4 Rock Choruses That Were Clearly Written To Be Shouted in a Car

A good chorus requires active listenership. A genuinely great refrain will demand that whoever hears it sing along. The four rock songs below fall within that category. Revisit these insatiably catchy choruses.

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“Don’t Stop Believin’” (Journey)

Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” can only be played at one volume: loud. This ’80s rock staple couldn’t possibly fade into the background. It demands the listener’s attention.

The chorus of this song is the section everyone on earth knows. It’s so ubiquitous that if it comes on in the car, you’re gonna sing along. Moreover, you likely aren’t gonna quietly sing this anthemic refrain to yourself. No, you’re gonna shout it louder than your speakers can play. It’s a reflex at this point. It can’t be helped.

“Livin’ on a Prayer” (Bon Jovi)

Similarly, Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” is tailor-made for car scream-a-longs. This song is emblematic of the arena rock era, which demanded songs that could fill massive rooms full of screaming fans. This song succeeds in being crowd-pleasing to the fullest.

Even if you scale this song down to, say, you and three friends in the car, the same excitable energy is present. You may not be in an arena in the mid-’80s, but you still sing this song like you are.

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“Semi-Charmed Life” (Third Eye Blind)

Moving forward a decade, Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life, though entirely different sonically, induces the same crowd participation as any arena rock staple from the ’80s.

The lines I want somethin’ else / To get me through this / Semi-charmed kinda life are impossible not to sing along to. If you can stay quiet during this late ’90s anthem, I’d be massively impressed.

“Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Even if you’re not from the titular state in Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” you’re likely still called to sing along to the chorus as if you are. A sense of state pride is adopted for those four minutes as the listener is compelled to belt along with the country rockers.

“Sweet Home Alabama” is one of those songs many of us can’t remember learning. It’s just ingrained within us, thanks to its ubiquity. Because of this, it’s impossible to sit silently while this song blasts from your speakers.

(Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns)