3 Classic Country Songs That Played on Every Road Trip Cassette

One of the most quintessential American experiences is taking a road trip. Whether you and your family are going on vacation or you’re moving to a place across the country, most Americans have driven across and through various regions of the United States. What are some road trip staples? Gast station snaps, minimal leg room, meaningful and meaningless conversation, and of course, country music.

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Thanks to the universal nature and glorification of the American road trip, both film and music have their own subgenre full of road-trip-themed material. With that in mind, if you were on a road trip during the days of the cassette tape, you surely had these three country songs blaring through the speakers while you ripped down the highway.

“On The Road Again” by Willie Nelson

This is clearly a no-brainer. Willie Nelson‘s 1980 country single “On The Road Again” might be the most quintessential tune for an American road trip in the days of cassette tapes, and now. Adventure, companionship, and scenic whimsy are what Nelson sings about in this song and shares with you.

For the couple of minutes that this song plays, you can pretend that you’re like Willie Nelson in the sense that you are a drifter, a troubador, and going to a new place with new people for the sake of adventure and music.

“I’ve Been Everywhere” by Johnny Cash

Again, here is another no-brainer. Like Nelson’s classic country single, Johnny Cash‘s 1996 traveling song evokes feelings of exploration, unknown risks, and the feeling that anything can happen so long as you are on the road. Also, on a less sentimental level, it is incredibly fun to sing along to, especially when the chorus hits.

Picture this: You and a friend hitting the open road, going 90 across the plains, singing “I‘ve been to Reno, Chicago, Fargo, Minnesota / Buffalo, Toronto, Winslow, Sarasota / Wichita, Tulsa, Ottawa, Oklahoma / Tampa, Panama, Mattawa….” Sounds like the all-American road trip experience, does it not?

“White Freight Liner Blues” by Townes Van Zandt

For a more obscure pick, we are going with Townes Van Zandt‘s “White Freight Liner Blues”. Poetic lyrics aside, the heart and sonic soul of this country song illuminates the innate feelings of wanting to wander, ramble, and amble through the country until you find yourself.

You might be heading home for the holidays, but when you listen to this song, you can pretend that you’re escaping a troublesome past and search for an auspicious beginning in some unknown town off the side of an unknown highway.

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