Singin' about drinkin'

None of our experts mentioned this song, so I will: the Meat Purveyors' "Thinkin' About Drinkin.'" T.F.

In conjunction with the movie "Crazy Heart," we asked several Kansas City musicians and music aficianados to name some of their favorite drinking songs. We lead with Patrick Irvin, also known as Tater, leader of the Gravy Train, a country-cover band you can catch Wednesday evenings at Harry's Country Club. It's long, but this list is by no means comprehensive. Let us know what we've overlooked.

Regulars at Harry’s Country Club are familiar with Patrick Irvin and his alter-ego, Tater, the leader of the Gravy Train.

Every Wednesday, Tater and his boys cover traditional country music, from the obscure to the classic, and their repertoire is vast and deep, comprising hundreds of songs.

We asked him to name some of his favorite drinking songs. He gave us a long list (which we’ve edited slightly), with some occasional commentary (in italics).

“Two of my favorites are ‘Sittin and Thinkin” by Charlie Rich and ‘Little Ole Wine Drinker’ by Dean Martin. And ‘Colorado Kool-Aid’ by Johnny Paycheck was my favorite song in my dad’s record collection.”

George Jones

•“The King Is Gone (So Are You)”: Elvis, Fred Flintstone and Jim Beam — three-fourths of my Mount Rushmore.

•“If the Drinking Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)”

•“Heartaches & Hangovers”: The title says it all.

Merle Haggard

•“Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down”: Blame it on the bottle.

•“Misery and Gin”: Hide the guns, pills & rope.

Roger Miller

•“Chug-a-Lug”

Moe Bandy

•“Here I Am Drunk Again”: The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Mickey Gilley

•“A Headache Tomorrow (Or a Heartache Tonight)”

Gary Stewart

•“She’s Actin’ Single, I’m Drinkin’ Double”: Blame it on her

•“An Empty Glass”

Faron Young

•“Wine Me Up”

Waylon Jennings

•“Honky Tonk Heroes”:

Every dive bar worth its salt has ’em.

Porter Wagoner

•“Misery Loves Company”

Jerry Lee Lewis

•“What Made Milwaukee Famous”

Vern Gosdin

•“Do You Believe Me Now”: Best drinking song that never references bars or booze.

Hank Williams

•“My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It”

Willie Nelson

•“Whiskey River”: I’m not a fan, but everyone else seems to be.

•“Bubbles in My Beer” by anyone

Mike Stinson

•“I Just Don’t Think So”

•“Another Day Without You”

Bill Chambers

•“I Drink”: Best song ever about alcoholism.

Red Stick Ramblers

•“Closing Time Blues”

Johnny Paycheck

•“Drinkin’ and Drivin’ ”: So politically incorrect, it’s gotta be good.

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picks from other fans

Martina McBride, country music singer

“That’s hard. There are so many great ones. ‘Swinging Doors’ by Merle Haggard and ‘The Bottle Let Me Down,’ another Merle song. There’s a song by Vern Gosdin called ‘Do You Believe Me Now.’ It’s kind of a drinking song. It takes place in a bar. But it’s so great: his performance, the harmonies, the steel guitar, the lyrics. It’s traditional country music at its best.”

David Cantwell, music writer

The Gear Daddies, “I Drank So Much Tonight I Just Feel Stupid”; Frank Sinatra’s version of “One for the Road”; George Jones, “Just One More”; Vern Gosdin’s “Set ’em Up, Joe”; and Hank Thompson, “Six Pack to Go” and “Hangover Tavern.”

Cody Wyoming, musician

The Replacements, “Beer for Breakfast” and “Here Comes a Regular”; Nick Cave, “Brother, My Cup Is Empty”; the Rolling Stones, “Salt of the Earth.”

Keenan Nichols, gutarist, the Architects; country music fan

Jerry Reed, “Remembering”; Supersuckers, “Hungover Together”; Merle Haggard, “I Threw Away the Rose”; Lucinda Williams, “Drunken Angel”; the Knitters, “Someone Like You”; Mel Tillis, “Coca Cola Cowboy.”

Robert Moore, “Sonic Spectrum”

Webb Pierce, “There Stands the Glass”; Johnny Paycheck, “Fifteen Beers”; Uncle Tupelo, “I Got Drunk.”

Anthony Ladesich, Songwriter and filmmaker

Hank Williams, “Lost Highway”; Jawbreaker, “Kiss the Bottle”; Merle Haggard, “Swinging Doors” and “Misery and Gin”; Uncle Tupelo, “Whiskey Bottle.”

Betse Ellis, Fiddler for the Wilders

“Rye Whiskey”: Tex Ritter made it famous but it’s an old fiddle tune/song.

Rex Hobart, lader of the Misery Boys

George Jones, “If the Drinkin’ Don’t Kill Me (Her Memory Will)”; Merle Haggard, “The Bottle Let Me Down”; David Allan Coe, “Jack Daniels If You Please”; and one of my own, “Til’ My Teardrops Turn to Gold.”

Adam Lee, lader of the Dead Horse Sound Company

Hank Thompson, “Six Pack to Go”; Wayne Hancock, “Drinkin’ Blues.”

The Last Call Girls, a Kansas City country band

Loretta Lynn, “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)”; everything ever written by Hank Williams Sr.; and one of our own, “Coffee When I’m Drunk.”

Comments

[Matt]

These lists seem to be more Country drinking songs, but it still makes me very sad that there is no mention of "The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)" by Tom Waits.

[XXX]

Paw - No Such Luck (not country, but how can you argue w/ "...come on have a drink w/ me, whiskey cures insanity..."?)

Free State Revival - Come on Boys(these guys have several drinking songs, but this one really captures the spirit of middle America's favorite Saturday past time and the like or dislike of it, including a great middle finger to classic rock)

Mountain Sprout - Dry Counties(If you haven't found yourself crossing county lines for booze then forget it...)

[The DLC]

Great list. Love Hank Thompson's "Hangover Tavern" and "6-pack to go" especially. There are probably a few more Paycheck gems missing, like "These Days I Drop More than I Drink."

[Bill]

Great lists! Here are five songs not yet mentioned:

Jim Ed Brown- Pop a Top
Joe Ely- Tennessee Is Not the State I'm In
Freddy Fender- Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss- Whiskey Lullaby
Todd Snider- Beer Run

[Eric]

One of my favorites is

Waking up drunk by Spider bags

[Steve]

Cold War Kids "We Used to Vacation"

[ask doctor online]

I think "My Way" is very popular song for alcoholic people. LOL!

[Scott]

Lets give it up for our good friends the Urge across the way in St Louis. I do recall a song about drinking called, Going To The Liquor Store. If anyone ever saw these guys live, when this was played all hell broke lose!

[wadkc]

Dwight Yoakam has a couple of good ones; "Since I Started Drinkin' Again" & "This Drinkin' Will Kill Me".

I always like Big & Rich's "Drinkin' 'Bout You". A great bluesy ditty.

I absolutely love regional artist Art Bentley's song "Her Heart Changed Her Mind". He doesn't do his country stuff much but the album Heartaches & Hangovers is fantastic.

[trainor]

heh... i kinda like the irony of the two headlines in a row, "Singin' about drinkin'" and "Shut up and sing." ha! somehow that just fits.

[Mild Tenacity]

Guns n' Roses "Nightrain"

Different kind of drinking song.

[Chubby]

Drink Till I Die by heavy metal spoof band Bad News. "Give me another drink Mr. Bartender, if you don't I'm gonna put your dick in a blender"

[mtjones55]

Mojo Nixon's "Beer Ain't Drinkin'"

[kcmom]

"Alcohol" by Brad Paisley

"She Only Smokes When She Drinks" and "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" by Joe Nichols

"Pop A Top" (covered by Alan Jackson...don't recall who wrote it)

[Dutch Rudder]

"The Bottle" - Gil Scott-Heron. Very uplifting.

"You don't have to call me darlin'" as performed by David Allan Coe, written by Steve Goodman. Sure it has only one line about drinkin', but it'll do!

[pellboy]

Three Martini Lunch - Graham Parker

[bob]

Women Without Whiskey and Dead, Drunk and Naked - Drive-By Truckers

[mankvill]

Anything by Tankard.

Don't need your drugs -
just drink some beer and mosh
It's doesn't cost much for a case of beer
As it does for a quarter or gram of cane
Listen to Tankard - you need a doze of thrash
A total addiction to those music and beer
It's reason enough to quit your drugs

[Sin City Disciple]

Get Gone Again by Slobberbone (not quite country, but close enough in this song)

"There's been girls who loved me, but I cheated on them
With a woman named whiskey, and gin, her best friend
Their affections flow like liquid to a thousand other men
Who'll trade lovin' for liquor, salvation for sin"

[MetalHEAD]

My all-time favorite:

The Doors; Alabama Song...the song literally belches bourbon.

[H]

"It won't hurt" by Dwight Yoakum and "Alcohol" by the Butthole Surfers come to mind.

[XXX]

Good call on the DBT's Bob. "The Company I keep" w/ lines like ".... I get by on liquor, guns and luck
But I'm scared to death which one might run out first..." and "....sometimes I'm so high I'm scared to go to sleep..." make it a first rate drinking song.

[Ronnie]

I'm with Scott. Whenever the Urge played that song the place blew up!

[Jello Biafra]

Dead Kennedys - "Too Drunk to F*ck"

[kmoon]

"Thunderbird" by ZZ Top - it's on the old live album. (Actually only one side is live & the other had studio stuff like "Blue Jean Blues".)

[gsp]

that would be Fandango!

[Rick in PV]

Thanks to others for mentioning Jim Ed Brown's "Pop a Top." My favorite couplet therein: "... a row of fools on a row of stools ..."

[louis vuitton galliera pm]

"The Bottle" - Gil Scott-Heron. Very uplifting.

"You don't have to call me darlin'" as performed by David Allan Coe, written by Steve Goodman. Sure it has only one line about drinkin', but it'll do!