Playlist: songs about travelling to take with you!

Hostelworld Blog | Posted on July 31, 2018 |

A journey is something to be inspired, experienced and digested with music. Here’s a small selection of Dad Rock songs about travelling that will accompany you on your adventures, whether it’s an introspective, metaphysical solo jaunt or a road trip with mates on a drinking binge. Get your motor runnin’..

Sleep on the floor – The Lumineers

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4pi1LxuDHc

Sleep On The Floor tells the story of someone who’s suffocating in a city and in a life that’s too oppressive, and who suggests to his lover that they pack a toothbrush and leave everything behind to hit the road. It’s a temptation we’ve all been tempted by at one time or another… and one we’d love to give in to.

Bonus : The video that will make you want to leave everything behind, right now, to experience romance on the road.

Half the world away – Oasis

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tiqxn3iOmxY

Noel Gallagher wrote this song in Australia, when his brother Liam had just left him to sulk back in England. While the song expresses the tiredness of an older brother at his wits’ end, it also describes the strange feeling of being at a loss at the other end of the planet, and yet finding a certain comfort there… The same sensation that every traveller has felt at one time or another.

Bonus: you’ll be able to put it into perspective the next time you have a brother-sister spat. There are worse things.

Rockin’ All Over the World – Status Quo

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw_sJifUYgM

We’re certainly not talking about the Nobel Prize for Literature here, but Status Quo is nice. This song is the ideal soundtrack to a fiesta holiday with mates… but yes, the kind with a bit too much beer and junk food.

Bonus: play it loud in the car if you’re going on a road trip. Guaranteed to have an effect.

At The River – Groove Armada

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-uztVX6QFQ

This quintessential summer song, based on a Patti Page sample, will transport you to an idyllic little village where you can chill out on the beach and feel the sea spray on your face..

Bonus : Extremely effective as a beach siesta playlist.

Baby Driver – Simon & Garfunkel

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8i4Rp3qizk

Paul and Art, aka our safe guys for a qualitative road trip playlist. A happy little song with a touch of cheek, ideal for watching the scenery go by on a summer’s road trip.

Bonus: For maximum enjoyment, play it in the car on the day of your driving test.

Thunder Road – Bruce Springsteen

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5kXnq5IjdU

A travel playlist worthy of the name is bound to include at least one Springsteen song. But where the masses are content with Born in the USA or Born to Run, we suggest a lesser-known masterpiece from the Boss’s discography. Thunder Road is about a man frustrated in his small ‘loser’ town, trying to convince his lover to give up everything and leave this real cage with him.

Bonus fun fact: it’s one of Lady Gaga’s favourite songs. So now you know.

Life in The Fast Lane – Eagles

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tcXblWojdM

The Eagles are regulars on every road trip playlist in the world, but Hotel California didn’t quite satisfy our craving for badassity. Life in The Fast Lane is the perfect song for dropping into the hostel like you’re in a saloon, for putting on your goggles like you’re in CSI, or simply for showing off at the wheel.

Bonus: Upgrade your wood sending power using this motorbike road trip song.

Gypsy – Fleetwood Mac

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glStPHUErJU

Stevie Nicks wrote this song as a tribute to his deceased best friend, and despite its sombre origins, this luminous song exudes joy and freedom. If the lyrics aren’t crystal clear, we’re pretty sure it’s an ode to life and an incentive to make the most of it.

Bonus : Your parents know it. Your grandparents know it. You can sing it at the top of your lungs in an impromptu family choir.

The Boys Are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_xqb416S7o

You don’t really need to go home to enjoy this potentially badass song. A must-have before heading out to familiarise yourself with the nightlife of a city on your way, with your whole group of mates.

Bonus: combo points are awarded to those who listen to it during a barathon in Dublin, Thin Lizzy’s home town

Tina Turner – Proud Mary

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzQnPz6TpGc

Another song about giving up everything… Proud Mary is the story of someone who decides to give up a low-paying blue-chip job to hike up and down the Mississippi, from a dishwasher’s job to a gas station attendant’s job, before getting on a steamboat. Proud Mary also pays tribute to the generosity of the people who live along the river, where there’s no need to worry about money, because you’ll always find someone to give you a hand. Nice guys.

Bonus: There is no bonus, because this song will be stuck in your head forever.

Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM

You know that strange feeling of euphoria we all get when we realise that, yes, we are leaving? For the more spirited, it can happen just after buying plane tickets, or while packing a suitcase, but it can also sometimes strike us on the way to the airport. Well, next time think of Freddy Mercury’s euphoric ode if you need a soundtrack: it’ll do just fine!

Bonus : As a group, you can organise a ridiculous dance routine in the middle of the airport. Tested and approved.

Wanted Dead or Alive – Bon Jovi

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvCvsRp5ho

The big cliché of the rockstar on his motorbike, swallowing tarmac and playing in front of crowds that aren’t always easy to get along with… So yes, Bon Jovi isn’t always the best in terms of subtlety, but sometimes it’s still pretty cool.

Bonus : To be shouted in the car with a ridiculous American accent for greater effect.

A Horse With No Name – America

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm4BrZjY_Sg

Solo travellers on a metaphysical quest will surely appreciate the eco-friendly overtones of this track. It’s about a desert crossing that’s less metaphorical than you might think, a quest for anonymity, to distance yourself from human cruelty and see beyond appearances. And perhaps death by dehydration.

Bonus: It’s pretty easy to learn on the guitar, and you’ll be able to drive your dorm-mates crazy at the youth hostel.

Carry On Wayward Son – Kansas

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ZJui3aPoQ

Yes, another old rock song for road trips, with interminable solos and more or less clear lyrics… Ideal for feeling the wind in your hair while you’re on the road.

Bonus: with a bit of imagination, you could almost believe you’re in a Chevrolet Impala with one of the Winchester brothers.

Take the Long Way Home – Supertramp

</x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x></x>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbPt-QNVKOA

After spending too much time on the road, we end up missing home. A proper soundtrack is also essential on the way home.

Bonus: It can just as easily accompany a return home… as a new start!

Now you’ve got the soundtrack, all you have to do is pack your bags!