Houston, We Have a Playlist: The Best Songs about Life in the Bayou City
If you disagree with our top 10, feel free to fight us in the comments.
Houston, we have a playlist. While there are many famous songs from Houston musicians and bands—from UGK’s “Int’l Players Anthem” and Lil Troy’s “Wanna Be a Baller” to Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” and Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love”—not all of them are explicitly about life in the Bayou City. So we decided to put together a playlist filled with music that is actually about Houston.
It’s filled with the Houston equivalents of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” or “Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A. Or, at least we hope it is. The funny thing about music, especially music that is supposed to define a city, is that people tend to have some pretty strong opinions about it. While these are some of our favorites, we’re certain there are other songs that people will think we absolutely should have added to the list and that we’re idiots for not including. Feel free to fight us in the comments.
Here are our top 10 picks (in no particular order) for the best songs about life and culture in Houston, and if you want more, we’ve put together a Spotify playlist with the rest of our favorites. If you don’t see yours below, it’s probably hanging out there.
“Telephone Road”
By Steve Earle
Before he made it big in Nashville, country rock singer and songwriter Steve Earle lived briefly in Houston as a teen runaway. His song “Telephone Road” tells the story of oil workers who moved to Houston and blew all their money at honky-tonks on Telephone Road, which he describes as being “10 miles long” and home to 50 car lots and 100 honky-tonks.
“Southside”
By Lil’ Keke
This hit single from Houston rapper Lil’ Keke’s debut album, Don’t Mess Wit Texas, did so well that it inspired its own dance. If you’re unfamiliar, just follow these lyrics and try to do it yourself: “Raise yo hands, so so high, rub ya head, and do the Southside.”
“Houston”
By Dean Martin
Is this one of the saddest songs about Houston? To Dean Martin, Houston is a lonesome old town where everybody puts him down. “I’m just a face without a name, Just walking in the rain / Goin’ back to Houston, Houston, Houston,” go the lyrics before he talks about having a hole in both of his shoes and watching a dollar bill blow away in the wind. Despite being a bit melodramatic, it’s one of our favorites.
“Welcome 2 Houston”
By Slim Thug, featuring Chamillionaire, Paul Wall, Mike Jones, Pimp C, Bun B, Lil’ Keke, Z-Ro, Trae, Rob G, Lil’ O, Big Pokey, Mike D, and Yung Redd.
Is there a Houston track with a better lineup? We don’t think so. Slim Thug got all the greats together for this one, which includes some of our favorite verses about Houston and Houston culture. So many neighborhoods are mentioned—from Third Ward and Sunnyside to Sharpstown and Alief—that you should use this track as your official Houston neighborhood guide.
“Houston Texas”
By Archie Bell & the Drells
This song by Houston’s Archie Bell & the Drells, released in 1968, is a whole vibe. In addition to being breezy and easy to listen to, we love it for its perhaps not very apt description of where Houston is located. “Down in Houston, Texas, near the Mexican border,” repeats the song again and again. (If you’re new here, Mexico is about a five-hour drive.) Although it’s not quite as famous as “Tighten Up,” a track from the same album that reached number one on the Billboard R&B charts in 1968, “Houston Texas” is still one of our favorites.
“El de Houston”
By Grupo Los de la O and Ivan Cornejo
This song from Grupo and Cornejo is one of our absolute faves. The up-tempo track discusses how singer Cornejo enjoys his time spent in Houston and contrasts the city with his humble background. It’s a fun tune that you’ll want to keep on repeat.
“***Flawless”
By Beyoncé
If Houston had a queen, it would obviously be Beyoncé. And although she’s made many songs through the years that give Houston love, our favorite one is “***Flawless.” Perhaps that’s due to the “bow down bitches” line, a line that we like to imagine is her telling people to bow down to H-Town and not just to herself.
“First Class”
By Khruangbin
We love a good Khruangbin song, especially since we like to listen to music without lyrics while doing our writing and editing. Khruangbin, whose members are all from Houston, are pretty famous for putting out songs with minimalistic vocal tracks. Our favorite is “First Class,” in which “H-Town” is softly whispered repeatedly. Think of it as Houston-focused ASMR.
“Southside Royalty Freestyle”
By Megan Thee Stallion, featuring Sauce Walka, Big Pokey, Lil’ Keke, and Mike D
We love a good freestyle. Even better when they mention local spots like Pappadeaux and the Galleria. Although we wouldn’t be caught dead at the latter (unless someone wants to give us a gift card to Musaafer), it’s always nice to see some Houston businesses receive some star-level love.
“Houston, We Got a Problem”
By Luke Combs
What we love about country music is how literal most of the genre’s singers are when it comes to their lyrics. This means that many country songs are uncomplicated and easy to understand, the perfect songs to listen to after a hard day of thinking. One of our favorites is “Houston, We Got a Problem” by Luke Combs, in which the singer calls Houston his “kind of town” and “kind of place,” before discussing very Houston things like the Astrodome, 19th Street, and NASA by way of mentioning the moon landing. Oh, and we’re also apparently home to “the coldest beer you’d ever drink.” Suck on that one, Dallas.
