‘Can’t Go Back to Jersey,” G. Love

by JAY LUSTIG
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Garrett Dutton, aka G. Love.

Yesterday’s selection for 350 Jersey Songs was blues-rocker Billy Hector’s love letter to his home state, “Back to Jersey.” So naturally, today, we look at that song’s opposite: “Can’t Go Back to Jersey,” from G. Love’s 2006 album, Lemonade.

G. Love (né Garrett Dutton), a Philadelphia native, doesn’t really explain why he doesn’t want to go back to Jersey. The point of the song is more that he’s trying — in his customarily casual, quasi-rap style — to persuade his significant other, who’s fed up with him, not to throw him out. And “can’t go back to Jersey” becomes his refrain.

But it’s such a fun, catchy song that we won’t hold it against him. Check it out below.

New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday from Sept. 2014 to Sept. 2015. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. The complete list is here.

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