Here’s a list of songs about Los Angeles set there, named after a location or feature of the city, named after a famous resident, or inspired by an event in Los Angeles, but what about a list of songs about San Diego? Or any songs that have San Diego in their lyrics?
Update: San Diego Serenade is one.
By coincidence, I wrote an article about this topic two months ago for Vyuz.com (I’ve attached a link to the website). Tom Waits has referenced San Diego, and Bruce Springsteen wrote “Balboa Park,” a song about illegal aliens forced to prostitute themselves for cash.
For my money, the best San Diego song is “They Go To San Diego,” which was written by Mel Torme as part of a song cycle about California in honor of the state’s 100th anniversary. It’s a Latin tinged song that includes some of the most-reached for rhymes ever committed to paper. For instance, “When a girl and guy/ From Oswego, N.Y./ Sit around and start to mope/ She’s got a strict papa/ He’s got a stern Mama. So they decide to elope/ Do they go to New York/ To dine at the Stork Club/ No, that’s certainly not where they go/ Decidedly, excitedly/ They go to San Diego.
I believe this song should be San Diego’s official theme and, coincidentally, Torme’s son, James, is working with David Paich of Toto to record a new rendition of it.
http://www.vyuz.com/121205_Song.htm
More details in the future.
Feeder has a song called “San Diego” on their Turn album:
The Thrills have a song called “Deckchairs and Cigarettes” with the chorus, “Let’s go to San Diego/Where the crazy kids go.”
Wasn’t there a crappy top 40 song from the late 90s with a bunch of guys singing about things they want to “get out of here” or something? And part of it goes “in sweet home San Diego.” Hope that doesn’t cause the song to stick in anyone’s brain.
Jeff, you’re thinking of local boys Sprung Monkey.
Tom Waits’ “I Can’t Wait to Get Off Work (And See My Baby on Montgomery Avenue)” off of the album Small Change and “The Ghosts Of Saturday Night (After Hours at Napoleone’s Pizza House)” off of “The Heart of Saturday Night,” both share the record for the longest song title that happens to be about a small slice of life in San Diego. They detail the time Waits spent working at the infamous National City Pizza House.
Sublime mentions San Diego in its list of cities on the track “April 29, 1992″.
Young Sicc - “Beautiful Day in San Diego”
…it names and talks about a hundred SD sites.
Then there’s the ever-popular “Sweet Home San Diego” by Sprung Monkey. Though to be honest, I don’t know if thats the actual title.
Who knows the correct name, or artist, of the song with these lyrics? It was rather country.
Hugh Kitamura
“San Diego, San Diego, my shoes are homesick for your streets and I’m comin’ home”
As a homesick San Diegan living in Michigan for the past 13 years, I have been looking everywhere for the “San Diego Song”, an adaptation of the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” made popular by the morning crew on KFMB (B100) around the latter part of 1989. It listed most, if not all, of the communities in S.D. County. Would love to have it in an MP3 format.
I remember a song from 1972 about San Diego, which I probably haven’t heard in over 30 years. I’ve been trying to track down that song and hope to find it soon. I lived in the Chicago area in 1972 and remember hearing it on the radio there back then. I remember the lyrics including the line “San Diego, San Diego, that’s where I’ll go”. While I have found many long-time-no-hear songs on Napster and iTunes, I still have yet to find that San Diego song. Do any of you recall such a song from the 1972 era? I would greatly appreciate a reply, especially if you have any info about that song (such as it’s exact title and/or artist, and/or where I might be able to find it). Thanks.
irish band The Coronas have a song called ‘San Diego Song’
How can I contact Daniel K. Stuntz wrote on October 21, 2007 about the song San Diego?
In the seveinties one of the San Diego radio stations held a contest and asked for originals songs about San Diego. They then put out an album with several of the best. I remember these titles: Chula Vista-Chula Vista, Lovely Lakeside Lady. Does anyone remember the album title? Anyone have it on CD/ Thanks, Pierre Ney
@Pierre Ney The LPs were called Homegrown and they were produced by KGB radio.