"My City Was Gone"

"My City Was Gone"
The Pretenders
Featured on Learning to Crawl
AIR Studios
Album originally released 11 January 1984
Rock
Cassette
B+

Probably my favorite Pretenders song, this is, like Billy Joel's "Allentown," a first-Reagan-term* lament for the loss of a beloved town.  Except, Hynde actually manages to out-bitter Joel, like he's had someone piss in his morning coffee, while she's assessing bomb damage.  The relentless drumming and funky bass make this a stronger song, although it touches me less than "Allentown," maybe because I feel less personal about the Pretenders than about Joel.  And, yes, this still counts as British (or British-American), although the lyrics are autobiographical for Hynde.

*The single was released in October 1982, one month after "Allentown."