"I Love LA" by Randy Newman
It's cold and it's damp
And all the people dressed like monkeys
Let's leave Chicago to the Eskimos
That town's a little bit too rugged
For you and me you bad girl
Rollin' down the Imperial Highway
With a big nasty redhead at my side
Santa Ana winds blowin' hot from the north
And we was born to ride
Roll down the window put down the top
Crank up the Beach Boys baby
Don't let the music stop
We're gonna ride it till we just can't ride it no more
From the South Bay to the Valley
From the West Side to the East Side
Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day
I love L.A. (We love it)
I love L.A. (We love it)
Look at that mountain
Look at those trees
Look at that bum over there, man
He's down on his knees
Look at these women
There ain't nothin' like 'em nowhere
Century Boulevard (We love it)
Victory Boulevard (We love it)
Santa Monica Boulevard (We love it)
Sixth Street (We love it, we love it)
I love L.A.
I love L.A.
(We love it)
The trouble is, though, that Los Angeles, for its adjacent sections of poverty and plenty along the same boulevards, is still paradise to many, even the down-and-out who are down on their knees.
Above all, the one line which bursts through the bitterness and rejoices in the revelry of a riotous own(no pun intended)is the line:
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day
The sun is always shining, even when the clouds are louring over the great big City of the Angels.
In the opening bridge, Newman takes down the two other Biggest Big Cities in the United States, drab New York City, which he chastises as "cold and damp", as clammy and bland a calumny compared to the international symbolism wrapped up in the Big Apple.
And all the people dressed like monkeys. Monkeys wearing suits, or monkeys in fur, it's a simple slight that says a lot. Everyone's high class or high maintenance, quite a spread that never seems to come together.
As for Chicago, Newman leaves that city to the "Eskimos", as far away as any ethnic appellation can get to the residents in this country. So cold, so old, so-so: sums up the singer's sense of these two big cities.
Then there's Los Angeles, where the sun is shining all the time, even in darkest, coldest winter (about 53 degrees in the afternoon on any given day)
It's the warmth of LA that gets this guy going, from the hot "Santa Ana" winds blowing from the (presumably) cold North.
And why is everybody happy? The singer tells us:
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
The most oft-quoted element that suggests a hint of sarcasm is prompted by this stanza:
Look at that mountain
Look at those trees
Look at that bum over there, man
He's down on his knees
Look at these women
There ain't nothin' like 'em nowhere
In the music video for this song, the camera focuses on the Matterhorn in Disneyland. Yet even without the music video, the mountain refers to something stable, something unchanging, something nature, just like the trees, like the palm trees showcased along Venice Beach. Any Angeleno cannot help but think of the Hollywood Foothills.
Then the song's sudden segue to the "bum over there." This guy's not down on his luck, nor down for the count. He's down on his knees. Every time I hear his song, I picture a man praying, a man who has not last faith, even if he has lost everything else. There's a warmth in his heart, too, perhaps, like the sun that never stops shining.
How can anyone not love Los Angeles?
I love L.A.
I love L.A.
(We love it)