List of songs about Portland, Oregon

Many songs have been written about the city of Portland, Oregon.^[1][2][3] A song belongs on the list below only if the song is notably about Portland, although the song may additionally be notable for other reasons too. Therefore, this list does not include notable songs that merely mention Portland in passing.

The city song of Portland, officially adopted in 1989, is Portlandia by Marc C. Miller.^[4]

• "Portland's Burning"- Defiance
• "Dream of the 90's" - Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen
• "Alameda" - Elliott Smith (1997)^[1]
• "By the Banks of the Old Willamette" (1909)^[2]
• "City of Roses" - Esperanza Spalding; refers to her childhood days spent in her hometown and the nickname of Portland, Oregon (2012)^[3][5]
• "Everyone Knows Everyone" - The Helio Sequence (2004)^[6]
• "I Will Buy You a New Life" - Everclear (1997)^[3]
• "Light Rail Coyote" - Sleater Kinney (2002)^[1]
• "Night of the Living Rednecks" - Dead Kennedys (1979)^[2]
• "On the Portland Picket Line" - Joe Glazer (1966)^[7]
• "On the Bus Mall" - The Decemberists (2005)^[8]
• "Paul's Song" - M. Ward; lyric "every town is all the same/when you've left your heart in the Portland rain" (2005)^[3]
• "Portland" - The Replacements (1997)^[1][2]
• "Portland" - Nerf Herder (2015)
• "Portland" - Marielle Kraft (2020)^[9]
• "Portland" - Cowboy Dinosaur (2020)^[10]
• "Portland Girl" - John Callahan (2004)^[2]
• "Portland Life" - Cool Nutz (1997)^[1][2]
• "Portland, Oregon" - Loretta Lynn and Jack White of The White Stripes (2004)^[1][2]
• "Portland, Oregon" - Belle and Sebastian (2001)^[11]
• "Portland Oregon You're My Home" - Carrie Brownstein (2010)^[12]
• "Portland Rain" - Everclear (2006)^[3]
• "Portland Song" - Jewel (2010)^[13]
• "Portland Town" - Derroll Adams, later performed by Joan Baez, The Kingston Trio, and others (1957)^[14]
• "Portland Water" - Michael Hurley (1991)^[15]
• "Portland Woman" - New Riders of the Purple Sage (1969)^[2]
• "Portlandia" - Marc C. Miller (1987) (official city song)^[4][16][17]
• "Ramblin' Blues" - Woody Guthrie (1941)^[18][19]
• "Rose Parade" - Elliott Smith (1997)^[1][2]
• "Sisters of the Road" - Casey Neill (2001)^[2]
• "Solid" - The Dandy Warhols; references Old Town (2000)^[3]
• "Viva Portland" - Chad Crouch (1997)
• "Williams Avenue" - Quarterflash (1981)

See also

• Music of Oregon
• List of songs about Seattle

References

1. Parks, Casey. "Portland songs: What's your favorite track about the Rose City?", The Oregonian (March 6, 2014).
2. Rosenberg, Jeff. “The Thorn Festival Hit Parade”, Willamette Week (June 2, 2004).
3. Kearney, Meghan. "Every town is all the same when you've left your heart in the Portland Rain: Representations of Portland place and local identity in Portland popular lyrics" (2013). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 1489, Portland State University.
4. "City Song". Archives & Records Management, Office of the City Auditor, The City of Portland, Oregon. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
5. Kin, John. "City of Roses" by Sufjan Stevens "Esperanza Spalding: Song For A 'City Of Roses'", NPR (February 23, 2013).
6. Gallivan, Joseph. "As Geek As It Gets", The Portland Tribune (December 25, 2003).
7. Glazer, Joseph (2002), Labor's Troubador, University of Illinois Press, ISBN 9780252070952.
8. Hardy, Sarah. "Solutions for Prostitution", The Portland Mercury (July 15, 2010): "the Decemberists' song 'On the Bus Mall' is an ode to the ubiquitous street kids and prostitutes of Old Town today."
9. "Music". Marielle Kraft. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
10. "Portland, by Cowboy Dinosaur". Cowboy Dinosaur. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
11. Spin Magazine, p. 76 (December 2001).
12. Breihan, Tom. "Check Out Clips From the Carrie Brownstein/Fred Armisen Television Show ‘Portlandia’", Pitchfork Media (December 16, 2010): "theme song for the show…rattles off some rapid-fire Portland stereotypes".
13. Jewel, Portland Song via MTV, accessed April 7, 2015.
14. Bret, David. Brit Girls Of The Sixties Volume Two: Marianne Faithfull & Kathy Kirby, p. 29 (Lulu.com, 2014).
15. Dilling, Emily. "Paris Kicks Off Week-Long Keep Portland Weird Festival ", The Portland Mercury (April 25, 2012): "'Portland Water'... seemed to sum everything up: the city, the country, and even current affairs."
16. "Cafe Unknown, Portland Oregon history". Facebook. 2011-04-17.
17. Strom, Dave (2011-05-03). "May 3, 1989: Portlandia Officially Declared Portland City Song". Dave Knows Portland.
18. Ramblin' Blues, Woody Guthrie Publications.
19. Santelli, Robert and Davidson, Emily. Hard Travelin': The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie, p. 191 (1999).

External links

• Lyrics containing "Portland"