The Top Tens- Best Country Songs About Driving

With apologies to Forrest Gump, cars and music are like peas and carrots. You can’t think of one without the other. One of the best feelings in the world is flying down the freeway, convertible top or windows down, the love of your life sitting in the passenger seat next to you, and a great tune blaring a little too loud on the speakers around you. There’s absolutely nothing like listening to a great country song while driving. That blissful thought turns us to this week’s TNS The Top Tens list- The Top Ten Country Driving Songs.

10. Roll On (Eighteen Wheeler)- Alabama- This ballad song of a lost trucker jack-knifed in a snow bank and the plight of his family waiting on him is one of the classic top country songs and makes out cut as a Top Ten.

9. Six Days On The Road- Sawyer Brown- "Six Days on the Road" is an American song written by songwriter Carl Montgomery and Earl Green made originally famous by country singer Dave Dudley. Originally released in 1963, the song became a major hit that year and is often hailed as the definitive celebration of the truck driver. In 1997, the song was successfully covered by Sawyer Brown, who took the song into the Top 15 of the country charts.

8. On The Road Again- Willie Nelson- Written for the 1980 movie Honeysuckle Rose, this tune is one of Nelson’s most recognizable. The amazing part is that it hit number one on the country charts AND number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

7. A Thousand Miles From Nowhere- Dwight Yoakam- "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" was featured as the closing credits music for the film Red Rock West, in which Dwight Yoakam also made his film acting debut- it reached #2 on the country charts back in 1993.

6. Highway 20 Ride- Zac Brown Band- My only addition from this year, this great tune comes out November 18th of this month. This slow-tempo tune is a wondrous song about a father having to drive down Georgia’s Highway 20 away from his son who is living with his divorced wife. It’s a moving tribute and a beautiful song.

5. Road Goes On Forever- The Highwaymen- The Highwaymen were Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson and this was the title track of the last of their three albums they worked on together. Released in 1995, this song follows the life of a criminal on the lam on the road and eventually caught.

4. Life Is A Highway- Chris LeDoux- Written and performed originally by Tom Cochrane in Canada, this tune was made more famous by Rascal Flatts than Chris LeDoux. However, those that have heard the version released by LeDoux back in 1998 know that his version feels “lived in.”

3. Against The Wind- Bob Seger- Okay. Okay. So this isn’t really a country song. But I’m giving Seger a break since he’s recorded in the country genre with Martina McBride. And if Kid Rock can score a top ten hit on the country charts with “All Summer Long,” Seger can be counted as somewhat close to the genre. This tune embodies the essence of what its like rolling along the highway.

2. One Piece At A Time- Johnny Cash- Johnny Cash wrote some of the more creative lyrics on radio long before Brad Paisley came along. This tune is the story of a GM worker who decides to steal parts and build his own Cadillac one piece at a time. Google the story of a real British LandRover worker who did just this in real life.

1. The Ride- David Allen Coe (pictured)- The Ride is a song written by Gary Gentry and J.B. Detterline Jr- released in 1983. It is written in a ballad style and tells the story of an encounter with the ghost of Hank Williams, Sr. of an artist driving into Nashville to make it big. It’s been covered by Tim McGraw and Hank Williams Jr. and is our #1 Country Song About Driving.

Honorable Mentions-
· I’ve Been Everywhere- Johnny Cash
· Take Me Home Country Roads- John Denver
· East Bound & Down- Jerry Reed
· Free and Easy Down The Road I Go- Dierks Bentley
· Drivin’ My Life Away- Eddie Rabbit