Which Artists Have Mentioned Minnesota In Their Music?

Minnesota is a hotbed for musical talent. From Bob Dylan to Prince to Owl City, the state always seems to produce more than its share of hits.

Here are songs that shout out Minnesota or one of its cities.

ROD STEWART - YOU WEAR IT WELL (1972)

I had nothing to do on this hot afternoon
But to settle down and write you a line
I've been meaning to phone you but from Minnesota
Hell, it's been a very long time

JANET JACKSON - ESCAPADE (1989)

Come on baby, let's get away (Ooh-ooh)
Let's save our troubles for another day (Ooh-ooh)
Come go with me, we've got it made (Ooh-ooh)
Let me take you on an escapade
Let's go
Minneapolis
Come on

Jackson recorded her 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814 at Edina's Flyte Time studio with Minnesota producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

According to Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine, Jackson embraced the elements immediately upon arriving in Minnesota during a typical winter.

"When Janet showed up to Flyte Tyme, “she threw herself to the ground and started making a snow angel,” Jimmy Jam told the magazine. “She told us, ‘I’ve always wanted to do that!’ We were like, ‘Get in here. You’re going to catch a cold.’”"

SOUNDGARDEN - OUTSHINED (1991)

Well I just looked in the mirror
And things aren't looking so good
I'm looking California
And feeling Minnesota
Oh yeah

Details Magazine via Wikipedia:

"One of the first times I remember writing something personal was on tour. I was feeling really freaky and down, and I looked in the mirror and I was wearing a red T-shirt and some baggy tennis shorts. I remember thinking that as bummed as I felt, I looked like some beach kid. And then I came up with that line—'I'm looking California / And feeling Minnesota,' from the song 'Outshined'—and as soon as I wrote it down, I thought it was the dumbest thing."

JOHNNY CASH - BIG RIVER (1958)

I met her accidentally in St. Paul, Minnesota
And it tore me up every time I heard her drawl, southern drawl
Then I heard my dream went back downstream cavortin' in Davenport
And I followed you, big river, when she called

A song about a love that spans the length of the mighty Mississippi River, the song was written and performed by Cash but has since been covered by numerous artists including a hit version by country supergroup The Highwaymen.

LOBO - ME AND YOU AND A DOG NAMED BOO (1971)

I can still recall the wheat fields of St. Paul

And the morning we got caught robbing from an old hen

Lobo, real name Kent LaVoie, released this song as his first-ever single in 1971. According to Wikipedia, he had never been to Minnesota but 'kept putting in places that sounded far away.'

TRISHA YEARWOOD - ON A BUS TO ST CLOUD (1995)

On a bus to St. Cloud, Minnesota
I thought I saw you there
With the snow falling down
Around like a silent prayer

Written by Gretchen Peters, who explained to American Songwriter that she was looking at a map, planning a cross-country road trip when her eyes 'drifted north' toward St. Cloud, Minnesota.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - DANI CALIFORNIA (2006)

Push the fader, gifted animator
One for the now and eleven for the later
Never made it up to Minnesota
North Dakota man was a gunnin' for the quota
Down in the Badlands, she was savin' the best for last
It only hurts when I laugh

According to Songfacts, "Minnesota and North Dakota rarely show up in songs, and 'Dani California' is the only hit that mentions them."

THE BEATLES - ROCKY RACCOON (TAKE 8) (1967)

Rocky Raccoon

The Rocky Raccoon

He was a fool unto himself

And he would not swallow his foolish pride

Mind you, coming from a little town in Minnesota

It was not the kind of thing that a young guy did

When a fellow went and stole his chick, away from him

Released as part of the "Anthology" series in the late 1990's, this demo version swaps out the "black mining hills of Dakota" heard in the final version with 'Minnesota.'

CHARLIE DANIELS BAND - AIN'T NO RAMBLERS ANYMORE (1982)

You have heard the lonesome rattle of the

Midnight freight train in the easy hours

You've been burned by Arizona sun

Stood shivering in the Minnesota snow

You have smelled the sweet magnolia blossom

Perfume in a Alabama evening

You've stood drunk beside the highway wishing

That hell you still had some place left to go

WEIRD AL YANKOVIC - THE BIGGEST BALL OF TWINE IN MINNESOTA (1989)

Well, I had two weeks of vacation time coming

After workin' all year down at Big Roy's Heating and Plumbing

So one night, when my family and I were gathered 'round
the dinner table

I said, "Kids, if you could go anywhere in this great big world now
Wwhere'd you like to go to?"

They said, "Dad, we wanna see the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota"

They picked the biggest ball of twine in Minnesota