Musical Interlude
Drinking Songs!
Got a favorite? Let’s hear it.
Posted by: John Chandler on Jan 28, 2010 at 01:00PM
19 Comments
Somehow my office posse got onto the subject of classic drinking songs.
Not my favorite, but I’ve always been partial to this one.
How about you drinking buddies? If you were making a mixed tape (Ha, ha, ha! He said, “tape”) or “play list” as you kids call it, on the subject of booze, beer, and drunken regrets, what would be on it?
Suggestions thus far:
“Whiskey River” by Willie Nelson
“More Beer” by Fear
“White Lightning” by George Jones
Sing out! Sing from the heart!
Tags: music
“Maggie May” by Rod Stewert…or The Pogues….take your pick.
Claire McNally in the next office over wanted me to include these three gems by the Pogues: “Sally McLennan,” “The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn” and “Streams of Whiskey.”
The Scotsman Song by Arrogant Worms: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmM6qmOm0kY
Do Re Mi Beer by Homer Simpson:
Dough – the stuff that buys me beer
Ray – the guy that sells me beer
Me – the guy that drinks the beer
Far – the distance to my beer
So – I think I’ll have a beer
La – la la la la la beer
Tea – no thanks, I’m drinking beer
That will bring us back to D’Oh!
When the Hangover Strikes, by Squeeze
Snorting Whiskey, Drinking Cocaine (not sure if that’s the actual name) by the Pat Travers Band (I think the money line is “Snorting whiskey, drinking cocaine/I got a feeling I’m gonna drive that woman insane”)
Automobile, by Major Healeys
Bigmouth Strikes Again, by the Smiths (don’t think it’s about drinking, but it’s fun as hell to sing just after last call.)
Alcohol by Gogol Bordello (most drunken-sing-ability)
Boob Scotch by Bob Log III (funniest song-by a slide guitar one man band, and I think it is trying to be a romantic song but fails horribly)
Neil Young – Barstool blues, Roll another number
Stones – Before they make me run
Pabst Blue Ribbon – Dave and Deke
15 beers – Johnny Paycheck
Whiskey River – Willie
Brown eyed women – the Dead
Hungover and stoned – Bloody mess and the Scabs
W-I-F-E – Old 97s
Life worth livin’ & Whiskey bottle – Uncle Tupelo
Old English – Elliot Smith
My musician friend Mike Danner sings a song called “Demon Alcohol” which he accompanies with his accordion. It’s one of my favorites – a great sing-a-long, with a fabulous chorus and many dire warnings about the ill effects of drinking. Just the right combination of melancholy and raucousness… perfect for you, O Bar-Pilot! He plays with “Come Gather Round Us” and “Trashcan Joe” at the Moon & Sixpence most weeks. Hm, maybe Hollywood would make a good next subject for a Stumble Zone…
Molly Malone. Hands down.
“La Cruda” from Thrillbilly’s 1999 album “Moveable Feast.” / This Portland band played 100% American Rock and lived the life they sang about – here about an epic hangover……………Well I woke up on a hostile couch / On a glaring May afternoon / Tastes like something lived and died inside my mouth / Well oh, not again / There’s torture in my head, the abundance of chartreuse / My money seems to have flown south….CHORUS <Well aw, not again, Yeah, here it is again / Playing Hemingway again / With a little Napoleon thrown in / I was the Marquis DeSade and Gandhi holding hands, Just for laughs> / The events of last night are just a blur / I think I was quoting John Houston to anyone who would listen / And the girl, such a fine girl / What the hell happened to the girl / There’s torture in my head and my front teeth they feel loose / I could really use some oxygen…..CHORUS < > / Last night was a moveable feast / Just like an American expatriate in Paris in ‘25 / Drunk on the Rive Gauche, getting bitched out by Gertrude Stein / Well aw, not again / There’s hammers in my head and there’s something on my shoes / I think I’ll start with a Bloody Mary, please…..CHORUS < > / Sunday morning devastation / In a small town
Thanks everyone! Note to X and DMC: Your comments got lost in a recent CMS transfer. I liked ‘em so resend if you have the energy. If you’d rather just curse my name, that’s fine too.
Moonshiner “The whole world is a bottle & life is but a dram, when the bottle gets empty it sure ain’t worth a damn….” I’ll even take Dylan’s version.
Before I moved to Portland and learned who my concertmates were I enjoyed local band Floater. I still like from their Danny Boy “drinkin’s always done when the sun’s up in the sky the sun is always up somewhere & it’s your turn to buy!”
“Roxanne” by Police. Makes for a lethal drinking game—guys drink every time the song name’s mentioned, girls every time “red light.”
Curse you Bar Pilot! Okay, well the important thing I said was that “Drinking Song” by Loudon Wainwright III is a real gem. The original version of this was on Album III, which is probably out of print. Maybe it got re-issued on a compilation?
Many moons ago, when I was living in SF, I auditioned on bass for a honky-tonk-meets-the-Replacements band called Joe Buck. It didn’t work out, but they gave me a CD copy of some demos that they’d recorded. One was a tune called “Drunken Matinee”, which has stayed with me ever since. http://www.myspace.com/joebuckband
What’s the use of gettin’ sober – a song from the 40’s, covered by Joe Jackson in the 80’s. And, the chorus:
What’s the use of getting sober
When you’re gonna get drunk again
Oh Sam done something fine
When he bought that good whiskey, beer and wine
I love my whiskey and I love my gin
Every time you see me I’m in my sin
So what’s the use of getting sober
When you’re gonna get drunk again
Todd Snider (local boy makes the big time) – Beer Run; Johnny Russell – Rednecks, White Socks, and Blue Ribbon Beer; Bobby Russell – Saturday Morning Confusion; Jimmy Buffett – My Head Hurts, My Feet Stink, and I Don’t Love Jesus; David Frizzell – I’m Gonna Hire a Wino to decorate Our Home; Tracy Byrd – Watermelon Crawl…..Just for the record, I hate country music. But these are amusing.
I’ve always been partial to “The Blarney Stone” by Ween. A nice Irish chanty for a lad like me-self. As far as what I want to hear when I’m drinking, well hell, even the crappiest songs sound pretty nice after throwin’ back a few. I remeber actually DOING the Safety Dance after I was a good four hours into a drunkathon many moons ago.
I love drinking songs. Rum n Coca Cola by the Andrew Sisters is oldie but goodie.
I wrote one titled “My Favorite Drink”. Take a listen if you like…
http://www.billykohl.com/audio/cd-1/billykohl-myfavoritedrink.html