21 Songs About Cars and Driving (2023)

A road trip isn’t complete without the perfect music. And what better way to vibe than to listen to a whole playlist about cars and driving? 

Get ready to put your hands on the wheel and your foot on the gas because we’re taking a ride through the 21 Best Songs About Cars and Driving. 

21. Highway to Hell – AC/DC

Highway to Hell is a rock n’ roll song by the Aussie band AC/DC. It’s one of the best songs in the entire Highway to Hell album.

Brian Johnson, the lead vocalist, explains that the song is about being on the road and seeing the sun set on the west like a fireball.

20. Drive My Car – The Beatles

Drive My Car is from the Rubber Soul album by The Beatles. The song leans more on the Alternative Indie to Rhythm Blues genre.

The song is about a guy making a move on an actress he just met, they could be in love with each other or just interested. Nobody knows.

19. Get Your Kicks On (Route 66) – Rolling Stones

Get Your Kicks On or Route 66 is a rhythm and blues song released in the late 40’s. The song was popularized by Nat King Cole and The Rolling Stones turned it into a rock n’ roll anthem in the 60’s.

18. Life Is A Highway – Rascal Flatts

Life Is A Highway by Rascal Flatts is quite literally a song about cars – yes, the Disney movie, Cars.

Released in 2006 in their album Me and My Gang, the country rock song is about how life is just like the road, there are struggles and peace. 

17. Little Red Corvette – Prince

This pop song from Prince was released in 1983 in his album called 1999 and is still quite popular until today. 

The song takes on a fun and flirtatious vibe, just like Prince himself.

16. Drive – Cars

Drive by Cars is ultimately one of the most notable songs in the 80’s and still is up to this day. The song belongs in their album Heartbeat City which was nominated in the Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance.

15. Ride Wit Me – Nelly

Ride Wit Me is a popular hip hop song by Nelly released in the 2000’s in the Country Grammar album. 

As the title suggests, the song is about a man showing off his girl to his friends and how he feels about her. 

14. Shut Up and Drive – Rihanna

Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna is an R&B/Soul song featured in her album Good Girl Gone Bad. The song is loaded with innuendo, and the car represents different aspects of herself.

Blast this pop song while on a road trip, and you’ll definitely vibe with it. 

13. Drive – Halsey

Halsey takes on a different spin off her song called Drive. The alternative indie song is featured in her album Badlands and is loaded with innuendo. 

“My hands wrapped around your stick shift” is enough to prove the point of the song.

12. Red – Taylor Swift

Red by Taylor Swift is a country/pop song included in one of her best selling albums of all time, Red. The music kicks off with a Maserati reference, saying that her love interest seems like driving a new Maserati on a dead end street.

11. Drive – Incubus

Drive by Incubus is an Alternative Rock song featured in the album Make Yourself. 

The song is all about letting fear drive you all your life. And the decisions you make based on that fear. Sometimes, you need to overcome your fear and don’t let it drive your life.

10. Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car – Billy Ocean

The song “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car” by Billy Ocean was released in 1988 and became a hit on the pop charts.

The song is about a man who sees a woman that he desires and asks her to join him in his car. 

9. Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett

Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally was released in 1966 and has become a classic in the genre of rhythm and blues. It was one of the songs featured in the Wicked Pickett album.

The song is about a man who is trying to win back his girlfriend, Sally, by convincing her to come back to him and give their relationship another chance. 

8. I Drove All Night – Roy Orbison

I Drove All Night by Roy Orbison was originally written by Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and was made famous by Roy Orbison in 1992.

The song is about a man who is deeply in love with a woman and will do anything to be with her. He drives all night to get to her, overcome by his desire and passion for her. 

7. Radar Love – Golden Earring

Radar Love is a rock song by the Dutch band Golden Earring, released in 1973 on their album Moontan. 

The song is about a long-distance relationship between a man and a woman, with the man driving through the night to be with his lover.

6. Rockin’ Down the Highway – The Doobie Brothers

Rockin’ Down the Highway is a song by American rock band The Doobie Brothers, released in 1972 on their album “Toulouse Street”.

The lyrics describe a journey down the highway, with the band cruising in their van and playing music along the way.

5. Cars – Gary Numan

Cars is a song by English musician Gary Numan, released in 1979 on his album The Pleasure Principle.

The song is considered a classic of the new wave and synthpop genres, and has been influential in shaping the sound of electronic music.

4. Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin

Mercedes Benz is a song written and performed by American singer Janis Joplin, and was released on her album Pearl in 1971.

The lyrics playfully mock the idea that material possessions can bring happiness, with Joplin’s delivery adding to the humorous tone of the song. 

3. Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

Born to Run is a song by American rock musician Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975 on his album of the same name.

The lyrics of Born to Run describe the desire to escape from a dead-end town and a life of limitations and small-mindedness.

2. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman

Fast Car is a song by American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released in 1988 on her self-titled debut album. The song is a poignant portrayal of poverty and domestic violence, as seen through the eyes of a young woman who dreams of escaping her difficult circumstances. 

1. On The Road Again – Willie Nelson

On the Road Again is a song by American country music legend Willie Nelson, released in 1980 on his album Honeysuckle Rose.

The song’s lyrics celebrate the nomadic lifestyle of a traveling musician, as the protagonist sings “On the road again, Just can’t wait to get on the road again, The life I love is making music with my friends”. 

This list has highlighted some of the most popular and iconic songs that celebrate the thrill of the open road and the joy of driving. 

Whether you’re a fan of classic rock, country, or pop music, there’s something on this list for you.

We hope this list helped you discover new songs to add to your driving playlist, or rekindled your love for some old favorites.