The Sad Songs of California

[Taverner]

Nesmith's "Joanne"

Phillips' "Topanga Canyon" and "Malibu People"

Dennis Wilson's "Moonshine"

Can anyone else think of any Bear Flag Blues?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. Willie Nelson - Mendocino County Line ft. Lee Ann Womack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgFGMkNgZ3w

Counted the stars on the 4th of July
Wishing they were rockets bursting into the sky
Talking about redemption and leaving things behind
As the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line

As fierce as Monday morning feeling washed away
Our orchestrated paradise couldn't make you stay
You dance with the horses through the sands of time
As the sun sinks west of the Mendocino County Line

I have these pictures and I keep these photographs
To remind me of a time
These pictures and these photographs
Let me know I'm doin' fine
I used to make you happy once upon a time
But the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line

The two of us together felt nothin' but right
Feeling you near immortal every Friday night
Lost in our convictions left stained with wine
As the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line

I have these pictures and I keep these photographs
To remain me of a time
These pictures and these photographs
Let me know I'm doin' fine
I used to make you happy once upon a time
But the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line

I don't talk to you too much these days
I just thank the lord pictures don't fade
I spent time with an angel just passing through
Now all that's left is this image of you

Counted the stars on the 4th of July
Wishing we were rockets bursting in the sky
Talking about redemption and leaving things behind
I have these pictures and I keep these photographs
To remind me of a time
These pictures and these photographs
Let me know I'm doin' fine
We used to be so happy once upon a time
Once upon a time
But the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line
And the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. Twelve-Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)

The song was inspired by Laurel Canyon, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

maybe this isn't a sad song but, I always got a melancholy vibe from it.

Ringtone to your Cell
I used to live in New York City
Everything there was dark and dirty
Outside my window was a steeple
With a clock that always said twelve-thirty

Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walkin'
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talkin'

At first so strange to feel so friendly
To say "Good mornin'" and really mean it
To feel these changes happenin' in me
But not to notice till I feel it

Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walkin'
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talkin'

Cloudy waters cast no reflection
Images of beauty lie there stagnant
Vibrations bounce in no direction
But lie there shattered into fragments

Young girls are coming to the canyon
And in the mornings I can see them walkin'
I can no longer keep my blinds drawn
And I can't keep myself from talkin'

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. AMERICA - Ventura Highway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5I0d29s6GCc

Chewing on a piece of grass
Walking down the road
Tell me, how long you gonna stay here Joe?
Some people say this town don't look
Good in snow
You don't care, I know

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

Wishin' on a falling star
Waitin' 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 you daylight
There
Seasons crying no despair
Alligator lizards in the air

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wwcl0mjm_XE/TLKLhRCdvHI/AAAAAAAAA9E/sIRvb-t1KFs/s1600/Day+20+Blog+Photos.jpg

[Taverner]

4. Alligator lizards in the air???

What the hell were they smoking? Or dropping? Or injecting? Or the licking of toads thereof?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. they mention moonshine --

:D :shrug:

[marmar]

5. "Under the Bridge" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. San Francisco Days - Chris Isaak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6syg1Kn-VPg

I still love you, I still want you.
I still need you, don't hang up and say goodbye.

Walking on the beach last night, hoping things would be all right,
my baby lying on her bed, it's you I saw instead.
Thinking of the one I love, your the one I'm thinking of.
San Francisco days, San Francisco nights.

I meet a girl in Mexico I should of told her then I know,
that I still think of you, we never will be through.
San Francisco days, San Francisco nights.
San Francisco days, San Francisco nights.
I still love you, I still want you.
I still need you, don't hang up and say goodbye.

Walking down to market street feeling my heart skip a beat,
to see someone who looks like you, I guess that I'm not through.
Dreaming of the one I love, you know what I'm dreaming of.
San Francisco days, San Francisco nights.

I'm heading for that golden gate hoping I won't be to late,
to find the one that I still love.
It's you I'm dreaming of, San Francisco nights.
San Francisco days, San Francisco nights.
San Francisco days, San Francisco nights.
San Francisco..........

[trof]

8. "I left my heart..."?

Kinda sad.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

9. I bet a lot of these are sad --

List of songs about California

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_about_California

[Bennyboy]

10. Mission In The Rain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfYD8IuRcvQ

[Sky Masterson]

11. Going to California..Led Zep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luDgb5vVHuA

[Brother Buzz]

12. Woody Guthrie's Do-Re-Mi rightfully belongs at the top of the list

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46mO7jx3JEw

[Mopar151]

16. What he said!

And throw in "Deportee" - (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)
nice version here http://youtu.be/TN3HTdndZec
Arlo Guthrie & Emmylou Harris

[Tuesday Afternoon]

13. Santa Rosa

Seems like 10 years ago
Though today my mind is slow
Me and Mickey Craig were running west from Idaho
Robbed a bank to get some bread
Seems like 15 men lay dead
In a path that led us straight to Santa Rosa

Now and then ol' Mick'd say
Boy at home you should of stayed
Than to follow me and learn the life of looking back
But he'd spit and slap his side
Just to see if he's alive
Then he'd sing his banjo song of Santa Rosa

He said whoa-oh, singing oh Santa Rosa
Whoa-oh, high and low-oh-oo
Then one day, sang ol' Craig,
I'll be free to go my way
And be standing by the bay at Santa Rosa

Now one time late at night
Mickey lit no fire light
Cause he feared the posse close behind might flush us out
But he picked a bit 'fore sleep
To the tune of Cripple Creek
He was murdered by a man from Santa Rosa

And he sang whoa-oh, singing oh Santa Rosa
whoa-oh, singing oh Santa Rosa
whoa-oh, high and low-o-o
Til I come once again with my banjo pickin' friend
We'll be oh high and low in Santa Rosa

[Swede]

14. Albert Hammond - It never rains in southern California

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqMEEvmfyQU

Got on a board a west bound seven forty seven
Didn't think before deciding what to do
All that talk of opportunities, TV breaks and movies
Rang true, sure rang true.

Seems it never rain in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But girl, don't they warn ya
It pours man it pours.
Out of work, I'm out of my head
Out of self respect I'm out of bread
I'm under loved I'm under fed
I wanna go home
It never rains in California
But girl don't they warn ya, it pours, man it pours.

Will you tell the folks back home I nearly made it
Had offers but don't know which one to take
Please don't tell them how you found me
Don't tell them how you found me give me a break
Give me a break

Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But girl, don't they warn ya
It pours,man it pours

[Doc_Technical]

15. Fever Tree- San Francisco Girls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ts0Y7uKtaAI

Merle Haggard- Kern River

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgruNt0XRPk&feature=fvst

Cass Elliot- California Earthquake

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfbo071f9_Y

[abq e streeter]

23. All right; someone else remembers Fever Tree

:thumbsup:

[CreekDog]

17. 2 songs (1 north, 1 south): "Lodi" by CCR and "Free Fallin' by Tom Petty

Creedence Lyrics: Lodi

Just about a year ago,
I set out on the road,
Seeking my fame and fortune,
Looking for a pot of gold.
Things got bad, and things got worse,
I guess you will know the tune.
Oh ! Lord, Stuck in Lodi again.

Rode in on the Greyhound,
I'll be walking out if I go.
I was just passing through,
Must be seven months or more.
Ran out of time and money,
Looks like they took my friends.
Oh ! Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again.

The man from the magazine said I was on my way.
Somewhere I lost connections, ran out of songs to play.
I came into town, a one night stand,
Looks like my plans fell through
Oh ! Lord, Stuck in Lodi again.
Mmmm...

If I only had a dollar, for ev'ry song I've sung.
And ev'ry time I've had to play
While people sat there drunk.
You know, I'd catch the next train back to where I live.
Oh ! Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again.
Oh ! Lord, I'm stuck in Lodi again.

======================

Free Fallin' by Tom Petty

She's a good girl, loves her mama
Loves Jesus and America too
She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis
Loves horses and her boyfriend too

It's a long day livin' in Reseda
There's a freeway runnin' through the yard
And I'm a bad boy, 'cause I don't even miss her
I'm a bad boy for breakin' her heart


And I'm free, I'm free fallin'

All the vampires walkin' through the valley
Move west down Ventura Blvd.
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts



I wanna glide down over Mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
I wanna free fall out into nothin'
Gonna leave this world for awhile

[livetohike]

18. Hey Mister That's Me Up On The Jukebox-James Taylor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjiPr1jxVZ4

Hey mister, that's me up on the jukebox
I'm the one that's singing this sad song
Well, I'll cry everytime that you slip in one more dime
And let the boy sing the sad one, one more time

Southern California that's as blue as the boy can be
Blue as the deep blue sea
Won't you listen to me now
I need your golden gated cities like a hole in the head
Just like a hole in the head, I'm free

Hey mister, that's me up on the jukebox
I'm the one that's singing this sad song
Well, I'll cry everytime that you slip in one more dime
And let the boy sing the sad one, one more time

I do believe I'm headed home
Hey mister, can't you see that I'm as dry as a bone
I think I'll spend some time alone
Yes, unless you've found a way of squeezing water from a stone

Let the doctor and the lawyer do as much as they can
Let the springtime begin
Let the boy become a man
I done wasted too much time just to sing you this sad song
I done been this lonesome picker a little too long

Hey mister, that's me up on the jukebox
I'm the one that's singing this sad song
Well, I'll cry everytime that you're up and slip in one more dime
And let the boy sing the sad one, one more time

Well, I've been spreading myself thin these days
Don't you know
Good-bye

[Tabasco_Dave]

19. MacArthur Park by Richard Harris

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHS8hj4TdT8

[Taverner]

21. OMG I can't believe I left my bag of swag in the rain!!!

[Iggo]

20. A couple by the Eagles, bookends to the Hotel California album.

Hotel California
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1vFjiDxViE

The Last Resort
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ9YkSZ0wKo

[abq e streeter]

22. Last Resort is the first one that came to mind to me too after I saw this thread

[Iggo]

26. Me, too...

...and then when I went to look it up, I realized what album it's from and I was like, "Oh yeah, huh!"

[abq e streeter]

24. No Otis yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzrXc68gNjQ

[provis99]

25. The Sad Cafe by the Eagles.

[onager]

27. Boy, do I feel like a Debbie Downer...

All these started popping into my head after seeing the thread Subject. I'll be sending you the medication bill...

Santa Monica (Everclear) "I'm still livin' with your ghost..."

Celluloid Heroes (Kinks)

The Kids Are Not Alright (Offspring) - No city or state is specifically mentioned, but Offspring came from Huntington Beach in Orange County. And the song certainly seems to describe the SoCal suburbs. (For the record, I live in the San Fernando Valley.)

California Uber Alles (Dead Kennedys) (just kidding)

Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day) (the video was shot in Los Angeles. And "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a common nickname for Hollywood Blvd.)

California (Joni Mitchell) - "Oh it gets so lonely/When you're walking/And the streets are full of strangers..."

L.A. Woman (Doors) - Partly inspired by L.A.'s annual autumn firestorms

Boulevard (Jackson Browne) - the line "Down at the golden cup, they set the young ones up" refers to the infamous Gold Cup coffee shop on Hollywood Blvd. When Browne wrote the song in the Seventies, the Gold Cup was a hangout for underage prostitutes of both sexes.

Trouble Coming Every Day - Frank Zappa, written about the 1965 Watts riots with a really good jab at the media: "And if another woman driver/Gets machine-gunned in her seat/We'll send some joker with a Brownie/To get it all complete."

Warren Zevon made sad songs about L.A. practically a whole sub-genre:
Join Me In L.A. - "Well, they say this place is evil, but that ain't why I stay..."
Carmelita - mentions Alvarado Street as a junkie hangout, and Echo Park.

[RedCloud]

28. My Dear Taverner, Welcome to the Hotel California.

[KamaAina]

29. Hollywood Nights - Bob Seger

Then came that morning he woke up alone...