Take your MP3 Player, plug your headphones, and enjoy the world! Music is the backpackers rhythm, and who doesn’t love good music?
This is why you are here right now to get some inspiration around travel songs, right?! There are some great travel songs out there for travel inspiration.
Here we collected our 17 favorite songs around travel and backpacking! We are not just listing songs in English, we are also including travel songs in French, German, and Spanish. Find more of our fav songs for backpackers.
UPDATE: We included 10 more songs about traveling!
1. Radical Face – Wandering
Well, I know it’s a good life
Yeah, I know it’s a good life
But I’ve gotta keep moving
I was made to keep moving
And I know it’s a long shot
It was always a long shot
But I’m trusting my aim now
Yeah I’m trusting my aim
For more travel spirit, check out this stunning place of Dragon Dive Komodo.
2. One day baby we’ll be old – Asaf Avidan
One day baby, we’ll be old
Oh baby, we’ll be old
And think of all the stories that we could have told.
3. Peps – Liberta Acoustic Version (French)
Là-bas trop de lumière
J’ai dû fermer les yeux
Mais rien que les odeurs
Remplissaient tous mes voeux
I just wanna be free in this way
Just wanna be free in my world
Vivere per libertà
Vivere nella libertà
4. You’re so worth it – Giles Palmer
You are so worth it
You are the only one it takes to know what love is
You are so worth it
There is not any part of me who would want to let you go
5. Summercat Billie the vision & the dancers
The plane took off and my love went with it.
The chilly wind whipped my both cheeks hard.
And the man next to me said ‘Everything is gonna be alright’.
I said ‘Nothing is gonna be alright, but thank you anyway’.
And then I saw your face in the airplane window.
I waved my hands and I shouted to you:
Tonight tonight tonight tonight
I wanna be with you Tonight tonight tonight tonight
I wanna be with you tonight
6. Best Day of My Life – American Authors
I’m never gonna look back
Woah, never gonna give it up
No, please don’t wake me now
Ooooooohhhh
This is gonna be the best day of my life
My liiiiiiiife
7. STAY: Video of the 5 Star Hostel in Rhodes, Greece
Sometimes the music itself is enough, lyrics are not important to stress what you wanna express.
Don’t you think?
Have a look at the STAY Rhodes video, it really did not need any lyrics at all.
8. Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Ahh, Home
Let me come Home
Home is wherever I’m with you (2x)
La la la la, take me Home
Baby, I’m coming Home
I’ll follow you into the park,
through the jungle, through the dark
Girl, I’ve never loved one like you
You will also love these 10 best songs for backpackers.
9. Machu Picchu – The Strokes
Waves turn to grey.
Life in the shade.
A violent cloud,
And that’s the USA
Platinum’s on the rise,
Playboy’s in disguise
I’m just trying’ to find…
A mountain I can climb.
10. The Sound of Silence – Simon and Garfunkel
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a streetlamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
11. Applejack – The Triangles
Raise your hands and sing it with me
Sometimes the strongest and most wonderful things are those we cannot see
Sing a song, sing a song
About how things seem more important at night
So sing apples, sing drum kits
Sing moonlight, sing lungfish
And sing a song mitochondria
Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa
Another summer-theme song you cannot skip – NO WAY!
12. Buenos dias mundo – Rosana
Si está dentro de ti con ganas de volar
¿Quién va a amarrar el viento cuando quieras despegar?
Si está dentro de ti, forrado con tu piel
¿Quién va a decirte no es posible?
¿Quién te va a romper lo que sueñas tú?
13. All die Augenblicke – BAP feat. Clueso (German)
Geht klar, keine Frage – es ist alles okay,
Auch die kostbarsten Momente gehen vorbei.
Schon klar, doch – hey – das tut nicht mal weh.
All die Augenblicke nimmt mir keiner mehr.
Ganz bestimmt, die nimmt mir keiner mehr.
14. Good Life – One Republic
This has gotta be the good life
This has gotta be the good life
This could really be a good life, good life
I say oh
Got this feeling that you can’t fight
Like this city is on fire tonight
This could really be a good life
A good, good life
15. Viva La Vida – Coldplay
Coldplay is one of my absolute favorite music bands out there.
I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing
Roman cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can’t explain
Once you’d gone there was never
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world
16. Without a Map – Sam Roberts Band
All the time I’m wasting, all the dreams I’m chasing
are leaving me behind
all the roads I’m facing, all the days erasing
well I just about lose my mind
I woke up this morning, the idea was forming
that I’m always on the losing side
but I never believed in resurrection
so I just lay down
lay down and cried
17. Hakuna Matata – The Lion King
Hakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase Hakuna Matata! Ain't no passing craze It means no worries for the rest of your days It's our problem-free philosophy Hakuna Matata!
18. Just say yes – Snow Patrol
I’m running out of ways to make you see
I want you to stay here beside me
I won’t be ok and I won’t pretend I am
So just tell me today and take my hand
Please take my hand
Please take my hand
Just say yes, just say there’s nothing holding you back
It’s not a test, nor a trick of the mind
Only love
19. Part-Time Friends – Here We Are
Something rise and fall
thought we never lost control
Here we are
something rise and fall
Thought we never lost control
Here we are
Get up
we are nothing but trouble
Nothing but shamble
Here we are
Instead of staying in this bow
Let’s have a bloody row
Here we are
It’s unfair to love someone who wants to beat you down so much
here we are
20. Jose Gonzalez – Step Out (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)
Living life feeding appetites
Stake through every heart stop, every go
Being glad, breathing half the time
Time to step outside, time to step outside
Time to step outside, Time to step outside your life
This song is from the travel movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Read: 33 best wanderlust movies.
21. Sons Of The East – Into The Sun
As the train, it starts to go,
And it takes our bodies slow
And I know you wanted to for some time now
All this time you’re gone In your wake
I stumble on
But the smoke is nothing that I haven’t seen
So I walk into the sun
I thought you’d be there
But you could fool anyone In the red water dust
Will I see you soon,
Or did we move on?
The crowd begins to break up
They’re calling their goodbyes
My head’s above the water
But I’m drowning in your eyes
So I walk into the sun
22. Passenger – Travelling Alone
Australian man, Scandinavian tan,
Kicking stones round a square.
Sat for a while and carved out a smile,
As if someone would care.
Said I’m a long way from the Gold Coast.
Furthest I’ve ever known,
Oh and this just ain’t my home.
It was my wife’s idea, but she’s no longer here.
She left me travelling alone.
I never heard silence ring out like a bell.
I never heard silence like last night in my expensive hotel.
Well, I’m loving a shadow, I’m trying to catch the rain.
But I never heard silence ’til I heard it today.
23. Trip The Light – Alicia Lemke
We’re gonna trip the light
We’re gonna break the night
And we’ll see with new eyes
When we trip the light
Remember we’re lost together
Remember we’re the same
We hold the burning rhythm in our hearts
We hold the flame
Alicia Lemke cannot be missed on any of these playlists.
24. Mumford & Sons – Hopeless Wanderer
I wrestled long with my youth
We tried so hard to live in the truth
But do not tell me all is fine
When I lose my head, I lose my spine
So leave that click in my head
And I won’t remember the words that you said
You brought me out from the cold
Now, how I long, how I long to grow old
So when your hope’s on fire
But you know your desire
Don’t hold a glass over the flame
Don’t let your heart grow cold
I will call you by name
I will share your road
25. Ed Sheeran – Perfect
Baby, I’m dancing in the dark, with you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song
When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful
I don’t deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight
26. Oceans – Cold aint for me
It was a summer night
Such a perfect day
We were so laid back
Just watching the waves
It was our time
There was no rain
We would just love
Then do it all again
27. Bon Jovi – it’s my life
This ain’t a song for the broken-hearted
No silent prayer for the faith-departed
I ain’t gonna be just a face in the crowd
You’re gonna hear my voice
When I shout it out loud
It’s my life
It’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
(It’s my life)
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frankie said
I did it my way
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life
28. Oasis – Wonderwall
Today is gonna be the day
That they’re gonna throw it back to you
By now you should’ve somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don’t believe that anybody
Feels the way I do, about you now
Backbeat, the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I’m sure you’ve heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don’t believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now
29. U2 – Beautiful Day
The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There’s no room
No space to rent in this town
You’re out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you’re not moving anywhere
You thought you’d found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace
It’s a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It’s a beautiful day
Don’t let it get away
30. Lenny Kravitz – Always On The Run
My mama said
That your life is a gift
And my mama said
There’s much weight you will lift
And my mama said
Leave those bad boys alone
And my mama said
Be home before the dawn
And my mama said
You can be rich or poor
But my mama said
You can be big or small
But I’m always on the run (always on the run)
But I’m always on the run
31. Green Day – Time of your Life
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don’t ask why
It’s not a question, but a lesson learned in time
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right
I hope you had the time of your life
So take the photographs, and still-frames in your mind
Hang them on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoo’s of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it’s worth, it was worth all the while
It’s something unpredictable, but in the end it’s right
I hope you had the time of your life
32. The Place to Stay by Álex y Julia
When I wake up in the morning
and you’re lying in my bed,
then I sing for you
then I sing for me
then I sing la lalalala.
Then I try to write down
If I had a dream again,
And it’s you and I
and it’s you and I
and it’s you and I together
it just feels so fine,
Oh you and I together
it just feels so right,
Oh you and I feels so right.
Mediterranean, where we want to stay
you and I always together
dancing night and day.
It’s summertime again
and it feels so great,
you and I always together
dancing night and day
and night and day and again.
33. Matchbox Twenty – 3AM
She says it’s cold outside and she hands me my raincoat
She’s always worried about things like that
She says it’s all gonna end and it might as well be my fault
And she only sleeps when it’s raining
And she screams, and her voice is straining
And she says baby
It’s three a.m. I must be lonely
When she says baby
Well I can’t help but be scared of it all sometimes
And the rain’s gonna wash away I believe it
She’s got a little bit of something, god it’s better than nothing
And in her color portrait world she believes that she’s got it all
She swears the moon don’t hang quite as high as it used to
And she only sleeps when it’s raining
And she screams, and her voice is straining
EXTRA 34. Sweet Home Alabama
Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the south-land
I miss ‘ole’ ‘bamy once again and I think it’s a sin
Well I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well I heard ole Neil put her down
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
A southern man don’t need him around anyhow
Extra 35. Steppenwolf – Born to be wild
Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way
Yeah Darlin’ go make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space
Extra 36. Xavier Rudd – Follow The Sun
Follow, follow the sun
And which way the wind blows
When this day is done
Breathe, breathe in the air
Set your intentions
Dream with care
Tomorrow is a new day for everyone,
Brand new moon, brand new sun
So follow, follow the sun,
The direction of the bird,
The direction of love
Breathe, breathe in the air,
Cherish this moment,
Cherish this breath
Tomorrow is a new day for everyone,
Brand new moon, brand new sun
More Backpacker Songs to explore
Do you want more songs? Fair enough!
- 29 songs for the perfect travel playlist
- best 31 travel songs collected by One Week In
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