10 Favorite Drivin' and 10 Favorite Drinkin' Songs

        Songs about drinking or to be sung whilst drinking have a pretty solid tradition in the history of music.  The modern era of rapid transportation has added another category of driving music, which is an offshoot of traditional traveling music.   Today we will look at some lists of favorites in the categories of driving songs and drinking songs.

          This idea was forwarded to me by Stephen T. McCarthy who had been initially inspired by a friend of his.  After I had incorrectly attributed this in an earlier post Stephen sent me this correction:

     .... it was actually my friend Mr. Paulboy who suggested the Drinking and Driving Songs lists. DiscConnected and I (and you, too) just kind of picked up that ball and ran with it.

So thanks to Mr. Paulboy, Stephen T. McCarthy, DiscConnected, et al for the suggestions.
Here are my lists:

10 Favorite Drivin' Songs (songs about driving or songs good to drive to)

1.  Radar Love by Golden Earring  -- Hands down considered one of the all time classic driving songs

2.   Route 66 by Nat King Cole and many others -- Someday I'll do a post about my travels on Route 66.

3.   Ramblin' Man by Allman Brothers --  The title tells the story.

4.  Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf -- Iconic road song made legendary by the movie Easy Rider.

5.  I've Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash and others-- An incredible list of recited of place names encountered while driving.

6.  Whipping Post by the Allman Brothers-- the Allmans have a lot of good driving music.   The version of this song off of the Live at the Fillmore East album is a long up tempo piece of music that makes it great road trip music.  The entire album is ideal for driving.

7.  On the Road Again by Canned Heat--- A good driving boogie beat that makes the song perfect for driving.

8.  On the Road Again by Willie Nelson --There are several different songs with this title and the jaunty tune by Nelson is one that I enjoy having on when I'm driving.

9.  Take It Easy by the Eagles --- Last time I was driving through Winslow, Arizona I had to put this song on.  I'm probably not the only person who has ever done this.  After all, it just seems like the right thing to do.

10.  Running On Empty by Jackson Browne -- A driving anthem that I've listened to on many a road trip.

10 Favorite Drinkin' Songs (or so I've heard)

1.  Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet -- The Parrothead anthem and in case you don't know a parrot head is what they call a rabid Jimmy Buffet fan.  They love their margaritas so much there is a chain of bar/restaurants called Margaritaville.

2.  One For My Baby (One  More For the Road) by Frank Sinatra and many others-- This is a song about drinking that makes you feel like you've been drinking just to listen to it.

3. I Love This Bar by Toby Keith -- A good time drinking song about a place where everyone can go and drink and get along with one another.   There's a chain of "I Love This Bar" Restaurant and Bars.  Guess Toby's got a lot of fans as well but I don't know what they're called.

4.  Those Were The Days by Mary Hopkins and others-- Based on an old Russian song, this one suggests it's better to rejoice in your past than cry in your beer.  It's a truly infectious tune.

5. Chug-a-lug by Roger Miller -- A funny song about teenage drinking.  It's not as bad as it sounds and captures the "first taste of sin" pretty well. 

6.  Bottle of Wine by the Fireballs ---  A rollicking paean to winos.

7.  Spill the Wine  by Eric Burdon and War --- Crazy dream vision that sounds like it could have been inspired by too much drink.  No matter what, they're singing about wine.

8.  Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) by the Doors--  This was actually from the Kurt Weill / Bertholt Brecht opera The Rise and Fall of  the City of Mahagonny and has been done by many artists.  It always sounds like whoever is singing it has been drinking--it's just that kind of song.

9.  Drunken Sailor is a traditional sea chantey.  Also known as "What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor" it is often played by Irish bands and played in pubs.

10.  Star Spangled Banner ---Yes, the National Anthem of the United States was based on an old drinking song called "To Anacreon in Heaven".   Now we know why the National Anthem is so hard to sing when you're sober.

          There you go with my take on the lists.  Make sure you check out the other participants to see what they came up with.