THE STATE WE'RE IN 10 Songs about...Massachusetts

Massachusetts - The Bee Gees

This 1967 hit gave the brothers Gibb their first UK number one and was, triv fans, the second-ever song played on Radio 1. Parodied famously by Kenny Everett as ‘Massive-Chew-Sets.’ You had to be there.

The State of Massachusetts - Dropkick Murphys

Rowdy, no-nonsense whiskey-pounding Irish rock from the masters of the genre. It’s about drugs, which makes it a little bit strange that it has become an anthem for Boston Red Sox fans. Mind you, aren’t baseball players all hopped up to their eyeballs these days?

Massachusetts by Arlo Guthrie

Made the official state folk song (!) in 1981 – and you can see why. The tourist board themselves couldn’t have plugged it heavier! Always loved Arlo, though, so fine by us.

Now if you could only see
I know you would agree
There ain’t nowhere else to be
Like Massachusetts
And there's a house upon a hill
That keeps us from the chill
And by the grace of God
We will be in Massachusetts

Feeling Massachusetts by Juliana Hatfield

One of the wild woman of Wiscasset’s more acoustic efforts, this is none the less a desperately sad and aching song about wondering whether you can carry on.

Newfound Interest in Massachusetts by Get Up Kids

Love the title of this, and it was a toss-up between picking this and Mass Pike from the Kansas City EMO stalwarts.

Wave Backwards to Massachusetts by Hallelujah the Hills

Excellent, creepy college rock band who approach lyrics like they are writing film scripts for David Lynch. How about the opening line of this?

“A blizzard… a mallard… a stillborn Chinese baby speaking backwards…”

Umass by The Pixies

Sort of kind of cheating in that the state name isn’t spelled out, but the reference is to the University of M, alma mater of Black Francis. This fiery track, from their last album, sneers at college and students.
See the Pixies t-shirt

Roadrunner by The Modern Lovers

Jonathan Richman, a devotee of the Velvet Underground, showed his influence here – it sounds a bit like ‘Sister Ray’, say – and first recorded it with John Cale in the producer’s chair. But it’s the lyrics about the joys of being young and driving around the suburbs, in this case Massachusetts, that have made it so well loved.

Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) by Mountain

Early seventies hard-rock about the 1820 shipwreck of a ship from Nantucket, Mass which was rammed by a sperm whale and sunk. Poor Owen was one of the survivors: he was shot and eaten by his shipmates when supplies ran out. Herman Melville was inspired to write Moby Dick by the tale. This song was the theme for ITV news programme Weekend World in the Seventies! Traditionally played live for 35 minutes or until someone died.

Down The Road by Mickey Hart

Grateful Dead drummer Mickey’s 1996 album Mystery Box contained this cracker, whose lyrics we like so much that we are gonna quote verse two in full:

Down the road to Massachusetts driving through the night
I thought I saw Jack Kennedy hitchhiking by a light
I hit the brakes, backed up slow, and Kennedy got in
I said, “It's nice to see you lookin’ back in shape again
Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe they gunned you down”
He just shook his head and looked off sadly with a frown
Said, “bullets are like waves, they only rearrange the sand
History turns upon the tides and not the deeds of man”