Bill West is having his annual Great American Local Poem and Song Genealogy Challenge again this year at West in New England. So it's a great time for a song about my homeland! I have to say, I am sooo lucky to live in the great state of Michigan and to have several generations of relatives (forward and back) that have called Michigan home as well. It's a great state to live in, a great state for natural beauty, and a great state for music!
Everyone is familiar with the sounds of Motown from the 1960s and 70s for sure, but we have our share of great rockers (Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, Kid Rock, et al) and rappers (Eminem) who have written songs about Michigan too. Having so many choices makes the decision difficult but this time around I'm going with...
"All Summer Long" by Kid Rock
It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
It was summertime in Northern Michigan
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Splashing through the sand bar
Talking by the campfire
It's the simple things in life, like when and where
We didn't have no internet
But man I never will forget
The way the moonlight shined upon her hair
[Chorus:]
And we were trying different things
We were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet home Alabama all summer long
Catching Walleye from the dock
Watching the waves roll off the rocks
She'll forever hold a spot inside my soul
We'd blister in the sun
We couldn't wait for night to come
To hit that sand and play some rock and roll
While we were trying different things
And we were smoking funny things
Making love out by the lake to our favorite song
Sipping whiskey out the bottle, not thinking 'bout tomorrow
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Now nothing seems as strange as when the leaves began to change
Or how we thought those days would never end
Sometimes I'll hear that song and I'll start to sing along
And think man I'd love to see that girl again
[Repeat Chorus x2]
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
Singing Sweet Home Alabama all summer long
I dedicate this song to all of my many relatives who have lived and currently live in Northern Michigan (Posen, Williamsburg, Gladwin et al), as well as all of us from southeast Michigan who have vacationed "Up North" and can really relate to these song lyrics (that would be me ;-) . Enjoy!
I can't find credits for who wrote the song so I'm assuming it was Kid Rock himself. The song is a mashup based on the tunes of "Werewolves of London" by Warren Zevon and "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynryd Skynyrd. It was produced by Mike E. Clark and released on the Album "Rock N Roll Jesus" by Kid Rock in 2008.
Rock on Kid!
