Inspirational music for the independent traveler
A few months back I asked the masses over at Metafilter to list off their favorite travel-oriented songs – from any genre – that evoke the spirit of independent, vagabonding travel.
User OmieWise suggested the wonderfully unique Mountain Goats – “one of the best songwriters in the world [who] has a series of songs about travelling all over the place for reasons as diverse as contract killing, love affairs, and nostalgia.”
A trip to their website includes many free, downloadable mp3s along with a complete song database, most of which include lyrics such as these from a track titled Going to Bolivia:
I cut myself a two-foot switch from some tropical hardwood nearby.
and the sounds of a carnival drifted miraculously
through the air from a thousand miles away.
the monkeys jumped from tree to tree.
it sent a deathly chill through me
in bolivia
Here are a few highlights of the many suggestions my question received (links go directly to lyric sites which may contain popups and annoying ads – you’ve be warned!):
A13 Trunk Road To the Sea – Billy Bragg
Two of Us – The Beatles
Get Out the Map – Indigo Girls
I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash
On the Road Again – Willie Nelson
The World at Large – Modest Mouse
Highway Chile – Jimi Hendrix
King of the Road – Roger Miller
The Way – Fastball
Another Travelin’ Song – Bright Eyes
For the entire list of suggestions, click here.
Do you have a favorite aritst or song that’s missing from the list? Feel free to share your suggestions in the comment section below.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Definitely a must have list! I also found a place where you can download these songs for free https://www.ez-tracks.com/Inspirational.html
August 6th, 2016 at 3:48 am
Willie Nelson old boy, never gets old. His version of A Whiter Shade Of Pale https://lyricsmusic.name/willie-nelson-lyrics/-/a-whiter-shade-of-pale.html is the best.