10 Great Drinking Songs

Happy St. Patrick's Day all!! For whatever reason this day has become synonymous with getting totally shittered. I Figured i'd shed some light on a few tracks to give you all a great soundtrack for your loose and liquored day. Now these aren't in any order and aren't necessarily songs ABOUT drinking, rather great songs to DRINK to. Evil Shennanigans!!

1. Mudmen - "5 O'Clock"

A great song to drink to on any day of the year. My fellow country men really get the message right, it's never too early to kick the night off with a pint. Something about bagpipes and violins that really set the mood as well.

2. Flogging Molly - "Salty Dog"

Anything by these guys could really be on this list. Formed in California with Irish roots, Flogging Molly's live performances are always lubricated with whiskey and Guinness. You don't need to know the words here, just grab your stein and jig the night away.

3. Mischief Brew - "Roll Me Through The Gates Of Hell"

Erik Peterson and his band of anarcho-punks bring us this tasty tune. It was the theme to my 28th birthday party, a night I don't remember much of. A great song to gather your lads around in a smokey bar, fill up yer mugs, and scream it 'til you chunder.

4. Spirit Of The West - "Home For A Rest"

I'd be remissed if I failed to include this one. I think we've all had a vacation like the one described here: get home from a "relaxing" trip only to find we've forgotten to relax. I think the flutes really makes this one as legendary as it is. My prediction: You hear this one at least 4 times tonight.

5. Grateful Dead - "Mexicali Blues"

Little bit of a left turn here as The Grateful Dead are typically put on while partaking in other mind-altering substances, but you can't ignore the potential here. Everytime this track comes on I wish I was somewhere with a bottle of tequila getting torched under a mid-Summer's sun. Here's a live version from 1981, but check out the album version too.

6. The New Pornographers - "My Slow Descent Into Alcoholism"

This is the perfect backdrop to a night of blind partying. It's got a light, happy-go-lucky feel. The exact escape i'm looking for when I turn to the bottle, that's for sure.

7. Against Me! - "Pints Of Guinness Make You Strong"

This is actually a song about eternal love. A woman's young husband dies on St Patrick's Day and she never loves again for the rest of her days. Definitely a cautionary tale about the dangers that could come from over-indulgence. The first line in that chorus just begs to be screamed at the top of your lungs though "And just like James i'm drinking Irish tonight!!!"

8. Hayden - "Tree's Lounge"

Written for the Steve Buscemi flick of the same name, "Tree's Lounge" is one of those "Comfort in a bottle" songs. Definitely not a feel-good, party track. Still incredible though. Also within the lyrics are some of the best stakes to a drinking game i've ever heard.

9. Murder By Death - "Brother"

All these guys sing about is drinking, so I figured they'd make a good inclusion. I love the singer's voice, almost like a darker version of Johnny Cash. To me songs like this conjure up images of old-timey salloons.

10. Dropkick Murphy's - "Fightstarter Karaoke"

And finally liquid courage in song form. Another American band with quasi-Irish roots, again I could have put any Murphy's song on here and been content with it. But we haven't really had a drunken fight song yet, so here she is. For the longest time I thought this song was called "Riot Tonight"