I Left My Heart In…Albuquerque?

Songs with Albuquerque in the title

So many great songs about cities have been written and recorded. But in the songwriting process, you have to consider syllables, where the accents are, the cadence, and whether the city is redeeming enough to write a song about.

We have “By The Time I Get To Phoenix,” “Leaving Las Vegas,” “El Paso,” “New York, New York,” and “Philadelphia Freedom” among others.

Two places I’ve lived have city songs: “Abilene” (different songs, one by George Hamilton IV, the other by Sheryl Crow), and “Ventura Highway” by America.

And then there’s San Francisco.

San Francisco is the quintessential city song, having the perfect mystique and aesthetics to be memorialized.

During the “Summer of Love” in 1967, Scott McKenzie released “San Francisco (Make Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair),” and then Eric Burdon & The Animals came out with “San Franciscan Nights”.

Just for kicks, I thought of other cities that would fit with the song’s structure. Los Angeles wouldn’t work, nor would “The Metroplex.” San Diego would, as would Amarillo and Kansas City.

Then it struck me. Albuquerque would work perfectly! The syllables work. It’s got charisma and character and aesthetics.

It’s just not all that romantic. Trust me.

Albuquerque is not an easy word to deal with in song — it’s a bit awkward. But I found four tunes, one I knew and three I didn’t know, which included the city in its song title.

The first is Neil Young’s “Albuquerque.”

“Well, they say that Santa Fe is less than 90 miles away”.

For Young, this is a very downbeat and melancholy song about fame and his escape from it. Released in 1974 on the album “Tonight’s the Night,” it’s a very simple song with just three stanzas — no chorus or bridge. (It should be noted that Santa Fe is only 60 miles away, and with a speed limit of 75mph, the trip can be made in 45 minutes.) However, this was the age of 55mph, so it might have seemed that it was 90 miles. Or he was just stoned.

I became aware of the next tune about Albuquerque while driving and listening to an oldies station. It was The Partridge Family’s “Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque.”

The song is about a boy/man (David Cassidy in his youth, and I couldn’t figure out which one he was) who comes across a teenage runaway on the street. She wants to go home and has a Greyhound bus ticket to Albuquerque. He helps her find her way to the bus station, and they say their goodbyes. Pretty simple.

Speaking of The Partridge Family, Tony Romeo wrote the song. He has about 100 songs, advertising jingles, and TV theme songs to his credit. And that includes The Partridge’s #1 smash hit, “I Think I Love You”.

Next up, singer/songwriter Adam Steele in 2018 released an album titled “The Best Time I Fell In Love With You.” One of the tracks is “Albuquerque.” I’d never heard of the artist nor the song before I’d done the research. Apparently, it didn’t move the needle.

On Soundcloud, Steele says “you’ll hear pop, Latin-influences, R&B, lots of guitars, horns, and catchy melodies.” All I heard was bla-bla-Albuqurque-bla.

Finally, Weird Al Yankovich in 1998 recorded an Albuquerque song. At 11:22, it is the longest song Yankovich has recorded. “Albuquerque” is mostly a spoken word narration about a made-up life in New Mexico. I have ADHD, and I didn’t have the patience to listen to the whole song. He should stick with his humourous covers.

Next up, we’ll discuss how you get from Tucson to Tucumcari, and Tehachapi to Tonopah. (It’s a dead giveaway: with weed, whites, and wine.)

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