Where the Streets Have a Name
Background: In an earlier blog, we talked about writing songs involving cities and states in the title or hook. Now we are going to shift our focus to songs that mention streets, highways, interstates, and avenues within the title or hook. Although I will avoid generic references, like “Road to Nowhere” by Talking Heads or “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC, some of the street names will still be rather generic – and rely on the rest of the lyrics painting the picture around street names that appear in multiple cities.
“Highway 61 Revisited” by Bob Dylan
Lyrically: The title track to Bob Dylan’s second 1965 masterpiece discusses historic events, with one person having a problem that can only be solved by going down Highway 61. The first verse deals with Abraham not wanting to kill his son, and God telling him if he doesn’t want to he’d better get out of sight. When Abraham finally relents, he asks God where he wants Isaac to be killed, and God responds, “Highway 61.” In each verse, you have people doing questionable things, and whenever they give into temptation, that temptation happens down on Highway 61. It includes references to the Bible, King Louis, Shakespeare (12th Night), and what many scholars believe to be an allusion to Blind Willie McTell, who went by Georgia Sam from time to time. Speaking of blues musicians, Highway 61 is where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil (at the crossroads of Highway 61 and Highway 49 in Clarksdale, Mississippi), for the ability to play guitar. Highway 61 runs from Wisconsin, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana, and therefore passes through Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing and through many of the cities that shaped the blues artists that influenced him. “Highway 61 Revisited” uses the iconic highway as a metaphor for temptation, which people throughout history have given into for the sake of fame.
Melodically/Structurally: The song is written in the key of A, with the intro using A5. The A5 chord gets repeated for four lines, before transitioning to a D, and another A5 in the 5th line. The sixth line uses an E, and closes with an A5, which also gets played as an instrumental interlude in between the first and second verse, the third and fourth verse, the fourth and fifth verse, and is also used as an outro after the fifth verse. For those of you playing along at home, this is a I, IV, I, V pattern. The song is distinguished by its siren whistle, which gets played in between each verse. On the track, Bob plays guitar, harmonica, and acme siren, and is accompanied by Mike Bloomfield on electric guitar, Harvey Brooks on bass, Sam Lay on drums, and Al Kooper on piano. The song uses only verses, a staple of many Bob Dylan songs, and blues songs, in general, that do not use a chorus or a bridge.
2. “I-95” by Fountains of Wayne
Lyrically: This song details the trials of a man traveling to see his girlfriend, who lives south of New York, somewhere on Interstate 95. In the first verse, he stops at a truck stop that sells “posters of girls washing cars, unicorns and stars, Guns N Roses album covers, Barney DVDs, coffee mugs and Ts that say Virginia is for lovers.” He concludes that although they claim that Virginia is for lovers, at that particular place, “it’s for truckers who forgot to fill up on gasoline,” and he is determined to see his girlfriend. In the chorus he vows that he’ll “Do it ‘til the day that (he dies), just to see (her).” The second verse talks about loneliness again with the “Hip Hop stations fading in and out,” saying, “All I can hear now is a kickdrum mixed with static.” There is a little bit of joy when he gets to see the stars, but then someone in a van cuts him off and blocks that one bit of joy. Like many of the Fountains of Wayne songs we’ve looked at, this one was written by Adam Schlesinger. Though his song “Hackensack” was written with funny lyrics to a sad-sounding melody, the general consensus about this one is that it’s completely genuine and sentimental, despite some funny-sounding lyrics thrown in there. For those of you playing along at home, the most likely destination for this person is somewhere in North Carolina, but the fact that it’s open to interpretation makes it more powerful.
Melodically: The intro to this song uses a Dsus2, which is also the chord that starts off the verses, before going to F#m, Em7, Asus4, A, Dsus2, F#m, Em7, Asus4, A, Bm, Em, A, Bm, Em, Asus4, A, and Dsus2. In the second verse, right before the solo, it ends with Bb, instead of Dsus2, like it does the first time around. The chorus uses Bm, Em7, Asus4, A, Dsus2, Bm, Em, A, Em7, Asus4, A, and Dsus2. The solo uses F, C, G, Bb, F, C, G, and Dsus2. As a whole, the song is written in D major, while the solo is written in C major.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, solo, chorus format. To me, this is a very interesting structure, but it’s more of an example song than a story song, so throwing in a solo before the second chorus does nothing to kill the momentum of the song. In fact, it kind of adds to the tension and frustration that the main character is feeling after getting cut off. It gives him a second to stew, gives us the same opportunity, before finally concluding that it doesn’t matter, because the person he’s seeing on the other side of this 9 hour drive is so worth it.
“I-95” is embedded below.
3. “Sixth Avenue Heartache” by the Wallflowers
Lyrically: If Bob Dylan was great at writing about highways, his son, Jakob, was equally as skilled at writing about avenues, specifically a heartache on 6th. Although there are many cities that contain a 6th Avenue or 6th Street, this one paints a picture not dissimilar to that of his father’s “Desolation Row.” There are gunshots that ring out while you’re carrying an infant with you and homeless people on the street. The idea, conveyed in the chorus, is that although it looks like the people he describes have it worse, such events have an impact on everyone: “The same black line that’s drawn on me is drawn on you,” and that’s the true heartache of the situation. Of course, there are many 6th Avenues in the world, and this song was based on a homeless man Jakob Dylan saw in New York. The mix of the generic with the specific is what makes this song work lyrically.
Melodically: With the capo on the 3rd fret, the intro uses D, A, Em, and G (A VI, III, vii, II pattern) which get played twice. The verses and the chorus use the same chords. As a whole, the song is written in the key of F. The song contains acoustic guitar for the rhythm electric lead guitar, and slide guitar (played by Mike Campbell), as well as drums, piano, organ, and bass guitar.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus, solo, bridge, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus format. Though it is telling a story, the story is filled with examples of what he is trying to convey in the chorus: This is everyone’s neighborhood, so your suffering is mine as well. As a result of this, the format works incredibly well, and the amount of information presented outside of the chorus magnifies the scope of the trouble we’re in as a result.
“6th Avenue Heartache” is embedded below
4. “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle
Lyrically: This song is written from the perspective of a character named John Lee Pettimore III, whose grandfather sold moonshine in Johnson County, Tennessee (which is not as glamorous in this song, as later portrayed in “Wagon Wheel”). The main character had little contact with his grandfather, since the latter would only come into town to buy supplies for his bootlegging operation. John knew of the trouble that his grandfather got into, selling the moonshine in Knoxville, but after serving two tours of duty in Vietnam, Pettimore fell into the same business, this time growing and selling marijuana, and escaping the authorities, using techniques he learned while overseas. “Copperhead Road” is an actual road in Tennessee, though in a neighboring county, and in the lyrics, Earle paints a fabulous picture of the desperation of the grandfather, as well as John Lee Pettimore, the narrator.
Melodically: The song is written in D Mixolydian, which is played straight for the first three lines of the song, before going into a G, C, G, D (IV, VII, IV, V) pattern for the rest of the verses. The instrumental break plays D four times, followed by the G, C, G, D pattern played twice. On the track, it starts out with bagpipes, drums, guitar, and mandolin, with strings in the background. After the fourth verse, the electric guitar comes in, and remains there for the rest of the song.
Structurally: The song follows a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus, outro format. Although this is a story song, there is an ongoing tension in the song that is built up by the use of a chorus that has slightly different lyrics each time, while drawing it all back to the titular Copperhead Road. If the chorus added no new information, you might as well have all verses, but since the choruses were different, it moved the story forward, and therefore the structure works very well.
“Copperhead Road” is embedded below.
