Boulevards in songs

[Patrick Thistle]

We were in Pizza Hut this evening and 'Don't Stop Believin' came on. At one point the word 'boulevard' is very prominent.

I said to Mrs Thistle that 'boulevard' isn't often heard in songs, to which she said "Green Day" and then I instantly thought of 'All I Wanna Do' by Sheryl Crow, which mentions Santa Monica Boulevard.

So that's three. Any other boulevard lyrics out there?

[Prester John]

Boulevard Saint Michel in Paris is referenced in Peter Sarstedt's 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely?', and in Gary Moore's 'Parisienne Walkways.'

Must be a cool thoroughfare. I've never been.

[treibeis]

"Detonation Boulevard" by The Sisters Of Mercy.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Rickie Lee Jones has a whole album called Sermon on Exposition Boulevard. Or there's Dylan (there's always Dylan):

Life is Hard

Since we've been out of touch
I haven't felt that much
From day to barren day
My heart stays locked away
I walk the boulevard
Admitting life is hard
Without you near me

Oh and of course...

Beyond the palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
Girls comb their hair in rear view mirrors and the boys try to look so hard. — Born to Run

[Gerontophile]

Island of Lost Souls by Blondie.

[Mr Cogito]

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - as first heard by me via Marianne Faithful

[Patrick Thistle]

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - as first heard by me via Marianne Faithful

Is that a cover of the Green Day song?

[Mr Cogito]

Is that a cover of the Green Day song?

Nope - apart from the song I know being from the 1930s that Marianne covered herself in the '80s, apparently the Green Day version is their own and a completely different song (I've never heard of it and had to look that up!).

[G-Man]

Boulevard Saint Michel in Paris is referenced in Peter Sarstedt's 'Where Do You Go To My Lovely?', and in Gary Moore's 'Parisienne Walkways.'

Must be a cool thoroughfare. I've never been.

It runs from the Seine, near Notre-Dame cathedral, along the Latin Quarter past the Sorbonne and Luxembourg Gardens up to St Germain.

On that note, Champs-Elysées by Joe Dassin (and mentioned in countless other songs), Edith Piaf's Boulevard Du Crime, and The Moody Blues' Boulevard De La Madelaine.

Outside Paris, Jimmy Webb wrote a song titled "Rosecrans Boulevard" which was recorded by The Fifth Dimension.

[Jah Womble]

Add Clapton and the Sweet to the list of artists with albums named after boulevards. And both of theirs were released in 1974.

Despite this, it's clearly far more prominent in American lyric-writing than British - as it would be, given that they have far more of them. (Not many in the UK will recall Robbie Dupree, but he also referred to one in his Hot Rod Hearts hit from 1980.)

[Patrick Thistle]

So, two Boulevards of Broken Dreams then?

Seems an oddly specific song title for two completely different songs. (Subject for a new thread klaxon)

[Stumpy Pepys]

"Boulevards of Broken Dreams" is exactly the kind of lyric David Coverdale would write.

[Sits]

All the vampires walkin' through the valley
Move west down Ventura Boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
And the good girls are home with broken hearts

Tom Petty

[Benjm]

Cruising down the boulevard/
I'm treated like some superstar

Public Enemy, You're Gonna Get Yours

I hadn't realised that Boulevard of Broken Dreams was a song; the phrase was familiar from a James Dean poster that used to be quite popular.

[Artificial Hipster]

Elvis Costello also namechecks it;

He thought he was the King of America
But it was just a boulevard of broken dreams

Tom Waits goes barrelling down the boulevard in The Heart of Saturday Night.

[ursus arctos]

This poster was incredibly popular in the late 20th c here, and provided the title for a major Dean biography

[Etienne]

Lou Reed did a song called Dirty Boulevard.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Strictly an LP title, but …

[Lucy Waterman]

The Ice Maiden by Prefab Sprout has a boulevard at the beginning.

[Disco Child Ballads]

Hollywood Boulevard in 'Celluloid Heroes' by The Kinks.

[Jah Womble]

Strictly an LP title, but …

As it was when I referred to it at 10.07 this morning. (Smiley thang.)

[Lucy Waterman]

The original Boulevard of Broken Dreams is a beautiful, haunting and timeless song. You can hear it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAjYtLRKyT8

[Lucy Waterman]

There's a lot going on here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgt3whn1qIA

Big Steven Berkoff fan, maybe.

[Duncan Gardner]

The Sweet travelled Desolation Boulevard in Six Teens, also using it as an album title.

[Gangster Octopus]

Jah's obvoiusly on a lot of people's Ignore Poster function...