The Consensus Bureau, in their video for “New Jersey, New Jersey.”
I thought I had heard it all. But I’ve never heard anything quite like “New Jersey, New Jersey,” by The Consensus Bureau, a catchy, bubbly novelty song overflowing with risqué puns and silly rhymes inspired by names of New Jersey towns: “I still remember the way that she brought me to Summit/She would Wyckoff my Clinton while Franklin’ my Hackensack.” And so on.
The band gets extra credit for filming the video at various locations throughout the state, and plugging three post-Sandy charities at the end. We’ll even forgive the negativity in a couplet such as “New Jersey, New Jersey, you don’t want to stay/You don’t want to go there, but you can’t get away,” since in the context of the rest of the song, it comes off as affectionate kidding.
It’s amazing, the things you can find on the Internet, if you poke around a bit.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday in 2014. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, from September 2014 to September 2015 — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. To see the entire list, click here.
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2 comments
This list HAS to include John Gorka’s “I’m From New Jersey.” Great selections so far!
Yes, absolutely.