Hank Snow – "I've Been Everywhere" (1962)

Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana

Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana

Monterey, Ferriday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa

Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa

We Americans love to jump in our cars and hit the open road.  Give us a full tank of gas, a six-pack of beer, and a big nasty redhead by our side (to paraphrase Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.”), and we’re ready to roll!

My previous choice for the 2 OR 3 LINES ESSENTIAL AMERICAN SONGBOOK was “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” a classic road-trip song that gives shout-outs to a number of cities situated on that quintessential American highway.

Today’s featured song mentions dozens of other place names – including states, cities, towns, and unincorporated communities.  The singer of “I’ve Been Everywhere” claims to have visited each and every one of them – most likely while hitching rides in eighteen-wheelers (which is another characteristically American thing to do). 

In 2017, Brett Anderson hopped on his motorcycle and took off to visit all the places listed in “I’ve Been Everywhere.”  Click here to read about his 73,000-mile journey, which too cover two years to complete. 

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“I’ve Been Everywhere” was written by Australian Geoff Mack, so it’s not surprising that the song’s original lyrics featured Australian place names – which are also known as “toponyms.”  

Hank Snow

Canadian-born country singer Hank Snow thought the song could be a hit in the U.S. and Canada if the Australian toponyms were changed to North American ones.  So Mack got out a North American atlas and got to work.

Snow’s recording of the revised song was a number one country hit in 1962.  It was subsequently covered by Johnny Cash, Lynn Anderson, Asleep at the Wheel, and many others – The Simpsons among them.

But I’m featuring Hank Snow’s version in part because he was an immigrant.  He moved to the United States from his native Canada in 1949 to seek his fame and fortune, becoming a naturalized American citizen several years later.  What’s more quintessentially American than an immigrant?

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Click here to listen to Hank Snow’s recording of “I’ve Been Everywhere.”

Click here to buy that recording from Amazon.