Longer nights, days at the beach, catching fireflies, tan lines, sipping lemonade on a porch.
These are some of the things we associate with summer here in America, but they're also often the kinds of images country music songs perfectly conjure up. Summer may not be in full swing just yet, but any time you listen to country music, it might as well be.
Whether you're having a summer fling at the beach or cruising on a back road with the windows open, country music is really able to capture that summertime feeling of freedom. And since the lyrics also often have a lot of patriotism, they serve as the perfect soundtrack for the classic American summer, from Memorial Day, to the Fourth of July, right up to Labor Day.
As someone who's lived out of the country before, I can honestly say that there's nothing quite like an American summer, between Fourth of July barbecues, county fairs, and evenings spent on the boardwalk. The lyrics to the songs in this list celebrate all the little things that make summers in America unique, from coast to coast and North to South. So while you're sitting around waiting for summer to fully bloom, the lyrics to the country songs in this list are all you need to imagine the sun over your head, a cold drink in your hand, and a great American summer ahead of you!
1. "It's America" by Rodney Atkins
"It's a high school prom, it's a Springsteen song, it's a ride in a Chevrolet
It's a man on the moon and fireflies in June and kids selling lemonade
It's cities and farms, it's open arms, one nation under God
It's America"
2. "Sunshine and Whiskey" by Frankie Ballard
"Every time you kiss me it's like sunshine and whiskey.
Chilling on a beach with my sweet Georgia peach.
Not a care in the world, just trying to beat the heat."
3. "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line
"Baby you a song
You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise"
4. "Knee Deep" by Zac Brown Band feat. Jimmy Buffett
"Wishin' I was
Knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky, breeze and it don't seem fair
The only worry in the world
Is the tide gonna reach my chair"
5. "Beat This Summer" by Brad Paisley
"Like the Ferris wheel goes around and around
Well the trouble with up is there's always a down
First I'm holding your hand and we're on the boardwalk
There's heaven right here on these streets and these docks"
6. "Beachin'" by Jake Owen
"And it's sunshine, blue eyes, tan lines, slow tide
Rollin' white sand, cold can koozie in my hand, just a summertime strolling
Chillin', breazin', sippin', singin' whoaoaoh"
7. "Something Like That" by Tim McGraw
"It was Labor Day weekend I was seventeen
I bought a Coke and some gasoline
And I drove out to the County Fair"
8. "Toes" by Zac Brown Band
"Got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today, Life is good today"
9. "Roller Coaster" by Luke Bryan
"And we spent that week wide open
Upside down beside the ocean...Now she's got me twisted
Like an old beach roller coaster"
10. "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" by Jake Owen
"Yeah, caught in a southern summer, barefoot, blue jean night"
11. "Springsteen" by Eric Church
"When I think about you, I think about seventeen
I think about my old jeep
I think about the stars in the sky
Funny how a melody sounds like a memory
Like the soundtrack to a July Saturday night, Springsteen"
12. "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson & Jimmy Buffett
"Pour me somethin' tall an' strong
Make it a "Hurricane" before I go insane
It's only half-past twelve but I don't care
It's five o'clock somewhere"
13. "Summertime" by Kenny Chesney
"And it's two bare feet on the dashboard
Young love and an old Ford...It's summertime, sweet summertime"
14. "Pontoon" by Little Big Town
"Reach your hand down into the cooler
Don't drink it if the mountains aren't blue
Try to keep it steady as you recline on your black inner tube"
15. "Farmer's Daughter" by Rodney Atkins
"I was haulin' hay, I was feedin' the hogs
And that summer sun had me sweatin' like a dog
So I cooled off in the creek...Just when I thought it couldn't get no hotter
I fell in love with the farmer's daughter"
16. "Sun Daze" by Florida Georgia Line
"All I wanna do today is wear my favorite shades and get stoned
Work a little less, play a little more
That's what this day is for
And all I wanna do is lace my J's and lace some Jack in my Coke
Work on my laid back, ain't nothin' wrong
With gettin' my sun daze on, gettin' my sun daze on"
17. "Summer Nights" by Rascall Flatts
"We went crazy cooped all winter long
And school is out, so let's get it on
Flip flop tans and some white sand
I know the perfect spot"
18. "Blue Tacoma" by Russell Dickerson
Just the words "Blue Tacoma, California" are enough to get you thinking about palm trees and warm sun.
19. "Some Beach" by Blake Shelton
"Some beach, somewhere
There's a big umbrella casting shade over an empty chair
Palm trees are growing and warm breezes blowing"
20. "Wagon Wheel" by Darius Rucker
Perfect for that Great American road trip you've been dreaming of...this song will "rock" you all the way from New England down to Raleigh.
21. "Water" by Brad Paisley
"Yeah when that summer sun starts to beatin' down
And you don't know what to do
Grab your swimming trunks
Ice up that old igloo
Drive until the map turns blue"
22. "Sounds of Summer" by Dierks Bentley
"It's a tractor firin' up
Kids playin' in a field
Four wheels gettin' stuck
A line singin' out a fishin' reel...These are the sounds of summer"
23. "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" by Kenny Chesney
"The sun and the sand,
And a drink in my hand with no bottom,
And no shoes, no shirt, and no problems"
24. "American Spirit" by Thomas Rhett
"It's Friday night freedom, football game
It's proud of where you from, it's your last name
It's thirteen stripes and fifty stars in the wind
So hold up your beer and holler if you hear it
That American spirit"
25. "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band
What list of great country songs would be complete without this American classic extolling some of the finer things about American summers: "chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night, a pair of jeans that fit just right"
To find all these jams in one place, here's a playlist that has them all:
