Almanac Music: ‘Walk This Way’ – Songs Referencing Walking
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Almanac Music: ‘Walk This Way’ – Songs Referencing Walking
Hi, Almanackers! This piece in my long-running series about key popular song themes concerns songs that reference walking. Closely related synonyms like strolling, strutting, sauntering etc are acceptable in terms of this theme. Add a few words of explanation to your chosen song if you feel it’s necessary.
So, dear readers, please put your relevant ‘walking’ songs in the ‘Comments’ section. Below, as usual, are some examples from me to get the ball rolling.
‘Walkin’ After Midnight’, written by Alan Block and Don Hecht, performed by Patsy Cline (1957)
‘These Boots are Made for Walkin’’, written by Lee Hazlewood, performed by Nancy Sinatra (1965)
‘Step Inside Love’, credited to John Lennon and Paul McCartney (actually written by Paul), performed by Cilla Black (1968)
‘Darktown Strutters’ Ball’, written by Shelton Brooks, performed by Ted Mulry Gang (1976)
‘Reminiscing’, written by Graeham Goble, performed by Little River Band (1978)
‘Dancing in the dark / Walking through the park / and reminiscing
‘Denis’, written by Neil Levenson, performed by Blondie (1978)
‘Oh, when we walk, it always feels so nice / And when we talk, it seems like paradise’
‘Is She Really Going Out with Him?’, written by performed by Joe Jackson (1978)
‘Pretty women go walking with gorillas down my street’ (one of the best opening lines in a song lyric of the entire rock’n’ roll era, in my opinion – KD)
‘Walk This Way’, written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, performed by Run-DMC and Aerosmith (1986)
‘When You Walk In The Room’, written by Jackie DeShannon, performed by Paul Carrack (1987)
…………………………………
Now, dear readers / listeners – it’s over to you. Your responses to this topic are warmly welcomed. In the ‘Comments’ section, please add your own choice of a song (or songs) referencing walking, along with any other relevant material you wish to include.
[Note: as usual, Wikipedia has been a solid general reference for this piece, particularly in terms of checking dates and other details.]
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About
Kevin Densley is a graduate of both Deakin University and The University of Melbourne. He has taught writing and literature in numerous Victorian universities and TAFES. He is a poet and writer-in-general. His fifth book-length poetry collection, Please Feed the Macaws ... I'm Feeling Too Indolent, was published in late 2023 by Ginninderra Press. He is also the co-author of ten play collections for young people, as well as a multi Green Room Award nominated play, Last Chance Gas, published by Currency Press. Other writing includes screenplays for educational films.
First songs that come to mind KD are:
‘Walk Away Renee’ – Four Tops. (One of the great pop songs!)
‘Walk Like A Man’ – Four Seasons
‘Walkin’ to New Orleans’ – Fats Domino
‘I’m Walkin’ – Fats Domino
‘Walk a Mile in my Shoes’ – Joe South
and I’ll think of many more I’m sure!
Great bunch of selections to kick off our walking theme, Col! Thanks for these.
Girlfriend – Modern Lovers
“If I were to walk to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
Well, first I’d go to the room where they keep the Cézanne
But if I had by my side a girlfriend
Then I could look through the paintings
I could look right through them
Because I’d have found something that I understand
I understand a girlfriend
That’s a girl friend
Said G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N
That’s a girlfriend, baby
That’s something that I understand
Alright
I walk through the Fenway
I have my heart in my hands
I understand a girlfriend
That’s a girl friend
Oh that’s a G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N
Well that’s a girlfriend, baby
That’s something that I understand
Four o’clock in the afternoon in the Fenway
I have my heart in my hands
I understand a girlfriend
That’s a girlfriend
That’s G-I-R-L-F-R-E-N
That’s a girlfriend, baby
Well that’s something that I understand”
The Space Race Is Over – Billy Bragg
“When I was young, I told my mum
I’m gonna walk on the moon someday
Armstrong and Aldrin spoke to me
Houston and Cape Kennedy
And I watched the Eagle landing
On a night when the moon was full
And as it tugged at the tide, I knew that deep inside
I too could feel its pull”
Greetings To The New Brunette – Billy Bragg
“Shirley, it’s quite exciting
To be sleeping here in this new room.
Shirley, you’re my reason
To get out of bed before noon.
Shirley, you know when
We were sat on the fire escape talking,
Shirley, what did you say
About running before we were walking?
When we’re looking close tonight,
It’s like we’re in a dream.
How can you lie there,
And think of England
When you don’t even know who’s in the team?”
Anglo Girl Desire – Radio Birdman
“When you’re walking down the street
You never know I’m around
But I am there and I’m watching
Everywhere you go
I’m the eye from outer space
And my hand is on your life
Your eyes reflect reflections
Of fires burning in my heart”
Walk On The Wild Side – Lou Reed
The Walk – The Cure
When I’m Walking – Jonathan Richman
Walking Down Madison – Kirsty MacColl
We Walk – REM
I Don’t Wanna Walk Around With You – Ramones
Walking Down A Road – Split Enz
I Walk Away – Split Enz
Walk Softly But Carry A Big Stick – Stephen Cummings
Jesus Walking On The Water – Violent Femmes
Walking On The Surface Of The Moon – Wreckless Eric
Sidewalkin’ – The Jesus And Mary Chain
You Gotta Walk (Don’t Look Back) – Peter Tosh
You’ll Never Walk Alone – Gerry And The Pacemakers et al
Lover’s Walk – Elvis Costello And The Attractions
Walking On Thin Ice – Yoko Ono
Walking On The Moon – Police
Thank you, Swish, for this highly interesting and eclectic array of ‘walking songs’, including what, for me, is probably Yoko Ono’s best solo song, ‘Walking On Thin Ice’.
Thanks KD – Re Yoko, that’s like being the world’s tallest pygmy.
I Walk The Line – Johnny Cash
Walk On By – Dionne Warwick (or if you prefer, The Stranglers)
Greetings KD
I’ll add the first non-Bob song to come to mind
Walk Like An Egyptian – The Bangles (1987)
I already see a number of gold & silver medal winners in the offerings so far. The award ceremony will be conducted later on.
Swish, I like some of Yoko’s performance art – and other artworks, like the peace tower she designed in Reykjavik as a memorial to John. Specifically in relation to her music, I suppose I’m simply indicating that ‘Walking On Thin Ice’ is a good song – I’m no fan of hers when (for example) she’s in wailing mode in various other songs.
Thanks for ‘I Walk The Line’ and ‘Walk On By’ – certainly two classics there.
Greetings, Karl. I really like ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’ – thank you for that one (of the ‘non-Bob’ side of the dichotomy).
Yes, I agree that there are already a bunch of podium-worthy numbers.
Another great theme KD, first song that came to mind reading your introduction was the Fats song (which CR put forward, great call), Walking to New Orleans, and now I can’t get it outa my head! By the way, CRs set of songs are top shelf.
Walk Like a Man, Bruce S, and not to be confused with the FVatFS song, other than both are top shelf songs (I remember how rough your hand felt on mine/On my wedding day/And the tears cried on my shoulder
I couldn’t turn away/Well so much has happened to me/That I don’t understand/All I can think of is being five years old following behind you at the beach/Tracing your footprints in the sand/Trying to walk like a man)
I Walk the Line Revisited, Rodney Crowell, not to be confused with the incredible JC song other than this is an update on that, with JCs blessing and contribution! and a ripper of a song (All these long years later it’s still music to my ears/I swear it sounds as good right now as anything I hear/I’ve seen the Mona Lisa, I’ve heard Shakespeare read real fine/Just like hearing Johnny Cash sing I Walk The Line/[Hook 3: Johnny Cash] As sure as night is dark and day is light/I keep you on my mind both day and night/And happiness I’ve known proves that it’s right/Because you’re mine, I walk the line)
Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Chuck, one of the all time great political/protest songs (Flyin’ across the desert in a TWA/I saw a woman walk across the sand/She been a walkin’ thirty miles en route to Bombay/To meet a brown eyed handsome man/Her destination was the brown eyed handsome man)
Honey I’m a Big Boy Now, Billy Bragg (I haven’t touched the garden/Since the day she walked away/From a love affair that bore only bitter fruit/She took everything she wanted/Which is why she left me here/With these pots and pans and my old wedding suit)
Colin Ritchie has posted probably the best cover version of Walk Away Renee (The Four Tops) but I fell in love with the original version by The Left Banke back in 1966. They were nowhere near as accomplished singers as The Tops or for that matter Linda Ronstadt or Rickie Lee Jones amongst the many cover versions, but there was something about the original version and the way it was arranged.
I was going to post a YouTube video to prove my point but I can’t find the one that used to be accessible.
Here’s a triplet that have sprung to mind:
Hey Big Spender – Sweet Charity/Shirley Bassey
‘The minute you walked in the joint…..’
These Days – Jackson Browne (1973) (one of my all time favourite songs)
‘Well, I’ve been out walking
I don’t do that much talking these days/These days
These days I seem to think a lot
About the things that I forgot to do/For you
And all the times I had the chance to’
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers (you know how it goes!!!!)
‘But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand
Miles to fall down at your door
Da-da da da (Da-da da da)
Da-da da da (Da-da da da)
Da-da dum diddy dum diddy dum diddy da da da’ (repeat!)
I’ll come up with more later, but here’s five that come to mind quickly:
Walk it down: Talking Heads
Walking in my sleep: Roger Daltrey
Sleepwalk: Ultravox
Do Wah Diddy Diddy: Manfred Mann
Can’t get it out of my head: Electric Light Orchestra
A Walk in the Light Green – Redgum (The original title of I Was Only 19)
Talking Birmingham Jam – Phil Ochs
Walkin’ down to Birmingham
Way down south in Dixieland
I thought that I would stop awhile
Take a vacation Southern style
Got some Southern hospitality
Down there in a Southern hospital
Well, all the signs said, “Welcome in, son”
But governor Wallace and Rin Tin Tin
They said, “Come along and watch the fights
While we feed our dogs on civil rights”
Now, don’t get us wrong
Some of our best Negroes are friends
Well, I’ve seen travel in many ways
I’ve traveled in cars and old subways
But in Birmingham some people chose
To fly down the street from a fire hose
Doin’ some hard travelin’
From hydrants of plenty
Humpin’ Me Drum – Danny Spooner (traditional)
The word “walk” doesn’t appear in the lyrics but it’s a song about carrying a swag and that was mostly done while walking.
I’ve humped my drum from Kingdom Come
To the back of the Milky Way,
I’ve boiled my quart out on Cape of York
And i starved last Christmas Day.
I cast a line on the old Condamine
And one on the Nebine Creek.
I’ve driven through bog, so help be Bob,
Up Mungindi’s main street.
I crossed the Murray and drank at Cloncurry
Where they charged me a bob for a nip.
I worked in the Gulf where the cattle they duff
And the squatters they give ’em jip.
I’ve worked from morn in the fields of long corn
Till the sun was out of sight.
I’ve caused to know the Great Byno
And the Great Australian Bight.
I danced with Kit when the lamps was lit
And Doll when the dance broke up.
I flung my ’at on the Myall Track
When Bowman won the Cup.
I laughed aloud with the merry crowd
In the city of the plains;
I sweated too on Omdooroo
While bogged in those big bore-drains.
I wheeled my bike from the Shearer’s Strike,
Not wanting a funeral shroud.
And I made the weights for the Flying Stakes
But I dodged the lynchin’ crowd.
I carried a gun through World War One,
Then went on the track again;
From Omeo to Bendigo,
To Bourke and back again.
I lost some tears in the hungry years
When jobs were short and few,
And I packed up my swag and my old tucker bag,
There was nothing else to do.
Yes, I’ve humped my drum from Kingdom Come
To the back of the Milky Way.
(and the same applies to this one)
Springtime Brings on the Shearing
Oh the springtime it brings on the shearing
And it’s then you will see them in droves
To the west country stations all steering
A seeking a job off the coves
Chorus
With a ragged old swag on my shoulder
And a billy quart pot in my hand
I tell you we’ll astonish the new chums
To see how we travel the land
You may talk of your mighty exploring
Of Landsborough McKinley and King
But I feel I should only be boring
On such frivolous subjects to sing
For discovering mountains and rivers
There’s one for a gallon I’d back
Who’d beat all your Stuart’s to shivers
It’s the men on the Wallaby Track
From Billabone Murray and Loddon
To the far Tartiara and back
The hills and the plains are well trodden
By the men on the Wallaby Track
And after the shearing is over
And the wool season’s all at an end
It is then that you will see those flash shearers
Making johnny cakes round in the bend
And to move from folk to Rock or if you prefer Rhythm and Blues I can’t believe that this song hasn’t been posted yet.
Walkin’ the Dog – The Rolling Stones.
Glad you feel the way you do about this new ‘walking’ theme, Rick – it came into my head only a few days ago, but instantly felt like a good ‘un! Thank you for your opening four selections; interestingly the first two of them (of course) play quite directly off past classics, in that they utilize the wording of the original titles in an important way.
Also, this new theme gave me a good reason to list one of my favourite collaborations in (quite possibly) the whole rock’n’ roll era – Run-DMC and Aerosmith’s ‘Walk This Way’, which, as many would know, was first released by Aerosmith alone.
Some PK:
To Her Door (She said, “I’m not standing by to watch you slowly die/So watch me walking out the door/Out the door, out the door”/She said, “Shove it, Jack, I’m walking out your fucking door” … He came in on a Sunday, every muscle aching/Walking in slow motion like he’d just been hit/Did they have a future? Would he know his children?/Could he make a picture and get them all to fit?)
Same Old Walk (My house burned down a year ago and all your letters and photos I lost them/Waiting at the terminal, suddenly I see you stroll through customs/Your hair is long and bottle red, it used to be light brown/I nearly didn’t recognize you, then my heart unwound/I see you’ve got the same old walk)
I Don’t Remember a Thing (I woke up one morning, my head was feeling sore/Woke up to the sound of knocking, detectives at my door/There were two of them, they walked right in, I said “What’s going on?”/The sergeant shook his head and said “Don’t you know what you have done?”/I don’t remember a thing)
Standing on the Street of Early Sorrows (It was just a quarter mile/To your house in Kensington
It was always 95 degrees/(Hey Julie)/Walking to the swimming pool/February back to school/All that summer you were cool/(Hey Julie)/I’m standing on the street of early sorrows)
Thanks, Dave, for your opening songs and comments. All the songs you’ve posted are hightly apt theme-wise, either in terms of containing walking-related imagery and/or words synonymous with walking (e.g. in the latter context in ‘Springtime Brings on the Shearing’: ‘The hills and the plains are well trodden / By the men on the Wallaby Track’).
Regarding ‘Walkin’ the Dog’, it’s still early days for this new theme, but you were the one who actually mentioned the song, even if quite possibly it has floated through the minds of a number of us already.
Thanks, Karl, for your fine triplet – all beauties, with The Proclaimers’ ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ being a ‘walking song’ par excellence – and worthy of the highest position on the podium!
Thank you, Rick, for your PK four, all excellent additions to our new theme, which is quickly eliciting a cracker of a list.