THE MUSICAL PLACES CHALLENGE

The Long And Winding Road

My Musical Places Journey

Credit: Photo by Jose Parra on Pexels

Firstly, it is great to see Buddy Gott back on Medium, sharing his wonderful musical articles.

I was very excited to read Buddy’s new musical challenge below: to write an article on your favourite songs set in real or fictional places.

[embed]Join The Music Places Challenge! Share your favorite real or fictional places in musicmedium.com

As you would expect from a huge Boss fan, I am going to make mine Springsteen heavy. How could I not when the man has written such classic place songs as “Born in the USA” and the magnificent “Thunder Road”? Neither of which I will use in my article.

Not all songs will be Springsteen, as I will throw in a few curve balls with some other great tracks.

As I have lived in different parts of the UK and the world in my childhood: Aden, Canada, The Netherlands, I never really had a sort of hometown.

I only really settled down when I started work and then moved to the town where I have lived since 1984.

The town is called Basingstoke, and it is about sixty miles from London. I can’t say it is a fantastic town and has been the brunt of a few jokes on our television shows. But it is surrounded by some beautiful villages in the county of Hampshire, and as I said, not far from the capital and also the coastline.

Importantly, it is my adopted hometown, so let’s kick off with this song:

[embed]My Hometown: Bruce Springsteen

As London is only a 40-minute train ride from our town, we often pay a visit for either concerts or a night out. We have spent many a late night and had to rush for the last train. I remember on one occasion being pulled onto it by a mate otherwise I would have been stranded for hours.

Therefore, even though this song is the opposite journey, it may be appropriate, and it is a nice song:

[embed]Last Train To London: ELO

London has many great sites and must be one of the top tourist attractions in the world.

If you are new to London, then you have such a choice of riches to visit.

Why not pay a visit to the home of one of our most famous fictional Detectives, Sherlock Holmes, who lived in this very street at 221B:

[embed]Baker Street: Gerry Rafferty

I have seen most of my Springsteen concerts in London, and as with most capitals, it is a very vibrant and cosmopolitan city.

So, before we leave London, let’s celebrate with this amazing song:

[embed]London Calling: The Clash

My wife and I have a dream or even plan to visit New York as our big retirement holiday. We will need to wait until our beautiful and beloved cats finally leave us to join all our other cats in the great gig in the sky. They then will be waiting at the door for both of us at the appropriate time.

I have never liked flying due to my claustrophobia and could tell you some tales of consuming numerous cans of lager in an airport car park or falling up an aircraft passenger steps, much to the astonishment of flight attendants, but let’s not go there.

Therefore, to avoid any further embarrassment and as this will be our big holiday we are planning on saving up to cross the pond by boat. Not piloted by me, of course! A big one, of course, but hopefully not too expensive. It may be a strange experience hence why I have included this wonderful song from The Waterboys to help us along the way:

[embed]Strange Boat; The Waterboys

I have never been to New York, and I will be so excited to see the famous New York Harbour entrance passing by the iconic site of the Statue of Liberty. Something so many immigrants in the past would have seen coming to the land of the free, which Springsteen celebrates in this amazing song:

[embed]American Land: Bruce Springsteen

As well as all the great landmarks, I obviously want to go to New Jersey to celebrate the Boss. Before I do so, I believe most of New York’s streets are called by numbers, so I might check out 57th Street to see if anything is going on there. If not, I might cause an incident by singing Boss songs so loudly that it brings the street to a complete standstill trying to protect their ears from my appalling voice:

[embed]Incident on 57th Street: Bruce Springsteen

So, as we head to New Jersey, I will no doubt become a little emotional as we visit Randolph Street in Freehold, The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, and of course Atlantic City:

[embed]Atlantic City: Bruce Springsteen

No doubt the Boss would have heard of my upcoming visit to New Jersey after such an incident on 57th, so perhaps he will pay a visit to The Stone Pony to dedicate this song to my wife as it is one of her favourite songs:

[embed]Jersey Girl: Cover by Bruce Springsteen

At the end of such a poignant trip, I might be a bit dizzy and lost, so I will probably have to ask directions for the way back to the hotel:

[embed]Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?: Bruce Springsteen

As our holiday finally draws to an end, we will have to think about our long journey back to the UK. As we make our way back with all the happy memories of such a wonderful country, we will chill out to the long and winding road back home:

[embed]The Long And Winding Road: The Beatles

Before I leave you, I want you all to join me on a train to a place we all aspire to make our dreams come true. You don’t need a ticket, and wherever and whoever you are in the world, you are all welcome because this train carries saints and sinners, losers and gamblers, whores and gamblers, and lost souls:

[embed]Land of Hope and Dreams: Bruce Springsteen

Thanks Buddy for a great challenge