4 Silly Drinking Songs That Every Country Music Fan Should Know

If you’re not a few drinks in when these tunes come on, you might find them a little silly. But if you are, these songs are some of the most fun to raise a glass to.

Videos by American Songwriter

“Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith

Written by the Warren brothers (Brett and Brad) and the Beaver brothers (Brett and Jim), “Red Solo Cup” is one of the most comical but also most referenced hits of Keith’s career.

“‘Red Solo Cup’ was turned down by—I think you have passed around town—but the Warren brothers, Beaver brothers had been playing it,” Keith explained of the song’s origin. “They kind of came to me one day, and they’re knuckleheads, and they said, ‘We think you’re the only guy who can do this. If you do it, you know we think it could be a smash.’”

He continued, “The second I heard it, I said ‘done,’ and they were like, ‘Really, are you messing with us?’ I said, ‘No, I’m gonna cut it.’”

“Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” by Joe Nichols

This one just had to be included. “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” sings about an interesting phenomenon. Its main focus is a girl who misplaces her clothes when she starts drinking tequila, as Joe Nichols explains.

I told her put an extra layer on
I know what happens when she drinks Patrón
Her closet’s missing half the things she bought
Yeah, tequila makes her clothes fall off.

The music video for this one is exactly as you would expect. Nichols performs on a stage, surrounded by women, most of whom are only wearing swimsuits.

“It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” by Alan Jackson (featuring Jimmy Buffett)

This classic drinking song not only scored Jackson a major career hit but also gave Jimmy Buffett his first country No. 1. The song always had a kind of “Margaritaville” vibe, as explained by writer Don Rollins, who co-wrote it with Jim Brown.

“Jim and I agreed what the story was, that this was a guy who decided to have a few at lunch, and then decided to stay there,” he shared. “Once that framework was there, then the lyrics were very easy for me. The musical setting of it was more Jim’s end of it. That chorus, ‘Pour me something tall and strong …’ musically, was definitely Jim’s thing.” 

“One Margarita” by Luke Bryan

This song by Luke Bryan is both fun and a little bit stupid, but it definitely gets stuck in your head. “One Margarita” even name-drops singers like Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney, and Bob Marley, cementing it as the perfect party song.

Although it definitely got some hate for promoting alcohol abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic, I think we can all agree that in this one, Bryan was just trying to have a good time.

Photo by: Click Thompson/Getty Images for Teton Ridge