List of songs about cities

Cities are a major topic for popular songs.[1][2] Music journalist and author Nick Coleman has gone as far as to say that apart from love, "pop is better on cities than anything else."[1]

Popular music often treats cities positively, though sometimes they are portrayed as places of danger and temptation. In many cases, songs celebrate individual cities, presenting them as exciting and liberating. Not all genres share the tendency to be positive about cities; in Country music cities are often portrayed as unfriendly and dehumanizing, or seductive but full of sin.[1][2] However, there are many exceptions, for example: Lady Antebellum's song "This City" and Danielle Bradbery's "Young in America",.

Lyricist and author Sheila Davis writes that including a city in a song's title helps focus the song on the concrete and specific, which is both more appealing and more likely to lead to universal truth than abstract generalizations. Davis also says that songs with titles concerning cities and other specific places often have enduring popularity.[3]

The following is a list of songs about cities, from both traditional and pop music: the list should not be considered complete.

Albania edit

Tirana edit

Algeria edit

Algiers edit

Oran edit

Tizi Ouzou edit

Armenia edit

Yerevan edit

Argentina edit

Buenos Aires edit

Rosario edit

Ushuaia edit

Córdoba edit

Azerbaijan edit

Baku edit

Australia edit

Adelaide edit

Alice Springs edit

Ballarat edit

Bathurst edit

Bendigo edit

Brisbane edit

Broken Hill edit

Cairns edit

Canberra edit

Coffs Harbour edit

Darwin edit

Fremantle edit

Gladstone edit

Glenorchy edit

Gold Coast edit

Hobart edit

Kalgoorlie edit

Launceston edit

Melbourne edit

Mount Isa edit

Newcastle edit

Perth edit

Port Lincoln edit

Queanbeyan edit

Rockhampton edit

Sydney edit

Tamworth edit

Toowoomba edit

Townsville edit

Woolongong edit

Austria edit

Friedberg edit

Fürstenfeld edit

Salzburg edit

Vienna edit

Belgium edit

Aalst edit

Antwerp edit

Bruges edit

Brussels edit

Knokke edit

Liège edit

Ostende edit

Waterloo edit

Bosnia & Herzegovina edit

Sarajevo edit

Banja Luka edit

Brazil edit

Brasília edit

Fortaleza edit

  • "As Velas do Mucuripe" by Fagner

Londrina edit

Porto Alegre edit

Recife edit

Rio de Janeiro edit

Salvador edit

São Paulo edit

Canada edit

Calgary edit

Gaspé edit

Halifax edit

Iqaluit edit

Montreal edit

Saskatoon edit

Regina edit

Toronto edit

Vancouver edit

Winnipeg edit

Sudbury edit

Chile edit

Santiago edit

Valparaíso edit

Puerto Montt edit

China edit

Beijing edit

Shanghai edit

Congo, Democratic Republic of the edit

Kinshasa edit

Colombia edit

Barranquilla edit

Bogotá edit

Buenaventura edit

Cali edit

Medellín edit

Santa Marta edit

Quibdó edit

Croatia edit

Pula edit

Rijeka edit

Sinj edit

Split edit

Vinkovci edit

Vukovar edit

Zagreb edit

Cuba edit

Guantánamo edit

Havana edit

Santiago de Cuba edit

Czech Republic edit

Prague edit

Lidice edit

Cyprus edit

Limassol edit

Denmark edit

Copenhagen edit

Holsterbro edit

Skanderborg edit

Dominican Republic edit

San Pedro de Macorís edit

Santo Domingo edit

Ecuador edit

Guayaquil edit

Egypt edit

Alexandria edit

Cairo edit

Finland edit

Helsinki edit

France edit

Ajaccio edit

Amiens edit

Angers edit

Annecy edit

Avignon edit

Biarritz edit

Bordeaux edit

Brest edit

Caen edit

Calais edit

Cherbourg-Octeville edit

Clermont-Ferrand edit

Dijon edit

La Rochelle edit

Le Havre edit

Lille edit

Lyon edit

Marseille edit

Montpellier edit

Nancy edit

Nantes edit

Nice edit

Orléans edit

Paris edit

Pau edit

Reims edit

Roubaix edit

Rouen edit

Saint-Étienne edit

St. Tropez edit

Strasbourg edit

Toulouse edit

Vesoul edit

Germany edit

Berlin edit

Bochum edit

Chemnitz edit

Cologne edit

Delmenhorst edit

Döbeln edit

Dresden edit

Düsseldorf edit

Erlangen edit

Frankfurt edit

Frankfurt (Oder) edit

Gelsenkirchen edit

Göttingen edit

Hamburg edit

Hameln edit

Hamm edit

Hanover edit

Heidelberg edit

Heiligenstadt edit

Kassel edit

Königswinter edit

Krefeld edit

Leipzig edit

Ludwigshafen edit

Mannheim edit

München edit

Nürnberg edit

  • "Nürnberg" by Hoelderlin
  • "Nürnberg" by Herr Nilsson

Oberhausen (Rheinland) edit

Rostock edit

Stuttgart edit

Wolfenbüttel edit

Guinea-Bissau edit

Bissau edit

Greece edit

Athens edit

Piraeus edit

Thessaloniki edit

Hong Kong edit

Hong Kong edit

Hungary edit

Budapest edit

Iceland edit

Reykjavík edit

Husavik edit

Iran edit

Isfahan edit

Iraq edit

Baghdad edit

Ireland edit

Dublin edit

Cork edit

Israel/Palestine edit

Jerusalem edit

India edit

Agra edit

Ahmedabad edit

Amritsar edit

Badrinath edit

Bareilly edit

Bengaluru edit

Bikaner edit

Bhopal edit

Chandigarh edit

Chennai edit

Dehradun edit

Delhi edit

Goa edit

Hyderabad edit

Jaipur edit

Jalandhar edit

Kanpur edit

KanyaKumari edit

Kolkata edit

Lucknow edit

Ludhiana edit

Mumbai edit

Patiala edit

Patna edit

Pune edit

Raipur edit

Vadodara edit

Varanasi edit

Vrindavan edit

Italy edit

Bologna edit

Genoa edit

Milan edit

Modena edit

Naples edit

Pompeii edit

Rimini edit

Rome edit

Turin edit

Venice edit

Verona edit

Ivory Coast edit

Abidjan edit

Jamaica edit

Kingston edit

Montego Bay edit

Japan edit

Fukuoka edit

Hiroshima edit

Kyoto edit

Nagasaki edit

Nara edit

Tokyo edit

Yokohama edit

Kenya edit

Mombasa edit

Kosovo edit

Pristina edit

Latvia edit

Riga edit

Lebanon edit

Beirut edit

Liechtenstein edit

Vaduz edit

Luxemburg edit

Luxemburg edit

Mesopotamia edit

Babylon edit

Mexico edit

Acapulco edit

Atotonilco edit

Culiacán edit

Guadalajara edit

Juarez edit

Mexico City edit

Sinaloa edit

Tampico edit

Tijuana edit

Veracruz edit

Moldova edit

Bălți edit

Morocco edit

Marrakesh edit

Casablanca edit

Tanger edit

Agadir edit

Nepal edit

Kathmandu edit

Netherlands edit

Amsterdam edit

Delfzijl edit

The Hague edit

Eindhoven edit

Maassluis edit

Nieuwegein edit

Nijmegen edit

Rotterdam edit

Tilburg edit

Sneek edit

Utrecht edit

Zwolle edit

Zoutelande edit

Amersfoort edit

New Zealand edit

Auckland edit

Hastings edit

Wellington edit

Nicaragua edit

Managua edit

Nigeria edit

Lagos edit

North Korea edit

Pyongyang edit

Pakistan edit

Lahore edit

Panama edit

Peru edit

Lima edit

Philippines edit

Manila edit

Poland edit

Bydgoszcz edit

Gdańsk edit

Gdynia edit

Kraków edit

Łódź edit

Piła edit

Poznań edit

Rybnik edit

  • "Karliku, Karliku" by traditional folk song.

Sopot edit

Szczecin edit

Warsaw edit

Wrocław edit

Portugal edit

Cascais edit

Coimbra edit

Lisbon edit

Peniche edit

Porto edit

Puerto Rico edit

San Juan edit

Romania edit

Bucharest edit

Timișoara edit

Medgidia edit

Russia edit

Moscow edit

Saint Petersburg edit

Rwanda edit

Gisenyi edit

Kigali edit

Senegal edit

Mbignona edit

Serbia edit

Belgrade edit

South Africa edit

Cape Town edit

Durban edit

Johannesburg edit

Margate edit

Port Elizabeth edit

Pretoria edit

  • "Trein na Pretoria" versions by Stefan Lubbe, Die Briels, Die Grafsteen Sangers, Dozi, Peter Senekal.
  • "We are marching to Pretoria" (traditional)

Soweto edit

Pretoria/Tshwane edit

  • "Mamelodi" (a Township in Pretoria) by Larry Joe featuring Vusi Mahlasela

South Korea edit

Seoul edit

Busan edit

  • Dorawayo Busan Hang E (돌아와요 부산항에) sung by Cho Yong Pil

Spain edit

Almería edit

Barcelona edit

Bilbao edit

Cádiz edit

Córdoba edit

Granada edit

Huelva edit

Málaga edit

Madrid edit

Murcia edit

Salamanca edit

San Fernando, Cádiz edit

San Sebastián edit

Santiago de Compostela edit

Seville edit

Soria edit

Toledo edit

Torremolinos edit

Valencia edit

Valladolid edit

Sweden edit

Stockholm edit

Gothenburg edit

Uppsala edit

Switzerland edit

Bern edit

Geneva edit

Montreux edit

Wallisellen edit

Tanzania edit

Zanzibar edit

Tajikistan edit

Dushanbe edit

Thailand edit

Bangkok edit

Chiang Mai edit

  • "Above Chiangmai" by Harold Budd & Brian Eno
  • "បុបា្ផឈាងម៉ៃ" (Bopha Chiang mai, บุปผาเชียงใหม่) by ស៊ិន ស៊ីសាមុត (Sinn Sisamouth, สิน ศรีสมุทร)

Chonburi edit

Tunisia edit

Tunis edit

Turkey edit

Ankara edit

Bodrum edit

Gaziantep edit

Istanbul edit

Izmir edit

Ukraine edit

Kyiv edit

Odesa edit

United Arab Emirates edit

Abu Dhabi edit

United Kingdom edit

Aberdeen edit

Arun edit

Belfast edit

Birmingham edit

Bradford edit

Brighton edit

Coventry edit

Dover edit

Dundee edit

"The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee" by Gloryhammer

Edinburgh edit

Glasgow edit

Ipswich edit

  • "Erbie Fitch's Twitch" Toni award-winning song from the 1959 musical, Redhead most famously performed by Gwen Verdon

Kilmarnock edit

Leeds edit

Liverpool edit

London edit

Derry edit

Manchester edit

Newcastle upon Tyne edit

Newport edit

Nottingham edit

Salford edit

Sheffield edit

Southampton edit

Three Bridges edit

Wakefield edit

United States edit

Aberdeen, Maryland edit

Abilene, Kansas edit

Akron, Ohio edit

Albuquerque, New Mexico edit

Allentown, Pennsylvania edit

Amarillo, Texas edit

Anchor Bay, California edit

Ann Arbor, Michigan edit

Anchorage, Alaska edit

Arlington, Virginia edit

Astoria, Oregon edit

Atlanta, Georgia edit

Asbury Park, New Jersey edit

Atlantic City, New Jersey edit

Austin, Texas edit

Avalon (Catalina Isl.), California edit

Bad Axe, Michigan edit

Bakersfield, California edit

Baltimore, Maryland edit

Bangor, Maine edit

Baton Rouge, Louisiana edit

Baxter Springs, Kansas edit

Beaumont, Texas edit

Birmingham, Alabama edit

Bossier City, Louisiana edit

Boston, Massachusetts edit

Boulder, Colorado edit

Brownsville, Texas edit

Buffalo, New York edit

Cape May, New Jersey edit

Charleston, South Carolina edit

Charleston, West Virginia edit

Charlotte, North Carolina edit

Chattanooga, Tennessee edit

Cheyenne, Wyoming edit

Chicago, Illinois edit

Cincinnati, Ohio edit

Cleveland, Ohio edit

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho edit

Columbus, Ohio edit

  • "Road Outside Columbus" by O.A.R.

Commerce City, Colorado edit

Crescent City, California edit

Cripple Creek, Colorado edit

Danville, Virginia edit

Dallas, Texas edit

Decatur, Illinois edit

  • "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Stepmother!" by Sufjan Stevens

Del Mar, California edit

Denver, Colorado edit

Des Moines, Iowa edit

Detroit, Michigan edit

Doraville, Georgia edit

El Paso, Texas edit

Eugene, Oregon edit

Flagstaff, Arizona edit

Flint, Michigan edit

Folsom, California edit

Fort Lauderdale, Florida edit

Fort Worth, Texas edit

Gainesville, Florida edit

Galveston, Texas edit

Garden Grove, California edit

Gary, Indiana edit

Gatlinburg, Tennessee edit

Greensboro, North Carolina edit

Hackensack, New Jersey edit

Hoboken, New Jersey edit

  • "Hoboken" by Operation Ivy

Holland, Michigan edit

Honolulu, Hawaii edit

Highland, Illinois edit

  • "Concerning the UFO Sighting near Highland, Illinois" by Sufjan Stevens

Houston, Texas edit

Indianapolis, Indiana edit

Jackson, Mississippi edit

Jacksonville, Florida edit

Jacksonville, Illinois edit

Jacksonville, North Carolina edit

Jersey City, New Jersey edit

Juneau, Alaska edit

Kalamazoo, Michigan edit

Kansas City, Missouri edit

Kent, Ohio edit

Knoxville, Tennessee edit

La Grange, Texas edit

Laramie, Wyoming edit

Laredo, Texas edit

Las Vegas, Nevada edit

Laurel, Mississippi edit

Lincoln, Nebraska edit

Little Rock, Arkansas edit

Lodi, California edit

Los Angeles, California edit

Louisville, Kentucky edit

Lubbock, Texas edit

Luckenbach, Texas edit

Malibu, California edit

Manti, Utah edit

Marina del Rey, California edit

Marshalltown, Iowa edit

Memphis, Tennessee edit

Memphis holds the distinction of being the most mentioned city in the world when it comes to commercially recorded songs.[citation needed] As of July 2013, this list has made it up to 1074 songs and counting. The list is maintained at the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum website. The ones listed below are some of the better-known songs:

Miami, Florida edit

Milwaukee, Wisconsin edit

Minneapolis, Minnesota edit

Mobile, Alabama edit

Montgomery, Alabama edit

Moscow, Idaho edit

Muncie, Indiana edit

Muscle Shoals, Alabama edit

Muskegon, Michigan edit

Muskogee, Oklahoma edit

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina edit

Nashville, Tennessee edit

New Orleans, Louisiana edit

New York City, New York edit

Olema, California edit

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma edit

Olympia, Washington edit

Omaha, Nebraska edit

Palestine, Texas edit

Panama City, Florida edit

Pasadena, California edit

Pensacola, Florida edit

Peoria, Illinois edit

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania edit

Phoenix, Arizona edit

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania edit

Pittsfield, Illinois edit

Portland, Maine edit

Portland, Oregon edit

Raleigh, North Carolina edit

Reidsville, North Carolina edit

Reno, Nevada edit

Richmond, Virginia edit

Riverside, California edit

Roanoke, Virginia edit

Rocky Top, Tennessee edit

Sacramento, California edit

Saginaw, Michigan edit

Saint Louis, Missouri edit

Salinas, California edit

Salt Lake City, Utah edit

San Angelo, Texas edit

San Antonio, Texas edit

San Diego, California edit

San Francisco, California edit

San Jose, California edit

Santa Fe, New Mexico edit

Sausalito, California edit

  • "Sausalito Summer Night" by Diesel

Savannah, Georgia edit

Seattle, Washington edit

Shreveport, Louisiana edit

Simi Valley, California edit

Sioux City, Iowa edit

Springfield, Illinois edit

  • "Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in his Hair" by Sufjan Stevens
  • "Springfield , mentioned in Get your Kicks on Route 66 " by Perry Como

St. Paul, Minnesota edit

Statesboro, Georgia edit

Tacoma, Washington edit

Tallahassee, Florida edit

Telluride, Colorado edit

Thibodaux, Louisiana edit

Topeka, Kansas edit

Tucson, Arizona edit

Tucumcari, New Mexico edit

Tulare, California edit

Tulsa, Oklahoma edit

Washington, D.C. edit

Wichita, Kansas edit

Wildwood, New Jersey edit

Winnemucca, Nevada edit

Winslow, Arizona edit

Ypsilanti, Michigan edit

Youngstown, Ohio edit

Uruguay edit

Montevideo edit

Uzbekistan edit

Samarkand edit

Venezuela edit

Caracas edit

Cumaná edit

Vietnam edit

Hanoi edit

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) edit

References edit

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  2. ^ a b Cornell, John (2002). Sound Tracks : Popular Music, Identity and Place. Routledge. pp. 71–117. ISBN 0415170281.
  3. ^ Davis, Sheila (2001). The Songwriter's Idea Book. F&W. p. 39. ISBN 0898795192.
  4. ^ "Letra de BUENOS AIRES de Rafa Pons".
  5. ^ Niemann, Ruby (17 November 2012). "Live Review: Ben Folds Five + Phebe Starr – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide". The AU Review. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  6. ^ Brett Williamson. "Jimmy Barnes honours wild nights at Largs Hotel with a song". ABC News.
  7. ^ Wallen, Doug (15 May 2014). "Dick Diver: "I'm conflicted about everything in the band"". The Vine.
  8. ^ Stafford, Andrew (2004). Pig City. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. pp. 173–174. ISBN 978-0702233609.
  9. ^ a b c d Colasimone, Daniel (29 June 2013). "Songs About Brisbane". thurbanlist.com. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Q&A with George from Sheppard". Stack.
  11. ^ Thompson, Andrew. "Tuning In". Around the Sound.
  12. ^ Rachael Clun. "The songs that best represent Brisbane". The Sydney Morning Herald.(Subscription required.)
  13. ^ "Exhumation of an album gone wrong casts new light". i94 Bar.
  14. ^ Johnson, Daniel. "Former Pavement guitarist Scott Kannberg returns to Brisbane to perform songs from his new album". Courier Mail.
  15. ^ Mengel, Noel (19 February 2009). "Brisbane story for Charles Jenkins, Bad Seeds for Ed Kuepper". news.com.au. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  16. ^ Seymour, Mark (2009). Thirteen Tonne Theory. Penguin. ISBN 9780143010609.
  17. ^ Mengel, Noel. "Noel Mengel's list of top 50 Queensland songs". The Courier-Mail.
  18. ^ Josh Leeson. "ALBUM REVIEW: Cosmic Psychos dredge Mountain Of Piss from familiar punk rock source". Newcastle Herald.
  19. ^ Encalada, Javier. "Paganism, friends gone too early in Don Walker's new songs". Northern Star.
  20. ^ Douglas Galbraith (2019). Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge. Black Inc. p. 51. ISBN 9781925556964.
  21. ^ Wright, Dave (15 April 1992). "Kev Carmody launches new single". Green Left Weekly. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  22. ^ Kruger, Debbie (2005). Songwriters Speak. Balmain, New South Wales: Limelight Press. p. 285. ISBN 0-9757080-3-1.
  23. ^ Douglas Galbraith (2019). Kim Salmon and the Formula for Grunge. Black Inc. p. 64. ISBN 9781925556964.
  24. ^ Rebecca Belt. "Honest John sings of clouds over Tamworth". Northern Daily Leader.
  25. ^ "Paroles Bruxelles par Benabar – Paroles.net (Lyrics)".
  26. ^ "End of an era: Halifax reacts to the Palace closing". CBC.
  27. ^ "Songs of Melbourne". The Age.
  28. ^ "Joel Plaskett Performs 'Love This Town' While Driving Around Halifax". CBC.
  29. ^ "Lyrics for Sinju Grade by Dražen Žanko".
  30. ^ "Oliver Dragojević – Cvit Mediterana – Tekstovi pjesama @ Cafe.ba". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  31. ^ "Tekstovi.net – Oliver Dragojevic – Ispod sunca zlatnoga (Tekst/Lyrics)".
  32. ^ "– YouTube". YouTube.
  33. ^ hr:Marjane, Marjane
  34. ^ "Tekstovi Pjesama Lyrics – Tereza Kesovija Nima Splita do Splita". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-12.
  35. ^ "Dino Dvornik – Ništa kontra Splita – Tekst".
  36. ^ "Tekstovi.net – Oliver Dragojevic – Splite moj (Tekst/Lyrics)".
  37. ^ "Nenad Bach Band – Music".
  38. ^ "Rika Zaraï "Prague"". YouTube.
  39. ^ Singh, Navjeevan "These 7 Punjabi Songs Immortalised Chandigarh! I Bet You'll Love Them"
  40. ^ Naig, Udhav "Madras by day, by night and by sonpm
  41. ^ "Song for Riga". YouTube.
  42. ^ "Siete canciones que hablan (Bien y mal) sobre nuestra Lima". Archived from the original on 2016-04-20. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
  43. ^ "Mísia (Portugal) – Que fazes aí, Lisboa? Lyrics + English translation".
  44. ^ a b c Park, Jeong-ho (박정호) (2008-05-30). "(Book 북카페) 가요로 되돌아본 '서울~ 서울~ 서울' 70년" [(Book cafe) Looking back into Seoul~Seoul~Seoul during the past 70 years with popular songs]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean).[permanent dead link]
  45. ^ Kim, Gyu-won (김규원) (1998-06-25). 늘 우리 곁에 있는 ‘영원한 오빠’ ['Forever Darling' Always with Us] (in Korean) (213). Hankyereh 21. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  46. ^ "Letras de canciones, caratulas, videoclips, noticias de música – Coveralia".
  47. ^ "Factoring Funding".
  48. ^ es:Principio de incertidumbre (álbum)
  49. ^ "VALENCIA Luis Mariano". YouTube.
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  51. ^ "10 awesome songs that name-drop Michigan cities". mlive. 2016-05-25. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
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  53. ^ "Moscow Idaho (2019 Remaster)". YouTube. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  54. ^ "The Wax Works: Mary Lou Williams Pens Song About Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Courier. October 22, 1966. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  55. ^ "Northern Soul 45 Mary Lou Williams and Group Pittsburgh". www.popsike.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
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  57. ^ "Scuffle Town – Avail".
  58. ^ "Chatham County Line". 11 January 2018.
  59. ^ We Are Marching On To Richmond lyrics for the song on musicanet.org
  60. ^ We Are Marching On To Richmond (on youtube)
  61. ^ Three years in camp and hospital by E.W. Locke Free ebook showing lyrics with sheet music for We Are Marching On To Richmond.
  62. ^ Lyrics with sheet music for We Are Marching On To Richmond hosted on the Library of Congress
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  64. ^ Coombe, Doug (February 7, 2018). "9 great songs about Ypsilanti (and a few bad ones)". Concentrate. Retrieved 2020-07-24.

External links edit