Boston

I am going on a short trip to Boston tomorrow and so I thought that the Beantown would be a good topic for today's blog. Did you know that there are over 20 songs with 'Boston' in the title? Some are just called 'Boston', others are more creative. That always mystified me as a songwriter that you can't copyright the name of your song. You could have a whole handful of songs all named the same thing. Seems odd in the creative world. On the flipside, a song is so short that you can't quote from its lyrics in a novel without paying royalties. I guess I am a beneficiary of this, seeings how the chapter titles in my novel are all song titles and without them the book would suck (that would be a cool concept, a book where only the chapter titles were worth reading...hmmm) The trouble with this chapter naming strategy is that there could be multiple versions of the song, and how do I let my reader know which one I want them to listen to? For instance, one of my chapters is called, 'At Last'. Immediately, if you are over 30, you are thinking about the famous and overused Etta James version. Under 30, perhaps Christina Aguilera or Beyonce. None of those are the ones I want you to listen to. I would much rather you listen to the pained Joni Mitchell version. But what about Boston?


At the moment, my favorite 'Boston' titled song is called 'Boston' and is by a little known band named Augustana. This song speaks to me personally because I've always been a 'grass is greener' person, and I've had to work very hard in my own life to be satisfied with what I have and to live in the present. I can really relate to the idea of wanting to move somewhere new and thinking that it would solve things, a philosophy that seems embedded in my own family. My only problem with this song is who lives in sunny, beautiful California and wakes up one day and decides they want to live in Boston? I live in New England. Six to seven months out of the year, it sucks.


So, what's your favorite Boston related song? I suppose it could be by 'Boston' the band too. Or if you want to really stretch, it could be a song about Massachusetts, ala 'Homecoming King' by Guster. What should be on my 'Boston' playlist?