NEW YORK – 1978: Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings enjoy a drink together in New York in 1978 (source: CNN.com)
Drinking and the south, a cold one and country music, whiskey and sorrow. These are things engrained in country life.
Here are nine country songs about drinking…
“Gin and Juice” — The Gourds
The Gourds took Snoop Dogg’s song, drenched it with fiddles and bluegrass, and just gave you a great song.
“Rollin’ down the street, smokin’ indo, sippin’ on gin and juice
Laid back with my mind on my money and my money on my mind”
“Misery and Gin” — Merle Haggard
This one is a bit of a downer, but it can help the alcohol go down a little easier.
“But here I am again mixing misery and gin
Sitting with all my friends and talking to myself.
I look like I’m having a good time but any fool can tell
That this honky tonk heaven really makes you feel, like hell.”
“Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound” — Hank Williams Jr.
Get stoned, cheat on your girlfriend, then miss your girlfriend, feel sorry for yourself…yeah. That’s what this song is about.
“Play me some songs about a ramblin man
Put a cold one in my hand
Cause you know I love to hear those guitar sounds
Don’t you play, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
Cause I’ll get all balled up inside
And I’ll get whiskey bent and hell bound”
“There’s a Tear in My Beer” — Hank Williams Sr. and Jr.
Even one of the Fathers of Country got down in the dumps and comforted himself with a drink.
“I’m gonna keep drinkin’
Until I’m petrified
And then maybe, these tears will leave my eyes
There’s a tear in my beer
‘Cause I’m cryin’ for you, dear
You are on my lonely mind”
“If Drinkin’ Don’t Kill” — George Jones
Either drinking or the memories of a lost love — one of those things may just kill him.
“And if drinking don’t kill me
Her memory will
I can’t hold out much longer
The way that I feel
With the blood from my body
I could start my own still
And if drinking don’t kill me
Her memory will”
“Sunday Morning Comin Down” — Kris Kristofferson
Beer is good for any meal.
“Well I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head
That didn’t hurt
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t
Bad so I had one more for dessert”
“Friends in Low Places” — Garth Brooks
Low places, where the whiskey runs like water.
“Cause I’ve got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns
And the beer chases my blues away
And I’ll be okay
I’m not big on social graces
Think I’ll slip on down to the oasis
Oh, I’ve got friends in low places”
“Family Tradition” — Hank Williams Jr.
Junior shares his dad’s name, but he doesn’t necessarily share in the sadness.
“So don’t ask me, Hank why do you drink? Hank, why do you roll smoke?
Why must you live out the songs that you wrote?
If I’m down in a honky-tonk some ole slick’s trying to give me friction.
I said leave me alone I’m singing all night long it’s a family tradition.”
“Whiskey River” — Willie Nelson
Whiskey can really help wash away heartbreaking memories.
“I’m drowning in a whiskey river
Bathin’ my memory in mind in the wetness of its soul
Feeling the amber current flowing from my mind
And leaving a heart you left so cold”
NEW YORK – 1978: Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings enjoy a drink together in New York in 1978 (source: CNN.com) Drinking and the south, a cold one and country music, whiskey and sorrow. These are things engrained in country life. 
