31 Best Songs About Alabama Ever

My Home’s In Alabama by Alabama

Song Year: 1979

It’s impossible to discuss songs about Alabama without mentioning the band “Alabama.”

In “My Home’s In Alabama,” they sing about the many places they have lived over the years. Wherever they are, and however much they love it, nowhere but Alabama feels like home.

Alabama Getaway by The Grateful Dead

Song Year: 1980

“Alabama Getaway” used to be a staple of Grateful Dead concerts. They sang it live for the first time in 1979, and in 1980 it appeared on an album.

Although it disappeared off their concert roster by the end of the 1980s, for years it wasn’t considered a Grateful Dead concert unless they sang this song about Alabama.

The lyrics are full of controversial, even violent imagery. Opinion varies as to their meaning. Some people believe it’s a tribute to Alabama-born band members in the process of leaving the band. Others see it as a commentary on the inherent violence of a particular kind of Southerner.

Alabama by Neil Young

Song Year: 1972

“Alabama” isn’t Neil Young’s most controversial song about the South. Although Alabama features in the title and lyrics, the lyrics aren’t specifically about the state.

It’s a much subtler commentary on racism than “Southern Man.” Its lyrics juxtapose the disparity between the haves and have-nots. To do so, it draws on imagery associated with slavery, like ropes and chains. Interestingly, it also draws on the banjo, the famous musical equalizer made popular by Pete Seeger.

It offers an optimistic future where music unites these people if only they can agree to work together.

Alabama by John Coltrane

Song Year: 1963

John Coltrane’s song “Alabama” is one of the few instrumental songs about Alabama. It features Coltrane on saxophone, deftly playing a warm, mellow, and slow-paced song. It picks up speed as it goes, becoming increasingly jazzy and prone to improvisation.

The popular story about this song is that Coltrane wrote it after a devastating church bombing organized by the Klu Klux Klan in 1963. The attack targeted an Alabama church and killed four young girls.

Famously, Coltrane used the rhythm of Martin Luther King’s speeches to shape the tempo and rhythm of his jazz tribute.

Alabama Song by The Doors

Song Year: 1967

The Doors were famous for their psychedelic rock songs, and “Alabama Song” is no exception.

In this song about Alabama, several people set out to find a whiskey bar. If they can’t find it, the only option is death. The lyrics are bizarre, and the harmony is as fascinating as it is improbable.

There’s a carnival quality to this song that many people find unsettling, but don’t discount it for that. As eerie and unsettling as it can sound, the composition is brilliant.

Honky Tonk Highway by Luke Combs

Song Year: 2017

“Honky Tonk Highway” is a much more optimistic song about Alabama. And not just Alabama but life as a musician.

The nomadic lifestyle that comes with performing doesn’t suit everyone. Listening to Combs sing “Honky Tonk Highway,” it’s obvious the lifestyle suits him.

The lyrics paint a nostalgic picture of life on the road as the speaker drives towards Alabama, always going from one concert to the next. It’s sentimental but never cloying and an excellent tribute to the music and a place Combs loves.

Alabama Pines by Jason Isbell 

Song Year: 2012

Here’s another nostalgic song about Alabama. Its slow, plodding tempo is full of longing for home.

Isbell keeps the song from becoming sappy by recognizing the failings of his version of Alabama. It’s not perfect, but it’s his. And the scent of the Alabama pines eclipses all his hometown’s imperfections.

When the Midnight Choo Choo Leaves for Alabam by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire 

Song Year: 1948

Most people forget that Easter Parade features Fred Astaire and Judy Garland singing about catching the train to Alabama.

This song about Alabama is fun, fast-paced, and playful, in keeping with the theme of the musical. It also speaks to what was popular in post-war America. People wanted uplifting melodies that could make them forget the war.

Listening to “Midnight Choo Choo,” it’s clear that Irving Berlin wrote it intending to mimic the titular mode of transport. The lyrics are fun, the melody is playful, and the rhythm apes a racing train perfectly.

Ala-Freakin’-Bama by Trace Adkins

Song Year: 2010

“Ala-Freakin-Bama” opens with a chord progression evocative of 1960s rock ‘n roll. You half-expect it to segue into a Beach Boys cover.

What you get is a love letter to Alabama. But first, Adkins’ speaker falls in love with an anonymous woman whose clothes indicate she also loves his state.

Determined to catch her eye, the speaker rattles off any number of Alabama-related references, ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Roll Tide.

Sunday Birmingham by Suzy Bogguss

Song Year: 2021

“Sunday Birmingham” is a surprisingly poignant song about Alabama. In it, the speaker takes a break from their nomadic life to stay overnight in Alabama.

The narrator gets struck by Birmingham’s rare beauty. Bogguss paints a rich sensory picture, full of flowers in bloom and hickory smoke. It’s enough to make anyone want to drive to Alabama and immerse themselves in its local beauty spots.

Roll Tide Roll by Carter Hamric

Song Year: 2009

“Roll Tide Roll” looks and sounds older than it is. Carter Hamric wrote the song when he was 20 while collaborating with his friends.

Inspired by one of Alabama’s favorite sports chants, it became an immediate success. All across the state, people called up local radio stations requesting Carter’s composition.

The result is that it’s as deeply associated with the state as much older country songs.

Postmarked Birmingham by Black Hawk

Song Year: 1997

In this song about Alabama, the speaker’s memories get triggered by a letter. It’s postmarked from Birmingham, Alabama, and the handwriting is familiar.

It’s a bittersweet song. The letter comes from a lost love, and the lyrics exemplify how intimate we find even the smallest details, like handwriting.

Because the speaker knows their correspondence, they can piece a lot together about what happened in the time they spent apart. Most telling of all, the postmark from Birmingham puts this love in Alabama, making it somewhere they both long for and dread.