Home TRAVEL JOURNAL What's Your All-Tiime Favorite Travel Song?
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What's Your All-Tiime Favorite Travel Song? PDF Print E-mail


We took a fair and honest poll. Well, not really. We asked some other seniors to list their favorite travel songs. Considering age and fading memories, we came up with this list of all-time faves. You may not agree, especially if you were born within the past half-century or so, but here’s the result.

1. Route 66 by Bobby Troup was a Nat King Cole smash hit in 1946.

It winds from Chicago to L.A.,
More than 2,000 miles all the way.
Get your kicks on Route 66...

The lyrics are slightly inaccurate, because the road actually
continues through L.A. to Santa Monica and the Pacific Ocean.

2. Come Fly With Me was recorded in 1958 by the great Frank Sinatra, and still broadly hints at the many thrills of air travel, such as:

Weather-wise it's such a cool, cool day.
You just say those words,
And we'll beat the birds
Down to Acapulco Bay...

3. I Left My Heart in San Francisco was first warbled by Tony Bennett in 1962, and he still sings it in almost every concert today. It is the official welcome song for City by the Golden Gate. Remember:

Those little cable cars
Climb halfway to the stars...

4. Just for you youngsters of age 50 or so, we’ll name the Beatles’ Drive My Car as a favorite. The 1966 recording as part of the Fab Four’s Rubber Soul album became an all-time hit. The lyrics make little sense, but not much does when you’re stuck in traffic on the Hollywood Freeway.

5. Peter, Paul and Mary sang Leavin’ on a Jet Plane in 1967. Previously recorded by writer/singer John Denver, the lyrics are the opposite of Sinatra’s happily enticing words. It’s about the sadness of flying away from a loved one. At the time, they didn’t know what unhappiness lay ahead. There were no ATF searchy feely lines, 10-hour tarmac delays, sliding airplane seats, grossly inflated prices or other flying unpleasantness to come.

Of course, many great travel songs have been written and performed since this list of old fogey favorites. However, we couldn’t print the unreadable, often uncomfortable, lyrics here.

 
 
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