3 Country Classics That Feel Like a Backroad You’ve Driven a Hundred Times

Sometimes, you just need to roll down the windows, crank up the stereo, and drive. There’s just nothing quite like sending up a cloud of dust while you cruise down an empty dirt road. And what would trips down backroads be with the perfect country song cranked as loud as possible? Incomplete. That’s what.

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Unfortunately, we don’t all have the luxury of jumping in the car and driving for fun anymore. Jobs, other responsibilities, or proximity to a good, out-of-the-way place to cruise can put a damper on things. Thankfully, some killer country songs were perfect for those late-night backroad drives and still bring back fond memories. More importantly, they capture the feelings of those long, cathartic drives.

“The Race Is On” by Sawyer Brown

George Jones was the first to record this song back in 1964. Don’t get me wrong, Jones’ version is a masterpiece and showcases why he’s hailed as the greatest country singer in history. However, the blend of southern rock and country that Sawyer Brown brought to the song makes it the perfect backroad tune.

At the very least, it will remind you of the good old days when your biggest worry was digging change out of the console to wash away the dust. Heartache will never be this fun again.

“Guitars, Cadillacs” by Dwight Yoakam

It doesn’t matter if you’re cruising backroads, traveling hundreds of miles of highway, or running to the grocery store. Few country songs fit as well as this one. If you need a short vacation and a reminder of all those times you spent tapping the downbeat with your thumb on the steering wheel, this is it.

3. “Kansas City Southern” by Turnpike Troubadours

Sixteen years is old enough to be a classic, right? Taken from Turnpike Troubadour’s 2010 album Diamonds & Gasoline, “Kansas City Southern” has probably been the soundtrack to many late-night backroad drives, especially in Texas and Oklahoma, where Red Dirt was born.

Today, it’s the kind of song I put on when I want to relive those carefree days when all that mattered was keeping all four wheels on the road and saving enough gas to get to work in the morning.

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