| "My City Was Gone" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Pretenders | ||||
| from the album Learning to Crawl | ||||
| A-side | "Back on the Chain Gang" | |||
| Released | 17 September 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:14 | |||
| Label | Sire | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Chrissie Hynde | |||
| Producer(s) | Chris Thomas | |||
| The Pretenders singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"My City Was Gone" is a song by the rock group The Pretenders. The song originally appeared in October 1982 as the B-side to the single release of "Back on the Chain Gang";[3] the single was the first release for the band following the death of founding bandmember James Honeyman-Scott. The song was included on the album Learning to Crawl, which was released in early 1984, and it became a radio favorite in the United States. It is sometimes referred to as "The Ohio Song" for its constant reference to the state.[citation needed]
The song was written by Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde, and reflected her growing interest in environmental and social concerns. The lyrics take the form of an autobiographical lament, with the singer returning to her childhood home of Ohio and discovering that rampant development had destroyed the "pretty countryside" of her youth. The song makes a number of specific references to places in and around Akron, Ohio including South Howard Street (line 5), the historic center of Akron which was leveled to make way for an urban plaza with three skyscrapers and two parking decks (line 8).
The opening bass riff from this song "was something that Tony Butler used to play just as a warm-up," said Steve Churchyard, the engineer for the record.[4]
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Matt Wardlaw rated it the Pretenders all-time 4th greatest song, saying that it was inspired by "Hynde returning home after first finding success with the Pretenders and lamenting the many changes for the worse in her beloved former hometown."[5] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Bryan Wawzenek rated it as drummer Martin Chambers' 4th best Pretenders song, saying that the beat is "so simple, so stark, so basic – it’s brilliant."[6]
- ^ Pareles, Jon (January 22, 1984). "Chrissie Hynde Makes Peace with the Past and Moves On". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ Rosenberg, Tal (11 November 2014). "Listen to the Pretenders' rust-belt-disco jam 'My City Was Gone'". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "Back on the Chain Gang". Connollyco.com.
- ^ Pushkin, Richard (September 2005). "Classic Tracks: The Pretenders: Back On The Chain Gang". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
- ^ Wardlaw, Matt (September 7, 2011). "Top 10 Pretenders songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
- ^ Wawzenek, Bryan (September 4, 2013). "Top 10 Martin Chambers Pretenders songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2022-12-28.