My Favourite Roadtrip Tunes

One of my favourite things about road tripping is the ability to blast our music in my car and screech at the top of my voice.   It's a fabulous way to unwind.   

It also provides a soundtrack to your holiday and I have many play lists inspired by the numerous trips I've taken across the US, Scotland, Wales, Australia, etc - which, when played back, reminds me of of big cities, one horse towns, or whatever was happening at the time I heard it on the radio.   This immediately takes me back to my travels and the happiest times of my life.   

These are the tunes that are ingrained in my mind and what spot on earth they remind me of:

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

Every time I hear this it takes me back to my soft top car and the winding roads and endless sunshine of Maui.    I first visited Hawaii in 2008, on the first day of Obama's Presidency, actually, and the island of Maui was a thoroughly happy place, with their new President plastered all over the newspapers and a massive sense of pride amongst the local people that he was one of them.   

If you're a Republican reading this, I apologise, I know you think he's not really American at all.   You would be wrong, though, but why let the truth get in the way of a good story??   I'm kidding...I love you guys, really.    

Anyhow, this song must've been out at the time and was ALL OVER the radio in Hawaii, as I imagine it was across most of the world.   It has such an island feel to it that it was the perfect soundtrack to my road trips around the island.    

John Mayer - Free Fallin'

I adore this Tom Petty cover by John Mayer almost as much as I love him.   I first heard it when I got tickets to see him at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto on a humid summer night in 2007.    

Mayer asked his fans to choose his encore and this is what they came up with.  They're a very clever bunch, they are.     

Now, whenever I hear the song, it takes me back to summer in Canada, when I sat out in the open and sang along to all my favourite songs.   I also had an argument with three girls who were standing (in the seated area) right in front of me, whom I promptly told to sit down or go elsewhere (they were spoiling my entire view), but I try not to think of this particular incident too often.   Although, I'm obviously totally thinking about it now.

Barenaked Ladies - One Week

This reminds me of both Glasgow and the Grand Cayman.    Maybe it's because they're so similar, I just don't know....   I jest, or course.   Glasgow is so much better.

I first travelled to Glasgow's famous Barrowlands Ballroom to see BNL when I was...lets just say, much younger than I am now.  They were fabulous and, as always with Glasgow concert crowds, the people in the audience had just as much fun as the band on stage.

I also heard this live again in 2008, when I booked up for the BNL  Caribbean Cruise for my 30th birthday.   Unfortunately, I ended up with Norovirus for most of the trip, but managed to crawl out of bed to see the band perform on the deck.    They. Were. Amazing.

Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert - We Were Us

This reminds me of the first road trip I went on with LT when we travelled through 10 Southern US states over the course of 2 weeks.     I had gradually forced him to share my love of country music over the previous couple of years, so I knew we'd be searching for a country station as soon as we picked up our hire car.

I ADORE Miranda Lambert, so this was a new one, even for me.   I vividly recall this song being on the radio as we drove through the beautiful, sweltering avenues of Savannah, Georgia, baking in the heat and trying to find some cool air under the willow trees.    

I love Savannah, so it's lovely that this song takes me back there every time I hear it.   Which is a lot.   

Little Big Town - Day Drinkin'

This song immediately transports me back to the tourist madness of Sieverville in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.    I recall it well because I love the band, but initially hated the song.  

It was obviously a popular hit at the time, so it was on the radio a lot.   The more I drove around Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and supermarkets and stores around Sieverville, the more I heard it.     The more I heard it, the more I liked it.   

Now when I play it in the car, I wonder if I'd had too much Moonshine in TN as it's a great country song...and it's about drinking alcohol during the day.    What's not to love??  Exactly.

Do you have any songs that transport you back to a specific time and place?

Suzanne x