There is a plethora of songs available about carpenters. There are twenty of them on this list! Each and every one of them has something to contribute, and although some of them will make you laugh, others will make you cry. You won’t be sorry that you checked out these twenty songs about carpenters.
1. Aesop Rock’s “How to Be a Carpenter,”
This songs is almost certainly going to be the first song that comes to anyone’s mind when they are asked to mention songs about carpenters.
This song is about the father of the protagonist, who was a carpenter in his previous life. The lyrics detail the activities that took place during the course of a typical day for his father while he was employed on building sites.
There is a reference to a “carpenter” in this song, but you shouldn’t get it confused with the title of a song by Bob Dylan called “House Carpenter,” which is an entirely different song.
2. Nightwish’s “The Carpenter”
Nest on our list of songs about carpenters is this gothic metal song about a man who has had a crush on a carpenter’s daughter ever since he was a young lad. The carpenter’s daughter is the protagonist of the song. This sensation stayed with him throughout his entire life, despite the fact that the girl just saw him as a friend.
She ran into someone else one day, and he promptly proposed to her, which prompted her to go away with him for good. Together, they never came back to this place again. The narrator is left wondering whether or not the subject was aware of the extent to which he loved her.
3. Hal Ketchum’s “The Carpenter’s Way”
Hal Ketchum laments in this song about how much he misses his sweetheart during the day, when she is at work as a carpenter from sunrise to sunset.
This country ballad uses metaphors of love and hard work in the woodshop to discuss the amount of affection that should be invested in romantic relationships. It was included on Hal Ketchum’s third studio album, titled “Past the Point of Rescue,” where it was made available for purchase (1993).
4. Sawyer Brown’s “He Sent a Carpenter,”
Sawyer Brown’s song discusses how God sent Jesus Christ to earth in order to save us from having to die as a consequence of our own sins by providing us with the opportunity to have eternal life through him. They sing that it was important for him to come in the form of a human being since that is how we assume our sins to be.
Alison Krauss, Dan Tyminski, and Ron Block provide their vocals to the song while Steve Wariner and Kerry Chater are responsible for the song’s composition. This is one of the songs about carpenters that reflects on a lot of things.
5. Bob Dylan’s “House Carpenter”
The chorus makes it sound as if she would rather have him stay with her than return after settling things with another female, possibly his wife. This interpretation is based on the fact that he has made the promise that he will come back after he has finished his business with the other woman.
6. Uncle Earl’s “My Little Carpenter”
In 2004, this American bluegrass band released their self-titled album under the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label. The CD was titled “Uncle Earl.” Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the ones responsible for producing and recording the album (of Led Zeppelin fame).
Traditional bluegrass melodies and tunes from the United States and Europe are included on the album. Band members Heydon Prowse and Christen Lien also contributed five original tracks to the album.
7. Janne Hea’s “Carpenters Wife”
Janne Hea is a Finnish singer and songwriter. She was born in 1979 in Finland. She first got her start in the industry when she joined the band Vennaskond.
In 2004, she published her debut album under her own name, titled “Ma sind.” One of the songs on this album is titled “Carpenters Wife,” and it discusses how skilled Lydia can be at sewing and creating garments for her family. The song also mentions that she is married to a carpenter.
8. John Prine’s “Grandpa Was a Carpenter”
John Prine spent his childhood in Maywood, Illinois, with his father, Sam Garman, who was an amateur musician and luthier who built guitars and mandolins.
John Prine is best known for his work as a singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition, Prine recalls recollections of hanging out with his grandfather Matthew Garman, who worked as a carpenter for a living. This track, which was included on Prine’s album of the same name, is where he pays tribute to these two musicians.
9. Natalie Merchant’s “House Carpenter,”
Natalie Anne Merchant is a musician and vocalist from the United States. She is also a songwriter. Between the years 1981 and 1993, she was the lead singer for the band 10,000 Maniacs.
The origins of the classic folk ballad known as “House Carpenter” can be traced back to the Appalachian Mountains region of North America, where it was first performed in 1849.
One of the most well-known renditions of this song is the one that was recorded by Harry Smith in the 1950s specifically for inclusion in the Anthology of American Folk Music.
10. MzVee’s “Carpenter,”
MzVee sings on how modern-day women tend to be hard on themselves and believe that there must be something wrong with them if they don’t look like models.
She encourages those who are listening to her to stop being hard on themselves and to stop comparing themselves to others, since at the end of the day, we are all human beings with differences that make us unique, and we are not better or worse than one another based solely on our appearances.
Her first single, titled “Gal Dance,” was released in 2012, marking the beginning of this Ghanaian Afro-Pop musician’s career in the music industry. A mixtape titled Sweet Revenge was issued by her in the year 2013. One of its tunes is titled “Carpenter,” and it contains the rapping talents of Sarkodie.
11. “Song for a Carpenter” by Dan Fogelberg
This folk-rock singer and composer, who was awarded a Grammy, made his recording debut in 1975 with the album Home Free, which was met with positive reviews and successful sales. His second studio album, titled “Souvenirs,” featured the song “Song For A Carpenter” (1978).
His musical style may be described as being halfway between soft rock and folk music, which enabled him have a fruitful recording career that lasted for 25 years until his passing in 2007.
12. Primus’s “The Carpenter and the Dainty Bride”
Primus is a band from the United States of America that plays rock music and was formed in 1984. They are considered to be progressive rock due to the experimental nature of their music, which incorporates a wide variety of musical styles such as ska, punk rock, funk, and thrash metal, amongst many others.
13. “Jesus Was a Carpenter” by Johnny Cash
This track was recorded in the United States and included on the compilation album Johnny 99. (1983). This song was written by folk singer Steve Young, who contributed nine other songs to this album as well. Throughout the years, it has been covered by a wide variety of artists, including Johnny Cash, who included a version of it on the album Heart of the Country that he released (1975).
14. Joan Baez’s “If You Were a Carpenter”
Joan Chandos Baez is a folk singer and composer from the United States. She has been performing for almost 55 years, and she has released over 30 CDs. When she was only 19 years old, she put out her first album, which was titled Joan Baez. This record was a huge hit in the middle of the 1960s (1960).
Songwriter Steve Young was also responsible for “If You Were A Carpenter,” which was included on Joan Baez’s second studio album, which was named “Joan Baez In Concert, Part 1,” and was recorded by Baez (1961).
15. Taylor Hicks’s “Son of a Carpenter”
Taylor Reuben Hicks is a famous singer from the United States. In 2006, she triumphed in the fifth season of American Idol. He referred to himself as “the Velvet Teddy Bear” or “Teddy Bear” while he was competing on American Idol. It was published on November 20th, 2006, and debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. His first album was titled Under Construction.
16. “Karen Carpenter” by Tommy Lellis
Since he was a young adult, American country music singer-songwriter Tommy Lellis has been active in the music industry, both as a performer and a songwriter.
In addition to creating albums that feature singles such as “Carpenter,” which reached #22 on the US Country Charts in 1994, he has served as an opening act for a number of major country music stars, such as Kix Brooks and Randy Travis.
17. Clarence Ashley’s “The House Carpenter,”
Clarence Leamore Ashley is an American folk singer who hails from East Tennessee. He is known for performing old-time music from the Appalachian region utilizing instruments such as the banjo, violin, guitar, and harmonica. He was a founding member of the pioneering folk music duo known as The Skillet Lickers.
The traditional American folk ballad known as “The House Carpenter” tells the story of a guy with three eyes who watches over a house that is built of sugar and gingerbread.
18. Graveltooth’s “Carpenter’s Son”
One of the original songs about carpenters is by Graveltooth a one-man band established in the year 2000. The band’s music is an experimental kind of psychedelic rock that incorporates elements of country and bluegrass.
Graveltooth has managed to release two albums under the name Howlin’ Maggie in addition to four studio albums released under his own name.
Graveltooth has also released four albums under his own name (one self-titled; the other called Self-Titled). The song “Carpenter’s Son” was included on the band’s third studio album, which was named I’ve Got A Reason To Smile.
19. Jean Green’s “Carpenter Boy”
She was born in Kent, England, and is known as a folk singer for her contributions to the genre. She has released seven albums under the name The Young Tradition, some of which include singles such as “Carpenter’s Son.”
This song was later covered by a variety of artists on an album titled Traditional Songs & Ballads of the Appalachians, and it features Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris among others.
Craftsmanship and talent are needed to work as a carpenter. The same can be said for a good number of these songs sung by a variety of well-known singers. I hope you enjoyed the list.
