Journey’s apparently timeless anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’” is now the first “catalog” track to reach the two million legal digital download mark. First off, it’s pretty crazy that it took this long for the ubiquitous “Believin’” to sell two million copies, even though it’s been blared in every venue imaginable, from The Sopranos to the Chicago White Sox locker room. Obviously, “catalog” tracks are not the sellers that newer tracks are. With its lyrics of wine, cheap perfume, and South Detroit, it’s become something of an anthem for many non-urban dwellers who spend time singing along to songs in their cars. What’s really sad about this is I bet Journey only made a few hundred thousand dollars about it after iTunes, the record label, and other various personages got their cuts.
But let’s get back to the lyrics. Take a look at the map above. Can someone tell me where South Detroit is? I see a Southwest Detroit. I don’t see a straight-up South Detroit. I see Windsor, Ontario to the south. But South Detroit? Did he grow up in the river? Is this a song about a Merman? Am I crazy? Can someone from Detroit answer this for me? So many questions…
Journey is Secretly Canadian.
Detroit, city of my birth, has no southern region. The main division in Detroit is east/west, with the east side and the west side mirroring each other in a number of ways. There’s a bunch of stuff north of the city as well - the decrepit Silverdome, the Palace of Auburn Hills, and other sports venues - but I’ve never heard anyone refer to North Detroit.
As someone from Detroit, though, this only makes me love the song even more. Everyone I know back in Detroit takes great pride in this lyric.
@Model500: So that’s why “Separate Ways” sounds so much like Loverboy!
Another Detroiter in the house…
@Eugene Langley: Indeed! I always love it when that line comes up.
I’ve always liked to think that Journey was referring to the area known as “Downriver” in Detroit–very trailer-park-ish and dangerous–something of a ‘white ghetto,’ to speak in crude terms.
But! According to Detroit rock legend (as in a DJ on WRIF, Detroit’s longest-running rock station), the ‘South Detroit’ thing came from the band confusing the nearby suburb of Southfield as a part of Detroit (Journey would often participate in WRIF-sponsored events there like softball games, since Southfield is where the station was located).
To show their gratitude for WRIF playing the crap out of them before they got huge (and Detroit for being one of their primary markets at the time), they wrote ‘South Detroit’ into the song.
That’s the legend, anyway.
PS: Southfield is also famous for its high school (Southfield High, natch), which back in the day hosted some MAJOR rock shows, like the Who in 1967…
Huh. I always thought by “South Detroit” they just meant Jersey.
Yet another Detroiter.
South Detroit is basically downtown. North and South for us is really North West and South East. Woodward, if you can see it on the map, runs on that angle, and it’s our main road, so everything is all askew.
So maybe he was born and raised in the ren cen. Or Windsor.
Okay, now someone explain Kim Wilde’s line about “New York to East California.”
They put a cover of DSB on the Alvin and the Chipmunks CD that came out on Tuesday. It’s been stuck in my head ALL DAY. =/
Daddy was a cop
On the East Side of Chicago . . .
About a year or two ago in Windsor, there was a group of wannabe rappers who kept claiming that they were from South Detroit. Obviously a failed attempt at street cred.
I brought this up when doing an interview with Journey’s Jonathan Cain over the summer. “Oh man, I was so embarrassed when I found out there was no South Detroit,” he said. He went on to explain the band always had a lot of affection for the city — including the softball games with the WRIF jocks, as mentioned above — and said the D “felt like a second home for us, and maybe that’s why Detroit snuck into my mind (during writing).” Awww.
@grahamorama: You interview Jonathan Cain?! So awesome. I am learning so much from these comments!
@Lucas Jensen: Pardon my 80s movie Asian character grammar there. You interviewED Jonathan Cain?!
Glad some real Detroit people spoke up. Maybe it’s stating the obvious but Journey songs are not the New Yorker — there is no fact checking department. While calling it poetic license is a stretch, it just points out how rock lyrics have more emotional than factual meaning.
If you’re going to talk about lyrical foobars how about Bryan Adams ‘Summer of ‘69′ — a song about being in a band when he was 10 years old, apparently, though one of his bandmates was old enough to get married…
Besides, ‘South Detroit’ is Windsor — the place Michiganders go to gamble and get their Gentleman’s Latte’ on. Or used to — the border guards treat everyone like they’re Osama Bin Laden’s bomb throwing nephew.
Hey Detroiter here, living in Brooklyn.
South Detroit refers to Downriver. It’s not a white ghetto by any stretch of the imagination but it is a middle working class suburban neighborhood.
South Detroit might also refer to “Southwest detroit” which would be much more gang and crime ridden.
South of Detroit is windsor, sure. But it’s not South Detroit at all.
Is anyone really this stupid? Every city, unless they are laid out in a straight line from east to west, MUST HAVE A SOUTHERN PART OF THE CITY. It’s impossible otherwise.
Of course there is a North, South, East and West part of every city, but the point is no one in Detroit uses the term “South Detroit”, just like I’m sure no one in Chicago says “I’m from West Chicago,” they’d say “Downtown Chicago”, or something like that. The Detroit area is split along the main corridor of Woodward into the “West Side” and “East Side.” This even extends to the Northern Suburbs, where cities like Livonia and Southfield are on the West Side of Woodward and cities like Warren and St. Clair Shores are on the East Side. Of course there is also “Downriver” which would include Southwest Detroit and the Southern suburbs like Wyandotte. But, no, there is no “South Detroit.”
By the way, I looked this up on the Internet because I was just watching a Red Wings game and they played this song in Joe Louis Arena, and the whole crowd was singing along and got really loud at the “South Detroit” part, even though they know it makes no sense. Of course, since the Joe is in Downtown Detroit, you could say it is in “South Detroit.”
Alright folks…here you go! I am from Downriver, The great area south of Detroit. Although I do not know about the history of Southfield (which is north of Detroit), I used to be involved with the WRIF and never heard about the Journey Southfield, SOuth Detroit connection. SOUTH DETROIT IS DOWNRIVER. We are taking it! Downriver is a weird area. Some is nice, some is hood, some is great, some parts are straight trash. However, it is an area that is always put down by the rest of the state, so whether you are from the nice subs, or the grime of RR, Ecorse, LP, or Melvindale….we get no respect so we take it. Just Like We are Taking “SOUTH DETROIT” from JOURNEY. I love Downriver. And so does Journey…so show respect!!! Shout out to the DRiv…Melvinhole, Stinkin Park, AP Faguars , Taylortucky, Sgate, Trent-town, The Dotte, The Woo, Ecorse, River RUDGE (pronouncition check) The Isle, R View. If you didn’t make the list…its cuz you aren’t Downriver…. Greg C….Downriver Kid