"Anchorage" is the debut single of American singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked, released as the lead single from her first studio album, Short Sharp Shocked (1988), in September 1988. The song peaked at number 66 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, reaching the top 75 in these countries.
Lyrical content The song is about the singer finally "taking time out to write to an old friend" who has moved from Texas to Anchorage, Alaska, and her friend's reply. In her reply, her friend realizes she might have become a housewife "anchored down in Anchorage" but still dreaming about her childhood in Texas with her good friend Michelle, who went on to an exciting life as a musician and a "skateboard punk rocker in New York".Lyrics and chords at michelleshocked.com She tells the singer that her husband Leroy says "send a picture", "hello", and "keep on rocking".
Much of the song's lyrics were taken directly from a letter from JoAnn Kelli Bingham, a Comanche Indian and recently married friend who had recently moved to geographically remote Alaska. Her husband is Leroy Bingham, a Blackfeet Indian who worked for Cook Inlet Tribal Council.
Track listings US and Australian 7-inch single A. "Anchorage" – 3:21 B. "Anchorage" (live) – 4:14
UK 10-inch and CD single "Anchorage" "Fogtown" "Penny Evans" (live at Glastonbury) "Re-Modelling the Pentagon" (live at Glastonbury)
UK 7-inch single A. "Anchorage" B. "Fogtown"
UK 12-inch single A1. "Anchorage" A2. "Strawberry Jam" (live at Glastonbury) B1. "Fogtown" (from Texas Campfire L.P.) B2. "Fogtown"
Charts
Weekly charts +Chart (1988–1989)PeakpositionAustralia (Australian Music Report)51Canada Top Singles (RPM)70Italy Airplay (Music & Media)6US Billboard Hot 10066US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)42US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard)16
References
External links collected remarks of Michelle Shocked about Anchorage on "Graffiti Limbo, an unofficial Michelle Shocked site" Interpretation by Tony Shaw