What Road Trip Songs Do You Love?

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What Road Trip Songs Do You Love?

We’re driving a few hours to visit friends this weekend, and I need some new recommendations! Our top songs are always…

…some combination of 1970’s hits and the Trolls soundtrack. Here’s a playlist Toby once wrote when we were driving, above, and here are a few of my old standbys, below:

My Sweet Lord, George Harrison
For Once in My Life, Stevie Wonder
Two Weeks, Grizzly Bear
I Fall to Pieces, Patsy Cline
Waterloo Sunset, The Kinks
Smile Jamaica, Chronixx
Letter From An Occupant, The New Pornographers
I Can’t Reach You, The Who
Be My Baby, The Ronettes
Hang on Sloopy, The McCoys
Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right, Bob Dylan
Light My Fire, The Doors
Come A Little Bit Closer, Jay & The Americans
Postcards From Italy, Beirut
Don’t Stop Me Now, Queen
Fall On Me, R.E.M.
Out of Time, The Rolling Stones
You Can’t Hurry Love, The Supremes
Every Night, Paul McCartney
Take On Me, A-ha
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel
9 to 5, Dolly Parton
I’m Your Toy, Elvis Costello
We’ll Meet Again, Vera Lynn

Growing up, my dad would always listen to classical music or opera in the car and we’d catch him with fat tears rolling down his cheeks because he was so moved. I always love that memory.

What about you? What road trip songs do you love? Please share below…

P.S. Alex on playing music for kids, and what songs do you make out to?

(Photo of Michelle Obama on Carpool Karaoke.)

Tags: music

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Emma A

July 29, 2019 3:36pm 3:36 pm

songs by The Lumineers, ABBA, Simon & Garfunkel…
Renegades (X Ambassadors)
New Slang (The Shins)
The High Road (Broken Bells)
Young (Air Review) —Our family absolutely LOVES this one. (We first heard it from a GoRVing ad on YouTube??!?)

Janine

July 24, 2019 12:03pm 12:03 pm

Chicago by Sufjan Stevens

It’s something my husband and I first bonded over. We both imagined a Super 8 video of a family road trip whenever we heard it.

Jacinta

July 22, 2019 11:05pm 11:05 pm

you gotta add some Dr. dog and Buddy Holly to that list!

Eva

July 22, 2019 3:46pm 3:46 pm

My dad played “Born to be Wild” just as we hit the open part of the highway on every road trip we went on. It’s a nice reminder of him now; my sister and I still play it on every road trip.

Maggie

July 22, 2019 10:01am 10:01 am

I just love that Toby’s list includes Sway! It’s one of my favorites – everything on Sticky Fingers is wonderful – but I think I was in late high school before I was cool enough to appreciate it :)

Sharon in Scotland

July 22, 2019 5:37am 5:37 am

It’s mostly just me in my car, so I please myself!
“I’m telling you I’m not going” from The Dream Girls.
“God only knows” by The Beach Boys.
“Dancing Queen” by ABBA.
“Freebird” by Lynard Skynard, (I kind of tolerate the vocals…………it’s ALL about the instrumental).
It’s not very populated where I live and work, so I can have these very loud………..sooooo enjoyable

Mandy

July 22, 2019 4:49am 4:49 am

Going up the country by canned heat! And definitely some animal collective – summertime clothes, leaf house, kids on holiday. Shady lane by pavement! And for the return leg, something soothing like beck’s the golden age.

Tricia M

July 21, 2019 9:45am 9:45 am

In no particular order:
Crazy by Gnarls Barkley – always remind me of driving in Portugal.
Everybody wants to rule the world by Tears for Fears- lyrics for our time.
Riders on the storm by The Doors – love the sound of the ocean!
Dancing Queen by Abba – always makes me cry, it’s so joyous.
Drive darlin’ by Boy.
Big Exit by PJ Harvey- full of passion.

Many more but too numerous to mention here.

Martha Patterson

July 20, 2019 7:50pm 7:50 pm

Cars soundtrack
Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack
When I am King and Consequence Free by Great Big Sea
A Summer Place theme
Shut Up and Dance With Me
Sunshine in my Pocket

Mathilde Johanne

July 20, 2019 3:25pm 3:25 pm

A few favourites of mine are:
Come and get your love by Redbone and Strangest Thing with War on Drugs!

Amy W

July 20, 2019 12:40pm 12:40 pm

The entire Céline Dion catalog. Followed by lots of Britney and Spice Girls. Thennn some classic 80s! :)

Anne

July 20, 2019 10:34am 10:34 am

Neil Young! Especially driving up to the Eastern Sierras.

Shade

July 20, 2019 8:44am 8:44 am

I would add the zombies in there – so good for the car and family – “this will be our year” is SO good.

Judith

July 20, 2019 8:29am 8:29 am

Can you make a Spotify playlist with this list? So many good ones!

July 20, 2019 7:53am 7:53 am

Two that are my favorite for belting as loudly as possible:

Seasons of Love from Rent

Dog Days Are Over by Florence + the Machine

I’ve been working on my road trip playlist for years: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0P3stupExWzh5pcwleKDMc?si=p5F_jx7WTbe39u4XmQ-zDw

Tara

Reply to V

August 30, 2019 1:27am 1:27 am

Dog Days are Over is pretty much the BEST sing-along road trip song ever recorded. My kids and I belt it out almost every day on the way to school – it is such a great way to start the day!

Mark B

July 20, 2019 1:27am 1:27 am

Nowhere Road by Steve Earle.
The Road by Danny O’Keefe
Mercury Blues by el Rayo X
Let it Roll by Little Feat
Hejira by Joni Mitchell ….
just to name a few.

Kat Simonyi

July 20, 2019 1:01am 1:01 am

When I was younger my parents always played “Home Again” by Oingo Boingo. Not a conventional choice, but one that is guaranteed to bring back oh so many memories from the backseat of my parents’ old Pathfinder when I hear it again.

Sarah

July 19, 2019 6:27pm 6:27 pm

Agh – Letter From An Occupant, The New Pornographers – one my my all time FAVS! X

Alexandra

July 19, 2019 5:58pm 5:58 pm

Runnin’ Down a Dream by Tom Petty might be the best road trip song of all time and I cannot believe no one has mentioned it yet.

Growing up my mom and I would road trip 7-8 hours every summer to see family and I would labor over mixed tapes for our journey – my favorites, classic rock we both liked, etc. (really anything to avoid her music). But my favorite may have been the tape I made with the real song, followed by the Weird Al version.

Anne

Reply to Alexandra

July 20, 2019 10:35am 10:35 am

So good!

Stacy

Reply to Alexandra

July 20, 2019 11:48am 11:48 am

Yes to Runnin’ Down a Dream! I always give a heart endorsement to Lenny Kravitz for road trip mixes.

Eva

July 19, 2019 5:40pm 5:40 pm

For road trips we usually pick a few albums and listen to them all the way through several times. Then when you hear a song from that album later it always takes you back to that road trip. A few years ago we bought a rickety ’79 convertible and took it on a 3000 Mile road trip the next week. One album we listened to was Nashville Obsolete by Dave Rawlings Machine. The whole album is great for the open road but the song “Pilgrim” is especially apt: ” keep a rolling rolling rolling down this road that you’re on….oh pilgrim you can’t go home.” He and his partner Gillian Welch (my favorite) drive an old car all over the country when they’re on tour so I feel like their songs are always good for drives.

sonya

Reply to Eva

July 20, 2019 11:33am 11:33 am

I love Gillian and Dave, too. And I also endorse entire albums, especially if there is a thread/there running through them. On that note, I HIGHLY recommend Bruce Springsteen’s newest (Western Stars), and you cannot go wrong with any of the below Jason Isbell albums: Southeastern, 24 Frames, and The Nashville Sound. Play em loud.

Starlene

Reply to Eva

July 22, 2019 12:23pm 12:23 pm

Yes on Jason Isbell!! Also, Lucero, John Moreland, Parting Gifts/Reigning Sound, Drag the River.

Mac

July 19, 2019 5:29pm 5:29 pm

Tell me something good—Chaka Khan ❤️❤️

Mette

July 19, 2019 5:12pm 5:12 pm

When is Cup of Jo starting a Spotify account?

Mims

July 19, 2019 5:00pm 5:00 pm

There are so many great suggestions here! I think having some relaxing atmospheric music is helpful for when the kids are overamped and need to sleep! (the driver can listen to more upbeat music with earbuds while the car has a soothing soundtrack playing) .
I like Winged Victory for the Sullen, either Atomos or the self titled album.
Anything by Campfire Headphase. And Jose Gonzalez and/or Junip good too.

Kate

Reply to Mims

July 20, 2019 11:14am 11:14 am

Take a Picture – Filter
You Only Get What You Give – New Radicals
Giggling Again for No Reason – Alanis Morissette
And when driving through Atlanta (inevitable here in the South: OutKast ATLiens or Ludacris ;) (not for kids)

adele

July 19, 2019 4:41pm 4:41 pm

We always have one song that is on repeat during our trips, here are a few recent ones :

Strange magic – Electric Light Orchestra (Venice + LA)
San Francisco – Scott Mackensie (San Francisco)
EP – Junius Meyvant (Iceland)

and a few awesome albums just for good measure :

Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
Astral Weeks – Van Morrison
Any album by Vampire Weekend

Kristen

July 19, 2019 4:38pm 4:38 pm

A recent favorite is Drive, by Ben Rector. So fun!

317 COMMENTS

317 COMMENTS

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