The "Arizona Songs Good Place Good" album by Matt Farley on Spotify. (Spotify Screenshot)
This story was first published in The Copper Courier’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
I love reading other local news outlets, especially the Phoenix New Times.
Last week, when I was reading one of their stories about a film screening, I learned about Matt Farley, a prolific artist who has written over 26,000 songs.
Part of his massive collection, under the pseudonym “The Man Who Writes Songs About Cities & Towns,” includes albums for each state full of ditties about dozens of cities.
It’s pretty wild to take in. Farley doesn’t just stick to major cities—he has some seriously deep cuts, including one for my fairly small hometown in Maryland.
The Arizona album, titled “Arizona Good Songs Place Good,” covers much ground, from the expected big cities to smaller spots like Safford, Coolidge, and San Luis.
I highly encourage you to find your city’s song, or at least the closest one to you, and see how Farley chose to represent it. These are by no means deep works of art, but they’re enough to give you a laugh and feel some hometown pride.
MORE: Is this the hardest Arizona place name to pronounce?
Author
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Arizonans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at The Copper Courier has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Arizona families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
This thousand-foot bridge is Arizona’s longest. Have you driven on it?
Arizona has over 8,000 bridges, but which one is the longest? The Sonoran Desert state has its fair share of surprises, and the number of bridges...
Is this the hardest Arizona place name to pronounce?
Arizona has its fair share of place names that outsiders, and sometimes even locals, struggle to pronounce. If you’ve ever pronounced Prescott as...
These are the top 50 countries Arizona’s immigrants come from
Over 14% of the United States population is composed of immigrants. But in reality, the vast majority of Americans today are here because of...
8 Arizona college traditions students will never forget
Discover some of the wildest, strangest, and most beloved college traditions found across Arizona’s universities. A tradition is defined as an...
