Invariably, the second verse mentions of the Massachusetts Turnpike, Stockbridge, The Berkshires, and Boston bring cheers from people in the audience who had lived in Massachusetts. And if the concert is in Tanglewood or Great Woods, the commotion is enough to pause the song. Taylor was born in Boston, and although he moved to North Carolina when very young, he spent summers in Massachusetts and went to boarding school there. This association has made Taylor a regional favorite in New England, including sell-outs at Tanglewood and a record-setting concert stand at Great Woods. Taylor, who underwent treatment at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge in his younger years and later became a resident of the Berkshires, has spoken of the song's geographical reference points: "I really did drive the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston. I have a real connection to this place."