Happy International Beer Day! Since its founding in 2008, beer has been honored on the first Friday in August in more than 200 cities around the world. The IBD founders declared the day a time “for beer lovers everywhere to raise a toast to our brewers and bartenders and rejoice in the greatness of beer!” Here at 360°Sound, we’re marking the occasion with a list of the best songs about beer.
Much like the wide variety of ales, lagers, stouts and pilsners, we’re serving up a diverse mix of genres spanning seven decades. On this chronological beer run, we begin way back in the 1930s with a beer ode from the Empress of the Blues, and end in the new millennium with a masked rapper spitting bars about his favorite beverage. To help narrow the field, the songs selected had to contain “beer” in both the title and lyrics. May the following 12-pack of tunes provide the ultimate soundtrack for your day of suds. Bottoms up!
Bessie Smith – “Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer)”
Songwriters: Wesley Wilson & Coot Grant
Genre: Blues
Release date: 1933
Lyrics on tap: Give the piano player a drink because he’s bringin’ me down/He’s got rhythm, yeah!/When he stomps his feet, he sends me right off to sleep
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys – “Bubbles in My Beer”
Songwriters: Tommy Duncan, Cindy Walker, Bob Wills
Genre: Western swing
Release date: 1947
Lyrics on tap: Oh, I know that my life’s been a failure/Just watchin’ the bubbles in my beer
Hank Williams – “There’s a Tear in My Beer”
Songwriter: Hank Williams
Genre: Country
Release date: 1989 (recorded during Nashville sessions in 1950-51)
Lyrics on tap: Into these last nine beers/I have shed a million tears
John Lee Hooker – “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer”
Songwriter: Rudy Toombs
Genre: Blues
Release date: 1966
Lyrics on tap: I ain’t seen the girl since night before last/Wanna get drunk, get her off my mind
The Clancy Brothers – “Beer, Beer, Beer”
Genre: Irish folk (traditional)
Release date: 1970
Lyrics on tap: Along came a man by the name of Charlie Mops/And he invented a wonderful drink and he made it out of hops
ZZ Top – Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers
Songwriters: Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill & Frank Beard
Genre: Boogie rock
Release date: 1973
Lyrics on tap: Beer drinkers and hell raisers, yeah/Baby, don’t you want to come with me?
Tom T. Hall – “I Like Beer”
Songwriter: Tom T. Hall
Genre: Country
Release date: 1975
Lyrics on tap: Whiskey’s too rough, champagne costs too much, vodka puts my mouth in gear/
This little refrain should help me explain as a matter of fact I like beer
The Replacements – “Beer for Breakfast”
Songwriter: Paul Westerberg
Genre: Rock
Release date: 1997 on the comp All for Nothing / Nothing for All (recorded in the mid-80s)
Lyrics on tap: All I want to do is drink beer for breakfast/All I want to eat is them barbecue chips
Two Nice Girls – “I Spent My Last $10.00 (On Birth Control and Beer)”
Songwriter: Gretchen Phillips
Genre: Folk rock
Release date: 1989
Lyrics on tap: I spent my last 10 dollars on birth control and beer/My life was so much simpler when I was sober and queer
Beck – “Beercan”
Songwriter: Beck Hansen
Genre: Alternative rock
Release date: 1994
Lyrics on tap: Lit up the shack/Grab me a beer out of the sack
Reel Big Fish – “Beer”
Songwriter: Aaron Barrett
Genre: Ska punk
Release date: 1996
Lyrics on tap: If you’re drinkin’ well you know/That you’re my friend and I say/I think I’ll have myself a beer
MF Doom – “One Beer”
Songwriter: Daniel Dumile
Genre: Hip hop
Release date: 2004
Lyrics on tap: There is only one beer left/Rappers screaming all in our ears like we’re deaf
I think the lesson we learn here is that beer has been on the minds of recording artists since long before we made it an international holiday. Hope you enjoyed our 12 favorite beer tunes. Pop a couple of your own favorites and enjoy responsibly. It’s International Beer Day!
