Southtown Girls is the eleventh track from Boys and Girls in America. It is 5:10.
Lyrics[]
take lyndale to the horizon. take nicollet out to the ocean. take penn ave out to the 494. meet me right in front of the fabric store. don't look me in the eye. look over at the theater. I'm a little bit surprised. you didn't tell me there'd be three of you. hey bloomington, what'd you let them do to you? I think they're almost through with you.
southtown girls wont blow you away but you know that they'll stay.
take lyndale back to the southside. take nicollet up to the vietnamese. take penn ave back up to the northside. take lowry east to the quarry.
meet me right in front of the rainbow foods. I got a brown paper bag and black buckle shoes. if anything seems weird then just cruise.
meet me right in front of the party city. that two sided tape it gets way too sticky. I got a bad case of noisemaker blues.
southtown girls wont blow you away but you know that they'll stay.
Analysis[]
A song about settling. The chorus is saying that (from the narrator's point of view, at least) something that's easy to get is preferrable to something more difficult to attain but more desirable. The verses are about traversing the geography of Minneapolis to get to a drug deal, a situation in which the participants feel that they're settling (either for inferior drugs or selling themselves short with their chemical dependencies.. probably the latter).
Other Info[]
This is apparently Craig Finn's Mother's favourite song from Boys And Girls In America (according to the man himself). Stoke Sugarmill, 12th July 2007.