Peanut butter and jelly. Vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Chicken and soup. Yes, whiskey and country music, too. These are perfect combinations.
Videos by American Songwriter
Below, we’ll take a look at seven of the best whiskey-drinking country songs that have ever been sung.
[RELATED: A 12-Pack of the Best Drinking Songs]
And if you’re so inclined, pour a few fingers into your favorite glass and sip the hard stuff along to this playlist.
1. “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound,” Hank Williams, Jr.
The story of this song is that it was written in just 10 minutes. Inspired by a hang with the Allman Brothers Band, Dicky Betts asked Williams how he writes so many good country songs, and the artist replied, “Well I got a good woman at home.” The track, which is the title song of Williams’ 1979 album, is a down-tempo, quintessential country tune, complete with multiple guitars and references to days of drinking.
I’ve got a good woman at home / Who thinks I do no wrong / But sometimes, Lord, she just ain’t always around / And you know that’s when I fall / Now I can’t help myself at all / And I get whiskey bent and hell bound.
2. “Tennessee Whiskey,” Chris Stapleton
Probably the most obvious addition to this list: “Tennessee Whiskey. If NASA sent one country song into outer space it might be Chris Stapleton’s rendition of the song written by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove. Truly, Stapleton has the Platonic ideal of a country singer, applying that skill to a song about the smoothness of the spirit. Stapleton broke out thanks to a performance of “Tennessee Whiskey” with Justin Timberlake at the 2015 CMA Awards. Now, it’s the standard. Barrel (chested) aged.
You’re as smooth as Tennessee whiskey / You’re as sweet as strawberry wine / You’re as warm as a glass of brandy / And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time.
I’ve looked for love in all the same old places / Found the bottom of a bottle’s always dry / But when you poured out your heart I didn’t waste it / ‘Cause there’s nothing like your love to get me high
3. “Whiskey River,” Willie Nelson
Originally written by country singer Johnny Bush, the tune was also a hit for Bush’s buddy, Willie Nelson, who recorded the song for his 1973 album, Shotgun Willie. Nelson also has a popular live version from his 1978 album, Willie and Family Live.
Whiskey river, take my mind / Don’t let her memory torture me / Whiskey river, don’t run dry / You’re all I’ve got, take care of me.
I’m drowning in a whiskey river / Bathin’ my memory’s mind in the wetness of its soul / Feeling the amber current flowing from my mind / And leaving the heart you left so cold
4. “Whiskey, Whiskey,” Kris Kristofferson
From the iconic country songwriter and performer’s 1979 album, Shake Hands with the Devil, “Whiskey, Whiskey” is about the moments of freedom a bit of whiskey can provide a drinker. The song, which also talks about a “she” can be thought of as an ode to the spirit, too. It was originally written by Tom Ghent for Nat Stuckey in 1970, but Kristofferson had been playing it live since 1972.
Sings Kristofferson, Whiskey, whiskey my old friend / I’ve come to talk with you again / Milk of mercy please be kind / Drive this feeling from my mind.
Don’t you know, somehow her smile / Can make the day begin / She’d take away this mask of grey / And let the sun shine in / Now I find I’ve been blinded / By the cold and wintery wind / She disguised behind her eyes / Oh what a fool I’ve been.
5. “Whiskey and You,” Darius Rucker
The Hootie frontman-turned-Nashville hitmaker sings about the inescapable connection between lovers—and drinkers. Sings Rucker, Whiskey and you / Ain’t nothing I can do / But come crawling back to / Whiskey and you. How succinct. Rucker’s voice is rich and pure, you might mistake it for aged bourbon.
Always there / When my world starts closing in / Something to hold / No matter how long it’s been.
Gets me high / Then knocks me to the ground / Soothes my mind / And then begins to break me down.
6. “Jack Daniels,” Miranda Lambert
A love song—much to her father’s dismay—from Miranda Lambert to Mr. Jack Daniels.
Daddy always said he was wrong for me / And in the end, he’d only bring me misery / I tried and tried to turn away / But something bout him makes me stay / The only man who’s ever knocked me to my knees / The only man who’s ever set my spirit free / He was born and raised in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
A little “Son of a Preacher Man” and a little bit of “Tennessee Whiskey.”
7. “Whiskey’s Gone,” Zac Brown Band
From their 2010 album, You Get What You Give, “Whiskey’s Gone” was also released live as part of the band’s Pass the Jar record. It’s all about someone who should get their act together but instead keeps looking for another chance at a bottle. His partner won’t give him another romantic shot, so he looks for a shot of whiskey in a bar. Maybe one more whiskey will get the “devil” off the singer’s back. But, as many of us know well, it’s unlikely.
There’s a note on the table / Said I ain’t coming back / Till your sorry ass is gone / I’m tired of the cheating and running around / I never saw the wrong in anything you’ve done
Whiskey’s gone but I ain’t leaving / There’s got to be a bottle in the back / Whiskey’s gone but I ain’t leaving / Got to get this devil off my
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images for Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival
