Are you one of those people who likes to listen to music when you travel alone?  I am.  My car’s CD player keeps me awake and alert when I’m driving and my mp3 player keeps me from getting bored while waiting in airports or riding the bus.  I’m adding music to a new mp3 player now for my upcoming trip to New Orleans.  No, I’m not adding all southern music to it (though that’s not a bad idea!), but it did make me think about travelin’ songs.  Here are some ideas by category that I jotted down in case I ever decide to create a mix CD or playlist based on a traveling theme.  The “road trip” category was a little too easy (and I could’ve added even more songs), overshadowing the other categories.  Is driving so much more popular than boating and flying, or is my musical knowledge just woefully inadequate?

For Road Trips:

• Born to Be Wild – Steppenwolf
• I Drove All Night – Celine Dion
• Pink Cadillac – Bruce Springsteen
• Slow Ride – Kenny Wayne Shepherd
• Trans Am – Leroy
• 51 Phantom – North Mississippi Allstars
• Every Day is a Winding Road – Sheryl Crow
• Take It Easy – The Eagles
• Me Behind The Wheel – Trish Murphy
• Driver’s Seat – Sniff and the Tears
• Highway to Hell – AC/DC
• I Can’t Drive 55 – Sammy Hagar
• Roadrunner – Joan Jett
• Gypsy Road – Cinderella
• Let It Ride – Bachman Turner Overdrive
• Runnin’ on Empty – Jackson Browne
• On the Road Again – Willie Nelson
• Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
• Panama – Van Halen
• Radar Love – Golden Earring
• Roam – B-52s
• Holiday Road (theme from National Lampoon’s Vacation) – Lindsey Buckingham

For Flying:

• Time For Me to Fly – REO Speedwagon
• Come Fly With Me – Frank Sinatra (although I prefer James Darren)
• Fly Away – Lenny Kravitz
• Jet Airliner – Steve Miller
• Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller
• Leavin’ on a Jet Plane – John Denver (not a favorite of mine, but it really belongs on the list)
• Learning to Fly – Tom Petty

For Boating:

• Sailing – Christopher Cross
• Come Sail Away – Styx
• Don’t Rock the Boat – Bob Marley
• Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes – Jimmy Buffett
• One Particular Harbor – Jimmy Buffett
• Boats – Kenny Chesney

Destination Songs:

• California Dreamin’ – The Mamas and the Papas
• Lights (City By the Bay) – Journey
• Pretty Vegas – INXS
• Georgia on My Mind – Ray Charles
• Leaving Las Vegas – Sheryl Crow
• Africa – Toto
• Big Train (from Memphis) – John Fogerty
• New York, New York – Frank Sinatra
• Walking in Memphis- Lots of artists have recorded this song
• Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Back in the USSR – The Beatles
• Christmas in the Caribbean – Jimmy Buffett
• Margaritaville – Jimmy Buffett (Hey, it’s a state of mind)
• I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash

Miscellaneous:

• Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
• Can’t Find My Way Home -Blind Faith