Songs About, or Mentioning, Cleveland

Photo by the author

Since this blog is all about the great city of Cleveland, I thought it would be a good place to assemble a definitive collection of all the music videos I could find that are either about Cleveland, or that simply mention the city by name. Here’s the list I’ve compiled so far, and the songs covered various musical genres. If I’ve missed any, please leave me a comment and I’ll try to find a video of it and add it!

 

UPDATE:  Too many videos on this page have been removed by YouTube and/or the video owners,  so I've chosen to delete them. But the list of songs remain!

“Cleveland Rocks”
Ian Hunter (Drew Carey Show Version)

“Sheraton Gibson”
Pete Townshend

“Look Out Cleveland”
The Band

“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Gordon Lightfoot

“Burn On”
Randy Newman

Pancho &Lefty
Townes Van Zandt

“Cleveland is the City”
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
(special note, some lyrics may be considered offensive)

"Oh My Sweet Carolina”

Ryan Adams

“Drunk on the Moon”

Tom Waits

“Cuyahoga”
R.E.M.

“My City Was Gone”
Written and Performed by Chrissie Hynde
(NOTE: Some people think this is about Cleveland, but it’s about Akron. Close enough for a mention.)

“My Town”
Michael Stanley Band

"Skinny Little Boy from Cleveland"
Alex Bevan (Local Favorite!)

Pete Townshend’s Ode to Cleveland

Pete Townshend - of The Who and also a very successful solo artist in his own right - said that he only wrote one song about one city, and that city was Cleveland. It’s one of my favorite tunes from Townshend’s solo career, titled "Sheraton Gibson," appearing on his “Who Came First” album that was released in 1972.

Here are a few versions of the song performed by Townshend. The first is a live version (from a concert with the Who in Cleveland in September of 2000) where he explains that he wrote the song after an afternoon at a barbecue with the members of the James Gang (also Cleveland favorites).

So here are a few versions for your listening pleasure. The lyrics are listed below so you can sing along if the urge strikes you.

Live Version performed by Pete Townshend in Cleveland


Live verion performed by Pete Townshend


Live Version, performed by Eddie Vedder and Pete Townshend




Lyrics
Sheraton Gibson
From “Who Came First” by Pete Townshend

I'm sitting' in the Sheraton Gibson playing' my Gibson
And boy do I wanna go home.
I'm sitting' in the Sheraton Gibson playing' my Gibson
And boy do I feel all alone.
Cleveland, you blow my mind.
Cleveland, I wish I were home this time.
Don't want to be unkind .

But I'm sitting' in the Sheraton Gibson playing' my Gibson
Thinking' 'bout a sunny barbeque
I'm sitting in the Sheraton Gibson playing' my Gibson
And my mind is a Cleveland afternoon.
Cleveland, you blow my mind.
Cleveland, I wish I were home this time
Don't wanna be unkind.
Cleveland, you blow my mind.
Cleveland, I wish I were home this time.
Don't wanna be unkind.

Oh Cleveland, you blow my mind.
Oh Cleveland, I wish I were home this time
Don't wanna be unkind.

But I'm sitting in the Sheraton Gibson playing' my Gibson
And boy do I wanna go home.



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