Reno Reno Reno

That line about Reno
Reno Gazette-Journal
11-23-05

Even the country-music challenged can probably anticipate the "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" line in Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues." Here are some other songs that name-check Reno. The trend is that most of them are unflattering.

Bruce Springsteen: "Reno." The song about time spent with a prostitute doesn't mention our city in the lyrics.

Grateful Dead: "Friend of the Devil," has the line "lit out from Reno, I was trailed by 20 hounds."

Beck: "Loser." "Baby's in Reno with the vitamin D," the line says.

Woody Guthrie: "Philadelphia Lawyer," with the line "Way out in Reno, Nevada, where romance blooms and fades, a great Philadelphia lawyer was in love with a Hollywood maid."

R.E.M.: "All the Way to Reno," about an aspiring celebrity.

Hank Snow: "I've Been Everywhere," which name-checks dozens of cities, including Reno. Johnny Cash covered this song.

Doug Supernaw: "Reno," with the line "lady's a lot like Reno, she ain't got a heart and she don't care when you're down." Ouch.

Jonathan Richman: "Reno," with the repeated line "Reno, Reno, Reno, honey, Reno."

Fairport Convention: "Reno, Nevada"

Too Much Joy: "Thanksgiving in Reno," with the line "at the $5.99 buffet, in Reno on Thanksgiving Day, nobody seemed to care why anyone else was there."

... and then there's former attorney general Janet Reno, and that Mike Reno guy from Loverboy, but he never actually sang about the Biggest Little City.