I was really bored, so I looked up just about every reference in this song.
The Garden State Parkway is the busiest toll highway in the US. It stretches from Montvale, NJ (near New York) all the way to Cape May, NJ on the other end. Essentially all the way across New Jersey, hence its name.
The Fung Wah bus is a Chinese bus company running between Boston and New York. It is known for its low fares, so it is very popular with students, or struggling musicians like Titus Andronicus.
Fenway is Fenway Park baseball stadium in Boston, obviously.
The Newark Bears are a New Jersey baseball team in the CanAm League.
"Tramps like us, baby, we were born to die", like you've all guessed, is a play on Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run". Springsteen, like Titus, is from NJ and probably a big influence of theirs, since he is thanked in The Monitor liner notes.
I've assumed 17 and 84 are both highways, 70 and 80 being mph. I know that Highway 84 at least is in the NJ area. Although i could be wrong about that.
The Merritt Parkway is another parkway between New York and Connecticut, running towards Boston.
The Great Pine Barrens is a heavily forested area in southern Nj. The Garden State Parkway runs through it.
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You forgot the part where the Fung Wah is more widely known for its devastatingly bad safety record, so the "who knows where" part is likely a nod to them getting into fatal and horrific accidents every so often.
You forgot the part where the Fung Wah is more widely known for its devastatingly bad safety record, so the "who knows where" part is likely a nod to them getting into fatal and horrific accidents every so often.
I was really bored, so I looked up just about every reference in this song.
I-84 runs from Massachusetts through Connecticut and NYC into Pennsylvania. It's probably the most used road to get between Boston and NYC.
I-84 runs from Massachusetts through Connecticut and NYC into Pennsylvania. It's probably the most used road to get between Boston and NYC.
You forgot the part where the Fung Wah is more widely known for its devastatingly bad safety record, so the "who knows where" part is likely a nod to them getting into fatal and horrific accidents every so often.
You forgot the part where the Fung Wah is more widely known for its devastatingly bad safety record, so the "who knows where" part is likely a nod to them getting into fatal and horrific accidents every so often.