Top songs about drinking too much
Even though alcoholism is a disease and people with drinking problems have a myriad of places they can turn for assistance with the issue, music has had a fun time celebrating the pastime of drinking.
After all, many of our favorite social events take place in locations like bars and when we go to outdoor events nothing tastes better than a nice cold adult beverage.
This list of songs encompasses many different genres of music and decades. However, each song has one thing in common, problems when you’re drinking.
9 Songs about drinking too much
1. Champagne Problems – Nick Jonas
First on our list of songs about drinking too much is Champagne Problems by Nick Jonas, problems we qualify with this moniker are typically high-class issues.
However, in this song, it’s a very literal drinking night where the character in the song is hoping the more champagne he drinks the entire bottle his memory will fade. There is a lot of conflicting emotion in the song as well as the desperate hope that with enough alcohol he can forget why he’s drinking.
2. Drinking Again – Luke Bryan
Bryan is part of a country artist and part of the sub-genre of music known as bro-country which combines much of the traditional elements of the country along with newer beats including electronic overlays.
Like other songs in this genre, the song is about fun partying and a man who enjoys life much more when he’s had more than a couple of drinks. The lyrics detail all the fun shenanigans he hopes he will get into over the night.
3. Blame It – Jamie Fox Featuring T – Pain
When something happens we’re not proud of and have been drinking it’s usually where we point the blame. Several times in the song you’ll hear an electronic beat that almost sounds like the double vision we have from time to time.
4. Alcohol – Barenaked Ladies
This is not a cover of the song that follows but another tribute to the drink that makes us do crazy things. However, the lyrics also have a second meaning.
If you listen closely you can hear someone who is struggling with drinking too much and wanting to find a way out of the madness. Where other groups may have turned the song mordant, BNL keeps it upbeat but still leaves listeners with a takeaway message.
5. Brad Paisley’s Alcohol
Let’s face it, even when we’re drinking we do some funny and memorable things. Paisley’s song is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the insanity that happens when we over imbibe.
Throughout the song, he maintains a traditional country beat reminiscent of Hank Willliams Jr and other classics. One of the things Paisley mentions in the lyrics is the “best times you’ll never remember.”
More often than we care to think about nights blur and we have to be reminded by our closest friends about all the shenanigans we did last night.
6. Mrs. Potters Lullaby – Counting Crows
One of the things that makes this song stand out so much is the imagery. As you listen to the song, you hear a man grappling with never feeling at home in his skin.
One of the last lines in the song talks about giving up his seat at the bar which can be either metaphorical or physical. Either way, it sounds like the character in the song will let some ghosts go he was singing about.
7. Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake’s Tennessee Whiskey/Drink You Away
Timberlake released a studio version. However, it was the live version with Stapleton that rounded out the song and made it a classic. Instead of having Stapleton back him up on vocals for his track, they added the classic David Allen Coe version which Stapleton starts and Timberlake comes in on with a voice that proves he’s so much more than a front man for ‘NSync.
Barely missing a beat, Timberlake launches into his song Drink You Away. Stapleton’s voice lends itself well to the backup harmony.
8. The Piano Has Been Drinking – Tom Waits
The song starts with bluesy after-hours chords. Throughout the song, Waits tries to add validity to the claim that it’s the piano’s fault for all the intoxication and not him. Throughout Waits’ career, he perfected the art of songs with thoughtful and sometimes strange lyrics that tell a song that others might have missed.
In this song, it seems like the singer is channeling observations that the piano might make. If the song were in another’s hands it may sound like something that should be forgotten at closing time but Waits’ makes it sound probable as well as timeless.
9. Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert
Last on our list of songs about drinking too much is Mama’s Broken Heart by Miranda Lambert. Breakups are rough and when someone makes your heart hurt sometimes the only place to turn is a drink. Lambert’s lyrics are an all too representation of what happens when we drink with a broken heart.
The song is even funnier because looking back women used to maintain decorum as a general rule. However, the singer lays it all out there and sings about the revenge one woman takes on the man who did her wrong. Throughout her career, Lambert has been an ally for strong women through the lyrics of her songs.
