The 14 Most 'Boston' Songs Ever Recorded, Ranked

Sure , we have an eponymous banding ( who never sang a Son about Boston ) , and yes , we have Aerosmith . But there are are some songs that simply capture the essence of our nifty urban center . Therefore , we ’ve ranked the most " Boston " call ever recorded , weighing divisor of local legitimacy and overall quality – sorry , “ Dream On ” – and cap it off with an all - star Boston Spotify play list for your listening joy .

14. “Boston” by Kenny Chesney

Most Boston line:“She wears a Red Sox cap to hide her baby fear … ”Boston has its share of country euphony fan ( the means San Francisco has its conservative Republicans ): they exist , even though they might not thrive . So is it so weird for Kenny Chesney , Tennessee aboriginal and Renee Zellweger marriage subsister , to save a song about Boston ? Well , maybe so . Its geographically suspect references to “ the jewellery store down in the Harbor " make you wonder how much of the city Chesney explore beyond TD Garden , or wherever he was engage in his delicious grownup present-day body politic euphony .

13. “Boston Rag” by Steely Dan

Most Boston line:“Tell all your buddies that it ai n’t no drag / Bring back the Boston Rag . ”A not - particularly - groovy Sung dynasty off of a not - peculiarly - successful record album by a not - particularly - interesting band … that also sets its scene in New York . But , you eff , they mention the word " Boston . " Plus , Steely Dan is definitely one of your shamed pleasures , anyway .

12. “Somerville” by Pernice Brothers

Most Boston line:“Gonna take her back to Somerville / Do n’t manage if she ’s pretty as we allow Suck City . ”Alt - state songsters the Pernice Brothers are so Dorchester , the recording label they own is called Ashmont Records ( Ashmont Hill being an outer Dorchester neck of the woods ) . But you know how Bostonians are : we indicate about everything . So of class the Dot rats have an axe to moil against Slummerville .

11. “Night Train” by James Brown

Most Boston line:“Take me home / Boston , Massachusetts . ”Is it a Boston call ? Well , it ’s kind of an everywhere vocal , spread the wealth around many cities . From hated New York , to beloved Miami , to no - major - complaint - about Raleigh , " Night Train " makes many stop . But topple your detonating machine to the Godfather of Soul for his indelible contribution to Boston . His ‘ 68 Boston Garden show help keep the peacefulness the nighttime Martin Luther King was shot ; Brown even allow a radio programme of his concert to encourage mass to stay in . How many artists can say they actually write the metropolis of Boston ? Kenny Chesney sure ca n’t .

10. “Ladies of Cambridge” by Vampire Weekend

Most Boston line:“I’ve had aspiration of Boston all of my life / Chinatown between the sound of the night … ”Before indie pop darlings Vampire Weekend sign their first book declaration , a 2007 single had as its B - side this rockin ’ little number . The birdsong never made it onto their first record album , which only add together to its allure . Does it get more Boston than a call about Boston getting veer from a New York City dance orchestra ’s debut , which then goes on to accomplish monumental commercial success ?

9. “Homecoming King” by Guster

Most Boston line:“Back in Massachusetts / To your golden age where they tuck you in at night . ”They commence represent Tufts University fraternity party and then made it to the Top 40 . But almost a decade after graduation , the harmonizing threesome scram nostalgic about those responsibility - costless undergraduate year outside Davis Square and decided to cast out " Homecoming King " on their 2003 release , Keep It Together .

8. “Subway” by Mary Lou Lord

Most Boston line:“And I ’ve see drowning hobos and ample men who pass / mull over in fragments of Boston - ricochet glass . ”Before she was ( allegedly ) shtupping Kurt Cobain and having this young guy cite Elliott Smith open for her , folkie Mary Lou Lord was a busker who still managed to get a write - up inRolling Stone . Her publishing label was call On the Red Line because that ’s where she got her start : in underground MBTA stations , specifically the Red Line . Of of course she ’s waxing lyrically about power train .

7. “The Rascal King” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Most Boston line:“A Heron or a hooligan ? Well , that part ’s just never clear . ”What ’s that you say , a ska Sung about former Boston Mayor James Michael Curley ? One set to the dulcet tones of the Middle East ’s Hometown Throwdown local boy made good , the Mighty Mighty Bosstones ? And on their big 1997 crossover record album that turn them into national superstars ? Indeed .

6. “For Boston” by The Hold Steady

Most Boston line:“For Boston , you’re able to solve all your problems in the Commons right by Downtown Crossing . ”Yeah , yeah , they ’re a Brooklyn banding , but jumper cable singer Craig Finn grew up in Boston and decease to Boston College . He ’s ours . The substantiation ? A lovemaking letter referencing Bob Cousy , Allston - Brighton , Lansdowne St , and even the fetishization of the Shamrock Shake ( available now ! ) .

5. “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by Dropkick Murphys

Most Boston line:“I’m shipping up to Boston whoa / I ’m shipping off to find my wooden wooden leg . ”It ’s inescapable . The single institute interior fame inThe Departedand is an official hymn of Red Sox Nation . If a otiose medicine supervisor needs to signal “ Boston , ” they loop in Dropkick Murphys . heed to the Celtic punk rock and try out to not image a fat whiskered white guy romp a goatee and a backwards Sox lid .

4. “Roadrunner” and pretty much that whole first Modern Lovers record

Most Boston line:“I’m in love with Massachusetts . ”Elder Boston rocking chair Jonathan Richman formed the wildly influential late-’70s artistry - thug band with the likes of future Talking Head Jerry Harrison . This album play like a Bostonian love letter , be it incitement to drop out of BU or a love life letter to Government Center . Richman still comes home every year to toy at the Middle East , so it ’s reset the devotion is thick . Meanwhile , the state continues to battle over whether or not to hold “ Roadrunner ” the official country birdsong . Its competitor ? “ Dream On . ” To which we say , add up on .

3. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” by Gary Portnoy

Most Boston line:“Making your way in the mankind today takes everything you got … ”I mean value , try not to deplumate up at the first piano chords . The Cheers musical theme song is not your typical sitcom lead - in ( Blossomthis is not ) . Instead it ’s a wry , very Boston - corresponding recitation of life ’s maddening stumbling blocks and the resultant penury for community . You know , sort of like The Rembrandts’Friendstheme song … except in force . Also ? The integral song is actually far darker than its abbreviated version suggests . Example : " All those nights when you ’ve vex no lights / The check is in the mail / And your little holy person / Hung the cat up by its tail / And your third fiancée did n’t show / Sometimes you want to go … " Yeah , we ca n’t get enough of it .

2. “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond

Most Boston line:“Good times never felt so good / So good ! / So good ! / So good!“What start as a tribute to first girl Caroline Kennedy became an eighth inning mainstay introduced , Rally Monkey - style , when the Sox were drop behind badly . When Neil Diamond vanish in from LA to perform after the Boston Marathon bombing , the “ Sweet Caroline ” legacy was cemented .

1. “Dirty Water” by The Standells

Most Boston line:“Well I have sex that cheating water / Oh , Boston , you ’re my home . ”Who cares if they were an LA band ? The Standells learned what anyone with a hit Christmas song lie with : find your niche mart and you ’ll compile royalties in sempiternity . This is the call that plays any clip the Red Sox win , which make it about as Boston as it gets . Winner winner chicken dinner .

NOTE : " For Boston " by The Hold Steady is not on Spotify

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