This should really be called "Songs that Reference California in Some Way". Some of them are about the state itself, but most are either about a place in the state like a highway or a city, or they're about a girl - a California Girl, (a particular subspecies of girl that singers like to sing about - even female singers.) I'm the first to admit that this is just a cheap way to shoehorn my interest in music into a natural history web site, but I remind you that this IS the Internet where anything goes. Still, instead of just making a random list of songs, I have done my homework and included songs that I have found worth listening to - at least once, anyway.
A lot of pop songs have been written about California. Many of them describe a journey to or a longing to return to a wonderful place with warm weather, pretty girls, and new opportunities - basically a fantastic mythical paradise that bears little resemblance to the real Golden State now or ever. (The Spanish named the territory after a mythical island paradise they were searching for that was supposed to be full of gold and inhabited by black women whose queen was Califa. How'd that work out for them?) Other songs describe the disappointment the singers find after getting to Cali when they discover that it's no better than where they came from. Apparently, writing a California song is now a requirement if you're a musician, even if it's only to show that you hate the California stereotypes or the Hollywood Entertainment Industry Establishment. Musicians such as Local H and Brooke White are even writing songs now about California Songs and others write about how much they hate the state. It's all good, and it's all here on the list.
This list is in alphabetical order by artist, not by title. I'll add new songs to the list as I discover them. Let me know if there is something not here that should be. They lyrics come from the Internet, and we all know how unreliable that can be sometimes, so let me know if you find any mistakes. Also, some of these songs may contain explicit lyrics that may not be mentioned in the descriptions. Links to song versions on YouTube are included if I could find them and when I get around to finding them, but beware the links might be bad since the videos are often taken down.