We’ve all been enjoying the outdoors this year, perhaps more than usual due to these trying times. However, when we’re not listening to nature’s music, we’re playing this soundtrack full of country songs about the great outdoors. From timeless artists like Garth Brooks to fan favorites like Eric Church and Luke Combs, we’re running down our best-of list as this year comes to a close.
Pull up your Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you listen music to and great ready to hit add on these 2020 country songs.
Garth Brooks Takes the Traveled Road
Garth Brooks‘ long-awaited album Fun is finally available and we’re putting “The Road I’m On” on our playlist. The track shares moments of spending time driving through the country.
“The hummin’ of this bluebird / Is something I’ve been missing” and “The windmills to the cotton fields / It’s all goin’ my way” talks about how Brooks is blessed to have traveled the world because of his success in country music.
Although the country music icon also cites that he’s in a different town each night, he’s not taking for granted the life that he’s been given.
Kip Moore Croons Outdoors in ‘She’s Mine’
This 2020 country song from Kip Moore is about a man looking for love all over the map. He starts by traveling to Dallas and then to Mexico to take in the sunshine. When he doesn’t find her there, he continues to make his way west and ends up at the coast.
“Hell, maybe she’s a hippie / Hangin’ on the west coast / With flowers in her hair,” Moore sings one of the verses.
The video even features the country music artist sitting in a red Adirondack chair, strumming his guitar outside. This is the first single off Moore’s recent album fittingly titled Wild World.
Read more here about Kip Moore and how he embodies the Outsider spirit.
Luke Combs Cites Cabo in ‘Moon Over Mexico’
This song might’ve officially came out last year, but overnight country sensation Luke Combs re-released the song on his deluxe album earlier this year.
“Moon Over Mexico” is a song that reminisces about a vacation spent in Mexico with a loved one. Though the lyrics read like a love song, Combs calls out nature.
“Under the Cabo palm-leaf shade /And it’s crazy I know, but I’d give anything to go / To you and me on that coast, in the midnight glow,” a set of lyrics read.
“Feel the sand on your skin” and “the wild in the wind” are just two more examples of what we mean.
Furthermore, the video shares clips of Combs and his bandmates on vacation in Cabo. The video is made to look like this trip was taken after he and his cohorts wrapped a tour.
Luke Bryan Also Celebrates Outdoors with Margaritas
We all know that Luke Bryan loves the outdoors, and in “One Margarita” he’s combing liquid libations and the sandy beaches of Mexico.
“Clouds ain’t leakin’ no rain / Two pieces shakin’, white caps a-breakin’ / We ain’t feelin’ no pain,” are the outdoors inspired lyrics that lead into the chorus.
Kenny Chesney Reminds Us to be Present
Another man that loves the beach is Kenny Chesney. Though he’s not necessarily singing about sand and surf in this single, he is singing about looking for love outdoors.
Lyrics like “Fireflies in Tennessee” and “I must’ve sat on a dozen islands” calls out nature in “Here and Now.”
Chris Stapleton ‘Arkansas’ is a Natural Hit
Chris Stapleton just looks like he loves the outdoors. With his long hair and big burly beard, the man looks like he just stepped off a 5-day hunt. So it seems like it would only be natural for him to sing about the outdoors.
“Arkansas,” also nicknamed the Natural State, is a song that’s inspired by true life events. Stapleton tells the story which can be found on the Fayetteville Flyer.
“It wasn’t that long ago that I had a birthday, and I happen to like fast cars,” he said. “So my wife bought me a fast car, but the fast car was in Oklahoma City, so me and JT back there on the bass got dropped off in Oklahoma City and we drove like a bat out of hell through the Ozark Mountains all the way to Nashville, Tennessee, and that’s what this song is all about.”
The car is reportedly a Porsche 911, and this trip was for sure a memorable one if it leads to a country song. Stapleton even calls out various landmarks, including the Ozark Mountains, the White River, Fayetteville, and Little Rock.
Stapelton embodies the free spirit of enjoying the outdoors and his story about how the song came to be shows that bonding can happen when enjoying nature.
Sturgill Simpson Sings about the Tennessee Outdoors
Sturgill Simpson just released his second installment of Cuttin’ Grass. Vol. 2 is actually a combination of new music and tracks from his LP A Sailor’s Guide to Earth and his debut LP High Top Mountain.
“Tennessee” is one of the those songs and in the lyrics, Simpson points out certain traits unique to the Volunteer State.
“They say in Tennessee, the sun is always shining,” he sings as the sound of banjo strings play in the background.
Taylor Swift Escapes to Cabin to Fuel Creativity
These two albums might not be “country” per se but they do give a nod to the outdoors. Swift’s film about the recording of Folklore shows her in a cabin in the woods. Nature provides a great escape and can allow us to recenter and focus on what’s important.
As a matter of fact, Swift’s second surprise album Evermore features songs from the same cabin-writing sessions. She claims that they “just couldn’t stop writing” BBC reports.
With song titles like “Willow,” “Gold Rush,” and “Ivy” the 31-year-old was obviously influenced by her surroundings. In the music video for “Willow,” she begins by emerging from a tree and ends up in the outdoors. Plus other clips also feature Swift outside, dancing.
Eric Church Inspired by Outdoors
The story behind “Hell of a View” is one that cites being inspired by nature. Eric Church co-wrote the hit song with Casey Beathard and Monty Criswell. They were in an old restaurant in the mountains at the time.
“We were in North Carolina in the mountains. When I came back in from a jog Casey immediately started playing the first part of the song he’d been working on with Monty,” Church explained in a statement.
The video is full of behind-the-scenes peeks and sweeping panoramic views. And it hints at the story behind the song.
Can’t get enough of outdoor-inspired songs or tracks about nature itself, then check out this list of best country songs about the great outdoors.