These Songs Capture the Heart and Spirit of Texas

You could fill a jukebox with songs about Texas and still have plenty of tunes left over. It’s one of those places where stories are just in the air, so grab one and add a few catchy guitar licks, then sing it with a little twang in your voice, and you’ve got yourself a song worthy of the Broken Spoke.

Texas has produced a full range of "C&W"—from your hurtin’, cheatin’, and drinkin’ tunes to your gotta-get-home-to-my-baby numbers. There are odes to places like Houston, Galveston and Amarillo—and to women like the Yellow Rose, not to be confused with the San Antonio Rose. Of course, Texans being Texans, there’s plenty of humor in their  music. Exhibit A: The Austin Lounge Lizards’ “Stupid Texas Song,” which proclaims, “Even of our pride we’re proud, and we’re proud of that pride, too.”

Dancing to a little Texas swing at a Hill Country barbecue is one of those bucket list experiences that really should be on everybody’s list. (That includes you, Vermont. Listen to a little Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys on the way down so you can prepare yourself for the musical whirli-gator that’s about to sweep you off your feet.)

Native son Willie Nelson has been so prolific that he could fill many jukeboxes on his own. He and Waylon Jennings could always make us think about Texas, even when they weren’t directly singing about it . (Because really—where else would Mamas need to be reminded not to let their babies grow up to be cowboys?)

We think we can guess your favorite Texas-inpired tunes . . . but maybe not. Here's our list, along with some of the artists who made them famous. Let us know what we missed! (BTW, somebody in Waco needs to write "The Ballad of Chip and Joanna.")

Yellow Rose of Texas
Gene Autry & Jimmy Long, Roy Rogers & Dale Evans, Mitch Miller & His Orchestra, Ernest Tubb, Elvis . . .

Deep in the Heart of Texas
Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Tex Ritter, Gene Autry

San Antonio Rose
Patsy Cline

Galveston
Glenn Campbell

Luckenbach, Texas
Waylon and Willie (and the boys)

El Paso
Marty Robbins

Houston
Larry Gatlin & The Gatlin Brothers

Amarillo By Morning
George Strait

Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind
George Strait

All My Exes Live in Texas
George Strait

Stupid Texas Song
Austin Lounge Lizards

Texas (When I Die)
Tanya Tucker

Texas Flood
Stevie Ray Vaughan

God Bless Texas
Little Texas

Texas State of Mind
Shelley West & David Frizzell

T for Texas
Jimmie Rogers, Waylon Jennings, Lynyrd Skynyrd

That’s Right, You’re Not from Texas
Lyle Lovett

I Wish It Would Rain
Nanci Griffith

Lone Star State of Mind
Nanci Griffith

Texas in My Rearview Mirror
Mac Davis

Texas River Song
Townes Van Zandt, Lyle Lovett

If You’re Gonna Play in Texas
Alabama

Miles and Miles of Texas
Asleep at the Wheel

Bluest Eyes in Texas
Restless Heart

Streets of Laredo
Marty Robbins

What I Like About Texas
Jerry Jeff Walker

Waltz Across Texas
Ernest Tubb

There's nothing like a little Willie Wisdom to cap off your day. We'll understand if you kick back and spend the afternoon listening to his music.