Hit the road with these five essential Tim McGraw songs
By Brian Miller
Music is a big part of travel and sometimes a great album or playlist can make the trip to get where you are going feel like no time at all. No matter what your taste in music is, there are songs that just scream out “take me with you”! That is the case with these five Tim McGraw songs.
McGraw is a country music legend and has stayed pretty traditional over his long career. While many in the genre today tend to lean more towards a pop crossover, McGraw keeps himself grounded in the country.
Recently I traveled to Florida on a 12-hour drive and I like to put together a playlist ahead of time to help make the drive seem a little quicker. This time, my focus was on adding some music with a little more uptempo beats and some that might actually mention something about traveling.
These are the five Tim McGraw songs that were added to my playlist! Give them a listen and see what you think.
The opening lines mention Spain which immediately swept me up and when the first verse ends the song picks up its tempo and you want to sing along. I noticed when it came on my wife started tapping her fingers on her knee in rhythm with the beat.
The song is about a man meeting a woman and falling for her and her quirky nature that he finds appealing. The song was written by Brett and Jim Beavers and Brett and Brad Warren.
Written by John Rich, Rodney Clawson, and Vicky McGehee, and McGraw recorded the song in 2015. The duo “Big and Rich” sing backup vocals on the track and in 2017 recorded it themselves.
The song is all about hitting the road in California. At its core, it is a breakup song but it has everything from maps, gas, highways, and a really solid upbeat from the start. The song just lays out the roadmaps of our lives. It’s a fun song about loving California and why it’s not Arizona.
The song plays with a 90s country vibe but brings some modern elements that keep it fresh. Even here in 2021, the song still sounds great.
This song was written by Mike Reid and Craig Wiseman and while it is a slower tempo song about love lost it settles in well on your drive considering that it whisks you away and around the country. The song sings to the choices we make in life and prioritize. In this case, it’s about him breaking free from the small town while the love his life decides to stay behind.
"And see you down the roadMaybe in, OklahomaDrivin’ ‘cross the prairieIn Dallas, TexasIsn’t that where weAlways said we would Like to tryNever did So maybe that’s why you’re on…"
The chorus picks up a bit and you find yourself swaying to it. It is one of my favorite songs to sing at Karaoke or play along with on the guitar. The song mentions, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Dallas, and many more.
One of the more recent McGraw songs, Shotgun Rider was released in 2014 and was written by Hillary Lindsey, Marv Green, and Troy Verges. The song embodies the love someone has for his significant other never wanting to experience life with someone new.
“I don’t ever want to wake up, looking into someone else’s eyes.
I don’t want no other shotgun rider beside me, singing to the radio.”
It has a smooth beat with a repetitive rhythm in the background that continues throughout the song that you find yourself bobbing your head to without realizing you’re doing it. It’s a great road song that can easily kill three of four mile stretches.
I debated on whether or not to add this song to this list but then I realized it is almost always added to my playlist. It’s that freaking good and the best part is McGraw shares the vocal duties with Taylor Swift and some background vocals by Keith Urban.
Next. Terri Clark takes us back onto the road. dark
The pace of the song is not slow but has more of a medium pace. The highlights to the song come when Swift makes her solo entrances and gives it a radio vibe which is the point but the real star comes later in the song when Keith Urban’s guitar licks come front and center and drive the song to a fantastic musical conclusion. The song marks the first time McGraw and Swift worked together which is somewhat ironic as Swift wrote a song titled Tim McGraw during her country career.
To listen to the songs, simply click the blue highlights of the song titles and enjoy the videos!