The United States of Songs: Delaware
Friday, June 17, 2011
Every week I find a song to perfectly represent a state in the union. The project moves alphabetically, and to be eligible a song has to meet the following criteria:
- The name of the song must include the name of the state.
- The song must be dedicated to or describe the entire state, not just the most famous city or feature.
- The song has to make you feel like you’re there, in that state. If you’ve been there before, it should remind you of that place.
And so far, so good. We’ve stormed through the As and Cs with relative ease, but this week it’s different. This week it’s Delaware.
The state: Delaware
The song: “I’m From Delaware” by Todd Chappelle
You’d think, being the first state and therefore the oldest, Delaware would have way more songs written about it. Or at least SOME. But boy, is it hard to find a song about Delaware. Sure, there are options, but none of them really struck me as particularly Delaware-ish, so I went with the local boy. Yes, it’s basically a parody song of the old Hank Snow tune, which was actually a re-write the Geoff Mack ode to Australia made popular by Lucky Starr. But if you want Delaware references, you can’t go wrong.
So the tune is pretty classic, and the chorus is catchy. Then you get to the verses and it seems like the sort of thing you’d read in a tourism brochure some friendly old local lady made on her home computer. I’m sure they have their own bustling metropolises and all, but the idea of traffic in Delaware seems kind of quaint and adorable.
Okay, so I have to confess I’ve never been to Delaware, but this song makes me feel like I could at least drive through it on the way to somewhere else, or maybe on a whirlwind tour to see all the blue hens and chunked pumpkins and…uh, whatever else the state has to offer. You guys DO have something else to offer, right?
Delaware, I feel like I owe you an apology, but I can only take so much of the blame. You guys need to start inspiring some songwriters out there, stat.
Have you got a better Delaware song? Want to suggest one for next week’s piece on Florida? Ever chunked a pumpkin? Let me know in the comments below?
Runner up: “Delaware“ by Clive
Most Laughable Suggestion: “Delaware“ by Perry Como
Flickr photo you are here by Chris Connelly used under a Creative Commons License.
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