What A Capital Song! Trivia Quiz

The song "Nashville" was on Chris Stapleton's 2020 album "Starting Over". Framed as a traditional breakup ballad, this song is actually written as a heartfelt farewell letter to a city. After skyrocketing to mainstream fame, Stapleton and his family grew overwhelmed by the constant tourist traffic and lack of privacy in town.

The lyrics express a bittersweet goodbye to the pressures of Music City as he moves on to a different phase of his life.

"Honolulu Lulu" was released in 1963 by the duo Jan and Dean and is a great example of early-60s surf-rock music. The song celebrates a legendary local surf queen ruling the waves in America's island capital, capturing the carefree, sun-soaked teen optimism of the era's California pop scene.

"Get Out of Denver" appeared in 1974 on Bob Seger's album "Seven". This high-octane classic rock track is sort of a left handed compliment to Colorado's capital. It captures a frantic, law-evading escape. The narrator is caught up in a whirlwind of trouble, late night high jinks, and flashing police lights.

This all prompts an urgent race to hit the highway and flee the Mile High City before things go completely sideways.

"Please Come to Boston" was recorded and written by singer-songwriter Dave Loggins and was released in May 1974. The song is about the painful distance between professional ambition and romance. The narrator travels across the country pursuing a music career but realizes success feels hollow without his partner, prompting a gentle, pleading phone call begging her to leave home and meet him in various cities around America.

"Atlanta", by Tony Orlando and Dawn, was released in 1973 as part of their hit album "Dawn's New Ragtime Follies". The pop tune blends a cheerful vaudeville arrangement with a regretful storyline. The narrator is with a female on a date and is telling her that she can have a drink or spend the evening with him but his heart will not belong to her.

He goes on to say his love is wrapped up in a girl he met in Atlanta while he was traveling.

The song "Austin" was Blake Shelton's breakout debut single in 2001. It tells the story of an ex-girlfriend who disappears to Texas's capital city. Almost a year later, she calls him only to get his answering machine. Each time she called the machine a voice stated what the narrator was doing that evening and ended with the fact he loved her after all this time.

"By the Time I Get to Phoenix", sung by Glen Campbell, was released in 1967. Written by Jimmy Webb, this song of heartbreak follows a man quietly leaving a relationship in the middle of the night. As he travels across country, he marks the miles by visualizing what his ex is doing at specific times of the day.

He figures by the time he gets to Arizona's capital, she will have found his note.

"Little Rock" was released in 1994 by Collin Raye. Framed as a phone call or direct plea to an estranged partner, the song follows a recovering alcoholic trying to rebuild his life in Arkansas's capital. He lists his milestones, like holding down a job, finding faith, and staying sober, while wrestling with the heavy guilt of his past.

He repeats that he thinks he's "on a roll", but admits that his progress feels hollow because the person he loves isn't there with him.

"It Sure Can Get Cold In Des Moines" came out in 1971 and was sung by Tom T. Hall. True to the legendary style of the "Storyteller" (as Hall is known), this track uses the biting, sub-zero winter weather of Iowa's capital as a metaphor for emotional isolation.

It reflects on the loneliness of life on the road and the stark, chilling reality of being separated from warmth and companionship.

"Callin' Baton Rouge" was recorded by Garth Brooks on his album "In Pieces" (released in August 1993) and released as a popular radio single in August 1994. The song captures the yearning of a traveling man who met a captivating woman named Samantha in Baton Rouge the night before. Forced back out on the highway, he spends his drive stopping at pay phones to call her and tell her his feelings.