Music and bars go together like whiskey and shot glasses. For most bands, they get their start playing the bar, taverns and honky tonks across the country. Throughout this time, many a great drinking song has been written. Here is a list of ten great drinking songs, some you might know, others maybe not.
Song Name: I Got Drunk
Artist: Uncle Tupelo
Album: No Depression
Year: 1990
Before there was Son Volt and Wilco, there was Uncle Tupelo. Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy combined to make four studio albums and created a number of great songs. If you’ve ever been on a good bender, you can surely relate to “I Got Drunk.”
Song Name: Redneck Tailgate Dream
Artist: Split Lip Rayfield
Album: Should Have Seen It Coming
Year: 2004
Whether they are classified as alt country or bluegrass, Wichita, Kansas band Split Lip Rayfield penned the classic ode to Rednecks across the country. From sitting on tailgates, drinking copious amounts of Coors Light and dipping Skoal, this song is redneckedness at its finest.
Song Name: Blind In Texas
Artist: W.A.S.P.
Album: The Last Command
Year: 1985
They faced the wrath of Tipper Gore, lit their boots on fire while wearing them and made codpieces fashionable. They also wrote one of the quintessential drinking songs of the hair metal era, Blind In Texas. The song documents their journey through Texas and inevitable end of being thrown in the hoosegow.
Song Name: Gin & Juice
Artist: Snoog Doggy Dog
Album: Doggy Style
Year: 1994
Whether you know him as Snoop, Snoop Dog, Snoop Lion or Snoop A Loop (Old School reference) in 1994, Snoop Doggy Dog released Gin & Juice, which became a Hip Hop party anthem and made everyone want sip on some Gin & Juice.
Song Name: Whiskey Bent & Hell Bound
Artist: Hank Williams, Jr.
Album: Whiskey Bent & Hell Bound
Year: 1979
In country circles, especially in the south, Bocephus is an icon. When you write a song called Whiskey Bent & Hell Bound, chances are you’ve had more than a little experience on the subject.
Song Name: Drank Like A River
Artist: Whiskeytown
Album: Faithless Street
Year: 1995
If you’ve ever loved and lost, you can probably relate to Ryan Adam’s lyrics in the song Drank Like a River.
So he drank like a river when the wedding bells rang
Watched from the steeple as the choir girls sang
Died in a gutter on his feet and his hands
The same hands that had once touched her face
Song Name: Have A Drink On Me
Artist: AC/DC
Album: Back In Black
Year: 1980
What do you do when your lead singer dies from drinking too much alcohol? If you are the band AC/DC, you get yourself a new singer and put a song on your next album called Have A Drink On Me. It is touch indelicate but a great song nonetheless.
Song Name: 40 Oz. To Freedom
Artist: Sublime
Album: 40 Oz. To Freedom
Year: 1992
Long Beach Ska-Punk-Reggae band Sublime wasn’t around for very long but they did a lot in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, singer Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996. Fortunately songs like 40 Oz. To Freedom, keep the legacy of a great band strong.
Song Name: Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
Artist: Rupert Holmes
Album: Partners in Crime
Year: 1979
This is the song that nobody ever openly admits that they like but always sing it when it comes on the radio. You’ve got a person trying to have an affair, wants to find a woman who like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. Turns out it is the woman he is currently with. Isn’t it ironic? Don’t cha think?
Song Name: I Like Beer
Artist: Tom T. Hall
Album: Storyteller Poet Philosopher
Year: 1995
Everybody was thinking it but nobody had the guts to express those sentiments in a song. Thank you Tom T. I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
Let’s face it. There’s a bunch of good drinking songs out there and I am sure that I missed a bunch of them. If you have a good drinking song that we missed, let us know. This will probably not be the last time we discuss this incredibly important subject.
