Which Pennsylvania city titles Billy Joel's 1982 Rust Belt song?

Billy Joel’s 1982 Rust Belt song is titled “Allentown,” after the Pennsylvania city.

“Allentown” was released as a single from Joel’s 1982 album The Nylon Curtain. The song focuses on the economic hardship facing Allentown and the surrounding Lehigh Valley, especially as manufacturing declined and Bethlehem Steel suffered major losses. It became a wider portrait of working-class frustration in the American Rust Belt.

Joel originally considered other titles, including “Levittown” and “Bethlehem,” before choosing Allentown. The song’s opening percussion was designed to suggest the sound of a steel mill, connecting its musical texture to the region’s industrial past.

Although some local residents criticized the song’s bleak portrayal, it became strongly associated with the city. It reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and later became one of Joel’s signature songs. Harrisburg, Scranton, and Bethlehem are Pennsylvania places, but they are not the title named in this song.