China Grove is a small town in Texas, about 10 miles from San Antonio in Bexar county.

Did Doobie Brothers singer/guitarist Tom Johnston know this when he wrote the song?

Sort of. Here's what he told Songfacts: "The words were written last, and they were made up around this whole idea of this wacky little town with a sheriff that had a Samurai Sword and all that sort of thing.

The funny thing was that I found out in 1975 in a cab in Houston that there really was a China Grove, although what happened was in 1972 we were touring in Winnebagos, and we were driving into San Antonio.

And there is a China Grove, Texas, right outside of San Antonio.

I must have seen the sign and forgotten about it.

And when I came up with the term 'China Grove,' I thought I was just making it up because of the words being about this crazy sheriff with a Samurai Sword."