So I just found out that:
1) New Jersey is the only U.S. state without an official song.
2) Unlike our fine Oregon, my Oregon.
"Land of the Empire Builders, Land of the Golden West;
Conquered and held by free men, Fairest and the best.
Onward and upward ever, Forward and on, and on;
Hail to thee Land of Heroes, My Oregon.
Land of the rose and sunshine, Land of the summer’s breeze;
Laden with health and vigor, Fresh from the western seas.
Blest by the blood of martyrs, Land of the setting sun;
Hail to thee, Land of Promise, My Oregon"
Oregon, fuck yeah!
Sorry. Okay, back to Jersey.
3) Apparently the last candidate was something called I'm From New Jersey by John Gorka, which is this thing:
I love this so hard. For one thing, how can you NOT love a "state song" that tells you about the actual, no-bullshit, way things are in the state it's about:
4) But. I see another contender for the Jersey crown; John Pizzarelli's I Like Jersey Best:
Which also goes hard in on the awesome lyrics:
"Lots of dineries, oil refineries,
Our highways make you cough,
But Spring Lake Heights and Belmar
Are places to get off.
Drinking spots and used car lots
Make the place just grand,
If you want to pay a visit,
Newark Airport's where you land."
So...such a choice!
Whaddya think? Deeply ironic and cynical, or just out-and-out funny? I mean...if you're gonna sing a song about your state, which way to go?
1 comment:
With apologies to the other candidate and apologies to any other state or country or any other entity official song, but this is not even remotely a fair comparison.
How can you even compare or consider anything else rather than "I like Jersey best"? What a toe tapper! And the tune rolls smoothly and every time it pitches up you can feel the excitement of the crowd going up and when the chorus start going you know everybody will yell their hearts out at the "I like Jersey best" line! I had never heard it before (or maybe I had because it just feels so familiar?), just heard it once now and it is already stuck in my head.
So with my authority of having visited Jersey and having family there I nominate it as the official state song. I'm now off to see if I can find a lyrics version to add it to my karaoke roll ^_^
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