Whether you’re a life-long Pittsburgh resident looking to share the love of your city, or you’re daydreaming of one day visiting Pennsylvania for the first time, our list of songs about Pittsburgh covers it all, from compelling big band jazz tracks to obscure punk anthems.
Songs About Pittsburgh
1. The Lemonheads – Pittsburgh
The Lemonheads’ track, Pittsburgh, doesn’t make any direct references to Pittsburgh in it’s lyrics, instead devoting itself to a nostalgic, grungy alt-rock sound.
Subtle pessimistic flairs woven throughout Pittsburgh’s lyrics are reflected in the stylistic apathy of the vocals, each verse describing a slight dissociation from being, like failing at or falling away from reality;
“With a little bit of common sense, you can lose a lot of innocence, in this world, you can leave yourself behind … Jesus Christ and motherf***, the things I do to push my luck, I don’t know, I don’t even seem to mind.”
This 2006 release carries a rosy, retro rock ambience that’s more akin to 90s rock than its mid-00s alternative scene, complete with an addictively authentic vibe that only comes from obscure artists.
2. The Vibes – I’m In Pittsburgh (And It’s Raining)
The psychedelic 1960s track, I’m In Pittsburgh (And It’s Raining), was originally recorded by Outcasts, but we’re choosing to showcase this slightly more obscure punk cover by The Vibes in our list for its compelling diversion from the old-school original.
With a fresh, untamed Brit-rock sound, The Vibes’ lushly distorted riffs are cut by solo drum bars, crafting a contrast of silence and leather-clad punk rock against Outcasts’ original lyrics.
The Vibes masterfully reimagine Outcasts’ track into their own intoxicating, intimate style, recorded with a compelling live atmosphere of colourfully disruptive energy.
I’m In Pittsburgh (And It’s Raining) embeds its title lyric as a metaphor for getting the rough end of the stick after a break up, “I’m in Pittsburgh and it’s raining, I stand in the subway, never complaining, about the girl who left me sad.”
3. Pat Leone – Pittsburgh
This stunning orchestral jazz track composed and performed by Pat Leone in 2016 could have been one of Frank Sinatra’s biggest hits if its writer was born a little earlier.
Pittsburgh is a captivating big band piece with a plush 50s inspired, feel-good atmosphere, it’s vintage style lyrics parading like those of a golden-era hit musical.
Pat Leone describes this track as ‘a tribute to one of America’s great cities – a city of knowledge and magic;” an ideal which resonates through every masterful harmony and lyric adorning his captivating piece;
“Just look out there, at such a wondrous sight, rivers flowing on the left and right … What a view, what a sight, what a sound, Pittsburgh what a magic town … People come to stare, no other place will compare, with the view of a town such as this from atop this mountain vale … How I love this view of the Pittsburgh skyline.”
4. The Amity Affliction – Pittsburgh
This is another song making no direct reference to Pittsburgh, but we’ve included it for the dark twist it puts on our playlist. Pittsburgh by The Amity Affliction is a searing metalcore track centred around entrapment in hopeless, suicidal despair.
Whilst blending melody with torturous melancholy, The Amity Affliction’s lyrics hardly evolve with each revolution, mirroring the ceaseless and cyclical nature of sinking into a depressive mindset.
Each rare, new line, however, floods its verse with a profound new layer of contextual anguish, crafting a track for anyone suspended in perpetual emptiness;
“I’ve been searching for an exit but I’m lost inside my head, where I spend every waking moment wishing this would end, I can’t take another step, I cannot live inside my mind, I can’t face another day, I am so f****** tired.”
5. The Ethereal Hillbilly – Pittsburgh Song
An instrumental track obviously won’t have much to say about Pittsburgh, but The Ethereal Hillbilly’s perfectly capture a pure American atmosphere through their 60s style psychedelic progressive rock, whilst laying bare their track’s inspired country/blues roots through acoustic-based guitar harmony.
Pittsburgh Song crafts a majestic illusion of being wrapped in the wild, open lands of the US, its stunning soundscape evoking the freedom found at the heart of the US.
6. Frank Black – I’m Not Dead (I’m In Pittsburgh)
Frank Black’s track I’m Not Dead (I’m In Pittsburgh) is anchored in its characterful storytelling technique. While respectfully nodding to country music, this track is laced with a breathtakingly light-hearted blues feel to match the comical pessimism that commands the lyrics.
This is a track about feeling trapped in a dead-end town, hopelessly wishing for change. While the Pennysylvanian city might be the focus, Frank’s lyrics could easily translate to any town on Earth which slowly dissolves your patience;
“’Cause I’m not dead (I’m in Pittsburgh), where a man can lose his mind, I’m not dead (I’m in Pittsburgh), they’ve got me suited up for crazy time … But I’m not dead (I’m in Pittsburgh), and now I can’t get out of town, they’ve got me all strung up, come cut me down.”
7. Ceann – Pittsburgh Makes Me Drunk
Ceann harvest subtle inspirations from Irish folk music, threading them throughout their country rock track, Pittsburgh Makes Me Drunk.
The band calls out an array of US cities, stretching from coast to coast, linking them with their tourist taglines and claims to fame, before circling back round to their title’s focus;
“Manhattan is an island that won’t sleep, and Atlanta’s just a memory in my mind, but often I find myself in Pennsylvania, where drinking beer is a productive waste of time.”
Ceann cleverly match the drizzlier days of Pittsburgh’s weather with the hangover in a city, “Pittsburgh makes me drunk and then it rains,” before continuing to spread their love for a place like no other, “Las Vegas is full of drugs and hookers, but Las Vegas is too far away for me, Philadelphia’s full of jerks and a-holes, Florida’s where they all will move to die, but I’ll be getting drunk for seven dollars, in a classy little joint on the South Side, Pittsburgh makes me drunk, and that’s a fact.”