The Ultimate Soundtrack For Travelling In The US: Nine Songs That Celebrate America As A Destination

When Francis Scott wrote The Star Spangled Banner in 1814, Americans tended to write songs about Americans.

For them, the feeling of homeland, however rhythmic, is something to celebrate, to put into song. Patriotism is also present in all his achievements: America the Beautiful lives in America. Rock in the United States. American Girl God Bless America

Aussies are offended by such self-respect, even their best-selling song is a parody (Men at Work's worldwide hit Down Under is full of lines like "Where the beer flows and the men sing...").

But Americans never hesitate to express their love for their country. This is part of the main difference between us and them.

Many of us had a semi-American childhood thanks to copious amounts of American television (and yes, all their school buses are orange, the National Park Service wears Ranger Smiths, and the highway patrol wears those skinny pants). at the same time it's totally weird

America has it all: wear those cowboy boots you bought in Denver, rollerblade in Miami Beach, rent that Mustang convertible in Los Angeles (buy the red one, you know you want it. And blast the Eagles on the stereo. They care, of course that no.)

Get the latest news and updates emailed straight to your inbox.

Not surprisingly, the American tall poppy syndrome doesn't have its own equivalent. Perhaps that's why his songs celebrate his "Americanness" and for many Australian visitors to the US, it's the perfect and original soundtrack for their travels.

"This is not America/Homeless," John Mellencamp said. "Living in America/ Should be a celebration..." sings James Brown. "America, I love you America," Ray Charles sings. It doesn't happen in Australia, not to that extent, but isn't that the point?

Join us as we celebrate America through travel songs and accompanying spots featuring certain lyrics.

Empire State of Mind by Jay Z

LYRIC is a concrete jungle where dreams are made

Sinatra's New York, New York location might be an obvious choice for this exercise, but it's Jay Z's modern, manic approach that best captures New York City for the 21st century. He should be screaming at the top of his lungs, befitting a city that never sleeps. America's art capital, restaurants and bars are concentrated in a compact network accessible by foot or subway. Anything is possible on a New York vacation: "...there's nothing you can't do."

Experience Jay Z playing tour guide with his songs. Highlights: Watch a Knicks basketball game and a Yankees baseball game. Check out Brooklyn's independent bars and street scene. And don't forget the Empire State Building (of course).

Don't miss America's best retro cocktails in the city's hipster Meatpacking District. Visit tippler.com

Avoid winter essentials if you want to go for a walk. Visit www.visitnews.com

Alaska is sung by Maggie Rogers

Photo: iStock

Lyrics I crossed the icy stream that took my breath away/And I walked away from you

COUNTRY Listen closely to Rogers' 2016 hit and you'll hear something beautiful: Croaking Frog; rain joke; Glacial cracks. Rogers spent many summers hiking in Alaska and recording the sounds around him. Adding these words to the soundscape of Alaska, the song brings a beautiful sense of place - epic wilderness, fresh air, connection with nature - to dreamy memories of pain and wandering.

Experience Pack a suit and put on boots: Alaska is full of hiking trails, the best of which may be the 33-mile Chilkoot Trail from Daya, Alaska to Bennett, British Columbia, Canada.

Don't miss the Kenai Peninsula near Anchorage, which also offers great hiking, including the 7-mile Lost Lake Trail with plenty of icy canyons to take your breath away.

Essential The best time to travel to Alaska is from June to August. Visit Travelalaska.com

California Dreamin' song played by Mom and Dad

Lyrics of the song California is dreaming / On such a winter day

"The Place", a song that defines California, was written during a cold winter in New York. Released in 1965, it became emblematic of Californian counter-culturalists who took the lyric seriously: "I'd be safe and warm/If I lived in LA." There's always a throwback feeling when you visit California, like the 60's never ended... Embrace the retro vibe, folks.

Dream about that old Mustang cruising down the first freeway with this song playing on your stereo. Be sure to include San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district to revisit California's summer of love.

Don't miss a stay at the Ventana Big Sur Resort, where Hollywood star Steve McQueen stood before you, overlooking the blue California ocean. Visit windowbigsur.com

The quality California climate allows you to visit all year round, even if the summers are hectic. Visit www.visitcalifornia.com

Graceland is sung by Paul Simon

Beale Street, Memphis. Photo: Montoya Hudson/Spring Break Family

The Mississippi Delta shines like a national guitar

The legendary Place Simon song is not about Graceland, Elvis Presley's former home in Memphis, Tennessee, but about a trip to Graceland. It's a road trip across the southern United States as Simon and his son follow the road "On the Move for the Civil War." Graceland is about the journey, the opportunity to connect with a child, bridge the gap and make a pilgrimage to a special place.

Living It Up Traveling in the Deep South is easy. Simply fly into New Orleans, rent a car and drive north through Vicksburg, Cleveland, Greenville and Tunica before reaching Memphis.

Don't Exhibit at Graceland The Elvis Presley Influence features original clothing and gear from artists influenced by the King of Pop, including Springsteen, Hendrix and Lennon. Visit graceland.com

Requirements February through May is the most comfortable time to visit the Deep South. Visit visitusa.org.au

Sweet Home Alabama song performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Downtown Birmingham, Alabama.

Sweet Home Alabama/Where the Sky Is Too Blue

Place Sweet Home Alabama is a celebration (and advocacy) of the entire American South. Lynyrd Skynyrd celebrates the simple lifestyle and God-fearing southern mentality: you can smell the wood-burning grill and taste the southern rye whiskey dripping from their veins.

Experience Get on the road and travel between the southern states – they're all end-to-end, so road trips are easy. Southerners get a lot for their non-PC ways, but you won't find a kinder soul on earth. Expect lots of small talk and being addressed as "sir" or "ma'am".

Don't miss the southern barbecue. Every state has its own way of barbecuing, but one of them is grilling meat for hours over a wood fire under the watchful eye of a "pit master" called meatboss.com.

Required Summer is hot and sticky, please choose mid season, March-May, September-November. Visit travelsouth.visittheusa.com

The song is Sweet Home Chicago by Robert Johnson.

Baby Don't You Wanna Go/My Sweet Home Chicago lyrics and song translation.

Place Johnson's Chicago is a bit of a mix-up, "Oh baby, don't you wanna go back to California country/My sweet home, Chicago?" This 1937 classic was later popularized by the Blues Brothers, who changed the lyrics to "Back to the Same Old Place"; It now stands as an elegy for a modern city that retains its ties to blues culture.

If you're interested in Chicago's jazz and blues scene, give it a try, hit any of the countless clubs in the Bronzeville neighborhood, or check out icons like Buddy Guy's Legends and the House of Blues. Visit buddyguy.com; www.houseofblues.com

Don't Miss It If you love sports, even if it has little to do with jazz and blues, no trip to Chicago is complete without going to a baseball game at Wrigley Field. The home of the Chicago Cubs is a historic stadium that lives up to its nickname of "friendly borders."

Requirements Chicago is very cold in the winter, although otherwise pleasant (unless it's windy). Visit choicechicago.com

The song is Rocky Mountain High performed by John Denver.

Lyrical Colorado Rocky Mountain High / Shadows of starlight are softer than a lullaby

Place Rocky Mountain High is a love song to the then new Denver, Colorado, and more specifically, Aspen. The "high" in the title, written after seeing a meteor shower while camping, was taken as a reference to drugs (marijuana is legal here). But it seems like his singing is a normal track. With over 300 days of sunshine a year and farmers and ranchers living quietly in a dreamy little mountain town at the foot of America's tallest mountain, you can't help but be happy here.

Experience While its ski resorts make Colorado famous, winter trips allow you to follow the trail of Denver. Take a walk in the national park and spend the night.

Aspen and Crested Butte, two of Colorado's most beautiful mountain towns, don't miss a hike under the Maroon Bells, America's most photographed mountain. Visit blazingadventures.com

Sommerberg's on-demand walking tours run from May to November. Visit colorado.com; aspensnowmass.com

The song Route 66 is sung by Nat King Cole

Photo: iStock

Fight with Route 66 lyrics

The Place captures everything great about Nat King Cole's 1946 classic America's Most Famous Highway, a 2,500-mile journey through the heart of the country from Chicago to Los Angeles. Get Your Shots in the Promised Land: Meet Track Names St. Louis, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arizona, and New Mexico, among others.

Experience Although Route 66 was removed from the US highway system in 1985, travelers can still follow the "Highway." These old roads will take you through a small US town with lots of museums and other attractions along the way.

Don't forget four wheels: you'll soon be able to drive two wheels on Route 66. The US government is developing US Bike Route 66, which will continue along 4,000 km of the old Route 66. Visit Adventurecycling. org

Bases operate from Chicago or LA for an all-season experience. Visit visitusa.org.au

The Margaritaville Song, sung by Jimmy Buffett

Words swinging my 6 strings on my front porch / Smell the shrimp they're starting to cook

Buffett wrote a final ode to beachside drinking after the place "turned into ruins" in Key West (Florida Keys). Whether in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, or any other southern US coastal state, Margaritaville reflects the unique lifestyle of the area's resorts, beach bars, and the people who live there. We've all been to some version of Margaritaville.

Experience it Drive south from Miami, then settle in for at least a week. Check into a beachfront hotel and hit the beach tiki bars between fishing excursions and snorkeling excursions.

Don't forget to sleep in your own overwater tiki hut in Key West. Stay in one of two tiki suites floating on the ocean. Visit tiki-suites.com

Essential Summer is very hot, winter is best, but avoid Christmas and New Year. Visit www.visitflorida.com

Five songs not recorded by the United States, Bruce Springsteen was born in the United States

The most famous, how? After all, America's biggest rock star sings "I was born in America"? That's right, no, it's Springsteen's most misunderstood song of all time, protesting the US government's actions in the Vietnam War ("I sent them to a foreign country/to kill the yellow man").

American Pie, Don McLean

It may sound as American as apple pie in the title, but McLean's immortal song "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie" points to the death of the American dream, and its lines speak of decades of civil unrest: "Do children scream in the street? ? lovers sang, poets wished." …”

american girl, tom petty

Stick the word "American" in the title of your song and people will think it's respectable. However, Petty's classic, written in 1976 when America was fully emerging from the Age of Innocence, captures the angst of a generation, telling an American girl she "couldn't help but think" / that there's more to life than anything else.

भाग्याबान चक्य, क्रिदेन्स क्लियर्वतत

This patriotic popular success of 1969, "পতাকাক্নন ক্রতি ক্র্টিকান ক্র্কাক্যার্যার্যারা" But it is a protest song against the Vietnam War. भाग्याबान प्रत्र is a slap in the face to the ruling class (senators, millionaires, military leaders) who dragged America into war and their "lucky children" who will never miss the impact of war.

This country is your country, your country

It's sad to realize that a protest song written in 1940 is still so influential. Guthrie explained the famous classic as कुव केव देश्प्रेमिक आध्युड; However, with lyrics like "There was a big high wall trying to stop me/There was a sign, private property was marked/But it didn't say anything on the back/This land was made for you and me," it's clear that he's talking about immigrants. comment on

Craig Tansley and Ben Grandwater

July 29, 2022

Blink-182 - All The Small Things (Official Music Video)