidays
bustin' out some candy canes
Hot in the sun

Yeah we're rollerskatin' everyday
Santa Claus is catching waves
Having some fun

(You know I'm talkin' 'bout)
Christmas time in California
All this fun here waiting for ya

They got the sleigh rides and sleigh bells too (Come on girls)
But we got convertables, at Christmas we cruise
We never made a snow man
But we're working on our sun tan

(Everyone knows)
That we can have a holiday
Celebrate it our way
(Come on lets go)

(You know I'm talkin' 'bout)
Christmas time in California
All this fun here waiting for ya

California is the place that you wnana be
Santa even likes our weather better out on Christmas Eve...."

Chris Cheney

Chris Cheney is from Australia, active in a number of bands since 1992, the most well-known being the rockabilly band The Living End which formed in 1994. But this is his debut solo single released in March 2022 from his forthcoming album "The Storm Before The Calm." Wickipedia says he relocated to Los Angeles in 2011, so maybe that's what inspired the song.

"Slow day, streets on fire
Hey friend, it's been a long while
Back down to the pier last summer
Turn around, go back to California again

She'll still be waitin' there for you
California
When all the people have returned
I guess you have to take her word
She'll never turn her back on you
Dead in the water
And now I wish that I had stayed
The stars are never gonna fade
How could I ever face myself again
If I let you down

Firefly trapped in a jar in
Tennessee
Avoid the long distance
Break down
Jump to California
Fault line
Hey you're just in time for the rain

She'll still be waitin' there for you
California
When all the people have returned
I guess you have to take her word
She'll never turn her back on you
Dead in the water
And all the wishes that you made
The stars are never gonna fade
How could I ever face myself again
If I let you down

She'll be waitin' there
California
When all the people have returned
I guess you have to take her word
California
Like a long lost forgotten road
Wake up now we're goin' home

Dream baby dream
Dream baby dream
California
Dream baby dream"

Cher

L.A. Plane

Cher is a singer, actress, TV personality, and style icon from southern California, active since 1963. This song about going home to California is from her album "Cherished" released in 1977.

"Seven thousand miles to Paris
Nine hundred miles to Rome
And I'm goin' every mile to find
My piece of mind at home

This infatuation is driving me insane
Make my reservation
On the next L.A. bound plane

Get me high, get me sane
Get me aboard that L.A. plane
I'm tired of this pouring rain
I'm tired of just passin' through

Get me safe, get me warm
Get me a southern California morning
Where I was born, boy I'm coming
I'm coming home to you

He looked so fine in Europe
On all the posters and brochures
I thought they promised something more
Than what was mine and yours

Well I was lookin' for excitement
On every boat and train
But all I saw were unfamiliar
Faces in the rain

Get me high, get me sane
Get me aboard that L.A. plane
I'm tired of this pouring rain
I'm tired of just passing through

Get me safe, get me warm
Get me a southern California morning
Where I was born, babe I'm coming
I'm coming home to you

And now nothing looks better in my mind
Than your warm and loving face
And all these miles have taught me
That your love can't be replaced

Get me high, get me sane
Get me aboard that L.A. plane
I'm tired of this pouring rain
I'm tired of just passing through

Get me safe, get me warm
Get me a southern California morning
Where I was born, babe I'm coming
I'm coming home to you"

Cherry Ghost

Sacramento

Cherry Ghost is an indie rock band from Bolton, England. This song is from the album "Herd Runners" released in 2014. I had to look it up, but apparently there are lots of orange trees in Sacramento.

"Sacramento's half the city since you took that job two states away
I count the days as I wait these tables trying to save the funds to come and stay
And the smiles on the outside couldn't be further from the truth if I tried
It's a fight just to survive, working two jobs to keep the meter alive

Old Mr. Linden passed on his warmest regards from the window seat
Since his good wife took leave of this life he ain't half the man he use to be
And the smiles on the outside, couldn't be further from the truth if he tried
And the stars up the skies may as well burn out if you ain't by my side

Oh Marianne, Marianne wait for me
One day I will be your king and you will be my queen

Remember Joe, well they let him go down at the saw mill on the edge of town
They say that pride can cost a man his life, well Joe's taken to drinking now
And the smiles on the outside couldn't be further from the truth if they tried
It's a fight just to survive, working two jobs to keep the meter alive

Oh Marianne, Marianne wait for me
One day I will be your king and you will be my queen

The orange groves that line these roads ain't gonna offer me no sympathy
The kids have grown and they miss you so, while you've been out there making history
And the smiles on the outside couldn't be further from the truth if we tried
It's a fight just to survive, working two jobs to keep the meter alive

Oh Marianne, Marianne wait for me
One day I will be your king and you will be my queen"

Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney is a country music artist from Tennessee, active since 1988. They don't get much bigger than Chesney in any genre, and he has 30 million album sales and almost as many awards to prove it. This song is from his 1999 album "Everywhere We Go." It's about a woman who thinks that going to sunny California will solve all her problems. Maybe it will. Probably it won't.

"She lived at the end of a little dirt road
In a house where secrets go untold
Barefoot in a cotton dress
Dark hair in a tangled mess
And a head full of crazy dreams
She said

I'm goin' to California
A place where the sun always shines
I'm goin' to California
And I'm leavin' everything behind

You can't help but feel a little bit touched
When your daddy loves you a little too much
You can wish on four leaf clovers
But all the fields have been plowed over
And there's nothin' left to do but fly away
She said

I'm goin' to California
A place where the sun always shines
I'm goin' to California
And I'm leavin' everything behind

Stars burn like candles on that two-lane highway
She made her wish, and disappeared on her 18th birthday
And she said

I'm goin' to California
A place where the sun always shines
I'm goin' to California
And I'm leavin' everything behind

I'm goin' to California
And I'm leavin' everything behind

Oh California
I'm goin' to California
Oh California
Leavin' it all behind
California"

Kenny Chesney

El Cerrito Place

This is a cover of a song written by Keith Gattis and originally recorded by Charlie Robison from Country megastar Kenny Chesney's 2012 album "Welcome to the Fishbowl." El Cerrito Place supposedly refers to some apartments in Hollywood. The song also name checks Pioneertown in the Mojave Desert.

"I been hangin' round this place, I been lookin' through your space
I been waitin' for you, I've been waitin' for you
All the places that you go, all the people that you know
I've been lookin' for you, I've been lookin' for you

And all these pretty people up on El Cerrito Place
They all got somethin' in their pockets, all got somethin' on their face
They roll down to La Brea where it meets the boulevard
Singin' hallelujah while they dance over the stars
They all say they're goin' far

Me I've been lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby
I've been lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby
All night long, all night long, all night long

Someone said they might have seen you where the ocean meets the land
So I've been out here all night lookin' for your footprints in the sand
Did you hear the ocean singing, baby did you sing along
While you danced out in the water to some ol' forgotten song,
Were you even here at all?

Me I've been lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby
I've been lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby
All night long, all night long, all night long

Somehow I wound up in the desert just after daylight
Where the Joshua Trees grow that little place you always liked
These Pioneertown people ain't got too much to say
And if you ever were here baby they ain't givin' you away

Now it's been two days
I'm still lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby
I've been lookin' for you baby, I've been lookin' for you baby
All night long, all night long, all night long

And all these pretty people up on El Cerrito Place
They all got somethin' in their pockets, all got somethin' on their face

Someone said they might have seen you where the ocean meets the land
So I've been out here all night lookin' for your footprints in the sand

Think I'll go back to the city, back to El Cerrito Place
That's the last time that I saw that pretty smile upon your face
I've been lookin' for you baby"

Kenny Chesney

Get Along

Kenny Chesney spends half his time playing stadiums in front of hundreds of thousands of shoeless fans, half his time counting big piles of money and country music awards, and the other half of his time kicking back on a beach in a tank top with Jimmy Buffett. I'm sure of that. The singer of this inspirational 2018 country song wonders if a woman he saw on a highway billboard advertising some kind of sex phone line got stranded there on her way to L.A. where she hoped to achieve a higher level of success in the entertainment industry. I wonder - are there still phone sex lines? Maybe that billboard has been there since the 90s.

"Met a man wearin' a t-shirt, says "Virginia is for lovers"
Had a Bible in his left hand and a bottle in the other
He said "all you're really given is the sunshine and your name"
We both started laughin' when the sky started to rain

Get along, on down the road
We've got a long long way to go
Scared to live, scared to die
We ain't perfect but we try

Get along while we can
Always give love the upper hand
Paint a wall, learn to dance
Call your mom, buy a boat
Drink a beer, sing a song
Make a friend, can't we all get along

Saw a model on a billboard, 1-800 get to know me
Wondered was she photoshopped, or were her eyes really that lonely?
Did she leave her hometown thinkin' she'd end up in L.A.?
Did she break down in the desert and get stuck beside the highway?

Get along, on down the road
We've got a long long way to go
Scared to live, scared to die
We ain't perfect but we try

Get along while we can
Always give love the upper hand
Paint a wall, learn to dance
Call your mom, buy a boat
Drink a beer, sing a song
Make a friend, can't we all get along...."

Kenny Chesney

Live Those Songs

This is from Chesney's album "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" released in 2002.

"Saw him sitting on a sidewalk in Fresno
Braided hair and a tie-dyed T-shirt on
Talking to himself about Vietnam
About the tour he did and the deal he got
He said, 'This world ain't the same if you ask me
If I could be somewhere else, I'll tell you where I'd be'

'I'd be rolling on the river with Credence
Stealing kisses from Peggy Sue
I'd be knee deep in sand on a Panama beach in the spring of '72
I'd be wasting away on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll in
He said, 'What I wouldn't give just to live those songs again'

Saw him working the counter at Walgreen's
With a new haircut and a bachelor's degree
Talking to himself about his raw deal
Cussing Uncle Sam and the G.I. bill
He said, 'This world ain't the same if you ask me
If I could be somewhere else, I'll tell you where I'd be'

'I'd be rolling on the river with Credence
Stealing kisses from Peggy Sue
I'd be knee deep in sand on a Panama beach in the spring of '72
I'd be wasting away on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll in
He said, 'What I wouldn't give just to live those songs again'...."

Chicago

Describing themselves as a rock and roll band with horns, Chicago (originally called Chicago Transit Authority) formed in Chicago in 1967 then went on to record a steady stream of hits into the 80s, becoming one of the best selling groups of all time. This is from the album "Chicago VI" released in 1973.

"People running everywhere
Got no place to go
Got no time to look around to find out where they are
Where they are
Where they are

People having such a race
Don't know where it ends
Got beat the other man, not getting anywhere
Anywhere
Anywhere

Hollywood
Crazy neighborhood
Never understood why I stay
Hollywood
Lovely lady hood
Make you feel good
Every day

Feeling the night's flash by
Under the glowing eyes
Of the sweet butterflies

Watch
What you say
When you say it
Someone you know
Will betray it
Will betray it

Hollywood
Oh, crazy neighborhood
Never understood why I stay
Heard it through the grapevine
Heard it through the grapevine
Heard it through the grapevine"

Chicago

South California Purples

This is from the band's debut album "Chicago Transit Authority" released in 1969. On a cloudy day, the singer wonders where the fabled California sun is. L.A. is cold and cloudy when you've lost your girl and you've got the blues. Or the purples, in this case. (Maybe he should try looking in "Southern California," since there's no place called "South California.")

"I thought this was a warm place
I must be in the wrong place.
Thought this was a warm place
I must be in the wrong place.
And I don't know where I'm going
Since my lover left me.
Never no smile on my face.
I am he is you are he is you are me and we are all together, woah woah.
Buddy, this ain't L.A.
I've travelled such a long way.
Buddy, this ain't L.A.
I've travelled such a long way,
And I still don't know where I'm going.
But without my baby
I better not stay."

Chicano Batman

La Jura

Chicano Batman is a band formed in Los Angeles in 2008. This psychedelic rock song is from their album "Freedom is Free" released in 2017. "La Jura" is Spanish slang for the police. There are no lyrics in the song that specifically mention California, and unfortunately the tale it tells of police brutality could happen almost anywhere, but since the band is from Los Angeles and it was recommended, here it is.

"La otra noche fue
Una noche muy terrible
Balaciaron un amigo mío

En la calle cerca de aquí
Lo dejaron abandonado
Un objeto sin vida junto a la esquina

Yo no entiendo por qué
Los que deben proteger
Hacen lo opuesto
Matan inocentes

Los que deben proteger
Hacen lo opuesto
Matan inocentes

Y ahora mi amigo no vive más
La jura llegó, lo mató y se acabó
¿Qué culpa tenía si el solo fue
Un niño feliz?, ay Dios ya no respirará jamás

Yo no entiendo por qué
Los que deben proteger
Hacen lo opuesto
Matan inocentes

Los que deben proteger
Hacen lo opuesto
Matan inocentes

Yo no entiendo por qué
Los que deben proteger
Hacen lo opuesto
Matan inocentes

Los que deben proteger
Hacen lo opuesto
Matan inocentes"

"The other night was
A very terrible night
They shot a friend of mine

On the street near here
They left him abandoned
A lifeless object by the corner

I do not understand why
Those who must protect
They do the opposite
They kill innocents

Those who must protect
They do the opposite
They kill innocents

And now my friend doesn't live anymore
The oath arrived, killed him and it was over
What was his fault if he just went
A happy child?, oh God, he will never breathe anymore

I do not understand why
Those who must protect
They do the opposite
They kill innocents

Those who must protect
They do the opposite
They kill innocents

I do not understand why
Those who must protect
They do the opposite
They kill innocents

Those who must protect
They do the opposite
They kill innocents"

The Chicks

Gaslighter

The Chicks are a country group formed in Texas composed of three women that was formerly named The Dixie Chicks. The biggest-selling country group in the U.S.A, the group was blacklisted and boycotted in 2003 for criticizing President George Bush for his plans to start a war in Iraq. Their best-selling 2006 album "Taking the Long Way" won the highest Grammy Awards - Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. After that the band mostly took a long hiatus until 2020 when they released this song, the first single from their first new album in 14 years "Gaslighter" Then they changed their name to avoid the connotations that the name "Dixie" has with slavery.

"Gaslighter
Denier
Doing anything to get your ass farther
Gaslighter
Big timer
Repeating all of the mistakes of your father

We moved to California and we followed your dreams
I believed in the promises you made to me
Swore that night til death do us part
But you lie lie lie lie lied

Hollywood welcomed you with open doors
No matter what they gave you, you still wanted more
Acting all above it when our friends divorced
What a lie lie lie lie lie

You're such a
Gaslighter
Denier
Doing anything to get your ass farther
Gaslighter
Big timer
Repeating all of the mistakes of your father
Gaslighter
You broke me
You're sorry but where's my apology
Gaslighter
You liar

You thought I wouldn't see it if you put it in my face
Give you all my money you'll gladly walk away
You think it's justifiable I think it's pretty cruel
And you know you lie best when you lie to you
Cause boy you know exactly what you did on my boat
And boy that's exactly why you ain't comin' home
Save your tired stories for your new someone else
Cause they're lie lie lie lie lies
Look out you little

Gaslighter
Denier...."

The Chicks

Texas Man

This is another song from their album "Gaslighter" released in 2020.

"I could use a Texas man
But one who can feel at home
Yeah, here in the California sand
Who holds me like he'll never let go
It's been way too long

Since somebody's body was tangled with mine
Yeah, tangled up with mine

Everybody wants top market
But I'm a little bit unraveled
Everybody wants the new model
But I'm a little bit more traveled
If you got the strength I do
Then sign me up
If I'm not too much for you
Then sign me up, sign me up
I'm a little bit unraveled, but I'm ready
Uh-huh, uh-huh
And I'm ready
Uh-huh, uh-huh

Yeah, I could use a Texas man
Who's not afraid to take his time
He's gotta have patient hands
'Cause the way to my heart is through my mind
Been way too long since somebody's body kept me up all night
Yeah, that good kinda keepin' me up all night...."

Childish Gambino

Telegraph Ave. ("Oakland by Lloyd")

Childish Gambino aka Donald Glover is an award-winning musician, comedian, actor, producer, writer, director etc. who was raised in Atlanta, active since 2005. This song was released in 2016, back when people could still upload their six-second-long video clips on the now-defunct social media site Vine.

"She want to move to California
She must've fu**king lost her mind
She want to move to California
That's how they get you every time

She make a movie with her friends
Put it up in a minute
Everybody say it now
Ain't no loop at the minute
Everybody saying
'How, how you do it, you did it?'
I'ma show you what it done
But enough for a finish
Pay attention, you listen
You keep losing your mind
How you want to loop this s**t
But looking like a Vine?

But they no pay for no privilege
Now she broke in Koreatown
In the condo you rented
Better get your percentage

In California, oh
She must've fu**king lost her mind, yeah

He want to move to California
He want to hang with DC Fly

All the people all around and the follower people
I go watching a 'haha' make a girlfriend giggle
Make her feel so official, make it Serena Vista
Supernova, new residual, making money a little
Make the smoker illegal
Make the living illegal
Make the laughing illegal
Make it snap for a people
When you make a movie now
Know you making no difference
It's a tickle on the mind
'Fore me finish your sentence

So go pimp a like on Vine
But don't pay for the privilege
Now you broke in Koreatown
In the condo you rented
Better get your percentage
Oh, you broke in Koreatown
In that condo you rented
Better get your percentage

In California
She must've fu**king lost her mind, yeah
I want to move to California
I want to hang with DC Fly"

Childish Gambino (featuring Jorja Smith & Amaarae)

In the Night

Jorja Smith is a singer-songwriter from England active since 2016, and Amaarae is a singer-songwriter raised between Atlanta, Georgia and Accra, Ghana, active since 2010. This song is from Donals Glover's fifth studio album and the soundtrack to the upcoming film of the same name "Bando Stone & The New World" released in 2024.
The California mention is trivial (as most of them are) but I like the implication that good looking women belong in California and not in backwoods Georgia. (Wait a minute, what about Daisy Duke?)

"....I'm just a country boy from Georgia
Your body's made for California, my love
Your man does nothin' but adore ya
But I wonder, what would he say?
You look so good, I can't afford ya
He kissed your lips, it looked like torture for you
Just 'cause you're sweet don't make you loyal
And I wonder, what would he say?

If in the night, I dream of you
Doesn't matter what I do
In the night, I dream of you
Every night, I dream of you

I had to sneak around
'Cause he could never know that
I never wanted happiness
I just wanna be with you
I know you'd drag me down
But you know I know that
You need me too
In the night...."

Childish Gambino

This song is from his album "Because The Internet" released in 2013.

""Power 106!
L.A., it's ya girl, Yesi Ortiz
Got some brand-new music
I need y'all to turn it up and let me know what you think
It's Lloyd, called "Oakland", on Power 106

I was making Japanese and she's watching DVDs
In Oakland, in Oakland
Now I'm driving up the 5 and she waits 'til I arrive
In Oakland, in Oakland
Everything that I wanted
Only gotta drive for the moment
If you tell me, "Turn around," then I'm on it
For the moment, but you know me
You know how I get when I'm lonely
And I think about you and the moments
But everything you do is so Oakland, so Oakland

Foot on the gas, I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights and the stop signs
I'm ready to go
Before I get to The Bay, babe, that's a problem
Because I'm way too scared to call
And you might get me to stay, and oh

I don't really mind the drive
But I think I'd rather die in Oakland, in Oakland
With my hands on two and ten
So I guess it all depends on Oakland, on Oakland
And I'm nervous, truth be told
I never saw me growing old in Oakland, in Oakland
And if I married you tonight
It would probably start a riot in Oakland, in Oakland

Everything, that I needed
Now that I got you in your feelings
Everything you won't say, you tweet it
And a n***a don’t like that s**t at all
So treated
Can we just roll with the feeling?
Can we just roll for a minute?
Wait a minute

Foot on the gas, I'm just trying to pass
All the red lights and the stop signs
I'm ready to go
But I'm really not ready, girl, that's a problem
'Cause I'm way too scared to fall
And I know you choose to stay, and oh

All the girlfriends saying, "Here we go again"
Rich kid, but he act like a gentleman
Last one didn't end like it should've been
Two dates and he still wanna get it in
And they're saying it's because of the Internet
Try her once and it's on to the next chick
X-O the O face on your exes, right?
And we can do the same thing if you wanna have at it
When your thoughts can't breathe and you thinking asthmatic
And you wanna be a mom and I wasn't mad at it
I was thinking 'bout me, I'd be really bad at it
'Cause I'm thinking 'bout me, weeks in Dubai
Fourth of July, house in Kauai, yeah, we can try
So let's try

Whoa
I took off my nine-to-five
But you still don't have the time to kiss me, just hit me
And if I left you all alone, would you still pick up the phone?
It's iffy, you miss me
I got furniture to move
And we'll both be thirty soon in Oakland, in Oakland
The only one I know is you
So the f**k I'm supposed to do in Oakland? In Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland
In Oakland, in Oakland""

Chili-Bo

Chili-Bo is a rapper, producer, writer, and DJ, active since 1986, and one of the pioneer rappers of underground Bay Area West Coast hip-hop. He's also the CEO of West-Oakland based Drink-A-Lot Records. This single was released in 2022.

"I grew up in a place called California
It's the Golden State where them boys be on ya
Sunny blue skies big houses and palm trees
6- 4 Impalas candy paint sittin' on three
Eses and cholos, vatos and locos
Black and brown pride 'cause we all the same bruh
California livin' is a serious task
If you ain't got nuts then you ass don't last
'Cause everybody's tough and everybody's packin'
And triple OGs like myself they be stackin'
Thinkin' of a master plan, cookin' some fish
I'm a black male livin' in a world full of s**t
I talk like I talk 'cause I'm from California
Even walk a certain way 'cause I'm from California
I love the six trey 'cause I'm from California
Even know how to grow 'cause I'm from California

Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(I'm from California)
Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(California)
Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(I'm from California)
Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(California)

We got crips and bloods pimps playas and macks
Politicians tellin' lies, ya we got all of that
We got black revolutionaries takin' no s**t
California is the place where you can't be not b**ch
Because n***as out here is known for fakin'
Takin' all your traps tryin' to steal what you makin'
So when you come to Cali keep your head to the sky
And when they say what's that you from homie say good-bye
'Cause livin' life in Cali is a serious task
Five ni**as on a corner got a question don't ask
'Cause that's the way it is if you wanna survive
And it's a real cool place if you wanna get high
And if you wanna make a dollar out of fifteen cent
You better take your ass back where you come from b**ch
'Cause livin' like in Cali is a serious task
And if your car's short-stoppin' we'll blast your ass

Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(I'm from California)
Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(California)
Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(I'm from California)
Welcome to the place called the Golden State
(California)"

Chilliwack

California Girl

Chilliwck is a rock band formed in Vancouver, B.C., Canada in 1970. This song is from their sixth studio album "Dreams, Dreams, Dreams" released in 1977.

"California
California
Well I know you now
Understand you now
And I love you more each day

California Girl
California Girl
You're the best thing that I've seen in awhile
California Girl
California Girl
There must be something magic in your smile

Now when I came to this California town
I came here to make the big time
And I tried so hard but got no reward
And it seemed like I was wasting my time

I was kicking around this lonesome town
Trying to pick myself up instead of going down
But something sure changed when I met you
California now is lookin' bright and blue

California Girl
California Girl
Well it seemed like I was wasting my time
But now I know you girl
And I love you girl
And it seems like California's all mine

I've been knocking on doors trying to sell my songs
I've been getting refused everywhere I've gone
But something sure changed when I met you
California now is looking bright and blue

California Girl
California Girl
Well I don't know how to say what's on my mind
And now I know you girl
And I love you girl
And it feels like California's all mine
Well it feels like California is all mine

California
California Girl
California
California Girl"

Chilly

Come to L.A.

Chilly was a German disco group from 1978-1983. This is one of their hits, from their 1979 album "Come to L.A." Disco does not get any cheesier than this.

"In L.A. there's beautiful ladies
Hey L.A., you beautiful town

A town full of musical people
Where true stars are always found
Come, come, come
Come, come, come, come to L.A.
Come, come, come
Come, come, come, come to L.A.

Down on the boulevard, man, it's hot
And disco lights are flashing fancy colors

Hell's Angels, movie stars and limousines
L.A.'s got just what you want
L.A.'s got just what you want
L.A.'s got just what you want
... ... ...
Glittery tights, satin ballet shoes
A fashion that's catching every man by the eye
Temperature rise when they see me walk by
Asking where I live and is it far?

Come, come, come
Come, come, come, come to L.A.
Come, come, come
Come, come, come, come to L.A.
Come, come, come
Come, come, come, come to L.A.
Come, come, come
Come, come, come, come to L.A....."

Chokebore

Ciao L.A.

Chokebore is an indie rock band from Hawaii and then Los Angeles, active on and off since 1993. This song is from the album "It's a Miracle" released in 2002. The singer's reason for saying goodbye to L.A. is a good one. Who hasn't worried they might die of old age in their car when stuck in an epic L.A. traffic jam?

"I'm not here I'm looking out into the distance
And I'm not here I'm looking back against the tour of black black oh
black black oh

Oh you can't make me stay, I am not like you are
I won't stay in L.A. and die inside my car

You're cut out from my memory
I thought that we'd never be
But we're surrounded

Oh you can't make me stay, I am not like you are
I won't stay in L.A. and die inside my car

Oh you can't make me stay, I am not like you are
I won't stay in L.A. and die inside my car

But I'm not here I'm looking out into the distance
And I'm not here I'm looking back against the tour of "black black" oh
black black oh
black black oh
black black oh"

Chris & Herb

Bakersfield Bound

Chris & Herb are Chris Hillman, who was a founding member of the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers and other bands, and Herb Pederson, a studio musician for many years and a producer. This is a country song in the Bakersfield Country style from their album with the same name released in 1996.

"I was the youngest boy in a family of four
We lived in Oklahoma, the wind whistled through our door
We scratched out a living in the dirt and the clay
I never will forget it until my dying day

The dust storms they came at us, the sky turned cold and black
We packed up our belongings and never looked back
We rode out west toward the sun just a heartbeat away
I never will forget it until my dying day

We were Bakersfield bound and the California dream
Down the road lay the promised land, our fields would all turn green
We were Bakersfield bound like so many gone before
Just to cross our river Jordan and reach the other shore

When we first set eyes on the San Joaquin was like a friend we always knew
The gates swung open so far and wide even God could drive through
We worked the crops from dawn to dusk, shared along the way
I never will forget it until my dying day

We were Bakersfield bound and the California dream
Down the road lay the promised land, our fields would all turn green
We were Bakersfield bound like so many gone before
Crossed our river Jordan and reached the other shore
Crossed our river Jordan and reached the other shore"

The Chris Massey Band

California Country

The Chris Massey Band is from Atlanta. This song was released in 2019.

"The sun is sinking slow in the desert sky
Another day has come and gone by
Here I sit without you, drinking my wine
California country in the summer time

I can hear the freeway outside my door
A voice inside me says you couldn't take no more
I pack up and leave where would I go?
This California country is all I know

There's no reason to the wise
All the notes you left I read only say goodbye
Now this California sunshine hurts my eyes
While in NYC tonight all is fine

The June gloom has set in
Now nothin's right
Still I see you hangin' 'round in my mind
A heartache's where I know you ought to be
Here with me in the California country
Here with me in the California country"

Christie

San Bernadino

Christie is a soft rock band formed in England in 1965. This pop song is a single released in 1970. According to Wickipedia: "After the song became a hit, the band members admitted that they had never visited the city of San Bernardino, California." That might explain why they misspell the name of the city, spelling it how everybody says it.

"I've been all around this great big world
To Paris and to Rome
And I've never found a place that I
Could really call my own
But there's one place where I know
The sun is shining endlessly
And it's calling me across the sea
So I must get back to San Bernadino

I remember when I was sixteen
My daddy said to me
'You could travel round this universe
Until eternity
But you'll never find that peace of mind
That you've been dreamin' of
Not until you finally decide
To come on home to San Bernadino'

Oh, I'm longin' for
San Bernadino
Oh, I'm longin' for
San Bernadino

I've been all along the water
Right up to the Rio Grande
And I've never found that paradise
They call the promised land
I was young and foolishly
I thought the world was at my feet
But I'm no different now and so*
I'm homeward bound for San Bernadino

Well I'm older and I'm wiser
And I've seen the light of day
And I think it's time to realise
My dreams have gone astray
But I tried so hard to reach that star
That was so far away
So now I gotta find that road
That's leading home to San Bernadino

Oh, I'm longin' for
San Bernadino
Oh, I'm longin' for
San Bernadino"

Christopher

Santa Ana Winds

I can't find out anything about this singer because he doesn't use a last name. There is a Danish singer now who also goes by "Christopher" which makes it even harder. All I know is that the song is from a single released in 1970 and that Christopher is credited as one of the songwriters. It's a soft rock song that starts with a sitar, brings in some horns, and ends with the sounds of the Santa Ana winds. What could be better than that? And even stranger - in this song the winds are not the "devil winds" that make people crazy and fan wildfires, they are good winds that clear the cloudy skies and blow his girl back to him.

"Does she know that I still love her?
Does she know that I still care?
And Does she feel the way that I feel?
And is she watchin' to the northwest air for

Santa Ana winds
Clearin' up my cloudy skies
Santa Ana winds
Blow my love back to my arms again

On the horizon I can see her
I close my eyes but she's still there
And as I open up my window
I smell the dust and feel the desert air

Santa Ana winds
Clearin' up my cloudy skies
Santa Ana winds
Blow my love back to my arms again

Yes it's true I left her
But yes I'm also lonely
And now I know that only
She can free me

Santa Ana winds
Clearin' up my cloudy skies
Santa Ana winds
Blow my love back to my arms again
Santa Ana winds
Clearin' up my cloudy skies
Santa Ana winds ...."

CHUNG HA

California Dream

Kim Chung-ha (Chungha or CHUNG HA) is a pop singer-dancer from South Korea who also lived in Texas for eight years so she is also fluent in English. This song is from her second album "Bare & Rare" released in 2022. Half of the lyrics are Korean and half in English but I don't know how to post the Korean characters so I have put an English translation of the Korean lyrics in italics. You can also find the Korean characters online and the Romanized lyrics, too, because K-pop fans are very diligent!

"After looking back at the end of my daily life
I found myself tired once again, broken
Do you want to take it off and leave? Hmm-hmm
Will swim in mixed emotions to the fullest, ocean
Draw it in your dreams every night
Following that romantic ray of light
Dance together on the shiny-shimmering street

Come on, California girls,
Excitingly on the beach
On the West Coast, baby, let's go, let's go
Give me that Hollywood heat
My California dream
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
My California dream
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
That's where I wanna be
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
My California dream
On the West Coast, baby, let's go, let's go

Under the pouring sunlight
Burn your worries with lime and tequila
I'm drunk on the atmosphere, you're mine
You don't have to know the name, just call me señorita
I'm getting colored under the languid sunset
Meet me who have a different color
My heart flutters when I walk softly and gently

Come on, California girls,
Excitingly on the beach
On the West Coast, baby, let's go, let's go
Give me that Hollywood heat
My California dream
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
My California dream
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
That's where I wanna be
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
My California dream
On the West Coast, baby, let's go, let's go

In the night sky, galaxy, forever be beautiful
Let's be together, party, oh-oh, oh-oh
In this sparkling moment, run away like a dream
It shines in an instant, oh-oh, oh-oh
Draw it in your dreams every night
Following that romantic ray of light

Come on, California girls,
Excitingly on the beach
On the West Coast, baby, let's go, let's go
Give me that Hollywood heat
My California dream
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
My California dream
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
That's where I wanna be
(Ooh-ooh, ooh)
My California dream
On the West Coast, baby, let's go, let's go"

Eric Church

Heart of the Night

Eric Church is a country/rock music singer-songwriter from North Carolina, active since 2005. This is from his album "Heart & Soul" released in 2021. It's another song that mentions the Santa Ana winds, but this time they're compared to someone who can start his fire.

"Come on, let's go baby, don't even pack
This town feels like a cage and honey I'm not made like that
I can see the maybe in the jasmine of your eye
I'm a Roman candle baby do you have a light

Put lightning in this Thunderbird till the metal comes alive
The rhythm of the road will give these horses wings to fly
And my true north is anywhere I can leave it all behind
Let's point this thing west into the chest of the still beating heart of the night

I know the crazy in these words coming from my mouth
But I swear that's where I'm going girl if we don't leave right now
I'll be your wildfire you be my Santa Ana wind
Turn every town we never been to into somewhere that we've been

Yeah put lightning in this Thunderbird till the metal comes alive
The rhythm of the road will give these horses wings to fly
Yeah, my true north is anywhere I can leave it all behind
Let's point this thing west into the chest of the still beating heart of the night...."

CHVRCHES

Each Time You Fall in Love

CHVRCHES is an electropop band from Scotland active since 2011. It's pronounced "Churches" but it's more fun to pronounce the "V." This song is from their album "Screen Violence" released in 2021.

"Waste a month, waste a year
Waste the time you could've been here
Count the debt, count the tears
Count the truths and all of my fears
I didn't want to be cynical
Passing place for the soul
You were never predictable
Now I need to let it go

Found the song, played it back
Heard your voice under the feedback
Found a tape that was blank
Saw your face fading into black
I know love is delusional
And I hate when I'm wrong
Yours was never conditional
And now I need to get it gone

No one ever warns ya
You'll die in California
Falling in a dream, you let, let go
No one ever seems to say, say so
No one ever tells ya
There's freedom in the failure
Dying in a dream feels like home
No one ever seems to say, say so

Close my eyes, close my heart
Close the book I never meant to start
Say your name in the dark
No one said it would be this hard
I didn't go to the funeral
Heard you cry on the phone
Your voice was so beautiful
And now I need to let it go

No one ever warns ya
You'll die in California
Falling in a dream, you let, let go
No one ever seems to say, say so
No one ever tells ya
There's freedom in the failure
Dying in a dream feels like home
No one ever seems to say, say so

God bless this mess that we made ourselves
Pull me into the screen at the end and
God bless this mess that we made for ourselves
Pull me into the screen at the end

Pull me into the screen at the end
Pull me into the screen at the end
To the screen at the end"

Cielo

California Song

According to her Linked In page (which says nothing about her music) Cielo Lavergne is from Argentina and she is "...the CEO & Founder of FUTURA, a dynamic construction startup that is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in space exploration...." with the goal of developing communication infrastructure on the Moon. Maybe that's why this haunting melancholy song released in August, 2024 sounds like it was recorded out in deep space.

"Pictures of you
And the moon still shines
California songs
And the open road

I'm moving away
From the oldest town
I wanna grow like a Hollywood star

Even away I remember your voice
Even when you said
I'll never leave you alone

Years passing by
Walking on the open road
Took the last airplane
And left my old home

When the stars shine
Do your remember my voice?
I'll sing a little louder
So you don't forget at all

When you are apart
Do you remember our home?
I walked over the streets
It seems a long time ago

Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all?
Is this all?
Is this all you ever wanted?

Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all?
Is this all?
Is this all you ever wanted?

But even away
But even now
I remember your voice
Oh I remember it all

Time passed by
I'm leaving my town
Walking on the road
On the Hollywood sign

Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all you ever wanted?
Is this all?
Is this all?
Is this all you ever wanted?"

Cigarettes After Sex

Cigarettes After Sex is a band from El Paso, Texas, known for their dream-like musical style and lead singer Greg Gonzalez' sensual androgenous voice. This song is from their self-titled album, released in 2017.
(Also recommened: Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby, 2012, and Falling in Love, 2019.)

"Each time you fall in love it’s clearly not enough
You sleep all day and drive out in L.A.
It isn’t safe

and each time you kiss a girl you never know what it’s worth
You say all of the words they wanna hear
It isn’t real

She took you for a ride in summer baby
Lost all your money to her
All I wanna know is if you love her how come you never give in

Each time you have a dream you never know what it means
You see that open road and never know which way to go

and each time you fall in love it’s clearly not enough
You sleep all day and drive out in L.A.
It isn’t safe…"

Circle Jerks

Beverly Hills

Circle Jerks were a hardcore punk band formed in 1979 in L.A. This is from the band's first studio album "Group Sex" released in 1980.

"Beverly Hills, Century City
Everything's so nice and pretty
All the people look the same
Don't they know they're so damn lame

There she goes
Three piece suit
Spandex pants
Cowboy boots

I don't know what I'm gonna do
I don't know what I'm gonna do
Maybe I'll have to move from

Beverly Hills, Century City
Everything's so nice and pretty
All the people look the same
Don't they know they're so damn lame

There she goes
Three piece suit
Spandex pants
Fiorucci too
Beverly Hills, Century City!"

City and Color

The Golden State

City and Color is the alias of Dallas Green, a singer-songwriter from Canada. His name makes more sense when you realize that Dallas is a "city" and Green is a "color." This simple acoustic song is from the album "The Hurry and the Harm" released in 2013. It's interesting how he asks "Haven't we've heard enough about the Golden State?" then he sings another song about California. If he couldn't resist, how can anyone? This list will never end...

"Why's everyone still singing about California?
Haven't we heard enough about the Golden State?
I guess if you like sandy beaches and blue ocean water
There's something about it, to which I cannot relate
I need to see the leaves change and the snowflakes falling
I need to hear the call, the wind whistling through the winter pines

Why's everyone still singing about California?
Haven't we heard enough about the Golden State?
And people still follow them dreams to sweet California
And from time to time I pass on by, but I will never stay

Sure there are beautiful people, in the city of lost angels
They're living like they're kings and queens, from some royal age
But fortune and fame won't save you, when California
Is wiped out by the ring of fire or a great earthquake

Why's everyone still singing about California?
Haven't we heard enough about the Golden State?
And people still follow them dreams to sweet California
And from time to time I'll pass on by, but I will never stay
No, I will never stay
Never stay
Never stay"

City of Vain

Song of the Republic

City of Vain is a band from Sacramento. This punk sports anthem is from their 2014 self-titled album. Republic FC is a professional soccer team in Sacramento founded in 2012. "Urbs Indomita" (the indominable city) is a nickname for Sacramento.

"From Poverty Ridge to Roosevelt Park
Republic supporters, they show their heart
On the make-shift pitch, under bright city lights
Republics' gonna take the victory tonight

It's the soul of our city behind this FC
From the neighborhood bar you can hear them shout
'Glory, Glory' from the Tower Bridge rings,
The pub goes wild, Republic breakout

Let's Go, Sacramento!

We're the Republic
We stand and sing together
A valley united, a city like no other
We're the Republic
Home or away
Urbs Indomita
We came to play!

Week after week we're after the cup
To bring a championship home, where it will stay
The rest of the league will remember our name
We're Republic from Sacramento, C-A!

Let's Go, Sacramento!

We're the Republic
We stand and sing together
A valley united, a city like no other
We're the Republic
Home or away
Urbs Indomita
We came to play!

We are Republic!
We are Republic!
We are Republic!
We are Republic!
We are Republic!
We are Republic!
We are Republic!
We are Republic!

Let's Go, Sacramento!

We're the Republic
We stand and sing together
A valley united, a city like no other
We're the Republic
Home or away
Urbs Indomita
We came to play!...."

CjayQ

Her Warmth

CjayQ is a musical artist from San Jose. This indie rock song was released in 2023.

"Painting all my walls
So I can feel alright
There I go again
Chasing after strife
Calling up my friends
Putting on disguise
Times of dread we face
Weighing on my mind
It’s you me and against the world babe
So let’s do this right
I know your so far away from home
I’ll get you on that flight
California from a pay phone
On the side of Highway 5
Paranoia and anxiety f**cking up my high

Give myself away
I feel the warmth
Crawling on my skin
Beneath the sun
Living up my days
Draining all your love
Nothing else I’d want
Your number one
Tougher times we faced
Betting on my luck
I know the feeling's strange
It always was

Thought I had a plan
I dreamt it all
Castle made of sand
It washed away dissolved
Find a way through mazes
In my mind the countless hallways
Feet runnin' on the pavement
I been runnin' through it all day

Give myself away
I feel the warmth
Crawling on my skin
Beneath the sun
Living up my days
Draining all your love
Nothing else I’d want
Your number one
Tougher times we faced
Betting on my luck
I know the feeling's strange
It always was"

CjayQ

Monterey Purple

This psychedelic track is from the album Sunburst, released in 2021.

"We should take some
Let’s float away
Can’t run away from
Anxieties
Baby you're safe from life when you ride with me
We could just stay home
And watch it all burn on TV

And these drugs gonna help you be you matter of fact
And this love don’t stop for nothin' baby that’s that
I'ma take this trip to moon I’ll be right back
I'ma buy some time yeah some time I could never buy back
Baby that’s that

We should take some
Let's float away
Can’t get away from society
Baby you're safe from life when you ride with me
We could just stay home
And watch it all burn on TV

Purple like the sky that I came from to say this
Just look around man this world's what you're made with
Take that around tell your friends
Don’t just say it
Tomorrow's not real but today is amazing

I said put this on your tongue
Let’s take a trip across the seas
Lucy said she knows the way so I said my girl that’s fine with me
I’m just talkin' to the walls I’m in they alive and start to breathe
I was talkin' to the sunflowers they told me life’s a dream
Said I’m just like them I'm from the dirt I started as a seed
I’m Just stuck in side the material world
And nothings as it seems
Let’s smoke this green and fade away
Lets leave this scene and make away
I know you’ve seen some days better days
Let’s take a trip to Monterey
Let’s smoke this green and fade away
Let's leave this scene and make away
I know you’ve seen some days better days
Let’s take a trip to Monterey

Purple like the sky that I came from to say this
Just look around man this world's what you're made with
Take that around tell your friends
Don’t just say it
Tomorrow's not real but today is amazing"

Clams

I don't know anything about this band except that this quirky indie rock song is from their album "Caution Wet Floor" released in 2021.

"Que pasa senora?
Could you help me try to find what I've been looking for
Es un lindo dia
Pacific Coast Highway right by Morro Bay
I saw you
Walking
And pulled off to the side like I had something to say
So pardon
Excuse me
I don't think I had the chance to catch your name
(Como se llama)
I don't think I had the chance to catch your name
(Como se llama)
I don't think I had the chance to catch your name
Let's run like Pamplona
Things will be much better once we're on our way
Down to Santa Barbara
A cooler full of wine from Paso Robles
Now we're talking
And soon we'll be together wading through the waves
So pardon
Excuse me
Things are much better now I know your name
(?)
Things are much better now I know your name
(?)
Things are much better now I know your name
(Now I know your name)
(Now I know your name)
(Now I know your name)
(Now I know your name)
(Now I know your name)
(Now I know your name)
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
La la la la
(Oh let me take you to the old bodega)
An orange bodega
I know, I know we're leaving town but we should grab a drink
I know we're leaving town but we should grab a drink
(Two hours later she was there just to make us daiquiris)
Two hours later
I think we had one too many daiquiris
? remind me
There's something on my mind that I had wanted to say
So pardon
Excuse me
I can't believe we lost ourselves in Morro Bay
(Deeper and deeper)
I can't believe we lost ourselves in Morro Bay
(Deeper and deeper)
I can't believe we lost ourselves in Morro Bay
(Deeper and deeper)
I can't believe we lost ourselves in Morro Bay
(Deeper and deeper)
I can't believe we lost ourselves in Morro Bay"

Eric Clapton

San Francisco Bay Blues

This is a cover of the Jesse Fuller 1954 original. It was included on Clapton's 1992 album "Unplugged" which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
The lyrics are listed under Jessie Fuller.

Gene Clark

Gene Clark was a founding member of the great L. A. band The Byrds who were pioneers of folk rock and the L.A. Sunset Strip music scene in the mid 1960's. Clark wrote a lot of their songs including a couple of their best - "Eight Miles High" and "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better." "Los Angeles" is a solo recording from his album "Flying High," released in 1998 and containing previously unavailable tracks, but I don't know when the song itself was recorded. Clark left the Byrds in 1966 and died in 1991.

"Los Angeles, city of the doomed
Los Angeles, city of the doomed
Well I loved you once but I gotta go, yeah

San Francisco, city pretty by the bay
San Francisco, city pretty by the bay
Well I loved you once but I gotta go, yeah

Well I don't know where she'll be going
Yeah I saw her about a day or so ago
Yeah I don't know if I should look for her
Well I'd say she's gone down to San Diego

Los Angeles, city of the doomed
Los Angeles, city of the doomed
Well I loved you once but I gotta go, yeah"

Guy Clark

L.A. Freeway

This song was written by Guy Clark in 1970 and originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker for his self-tiled album released in 1972. Then Clark released his version from his album "Old No" in 1975. There's also a great solo version of the song.

"Pack up all your dishes
Make note of all good wishes
Say goodbye to the landlord for me
That son of a b**ch has always bored me
Throw out them L.A. papers
And that moldy box of vanilla wafers
Adios to all this concrete
Gonna get me some dirt road back street

If I can just get off of this L.A. freeway
Without getting killed or caught
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke
To some land that I ain't bought bought bought

Here's to you old skinny Dennis
Only one I think I will miss
I can hear that old bass singing
Sweet and low like a gift you're bringing
Play it for me just one more time now
Got to give it all we can now
I believe everything your saying
Just keep on, keep on playing

If I can just get off of this L.A. freeway
Without getting killed or caught
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke
To some land that I ain't bought bought bought

And you put the pink card in the mailbox
Leave the key in the old front door lock
They will find it likely as not
I'm sure there's something we have forgot
Oh Susanna, don't you cry, babe
Love's a gift that's surely handmade
We've got something to believe in
Don't you think it's time we're leaving

If I can just get off of this L.A. freeway
Without getting killed or caught
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke
To some land that I ain't bought bought bought

Pack up all your dishes
Make note of all good wishes
Say goodbye to the landlord for me
That son of a b**ch has always bored me"

Shana Cleveland

Face of the Sun

Shana Cleveland is an L.A. based artist and vocalist and guitarist for the surf noir rock band La Luz. This psychedelic folk song is from her solo album "Night of the Worm Moon" released in 2019.

"Guitar baby you've stumbled
Right into the blinding light
Looking to the face of the sun
Rode a midwest song
All the way to San Francisco Bay
Looking to the face of the sun

When you have all
All you want so young
So hard to start new
Still defined by who you
Were back then
But that’s no longer you

Good friends burned bright and blew out
And now you're still around
Looking to the face of the sun
Barflies wait in a smiling line
To ask you what it's like
Looking to the face of the sun

When you have all
You want so young
So hard to start new
Still defined by who you
Were back then
But that’s no longer you

Guitar baby you've stumbled
Right into the blinding light
Looking to the face of the sun
Rode a midwest song
All the way to San Francisco Bay
Looking to the face of the sun"

Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers

California Breakdown

Robert Clyne and the Peacemakers is a rock band formed in Tempe, Arizona in 1998. This song is from the album "The Independent" released in 2014.

"Wheels on the bus don't wanna go 'round
We got another California breakdown
We was doin' alright 'til everything went wrong
Now we're stuck on the side of the road where we don't belong

It's the California breakdown
California breakdown

Jessie's trying out for a little bit part
This time she really nails it, she plays it from the heart
This could be her big break, the one she's waiting for
But now her only take is lying on the cutting room floor

It's the California breakdown

Feeling all alone far away from home
Trying to figure out
How she's gonna make it out here in this town

California breakdown
California breakdown

Jimmy's writing songs out in Hollywood
He just needs connections, he knows his tunes are good
Then he hears his song, it's in a picture show
Then he knows he's been wronged while he's sitting all alone
And he's watching the credits roll

Breakdown
Breakdown
Breakdown

It's a California breakdown
Stranded on the road where your dreams got sold
Trying to figure out
How you're gonna make it count here in this town
California breakdown
California breakdown

Breakdown
California breakdown
Breakdown
California breakdown"

CMAT