Songs About Driving: The 33 Best Songs About Summer Road Trips!

Are you frustrated by searching for “road trip songs” and getting lists of random rock songs that have nothing to do with actual driving?

That was a pet peeve of mine for a long time. I always see tunes like “Back in Black” and “Don’t Stop Believin'” on these lists. While those are fun songs to blast from your stereo, they have nothing whatsoever to do with traveling, and therefore, for me at least, do not qualify as “road trip songs.”

When I travel, I want to hear songs about driving – music that is specifically about hitting the open road!

So with that in mind, I’ve put together this playlist with my friends at Total Music Awards. It’s a collection of tracks about driving, traveling, hitting the open road, and being an adventurer.

best summer songs about driving for road trips
Get yourself a camper van and blast these summer songs about driving!

Keep reading to hear my choices for the best driving songs to blast as you’re traveling around the country on a road trip.

How We Put Together This List of Songs About Driving

I take road trip songs very seriously. Now that everyone has a phone with Spotify and Youtube, mixtapes and mix CDs are becoming less common.

When I set out on my 46-state road trip a few years back, it was in the days before streaming music. I needed the ultimate road trip mix, so I actually burned these songs onto CD. How quaint!

As noted, the golden rule for this list is that the songs must be about driving or travel. Like “On the Road Again” and “Drivin’ My Life Away.” Or, they must at least be about having an adventurous spirit, like “Born to Be Wild.”

Another criterion for this list is that the songs should be up-tempo. Or at least mid-tempo. No ballads! I’ve actually seen tracks like Adele’s “Hello” listed on some road trip song lists, which is just insane. Slow songs do not fit on a list of summer road trip songs!

I also intentionally left out songs that focus on specific locations. “Sweet Home Alabama” is cool, but what if you’re driving through Oregon? Then the song makes no sense on your playlist. The more universal the song, the better!

I did make one exception for this list and included “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66,” because it’s an iconic road trip song, and the song is about travel in general, not just that one highway.

Playlist of the Best Driving Songs for Summer Road Trips

1 Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane
2 Rockin’ Down the Highway – Doobie Brothers
3 Roam – B-52’s
4 On the Road Again – Willie Nelson
5 Driving My Life Away – Eddie Rabbitt
6 Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
7 Shut Up and Drive – Rihanna
8 Life in the Fast Lane – Eagles
9 Adventure – Be Your Own Pet
10 I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash
11 Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me? – Keith Urban
12 Highway to Hell – AC/DC
13 Everyday is a Winding Road – Sheryl Crow
14 ’92 Subaru – Fountains of Wayne
15 Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver
16 Road to Nowhere – Talking Heads
17 Freeway of Love – Aretha Franklin
18 Stickshifts and Safetybelts – Cake
19 Born to be Wild – Steppenwolf
20 Home – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros
21 No Particular Place to Go – Chuck Berry
22 Car Song – Elastica
23 Ramblin’ Man – Allman Brothers
24 I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar
25 Moab – Conor Oberst
26 Cars – Gary Numan
27 Route 66 – Depeche Mode
28 Truckin’ – Grateful Dead
29 Drive My Car – The Beatles
30 Roadworn & Weary – Supersuckers
31 (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 – Nat King Cole
32 Get in the Car – Echo & the Bunnymen
33 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car – Billy Ocean

Spotify Playlist: Songs About Driving and Travel

Why Each Song Made the List

1 Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane

It’s a classic about roads, driving, and highways. It’s fun to sing along to and the fierce guitars are perfect for a road trip. You could choose the Rascal Flatts country version if you like, but Tom Cochrane’s original rendition packs a lot more punch.

2 Rockin’ Down the Highway – Doobie Brothers

Classic rock songs with catchy guitar riffs make for great summer road trip songs. This one qualifies!

3 Roam – B-52’s

I see “Love Shack” on a lot of road trip playlists, but that one isn’t really about driving, even though it does mention a Chrysler as big as a whale.

The B-52’s other big hit, “Roam,” has lyrics about roaming around the world. It fits the theme better!

4 On the Road Again – Willie Nelson

An all-time classic. Did you know there’s a statue of Willie in Austin? It’s one of the many weird things about Austin.

5 Driving My Life Away – Eddie Rabbitt

Eddie Rabbitt was an early ’80s country star who crossed over to pop. And you have to love the cheesy nostalgia of “Drivin’ My Life Away,” which hit #1 on the country chart and #5 on pop.

6 Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen

“Born to Run” has always been considered a great road trip song since it’s about young people going out and adventuring.

7 Shut Up and Drive – Rihanna

Having a playlist with only classic rock songs would be boring. I like a wide range of music, so it’s great that Rihanna has a driving song to add to the mix.

8 Life in the Fast Lane – Eagles

The Eagles have so many road trip-appropriate tunes, but “Life in the Fast Lane” is the one that makes the most sense to jam out your speakers on the highway.

9 Adventure – Be Your Own Pet

This indie rock track isn’t well-known, but it’s always been one of my favorites. “We are adventuring / We are adventurers,” goes the chorus.

10 I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash

Another classic. Try to count how many geographic locations Johnny Cash mentions in his rapid-fire vocal performance.

songs about driving cars

11 Who Wouldn’t Wanna Be Me? – Keith Urban

Another personal favorite. Keith Urban sings a triumphant hook about heading down the highway on a sunny day with the one he loves at his side.

12 Highway to Hell – AC/DC

Nobody wants to take a literal highway to Hell, but the metaphorical one that AC/DC sing about sounds like a good time.

13 Everyday is a Winding Road – Sheryl Crow

“Everyday is a Winding Road” has stood the test of time as one of Sheryl Crow’s best songs. That slide guitar is epic!

14 ’92 Subaru – Fountains of Wayne

This track is all about a specific vehicle, and it has a great, guitar-heavy, clap-along vibe. “I’m comin’ for you / Better make way, cause I’m coming through in my late ’92 baby blue Subaru.”

15 Take Me Home, Country Roads, John Denver

John Denver was the king of ’70s soft pop, so he was never really considered cool. But he made a traveling classic with this one.

16 Road to Nowhere – Talking Heads

“Road to Nowhere” is an ideal track to play if you’re aimlessly driving down the road with no destination.

17 Freeway of Love – Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love” may not be specifically about driving, but it’s close enough. We can’t pass up the chance to add the Queen of Soul to any playlist, especially with this ebullient track from her ’80s comeback era.

18 Stickshifts and Safetybelts – Cake

Cake are a bit of a strange band (in the best way.) This song has a bit of a ’50s throwback vibe, and pretty much all of its lyrics are literally about traveling in a car.

19 Born to be Wild – Steppenwolf

Another song with “adventuring” themes, “Born to Be Wild” is a staple on summer road trip playlists.

20 Home – Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

There was a time when pretty much every travel video on Youtube was soundtracked with “Home.” That may have been overkill. But it’s easy to see why this catchy male-female duet about traveling with your partner became so popular.

21 No Particular Place to Go – Chuck Berry

“Riding along in my automobile,” Chuck Berry begins in this legendary track, which portrays an aimless ride between the narrator and his special someone.

22 Car Song – Elastica

Detours, Hondas, Ford Fiestas… they all get mentioned in this (probably ironic) track from ’90s alt-rock band Elastica.

23 Ramblin’ Man – Allman Brothers

The Allman Brothers’ song about rambling through life is a must-listen.

24 I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar

The future Van Halen lead singer had a big hit with this track about being unable to stick to the speed limit.

Fortunately for him, in 1995, the federal law setting the nationwide maximum speed limit of 55 was repealed, and states were again allowed to raise the limits to 65… or 75… or even higher in some cases.

25 Moab – Conor Oberst

While this song sounds like it might be specifically about the town in Utah, it’s actually a more general tune that uses travel as therapy: “There’s nothing that the road cannot heal / Washed under the blacktop / Gone beneath my wheels.

26 Cars – Gary Numan

Gary Numan’s new wave classic about his love of cars gives a welcome jolt of synth-energy to our playlist of songs about driving.

27 Route 66 – Depeche Mode

The synthpop band’s remake of “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” puts a completely different spin on the original. Its dark guitar energy make it a good addition to our set.

28 Truckin’ – Grateful Dead

Of course the Grateful Dead would have a tune about driving around the country.

29 Drive My Car – The Beatles

Beep beep, beep beep, yeah!” The Beatles’ gem from the Rubber Soul album is super infectious.

30 Roadworn & Weary – Supersuckers

This Supersuckers song puts more of a sad tone on the subject of road tripping, but it’s still worthy of inclusion on our list.

31 (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 – Nat King Cole

We have to include the original Nat King Cole version of “Route 66” just for the nostalgia. It was recorded way back in 1946 and follows the famous highway from Chicago to St. Louis, through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, and all the way to Santa Monica, California.

32 Get in the Car – Echo & the Bunnymen

Our playlist of songs about driving continues with a track from one of the great ’80s modern rock bands, although this track was released in 1999.

33 Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car – Billy Ocean

We need to end with a catchy song that everyone knows, so even though this Billy Ocean song is more of a love song than an ode to the highway, it closes out our playlist.

Bonus Track: Driving in My Car – Madness

This one’s not available on Spotify, but I recommend tracking it down. Madness are best-known in the U.S. for their catchy 1983 hit “Our House,” but “Driving in My Car” is a quirky ditty with weird clanging percussion and a nursery rhyme sing-songy feel.

Which ones did I miss? What are your favorite driving songs and road trip songs? Leave a comment and let me know!

More Music and Travel Content

Since I’m obsessed with music, I’ve posted a bunch of music content here on the blog. I’ve written a Guide to the Bonnaroo Music Festival, another for Lollapalooza, and a review of the Beale Street Music Festival.

Then there’s my ever-popular article on how to see the Graceland Meditation Garden for free to see the grave of the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley.

And of course, any music-loving road tripper has to visit Standin’ on A Corner Park in Winslow, Arizona, a city park created in honor of the famous lyric from the Eagles’ “Take it Easy.”

See below for more music and travel content. Happy travels!