Refers to the U.S. state of Tennessee, and its capital city, Nashville. That city has long been known as the "country music capital" of the country, and its country music connection is what figures prominently in this song.

Refers to the U.S. state of Kentucky, the best known and most prominent U.S. location for whiskey making (the legal kind, at least, although Kentucky has at times been infamous for illegal whiskey as well). Most legal whiskey made in Kentucky is the kind known as Bourbon, which by definition gets most of its fermentable raw material form corn as opposed to other grains. More specifically, the grain from which Bourbon is made is required by law to be between 51% and 79% corn. Some other name must be used for any legal whiskey from a grain mix outside that range. Still other regulations apply before a whiskey can legally be called Bourbon. Some laws seem to have changed, but at least at one time a whiskey could legally be called bourbon ONLY if made in Kentucky (in addition to other requirements).