Duluth Songs Posts

They Might be Giants – “Rabid Child”

The alternative rock band They Might be Giants dropped a reference to Duluth on its self-titled debut album in 1986. Whether “the Big Duluth” mentioned in the lyrics to “Rabid Child” is supposed to be a clothing store or the nickname of a person or what, well, that’s up to the listener.

Jeb Loy Nichols – “Say Goodbye to Christopher”

When it was that Wyoming-born and Wales-based musician Jeb Loy Nichols was in Duluth, and why he’s never coming back, are anyone’s guesses, but it’s apparently related to someone named Christopher.

Jay Leonhart – “The Couple from Duluth”

As near as can be determined through web searches, “The Couple from Duluth” was composed by acclaimed bassist Jay Leonhart and was originally released on his 1984 album with Joe Beck titled There’s Gonna Be Trouble. The version above is a live recording from Leonhart’s 2015 album The Bass Lesson.

Ingeborg von Agassiz – “William A. Irvin”

Hot new hit 41-second single by Ingeborg Von Agassiz.

Complete lyrics:

The William A. Irvin ship has been removed to fix the slip.

Meat Puppets – “Lake of Fire”

The punk rock band Meat Puppets released “Lake of Fire” on the 1984 album Meat Puppets II. It also appears as a hidden track on the 1994 album Too High to Die.

The Duluth reference goes a little something like this:

I knew a lady who came from Duluth
She got bit by a dog with a rabid tooth

Swimming with Nancy – “Fourth Street”

This Duluth song doesn’t actually have the word “Duluth” in its lyrics, but is loaded with Duluth references. It’s from the self-titled 2005 album by Duluth band Swimming with Nancy.

Matt Wahl – “Just Look at the Lake”

Perfect Duluth Day’s series of posts featuring Duluth-related songs takes a turn for the corny this week.

Eau Claire native Matt Wahl moved to Duluth in 2010 and by summer 2011 released this song on YouTube. He spent seven years in Duluth before moving to Knoxville, Tenn.

Alice Cooper – “Remarkably Insincere”

Alice Cooper drops a reference to Duluth on this song from his 1982 album Zipper Catches Skin.

Abort Scene – “Born Pinned to the Duluth Wheel”

Perhaps the least-known Duluth song is by the Champaign, Ill.-based band Abort Scene. “Born Pinned to the Duluth Wheel” was released on the album Seeds of the Real Alternative (Waterloo Records, June 3, 2008). The track also appeared on the band’s 2013 compilation Rational Hardcore.

Bob Dylan – “Something There is About You”

Consider this the third post in the “Ruth Trilogy.”

Part One: Shuggy Ray Smith – “Ruth from Duluth”
Part Two: Ruth Hart: “Baby Ruth from Duluth”

Shuggy Ray Smith – “Ruth from Duluth”

This little tune, purportedly released in December of 1965, is about a “little pretty girl” from Duluth who “eats corn on the cob through a picket fence.” Enjoy.

Doug Setterberg & Stan Boreson – “Scandinavian Hot Shot”

From the album Yust Try to Sing-a-long in Swedish with Doug Setterberg & Stan Boreson, Golden Crest Records, undated (circa 1962).

Local music fans will recognize this tune as the inspiration for the Hoot Owls song “Scandinavian Hot Rod.”

Mary Bue – “The Shit I Left in Duluth”

Former Duluthian Mary Bue sings about the stuff she left here in this new video from her album The Majesty of Beasts. The video was directed by Jon Hain.

Clare Means – “Duluth Song”

Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Clare Means was in Duluth recently for a performance at Wade Stadium. While here she recorded a “Duluth Song” and released this video, set to images of the Western Duluth Little League Intermediate Division District Tournament Team, which defeated Lake Park 15-5 on July 11 to claim the 2017 Minnesota state championship.

The Hoot Owls – “Scandinavian Hot Rod”

The Hoot Owls - Alien ScrapyardRay Pirkola’s 1936 Ford Coupe debuted at the Million Dollar Motorcade car show at the Duluth Armory in 1955. Featuring 1940 Ford fenders and a hood grafted to a chopped and channeled 1936 five-window body, it was the first “full custom” car in the region. The song “Scandanavian Hot Rod” by the Hoot Owls celebrates the car and the self-determination of Ray Pirkola, father of the Hoot Owls singer and guitar player Barry Pirkola. The song is from the band’s 2010 album Alien Scrapyard.

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