World Music Day: Our Favourite Songs about Whisky

It’s World Music Day today, so what better excuse for us to dig through our record collection and pull out our favourite songs about whisky?

One thing we discovered writing this list: there are lots of songs about whisky out there. Most of them are pretty terrible.

It seems that, if you’ve ever picked up a guitar and fancied yourself a country songwriter, it’s the law to write about how much whisky you drink (or how your ex-girlfriend reminds you of whisky).

We’ve done you a favour and left them off this list. (Although, by those rules, we can’t include Whisky and Wimmen by John Lee Hooker. Which is a shame, because it’s a great song.)

We’ve also left out pop songs that strong-arm whisky references to seem cool. (Ke$ha, we’re looking at you).

Instead, we’ve compiled a list of tunes that aren’t just songs about whisky, but are decent songs, too.

Without further ado, here are our seven favourite songs about whisky: 

Streams of Whiskey – The Pogues

To be honest, even The Pogues’ songs that aren’t about whisky are perfect drinking songs. (Although, if you’ve ever heard Shane McGowan sing live, every song may be about whisky for all you can tell…) And while The Pogues have a steady catalogue of drinking songs (as well as their own whisky), Streams of Whiskey is the iconic one.

And, if there’s a lyric that we live by at Whisky Foundation, it’d be: ‘I am going, I am going, where streams of whiskey are flowing’.

Poison Whisky – Lynyrd Skynyrd

This song might not be a positive portrayal of whisky drinking – ‘And must have whisky, oh, you know why’ – but it’s too good to leave off the list. That iconic organ-led sound, the almost fairground-esque breakdown, Jim Morrison’s vocals. It’s just so good.

 

Whiskey River – Willy Nelson

An ode to turning to the bottle when broken-hearted, ol’ Shotgun Willie only needs 8 lines to pinpoint that feeling of wanting to use whisky to anaesthetise your emotions.

Whiskey in the Jar – Thin Lizzy

The iconic whisky (or should that be whiskey) song, and for good reason. A well-known Irish folk number that borrows the tune of a Scottish song was never going to be about anything other than whisky, was it? A classic tale of a man being betrayed by his woman and drowning his sorrows, this track has been sung by everybody from The Dubliners to Metallica, but the Thin Lizzy version remains the best.

Jimi Godwin – Oh! Whiskey

Any song that opens with a prayer to whisky – ‘Oh! Whiskey give me patience. Oh! Whiskey give me truth. Oh! Whiskey give me empathy, just don’t give me the blues.’ – is good by us. Former Doves frontman Jimi Godwin sings this song about a troubled relationship with alcohol and the nostalgia of your first drink. (It names checks Arthur Bell and Son, too. Although we’re not the biggest fan of Bell’s, you’ve got to give him credit for not drinking Jack Daniels.)

ACDC – Whiskey on the Rocks

OK, this one isn’t about just whisky – more about drinking in general – but the lyrics make it clear that whisky is their drink of choice. What’s more – it’s the perfect ‘nearly the end of the night’ song to throw on.

Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments or on social media!<

Photo Credit: Lowden Guitars