Blitzed, Smashed and Drunk: Drinking Songs for Drinking People

Just to change it up this week… it’s always fun to start things out with a song…

That should be enough to clue you guys into what we’re talking about this week. If it’s not, then I suppose its story time. Last weekend was another typical weekend for Blitzed, Smashed and Drunk – it was another weekend at another bar having fun. My friends and I were at a gin joint that played live music. We’re not talking going to B.B. Kings, House of Blues or Birdland and enjoying live music; we’re talking about going to a bar where some god awful cover band whose songs include rather crappy renditions of pop favorites, 80s hits and one hit wonders. We didn’t expect to hear a live band, and of course, live bands mean we get to heckle – from the classics like

and Freebir to the more modern Scotty Doesn’t Know – and the drunker you are the more fun heckling becomes. As the night we got to talking about the kind of music we love to listen to when we drink.

When we started our list, we had 5 songs that when they get played, you know you needed to drink. They were all songs played by Lonesome George. And then 5 songs by Lonesome George became 4 played by Lonesome George and a 20 minute debate as to who was better – John Lee Hooker or Lonesome George – until we realized that John Lee Hooker sang Boom Boom, which is a hell of a drinking song about going out, getting shot down by the bartender and still trying to go home with her. John Lee Hooker led us to talking about to other blues rock acts, most noticeably ZZ Top, whose own ode to drinking has been covered by tons of bands. As the night progressed, the list of bands and genres grew; from such seminal rap classics like Snoop’s Gin and Juice and the few ska songs that everyone knows like Reel Big Fish’s Beer to the much more mellow crooners like UB40 with Red Red Wine and Frank Sinatra’s One for my Baby, the list kept growing.

By the end of night, we had about 250 songs. That’s a lot of songs about drinking, hell raising, getting hung over and then doing it all over again. Some songs were going to get culled

, and some required a whole lot of debating. So, I did what was necessary and cut it down to about 50 Songs. Now there’s a wide variety for everyone and it’s broken down into three groups. First is that category of songs that are all about drinking that you know, but didn’t break into the Top 10 or were worthy of an Honorable Mention. Then there are the Honorable Mentions… those are the few songs that we all know, love, and wish there was a drink in our hand when we hear it. Finally, we get to BSD’s Top 10 Favorite Drinking Songs in no particular order. Some of them are self-explanatory; others need a few words accompanying them.

The Songs that got culled from the Honorable Mention List are the rather long list of songs that didn’t weren’t enough to make the honorable mention list. All good songs about drinking in their own right, it was too hard to pick and choose, so they get their mention as part of a rather short list. And those songs are: Cold Beverage by G. Love & Special Sauce; Irish Drinking Song by Flogging Molly; Pass the Courvoisier by Busta Rhymes; Please Operator by Garth Brooks; Rehab by Amy Winehouse; Gimmie Three Steps by Lynyrd Skynyrd, What's Your Name by Lynyrd Skynyrd; Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes; Drunken Lullabies by Flogging Molly; Finnegan’s Wake by Dropkick Murphys; One For My Baby by Frank Sinatra; Seven Deadly Sins by Flogging Molly; Wasted by Black Flag; Whiskey River by Willie Nelson; One Mint Julep by Louis Prima; Saturday Night's Alright by Elton John; Tubthumping by Chumbawamba; 40 Oz to Freedom by Sublime; You and Me and the Bottle Makes Three by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy; The Piano has been Drinking byTom Waits; Seven Drunken Nights by The Dubliners; I’m Shipping Up To Boston by Dropkick Murphys; Swimming Pools (Drank) by Kendrick Lamar; The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy; Whiskey and Wine by 311; Whiskey in the Jar by Metallica; Whiskey Rock 'n Roller by Lynyrd Skynyrd; Shots! by LMFAO; and Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith.

The Honorable Mention List:

Red, Red Wine by UB40. Even though this is a Neil Diamond original, the song didn’t make it into the mainstream until UB40 made it their own. This song is all about breakups and indulging in Red Wine to help forget them.

. It’s all about that introduction. As T-Pain said, he made this song for all the guys who buy that lady a drink and get the night going.

I Drink Alone by George Thorogood and the Destroyers. This is the first of two Lonesome George songs that are on the list. If it’s not clear enough why it’s on the list, you shouldn’t be drinking.

. While this one needs a little more explanation than most, The Stones are on here with a song about a girl who dances in a honky tonk gin joint. What she does in her spare time… well, that’s the beauty of the song. You put the rest together.

Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett. Even though this could have made the Top 10 just because it was named after the Margarita, let alone that it’s a classic drinkers song, Margaritaville is an honorable mention. It’s that summertime ode to living in a drunken haze in a resort town while drinking the nights away with a fresh batch of margaritas. It’s definitely a way to live.

. What’s more fun than a song about everybody in the club getting drunk!

Closing Time by Semisonic. This song, surprisingly, isn’t about drinking. It’s about Fatherhood and the fears of moving forward and closing the door behind you. It’s also a pretty damned good song that encapsulates the end of the night. That’s why it’s an honorable mention.

. For all the songs by the Beastie Boys, this one is just about drinking, plain and simple. Just like Margaritaville, Brass Monkey is named after the drink and made famous thanks to Licensed to Ill.

Tiny Dancer by Elton John. There are two reasons this song is here. First, it’s a mood changer. You play this song and everyone knows the chorus and joins in. Second, and more appropriately, is all about beautiful women. According to Bernie Taupin, the entire song was written about the woman he and Elton John saw in LA in 1970, and the clothing they wore. It’s just one of those songs that when played, everyone turns their heads, hums along and joins in at the refrain.

. Originally a B-Side, Tequila was created for the sole purpose of having a B-Side. It just so happens that their B-Side was better than the A-Side. All it takes is a simple instrumental and Chuck Rios screaming the word “Tequila” and you have a hit… well, one of three hits for The Champs actually. And if that’s not enough I have two words for you. Peewee Herman.

Top 10:
Every song here was tied directly to the fact that they are all about drinking. There is no particularly order. It was too hard to make one. They are also presented without any commentary. The songs speak for themselves. Plain and simple, these songs are all about the epitome of drinking songs. From drinking Tequila until the sun comes up to drowning your sorrows with those around you or the drunken hookups and kickass times with your crew, these songs are meant to invoke that feeling of drink in hand.

• Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre
  
• One Bourbon. One Scotch. One Beer. by George Thorogood and the Destroyers/
  
  
• Beer by Reel Big Fish
  
• Kiss Me I’m Shitfaced by Dropkick Murphys
  
• Have a Drink on Me by AC/DC
  
• Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers by ZZ Top
  
• Tequila Sunrise by The Eagles
  
• 6-Pack by Black Flag
  
• Piano Man by Billy Joel
  
• Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker
  

So how far off is the BSD list from what you guys consider to be the top drinking songs. And yes, for those of you that don't know, that is, in fact Matt Damon singing Scotty Doesn't Know. Should I have swapped something for another song or did I completely overlook something? What’s your take?