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" andDanielle 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

Tirana

Algeria

Algiers

Oran

Tizi Ouzou

Armenia

Yerevan

Argentina

Buenos Aires

Rosario

Ushuaia

Córdoba

Azerbaijan

Baku

Australia

Adelaide

Alice Springs

Ballarat

Bathurst

Bendigo

Brisbane

Broken Hill

Cairns

Canberra

Coffs Harbour

Darwin

Gladstone

Glenorchy

Gold Coast

Hobart

Kalgoorlie

Launceston

Melbourne

Mount Isa

Newcastle

Perth

Port Lincoln

Queanbeyan

Rockhampton

Sydney

Tamworth

Toowoomba

Townsville

Austria

Friedberg

Fürstenfeld

Salzburg

Vienna

Belgium

Aalst

Antwerp

Bruges

Brussels

Knokke

Liège

Ostende

Waterloo

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Sarajevo

Brazil

Brasília

Fortaleza

  • "As Velas do Mucuripe" by Fagner

Londrina

Porto Alegre

Recife

Rio de Janeiro

Salvador

São Paulo

Canada

Calgary

Gaspé

Halifax

Montreal

Saskatoon

Toronto

Vancouver

Winnipeg

Sudbury

Chile

Santiago

Valparaíso

Puerto Montt

China

Beijing

Shanghai

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Kinshasa

Colombia

Barranquilla

  • "En Barranquilla me quedo" by Joe Arroyo
  • "Hombre caimán (Se va el caimán)" by José María Peñaranda

Bogotá

Buenaventura

Cali

Medellín

Croatia

Pula

Rijeka

Sinj

Split

Vinkovci

  • "Dođi u Vinkovce" by Shorty ft. Miroslav Stivčić

Vukovar

Zagreb

Cuba

Guantánamo

Havana

Santiago de Cuba

Czech Republic

Prague

Lidice

Cyprus

Limassol

Denmark

Copenhagen

Holsterbro

Skanderborg

Dominican Republic

San Pedro de Macorís

Ecuador

Guayaquil

Egypt

Alexandria

Cairo

Finland

Helsinki

France

Ajaccio

Amiens

Angers

Annecy

Avignon

Biarritz

Bordeaux

Brest

Caen

Calais

Cherbourg-Octeville

Clermont-Ferrand

Dijon

  • "Dijon" by Yves Jamait

La Rochelle

  • "La Ville de La Rochelle" by Tri Yann
  • "Les Tours de La Rochelle" by Les Binuchards

Le Havre

  • "Le Havre" by Péniche

Lille

Lyon

Marseille

Montpellier

Nancy

Nantes

Nice

Orléans

Paris

Pau

Reims

Roubaix

Rouen

Saint-Étienne

St. Tropez

Strasbourg

Toulouse

Vesoul

Germany

Berlin

Bochum

Chemnitz

Delmenhorst

Döbeln

Dresden

Düsseldorf

Frankfurt

Frankfurt (Oder)

Göttingen

Hamburg

Hameln

Hamm

  • "Hamm, Sweet Hamm" by Der Obel

Hanover

  • "Stadt mit Keks" by Matthias Brodowy

Heidelberg

Heiligenstadt

Kassel

  • "Direkt aus Kassel" by Cheech & Iakone

Cologne

Königswinter

Krefeld

Leipzig

Ludwigshafen

Mannheim

  • "Meine Stadt" by Söhne Mannheims
  • "Meine Welt" (Jubilee song of 400 years of The City of Mannheim, by Joy Fleming, Rolf Stahlhofen and others)

Marienbad

München

Nürnberg

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

Oberhausen

  • "Oberhausen" by Missfits

Rostock

Stuttgart

Wolfenbüttel

Guinea-Bissau

Bissau

Greece

Athens

Piraeus

Thessaloniki

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hungary

Budapest

Iceland

Reykjavík

Iraq

Baghdad

Ireland

Dublin

Cork

Israel

Jerusalem

India

Agra

Amritsar

Bangalore

Bareilly

Chandigarh

Chennai

Delhi

Goa

Jaipur

Jalandhar

Kanpur

Kolkata

Lucknow

Mumbai

Patiala

Pune

Rajkot

  • "Rajkot na loko" By Rj Akash

Varanasi

Vrindavan

Italy

Bologna

Genoa

Milan

Modena

Naples

Pompeii

Rimini

Rome

Turin

Venice

Verona

Ivory Coast

Abidjan

Jamaica

Kingston

Montego Bay

Japan

Fukuoka

Hiroshima

Kyoto

Nagasaki

Nara

Tokyo

Yokohama

Kenya

Mombasa

Latvia

Riga

Lebanon

Beirut

Liechtenstein

Vaduz

  • "Vaduz" by Erstes Wiener Heimorgelorchester

Luxemburg

Luxemburg

Mesopotamia

Babylon

Mexico

Acapulco

Atotonilco

Culiacán

Guadalajara

Juarez

Mexico City

Sinaloa

Tampico

Tijuana

Veracruz

Moldova

Bălți

Morocco

Marrakesh

Casablanca

Tanger

Agadir

Nepal

Kathmandu

Netherlands

Amsterdam

Delfzijl

The Hague

Eindhoven

Maassluis

Nieuwegein

Nijmegen

Rotterdam

Tilburg

Sneek

Utrecht

Zwolle

Zoutelande

New Zealand

Auckland

Hastings

Wellington

Nicaragua

Managua

Nigeria

Lagos

North Korea

Pyongyang

Norway

Oslo

Pakistan

Lahore

Panama

Peru

Lima

Philippines

Manila

Poland

Bydgoszcz

Cracow

Gdańsk

Gdynia

Łódź

Piła

Poznań

Rybnik

  • "Karliku, Karliku" by traditional folk song.

Sopot

Szczecin

Ustrzyki Dolne

  • "Ustrzyki" by KSU

Warsaw

Wrocław

Portugal

Cascais

Coimbra

Lisbon

Peniche

Porto

Puerto Rico

San Juan

Romania

Bucharest

Timișoara

Medgidia

Russia

Moscow

Saint Petersburg

Sevastopol

Rwanda

Gisenyi

Kigali

Senegal

Mbignona

Serbia

Belgrade

South Africa

Cape Town

Durban

Johannesburg

Margate

Port Elizabeth

Pretoria

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

Soweto

Pretoria/Tshwane

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

South Korea

Seoul

Busan

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

Spain

Almería

Barcelona

Bilbao

Cádiz

Córdoba

Granada

Huelva

Málaga

Madrid

Murcia

Salamanca

San Fernando, Cádiz

San Sebastián

Santiago de Compostela

Seville

Soria

Toledo

Torremolinos

Valencia

Valladolid

Sweden

Stockholm

Gothenburg

Uppsala

Switzerland

Bern

Montreux

Wallisellen

Tanzania

Zanzibar

Tajikistan

Dushanbe

Thailand

Bangkok

Chiang Mai

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

Chonburi

Tunisia

Tunis

Turkey

Ankara

Bodrum

Gaziantep

Istanbul

Izmir

Ukraine

Kiev

Odessa

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi

United Kingdom

Aberdeen

Arun

Belfast

Birmingham

Bradford

Brighton

Coventry

Dover

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Kilmarnock

Leeds

Liverpool

London

Derry

Manchester

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newport

Nottingham

Salford

Sheffield

Southampton

Three Bridges

Wakefield

United States

Aberdeen, Maryland

Abilene, Kansas

Akron, Ohio

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Allentown, Pennsylvania

Amarillo, Texas

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Anchorage, Alaska

Arlington, Virginia

Atlanta, Georgia

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Austin, Texas

Avalon (Catalina Isl.), California

Bad Axe, Michigan

Bakersfield, California

Baltimore, Maryland

Bangor, Maine

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Beaumont, Texas

Birmingham, Alabama

Bossier City, Louisiana

Boston, Massachusetts

Brownsville, Texas

Buffalo, New York

Charleston, South Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Cheyenne, Wyoming

Chicago, Illinois

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Columbus, Ohio

  • "Road Outside Columbus" by O.A.R.

Commerce City, Colorado

Cripple Creek, Colorado

Danville, Virginia

Dallas, Texas

Decatur, Illinois

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

Denver, Colorado

Des Moines, Iowa

Detroit, Michigan

Doraville, Georgia

El Paso, Texas

Eugene, Oregon

Flagstaff, Arizona

Flint, Michigan

Folsom, California

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Fort Worth, Texas

Gainesville, Florida

Galveston, Texas

Garden Grove, California

Gary, Indiana

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Greensboro, North Carolina

Hackensack, New Jersey

Hoboken, New Jersey

Holland, Michigan

Honolulu, Hawaii

Highland, Illinois

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

Houston, Texas

Indianapolis, Indiana

Jackson, Mississippi

Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, Illinois

Jacksonville, North Carolina

Juneau, Alaska

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kansas City, Missouri

Kent, Ohio

Knoxville, Tennessee

La Grange, Texas

Laramie, Wyoming

Laredo, Texas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Laurel, Mississippi

Lincoln, Nebraska

Little Rock, Arkansas

Lodi, California

Los Angeles, California

Louisville, Kentucky

Lubbock, Texas

Luckenbach, Texas

Malibu, California

Manti, Utah

Marina del Rey, California

Marshalltown, Iowa

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis holds the distinction of being the most mentioned city in the world when it comes to commercially recorded songs. 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

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Mobile, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Muncie, Indiana

Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Muskegon, Michigan

Muskogee, Oklahoma

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

New Orleans, Louisiana

New York City, New York

Olema, California

Olympia, Washington

Omaha, Nebraska

Palestine, Texas

Panama City, Florida

Pasadena, California

Pensacola, Florida

Peoria, Illinois

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Phoenix, Arizona

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsfield, Illinois

Portland, Maine

Portland, Oregon

Reno, Nevada

Richmond, Virginia

Riverside, California

Roanoke, Virginia

Sacramento, California

Saginaw, Michigan

Saint Louis, Missouri

Salinas, California

Salt Lake City, Utah

San Angelo, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Diego, California

San Jose, California

Santa Fe, New Mexico

San Francisco, California

Sausalito, California

  • "Sausalito Summer Night" by Diesel

Savannah, Georgia

Seattle, Washington

Simi Valley, California

Sioux City, Iowa

Springfield, Illinois

  • "Springfield, or Bobby Got a Shadfly Caught in his Hair" by Sufjan Stevens

St. Paul, Minnesota

Statesboro, Georgia

Tacoma, Washington

Tallahassee, Florida

Telluride, Colorado

Thibodaux, Louisiana

Topeka, Kansas

Tucson, Arizona

Tucumcari, New Mexico

Tulare, California

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Washington, D.C.

Wichita, Kansas

Wildwood, New Jersey

Winnemucca, Nevada

Winslow, Arizona

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Youngstown, Ohio

Uruguay

Montevideo

Uzbekistan

Samarkand

Venezuela

Caracas

Cumaná

Vietnam

Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

References

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  25. hr:Marjane, Marjane
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  29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdRLqGVobmI
  30. Singh, Navjeevan "These 7 Punjabi Songs Immortalised Chandigarh! I Bet You’ll Love Them"
  31. Naig, Udhav "Madras by day, by night and by sonpm
  32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPp_H-64FWs
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  35. 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).
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  39. es:Principio de incertidumbre (álbum)
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  50. We Are Marching On To Richmond (on youtube)
  51. Three years in camp and hospital by E.W. Locke Free ebook showing lyrics with sheet music for We Are Marching On To Richmond.
  52. Lyrics with sheet music for We Are Marching On To Richmond hosted on the Library of Congress
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