Lodi (Creedence Clearwater Revival song)

"Lodi" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Recorded in March 1969, it was released in April, four months before the album, as the B-side of "Bad Moon Rising", the lead single from Green River.[2]

"Lodi"
Single by Creedence Clearwater Revival
from the album Green River
A-side"Bad Moon Rising"
ReleasedApril 1969 (1969-04)
Format7" 45 RPM
RecordedMarch 1969, Wally Heider's Studio, San Francisco, California
Genre
Length2:21 (single version)
3:10 (album version)
LabelFantasy
Songwriter(s)John Fogerty
Producer(s)John Fogerty

The song describes the plight of a down-and-out musician whose career has landed him playing gigs in the town of Lodi (pronounced "low-die"), a small agricultural city in California's Central Valley about 70 miles (110 km) from Fogerty's hometown of Berkeley. After playing in local bars, the narrator finds himself stranded and unable to raise bus or train fare to leave.[2] Fogerty later said he had never actually visited Lodi before writing this song, and simply picked it for the song because it had "the coolest sounding name."[3] However, the song unquestionably references the town's reputation as an uninteresting farm settlement, though the narrator does not make any specific complaints. The song's chorus, "Oh Lord, stuck in Lodi again," has been the theme of several city events in Lodi.[3]

The song's arrangement includes a change of key in the final verse of the track, emphasising the melancholy drama of the lyric, "If I only had a dollar for every song I sung...."[2]

Cover versions

The song has been covered by many musicians including Advance Base (Owen Ashwort), Tesla, Emmylou Harris, Amy Ray, Shawn Colvin, Tom Jones, Buck Owens, Jeffrey Foucault, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Ronnie Hawkins, Smokie, Dan Penn, Al Wilson, The Blue Aeroplanes, Tim Armstrong, FIDLAR, Freddie King, the Italian band Stormy Six, Bo Diddley, Die Kellerasseln aus Wattens [4] and Eric Church. Dee Campbell [5]

Songwriter's assessment

Fogerty stated, "On 'Lodi', I saw a much older person than I was, 'cause it is sort of a tragic telling. A guy is stuck in a place where people really don't appreciate him. Since I was at the beginning of a good career, I was hoping that that wouldn't happen to me."[6]

References
  1. "The 25 best country rock songs of all time". Classic Rock Magazine. August 5, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. Janovitz, Bill. "Lodi". AllMusic. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  3. Farrow, Ross. "Residents are proud to be 'Stuck in Lodi'". Lodi News-Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
  4. "Lodi - Search Results". AllMusic. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  5. https://www.facebook.com/dee.campbell.182/videos/10223307275695932/
  6. "Fogerty's Guide to Creedence Clearwater Revival". Johnfogerty.com. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.