When the Sun Hits This Line We Can Drink Again
The 50 all-time drinking songs
Raise a toast to the greatest drinking songs ever recorded most beer, whiskey, wine and white lightning
Nosotros're always downwardly to raise a glass during a great party bop, but there's something special almost killer drinking songs: the kind of tune that makes you stop what you're doing and start swinging your glass with nix regard for the dryness of the floor.
The greatest songs about drinking aren't limited to Irish folk music or weepy land/western ballads: from pop to punk, no genre is without a great ode to getting sloppy. In curating this list, we generally skipped the songs that talk about booze's dark side (we'll leave the regrets – and Kendrick Lamar bangers — for the morning later). When the drinking songs on this list pop upwardly, you'll have no choice just to sing along and brand a bad choice or two.
Written by Michael Chen, Brent DiCrescenzo, Sophie Harris, Oliver Keens, Andy Kryza, Hank Shteamer, Kate Wertheimer and Zach Long.
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Best drinking songs, ranked
1. 'Contumely Monkey' by Beastie Boys
It's an obvious observation, just this song came out earlier the Internet. Which means that I – like tens of thousands of 12-year-olds in 1986, I would imagine – was unable to immediately figure out what the hell the B Boys were whine-shouting about. I'll admit it: I thought the rap was about a monkey. Then, in high school, I learned from friends that a Brass Monkey was a sort of gutter mimosa – malt liquor and O.J. Gross. So, in higher, thanks to the World Broad Spider web, I discovered the source of that funk-skronk horn: Wild Saccharide's deep-disco cut, 'Bring It Here.'Rad. And they say friends are improve than the Cyberspace.
two. 'Streams of Whiskey' past The Pogues
In i of the folk-punk outfits peppiest (or at to the lowest degree whistle-iest) hits, Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan spins a yarn nigh a dream he had (presumably non while sober) of walking hand in paw with Irish poet Brendan Behan and learning of an afterlife where the brownish stuff flows in rivers. (There'due south also talk of a 15-beer bender, considering The Pouges are gonna Pogues). Forced to cull one Pogues vocal — this list could have been nothing merely Pogues songs — it's 'Streams of Whiskey' by a drinker'south nose.
3. 'Gin & Juice' by Snoop Dogg
This was the commencement rap vocal to provide high-school parties with a cocktail recipe right in the title. Well, juice can be expensive. But 'Gin & Gatorade' simply doesn't accept the same mellifluousness. On a side notation, when's the last time you heard someone refer to weed as 'indo'? 1994?
4. 'White Lightning' by George Jones
Beer and whiskey odes abound, but there aren't too many moonshine songs. Simply this one, really. Possibly that's because folks who drink methanol-laden Mountain Dew end upward wearing overalls with one strap and having just as many teeth. Written past the Large Bopper, he of the Day the Music Died, 'White Lightning' took George Jones to No. 1 in 1959. Essentially, this was the 'Sippin' on Some Syrup' of the Eisenhower era.
5. 'Lilac Wine' past Nina Simone
Originally penned in 1950 for a theater revue, 'Lilac Wine' has been covered past such greats as Eartha Kitt, Jeff Buckley and, er, Miley Cyrus. Simply only the High Priestess of Soul is able to give this moody ode to infatuation the drama and arctic its lyrics and melody beg for. In her 1966 estimation, her vox prowls effectually the song's deliciously dark lyrics like a true cat, and for the listener, intoxication is inevitable.
6. 'Whiskey River' by Willie Nelson
Some consideration was given to 'I Gotta Get Drunkard,' a 1970 Willie tune covered wonderfully past Phosphorescent in 2009. But that was the short-haired, clean-shaven Willie. On principle, we went with this classic off of Shotgun Willie, from the dawn of his stoner-cowboy era. Even though it was written by Johnny Bush, the vocal belongs to Willie, as essential to him as long braids and a bandanna.
seven. 'Tequila' by the Champs
This 2-minute instrumental – an ode to the magical elixir that needs but a 1-give-and-take introduction – was recorded in 1958 by the Champs and written by Danny Flores, the phonation behind the three mischievous utterances of 'tequila' spoken throughout and the man responsible for the tune's trademark 'muddied sax' solo. We'll say this – the song gets united states of america dancing even quicker than tequila does.
viii. 'Too Boozer to Fuck' past Dead Kennedys
Hey, it'southward happened to the all-time of us. This 1981 surf-rock-heavy single was the quaternary from the California punkers, who pigment an exaggerated political party picture mostly to offend music-industry prudes. Although the vocal reached No. 36 on the U.Thousand. singles nautical chart, it was often banned or censored, leading the Kennedys to supply a sticker for tape shops reading 'Caution: You are the victim of all the same some other stodgy retailer agape to warp your mind by revealing the title of this record, so peel slowly and run across…' Prissy touch, Biafra.
9. 'Sippin' on Some Syrup' by Three 6 Mafia
Cough medicine plus Sprite, plus Jolly Ranchers. Holy shit, people potable that? Sprite? Await, when you're broke, you have to get creative with your addictions. Anything tin become a habit. Equally Pimp C proclaimed in this song in 2000: 'Nosotros eat so many shrimp, I've got iodine poisoning.' So how did this Memphis hip-hop troupe proceed to win an Oscar in 2006, for 'It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp'? Even pharmacists would accept a hard fourth dimension finding rhymes for promethazine and hydrocodone.
10. 'Alabama Song (Whisky Bar)' by the Doors
Penned by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill for the incendiary 1930 opera Rising and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, this song was originally performed past a chorus of prostitutes. This more than famous cover was recorded by the Doors in 1966 with a carnivalesque sound that perfectly illustrates what it'due south like to be smashed and along for the ride (which Jim Morrison very probable was).
11. 'Friends in Low Places' by Garth Brooks
You tin't help simply sing along with the common people at the local watering hole when the jukebox starts playing Garth Brooks'southward 1990 ode to drinking the blues away. Yous'll of a sudden discover yourself line dancing with folks you've never met and seeing if your song annals tin become to those depression places in the song'south signature chorus. And, of form, at that place volition exist enough of whiskey and beer flowing. Fun fact: In the perfect spousal relationship of song to hapless sports team, the Kansas City Royals (ii winning seasons in the last 19 years) adopted 'Friends in Depression Places' as their sixth-inning sing-along anthem. It serves as a constant reminder to beleaguered fans that misery loves company…and booze.
12. 'All Night' by Chance the Rapper (ft. Knox Fortune)
If you think it'southward difficult to stave off acquaintances asking for favors while yous're drunk, simply try being famous. Backed past an effervescent Chicago business firm-inspired beat by producer Kaytranada, Chance pens a political party canticle encapsulating all the excuses that tipsy friends will use to bum a ride habitation. In his own words, 'Yous a goofy if you recall I don't know yous need a Lyft.'
13. 'Here Comes a Regular' and 'Beer for Breakfast' (tie) past the Replacements
From what I've heard and seen on YouTube of their early concerts, the Mats made all their songs drinking songs. The gloriously shambolic punk stuff raged like an boyish who'south seen a specter of his older self simply alee, slumped at a local bar and stamped with a gas-station name tag. Conversely, young Paul Westerberg's ballads carried the sadness of a middle-anile nobody yearning for his salad days. Somehow, the Minnesotans shifted between these 2 gears without blowing the clutch, as heard in these respective cuts from 1985 and '87.
14. 'At that place's a Tear in My Beer' by Hank Williams Sr.
Though only i carried the title outright, all of Williams's songs were 'Long Gone Lonesome Blues' at heart. The Alabama-built-in legend was tough equally an erstwhile strip of ass jerky, yet many of his songs revolved effectually crying. It made him more of a man – a man with a leather liver. 'These concluding nine beers,' he sings in that loftier hillbilly whine on this Nashville session, take merely convinced him: 'I'm gonna keep drinkin' until I'thou petrified.' A couple years afterward, in 1953, they pulled his body out of a Caddy littered with beer cans and lyric sheets.
15. 'Drunken Lullabies' past Flogging Molly
When yous're a few drinks in, in that location'south something about driving rhythms and violin melodies that makes you want to sing along at the top of your lungs. Celtic punks Flogging Molly empathise this phenomenon well, and so it stands to reason that the title runway of their 2002 record is a song about the songs you belt out later a few shots of whiskey.
16. 'Why Don't Nosotros Become Drunk' by Jimmy Buffet
Seems old Jimmy stopped looking for that shaker of salt, shrugged and switched his focus to hooking up with another drunkard at the bar. On a water bed, no less. Because of course Jimmy Buffet – in his pre-Margaritaville country phase of the early '70s – does gross things on a water bed.
17. 'Shots' by LMFAO featuring Lil Jon
We hate this vocal as much every bit you do. Of course we practise. But the entire abdomen-shot community would beg to differ. And answer united states of america this: Has whatsoever piece of music better simulated the jackhammering headache of a Russian-grade hangover?
18. 'Cheap Beer' by FIDLAR
'Beer'due south always better with a bag around it,' the skater punks of FIDLAR (an acronym for Fuck It, Dawg, Life's a Adventure – really) proclaim over polluted waves of chaff-surf guitar in this 2013 burner. 'I! Drinkable! Cheap! Beer! And so! What! Fuck! You lot!' shouts the chorus. Gotta respect a band whose entire raison d'être is to score shitty brews via tour riders. Would you really rather listen to Animate being Collective, hippie?
19. 'Lord's day Mornin' Comin' Downwards' by Kris Kristofferson
Most of the songs on this list gloat nights of immoderacy, only but Kris Kristofferson thought to pour one out for the blurry morning subsequently. The country troubadour'southward ode to morning beers, sleepy urban center sidewalks, fried-chicken envy and pounding headaches is one of the loveliest land tunes ever written (Johnny Cash does a stellar accept): Far from a Hangover- mode (or Katy Perry'southward 'Terminal Fri Nighttime') recap of a rowdy night, Kristofferson's vocal is a quiet, reflective number that pops with descriptive poetry and introspection. Now somebody makes this human being'southward wish come true and get him stoned.
xx. 'Pass the Courvoisier, Function 2' past Busta Rhymes
Probable in constant rotation on Ladies Man Leon Phelps' playlist, this megahit for Busta came at the acme of hip hop's obsession with luxury items, just don't worry, it's just as smooth if you're drinking Black Velvet while listening. Rhymes's signature rat-a-tat growl pairs nicely with the slick Neptunes beat, with Diddy and Pharrell even showing up to affirm that yeah, they too would savour a glass of Courvasier.
21. 'Happy Hour' by the Housemartins
Is this 1986 Brit hit the chirpiest drinking song on our list? Nosotros're going to say yes, based on its jangly Smiths-esque guitars, 200 proof sing-alongability and the fact that information technology'due south officially impossible to sentry the video without a grin on your face. Set in a proper British drunkard (translation: 'pub'), the vid features a sweetly awkward dance routine and Claymation; plus, keen-eyed viewers volition detect that the Housemartins' bassist is a very immature Norman Cook, a.k.a. Fatboy Slim. Fancy that.
22. 'Tipsy' by J-Kwon
An infectious hip-hop celebration of getting buzzed, 'Tipsy' has been setting off parties ever since it dropped in 2004. The claw couldn't be simpler: 'Everybody in the club gettin' tipsy' (followed by a Ying Yang–style whisper of the same line), repeated iv times. St. Louis rapper J-Kwon may take been a fresh-faced 17-year-former when he released this trip the light fantastic toe-floor archetype (public service reminder: teen drinking is very bad!), but he proved wise across his years in post-obit hip-hop'south golden rule: club + alcohol = success.
23. 'Beer Run' by Todd Snider
Snider, an Americana alt-country folk-rocker from Memphis, penned this jocular anthem, most underage frat boys looking to score some brewskies before a Robert Earl Keen testify, in 2002. Information technology's tongue-in-cheek storytelling at its best, and Snider's spell-information technology-out chorus has become a universal party weep for – y'all guessed it – more beer.
24. 'Osculation the Bottle' by Jawbreaker
With this, punk's near heartwrenching melody well-nigh alcohol, the Bay Area trio fabricated living nether a span and eating dumpster burritos seem utterly romantic in 1992. Hyperliterate squatter-bard Blake Schwarzenbach's vocals rasp and scratch like a human intimately acquainted with liquor and smokes: 'I kissed the bottle / I should accept been kissing you.' Aww, my tears are gonna smear the ink on my 'zine.
25. 'One Beer' by MF Doom
On an anthology devoted to his favorite foods (Mm.. Food), British MC Daniel Dumile finds the time to admit his favorite drink. Beginning with a boast about drinking other MC's under the table, the masked rapper goes on a stream of consciousness tear atop a Madlib beat. It's a runway that's meant to exist savored, simply like the last can of beer in the fridge.
26. 'Lived in Bars' by Cat Power
Our drinking list oscillates betwixt the celebratory and the self-loathing, between songs for drinking and songs nigh drinking. Bluntly, I'yard not sure where to file this gem from 2006. Chan Marshall's backstory and the languid first half suggest the latter. But and so there are the lyrics – 'In that location's nothing similar living in a canteen!' – and the shoo-wop swing of the upbeat climax, not to mention the bloodshot beauty of her voice. But I judge that's what makes this song, and True cat Power, great: You tin can have it both means, and typically do.
27. 'Pop Bottles' by Birdman (ft. Lil Wayne and Jadakiss)
Dorsum when Lil Wayne and Greenbacks Coin Records co-founder Birdman were on good terms, the pair teamed upwardly for this champagne-soaked anthem built on the dorsum of a Jadakiss sample. While it's fun to hear the duo describing their expensive jewelry, shoes and Marc Jacobs glass, the existent takeaway for here is 'start with straight shots and and then pop bottles.'
28. 'En El Cielo No Hay Cerveza (In Sky In that location Is No Beer)' by Flaco Jiménez
Ah, the existential justification for drinking beer. Originally composed for a German film in 1956, this song (also known as 'The No Beer Polka') has been covered by a plethora of polka bands, translated into both English and Spanish. In our favorite version, 2003's 'En El Cielo No Hay Cerveza' past Flaco Jiménez, we become to gloat the earthly pleasure in all three languages.
29. 'What Good Tin Drinkin' Do' by Janis Joplin
Why exercise they call it the 12-bar blues? Because it sounds like Mama Miss Pearl hit a dozen watering holes earlier recording this – at the historic period of 19. Xix! Nosotros were picked on in high school besides, only it drove usa to novels most dragons, not howling soul music that tugs at your liverstrings. Joplin's vocal cords already audio similar a public service announcement hither. In hindsight, y'all can hear her speeding to oblivion. Information technology'due south a cold splash on the spine, plenty to both drive u.s. to drink and scare us off it forever.
30. 'Have Another Potable' by The Kinks
'Has everybody got problems?' Ray Davies rhetorically asks similar a carnival barker greeted past a chorus of 'yeahs' on this Kinks classic. Hither, booze is a cure-all for everything from low to shitty jobs, media-based fears and general boredom. It's a rollicking number with a hint of nihilism that makes Davies audio like he might have been the inspiration behind the bartender from The Shining.
31. 'One Bourbon, I Scotch, One Beer' past George Thorogood and the Destroyers
This drinkin' dejection song was first recorded in 1953, becoming i of several of its kind to reach the Superlative 10 on the Billboard R&B chart. John Lee Hooker popularized the melody with his 1966 cover, but Thorogood took information technology to a whole new level of bitching and moaning in his 1977 version, borrowing another of Hooker'due south songs, 'House Rent Boogie,' to serve as a backstory to explain the sorry vocaliser's state of affairs. Someone please requite the man his drinks and shut him upward already.
32. 'The Blarney Stone' by Ween
Ween's nautically themedThe Clam is packed with unexpected twists and turns, none more raucus than this satirical Irish sea shanty so convincing in its chants of 'Yep, yes aye, sharpen your boots and bludgeon your eyes' that yous tin can practically olfactory property the dried beer wafting from the speakers. Information technology'due south glorious nonsense in the best style possible.
33. 'Sweet Lucy' by Michael Hurley
Greenwich folk scene weirdo Hurley is known for his surreal lyricism, but this drinking ballad is adequately straight-frontward: The vocalist drinks too much wine, goes to jail and his mom doesn't have the money to pay bail. It's more of a cautionary tale, but that doesn't brand the refrain of 'Sweet Lucy' any less infectious.
34. 'Subsequently the Afterparty' by Charli XCX (ft. Lil Yachty)
Yous've already closed downwards one bar, taken the crew to a friend'southward place and had a few too many drinks, but Charli XCX and her pal Lil Yachty see no problem with keeping the party going... forever. This supremely confident popular tune is one for the folks who don't know when to stop (for better or worse), consequences, weeknights and pesky neighbors exist damned.
35. 'I Like Beer' by Tom T. Hall
Gee, this stein-swinging sing-along from 1975 makes drunks seem quaint and adorable. Similar commercials with horses falling in honey with puppies. Non like raging douchebags who get into fights about football game and fall in the street.
36. 'Beer' by People Under the Stairs
This L.A. rap duo is hardly a household proper noun. That seems to be somewhat intentional, as Thes One and Double Thousand never had greater aspirations than to throw a ridonkulous firm party, and no desire to take hip-hop beyond the scratch heyday of two turntables and a microphone. God bless 'em. 'To my liver and kidneys, your time is near / You like hangin' on Twitter, and nosotros like beer,' proclaims K. The 2009 video is an homage to Laverne & Shirley. These dudes would make a groovy sitcom, too.
37. 'Milk and Alcohol' by Dr. Feelgood
The Big Lebowski may have cornered the market on White Russian references in popular culture, but this (rhythmically) chugging please from bluesy Brits Dr. Feelgood gives dairy its sonic due. Written by Nick Lowe (after a night spent drinking Kahlúa and watching John Lee Hooker perform), its seedy stomp and heavy riffing positively ooze the illicit joys of a night on the town. Warning: may not be suitable for the lactose intolerant.
38. 'I Think I'll Merely Stay Here and Drink' past Merle Haggard
Drinking until your bug disappear probably isn't sound advice, but coming from Haggard information technology almost sounds like wisdom. Recorded in 1980 on the heels of the Hag's third wedlock, this whiskey-soaked country ballad probably works all-time when you're wallowing in heartbreak, but anyone should be able to appreciate the cheesy saxophone solo.
39. 'Bank Holiday' by Blur
Equally an American, the closest thing I have to a depository financial institution vacation is Presidents' Mean solar day, which is hardly a rousing cause for shouting 'Prost!' (Note: If Abe Lincoln is an excuse for you to drink, y'all are a raging alcoholic.) Only this 1994 Britpop punker gave me a snapshot of U.K. rampage culture in 1 infinitesimal and 42 seconds. 'Banking concern holiday comes with six-pack of beer! Then it's back to work! Ay! Ay! Ay!' Albarn barks in a hops-soaked slur. Funny how Blur and Oasis fans fought. They all wanted a drink.
forty. 'Have a Drink on Me' by AC/DC
Some might find it morose to include artists similar Janis Joplin and Elliott Smith – who died young after wrestling with their demons – on a list about booze. Then there's Ac/DC. Frontman Bon Scott attended his final recording session with the grouping in February 1980, working with Malcolm and Angus on this track. Days afterward, he was dead from alcohol poisoning. What did the band do? Mope? No, it hired a new vocalizer and threw this cut on Back in Black .
41. 'Cheers (Drink to That)' past Rihanna
A toast to our interns, who chided us for overlooking this my-first-reggaetón chillaxer from 2010. 'Don't let the bastards get you down,' RiRi sings in her patois. Basic Rihanna rule: The more than Caribbean she sounds, the amend. Jameson Irish whiskey gets plugged heavily over a sample of Avril Lavigne, which reeks of product placement (there's a shout-out to Ray-Bans, too, official hangover concealer of Rihanna), but at least it's not Malibu.
42. 'Warm Beer and Cold Women' by Tom Waits
…makes the rankings on title lonely. But this creaky weeper from 1975's Nighthawks at the Diner manages to rhyme v ermouth with Naugahyde berth, too. Admit information technology: Young-barfly Tom Waits totally destroys old-man-in-a-rusty-shed-with-a-mule Tom Waits.
43. 'Drunk Girls' by LCD Soundsystem
Is 'Drunkard Girls' LCD Soundsystem'due south finest hour? No, of course not. But does it feel like a night of reckless boozing in New York Metropolis? Absolutely. James Irish potato himself has described the 2010 single equally 'impaired.' But, he added, 'I like dumb, short stuff.' More reasons to dig 'Drunk Girls'? The wince-inducing video, codirected past Spike Jonze, shows White potato and the LCD crew beingness manhandled by malevolent pandas. Dumb 'n' short 4 evah.
44. 'Shot For Me' past Drake
If this booze-soaked R&B ode to onetime flames sounds like something that the Weeknd should be singing, that's just considering Abel Tesfaye actually wrote information technology. Released back when Drake was extremely in his feelings and fancied himself a singer (as well as a rapper), 'Shot For Me' finds the Canadian star spitefully reminding his exes to remember just how nifty he was when they knock back a drinking glass of Canadian Guild, or any folks shoot in Toronto.
45. 'Cigarettes, Whuskey, and Wild, Wild Women' past Sons of Pioneers
A sing-songy ode to the insanity-inducing allure of tobacco, brown liquor and the fairer sex, this old-timey barn-burner has been covered a billion or so times, with Cadet Owens, Jim Croce and Ron Wood all offering upward solid versions. The best, though? Information technology'due south the version performed past Peter Sellers and a cadre of felt hillbillies in covered-wagon times during his hosting stint on The Muppet Testify . And no, we didn't merely make that upwardly considering we've been drinking 'whuskey' while writing.
46. 'Drunk in Love' by Beyoncé
Yes, ostensibly it's a love song, but c'mon, Beyoncé was likely deep in her cups last year when she blurted the non sequitur hashtag 'Surfbordt!' Ditto for Jay-Z, who could not take been sober when he wrote, 'Your breastesses is my breakfast.' I think he stole that from Bukowski?
47. 'Whiskey Girl' by Gillian Welch
There are drinking songs to carouse to, and at that place are drinking songs to listen to at 4am while you cascade out another whiskey and your listen turns over what could've been, or where yous could go cigarettes at this hour. Taken from Gillian Welch's exquisite, bleak 1998 album, Hell Amid the Yearlings, 'Whiskey Girl' falls into the latter category – and how.
48. 'I Mint Julep' by Louis Prima
Fleeting happiness in the haze of a drunken hour: Many songs accept trod this path, but in the words of this jazz-pop standard, 'One mint julep / Was the kickoff of it all.' Originally a hit for '50s doo-wop group the Clovers on Atlantic Records, the tune tells of stealing an intoxicated kiss from a woman after 1 sugariness, minty cocktail, only to get hitched (at her father's demand) and stop up confused, hungover and the begetter of six kids. Quite the tipple. Though Ray Charles'due south 1961 instrumental cover fabricated it a hit, Louis Prima's unmistakably comic tone gives his version the edge.
49. 'Bubbles in my Beer' past Bob Wills
Eventually covered by the likes of Willie Nelson and George Jones, this 1947 Western swing standard may well have started the sub-genre of woeful country songs well-nigh drinking abroad your sorrows. It's bit antiquated and a little depressing, but it'south one of the jauntiest tunes about self-absorbed contemplation you'll ever hear.
l. 'Y'all and Me and the Bottle Make Iii' by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Back in the '90s, the universe declared that what America needed was a large-band swing revival, and BBVD led the charge with this boozy anthem that ensured a whole subculture would suffer concussions due to ill-advised swing dancing after several drinks. (Whether it as well resulted in a fasten in dancefloor-based concussions is unknown.) The song got huge via the picSwingers... then disappeared from the collective consciousness along with the Cherry ' Daddies. But when information technology resurfaces, it's a stealth hit for anyone who always used 'that'southward so money' in casual conversation.
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Source: https://www.timeout.com/music/best-drinking-songs