Sunday Singalong with Circlemending - Place Songs

Another week has sped by! I was pleased to be a featured speaker at the Chula Vista Family History Seminar yesterday, Oct. 2 (see Randy Seaver's blog for a full report on the lectures presented - mine and others).

On the way home from the seminar I listened to The Village (on XM radio) and a themed program of songs about places. I thought that would be a great idea for a theme for my own Sunday Singalong, so I am suggesting that you consider the many songs of geographic locations that you have learned over the years. Songs about places are not new - our ancestors wrote about the places they loved just as many do today (consider "Home on the Range"). The subject can be about a town, a state, or a general area (including a country or continent).

Most of us have a soft spot in our heart for a location that means "home" to us. I am from Wilmette, Illinois and was raised there from the ages of 1 to 20. No matter where I go, when I think of "home," I think back to those tree-lines streets (which were brick, back when I was growing up). But your selection need not be about your hometown (to the best of my knowledge, "Wilmette" figures into only one song - a piece by Chicago musician Steve Goodman, author of "City of New Orleans," who snuck it into the chorus of a song called "Lincoln Park Pirates" - well, there are 2 place names, though the former refers to a train, not the city).

Is there a song about a place that sticks in your mind? If so, share the lyrics here, or maybe just a verse and chorus, or just the title; or you can provide a link to an MP3, on-line set of lyrics, or a YouTube recording. But do tell why the song is special to you.

So here's one of my absolute favorites, which covers them all. It's by Lou & Peter Berryman who are known for their humorous songs that touch on subjects that most of us are familiar with but that we would never expect to find put to music. It is called "Your State's Name Here." I have been unable to locate a YouTube recording of it, but if you click on their website link here or Google them, you can find a number of other YouTube recordings they have done. Sure to make you smile, and that's one reason I love their material!

Your turn.