Top 10 Road Trip Songs

All the way back to Woody Guthrie and further into America's past, songs of the road have been part of our national fabric as long as I can remember. I'm over a half century old, by the way, so I can remember way back, you know?

Having driven alone over much of this nation at one time or another, there is nothing quite like the open road as long as one has the essentials. A car stereo of some kind and some road songs are important to relieve boredom on long stretches of highway in parts of the country where the scenery looks the same for miles at a time.

If you're travelling with others, if everyone has roughly the same musical tastes, all the better. If not, as is usually the case, there are always headphones for listening to road songs.

Here are ten road trip songs that just might be the prescription for what ails travellers. here they are:

The Road/Jackson Browne
This song was originally written and performed by a singer/songwriter named Danny O'Keefe, best known for a 70s hit, Goodtime Charlie's Got The Blues. In my opinion, Jackson Browne has the better version of the song, recorded live on Browne's Running On Empty classic album in 1977.

This road trip song is about musicians touring and the temptations, trials and tribulations of the road. Ladies come to see you, if your name still rings a bell, they'll give you damn near nothing and they'll say they knew you well, so you tell them you'll remember, but they know it's just a game, and along the way their faces all begin to look the same...it's just another town along the road.

I Am the Highway/Audioslave
Pearls and swine bereft of me, long and weary my road has been, I was lost in the cities, alone in the hills, but no sorrow or pity for leaving I feel, I am not your rolling wheels, I am the highway, I am not your carpet ride, i am the sky...Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden sings lead on this essential road song.

Roll Me Away/Bob Seger
This road song has been featured in a few movie soundtracks. You don't have to be on a motorcycle to relate to lyrics like: stood alone on a mountaintop, starin' out at the great divide, I could go east, I could go west, it was all up to me to decide, just then I saw a young hawk flyin' and my soul began to rise...

Running Down A Dream/Tom Petty
I felt so good, like anything was possible, I hit cruise control and rubbed my eyes this road song cowritten by Jeff Lynne of ELO begins. I rolled on as the sky grew dark, I put the pedal down to make some time. What road weary traveller can't relate to that?

Truckin'/ Grateful Dead
Truckin' like the do-dah man, once told me you've got to play your hand, sometimes the cards ain't worth a damn if you don't lay 'em down, sometimes the light's all shinin' on me, other times I can barely see, what a long, strange trip it's been...

Ventura Highway/America
Ventura highway in the sunshine, where the days are longer, the night's are stronger than moonshine, there's a free wind blowin' through your hair, days surround your daylight there.

Born To Be Wild/Steppenwolf
The ultimate road trip song, this song was written by a guy named Mars Bonfire, surely a pen name, eh? This song has appeared in many movie soundtracks, beginning with Easy Rider back in the 60s. Who can forget the lyrics of: Get your motor runnin', head out on the highway, lookin' for adventure and whatever comes our way...

Take It Easy/The Eagles
Runnin' down the road, tryin' to loosen my load, I got seven women on my mind, four that want to own me, two that want to stone me, one says she's a friend of mine...the Eagles first hit in the summer of 1972 was written by the above mentioned Jackson Browne. Makes a great road song, don't you think?

Anyway the Wind Blows/Southern Pacific
This group, formed of studio musicians performing rock flavored country, or vice versa if you prefer, has been disbanded since the early 90s due to management problems, a quick google check reveals. Never mind, this is still a top road song if you're "lookin' for the endless summer". as it says in the lyrics.

Life was an infinite number, livin' one day to another, lookin' for the endless summer, anyway the wind blows, and we can't see around the bend, we never know where the road might end, we just go anywhere the wind blows. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood movie Pink Cadillac in the early 90s.

Life Is A Highway/Tom Cochrane
The number one road trip song in my book is this one. My son prefers the Rascal Flatts version from the movie Cars from a few years back. I prefer the original, so there you go. Either is acceptable for the essential road song. Tom Cochrane, however, is a member of the Canadian Music Hall Of Fame, after all.

Life's like a road that you travel on, there's one day here, the next day gone, sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand, sometimes you turn your back to the wind, there's a world outside every darkened door, where blues won't haunt you anymore, where the brave are free and lovers soar, come ride with me to the distant shore, we won't hesitate, break down the garden gate, there's not much time left today, life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long, if you're goin' my way, I wanna drive it all night long...

If you would like to listen to or purchase any of these songs, try going to www.last.fm/ and type the name of the artist in the search bar. Thanks for reading!