I've seen a million faces

November 4, 2009 12:27 PM

What are some good songs about being on tour?

My band's tour is coming to an end and I'd like to make a goodbye mix for all the crew and other bands we've been rolling with for the past month+.

They could be classic (American band, various zepplin), obscure (humble pie's 30 Days In The Hole [my personal favorite]) or modern (living legends' Creative Differences). They don't have to entirely be about touring as long as at least one verse or so specifically talks about life on the road as a musician.

TIA

posted by Potomac Avenue to media & arts (93 comments total)

"Monday" by Wilco
"Turn the Page" Bob Seeger
posted by elmer benson at 12:30 PM on November 4

Tour Song- Jawbreaker

Turn the Page- Bob Seger
posted by josher71 at 12:31 PM on November 4

There's End of the Tour by They Might be Giants. It's on John Henry.
posted by dortmunder at 12:31 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]

Blues Run the Game.
posted by oinopaponton at 12:32 PM on November 4

Jackson Browne: "The Load Out/Stay"
Bob Segar: "Turn The Page"
Journey: "Faithfully"

I'm still thinking of ones and may come back.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:32 PM on November 4

Maybe not your style, but They Might Be Giant's The End of the Tour. (What do you mean it's not literally about that - it's right there in the title!)
posted by ecurtz at 12:33 PM on November 4

Whiplash - Metallica
posted by ignignokt at 12:34 PM on November 4

Super Trouper by ABBA
posted by Melismata at 12:37 PM on November 4

"The Road" by Tenacious D
posted by chowflap at 12:37 PM on November 4

The Animal Trainer and the Toad by Mountain
posted by princelyfox at 12:37 PM on November 4

Jackson Browne: The Road
posted by NoraCharles at 12:38 PM on November 4

Comin' Home by Kiss.

Amazin'.
posted by fire&wings at 12:38 PM on November 4

When you are out there on the road
for several weeks of shows
and when you scan the radio,
I hope this song will guide you home

Postal Service-- Such Great Heights
posted by jschu at 12:39 PM on November 4

The Replacements' "Treatment Bound".

(First thing we do when we finally pull up
Get shitfaced drunk, then try to sober up
There'll be no pose tonight, no money in sight
Label wants a hit, but we don't give a shit...)
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 12:40 PM on November 4

"Road Ode" by Loudon Wainwright III.
posted by rongorongo at 12:40 PM on November 4

Oh -- Lynyrd Skynyrd, "What's Your Name". Although, that's more about how being a touring musician means you can take advantage of being able to leave in a hurry after you romance the young lovelies in town.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:41 PM on November 4

i'm sure i'll think of more as this is one of my favorite themes for bands that tour a lot, but the one that immediately came to mind is ani difranco's imagine that.

imagine that i am onstage
under a watchtower of punishing light
and in the haze is your face bathed in shadow
and what's beyond you is hidden from sight
and somebody right now is yawning
and watching me like a tv
and i've been frantically piling up sandbags
against the flood waters of fatigue and insecurity

then suddenly i hear my guitar singing
and so i just start singing along
and somewhere in my chest
all the noise just gets crushed by the song
posted by nadawi at 12:42 PM on November 4

Archers Of Loaf - Form And File
posted by namewithoutwords at 12:44 PM on November 4

And don't forget Motorhead's "We are the Road Crew"
posted by dortmunder at 12:45 PM on November 4 [2 favorites]

In My Van, Descendents
Road Crew, Motorhead
Highway To Hell, AC/DC
posted by Rykey at 12:46 PM on November 4

Here's a live version of Jackson Browne's Load Out/Stay. It's beautiful.
posted by amyms at 12:46 PM on November 4

"I've Been Everywhere" by Johnny Cash
posted by elmer benson at 12:47 PM on November 4

"Miracle Mile" by Silkworm, no question.

Then we played at the Knitting Factory
For fifteen people
Thirty bucks
And someone broke into the goddamn truck...
posted by xil at 12:49 PM on November 4

The Ramones - Touring
posted by sineala at 12:49 PM on November 4

Pavement - Range Life
posted by porn in the woods at 12:50 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]

There's also "Opening Act" by The Drive-by Truckers.
posted by dortmunder at 12:51 PM on November 4

Five Iron Frenzy -- Superpowers

They're a Christian Rock band (which leads me to having no idea why I know this song, since that's not exactly my genre...), but there's only 1 offhand line about god in the song... mostly it's about, well, being on tour.
posted by brainmouse at 12:51 PM on November 4

The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait doesn't explicitly say it's about being on tour, but it always felt that way to me...
posted by namewithoutwords at 12:52 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]

The Ramones' Touring.
posted by amyms at 12:53 PM on November 4

Who Needs Sleep? by the Barenaked Ladies is about insomnia, but specifically (though it's not obvious from the lyrics) they wrote it about having insomnia on the tour bus.
posted by Caduceus at 1:02 PM on November 4

Nthing Jackson Browne: "The Load Out/Stay"

Such. a. great. song.
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:02 PM on November 4

Billy Joel's the entertainer:

"I am the entertainer,
Been all around the world.
I've played all kinds of palaces,
And laid all kinds of girls.
I can't remember faces,
I don't remember names.
Ah, but what the hell,
You know it's just as well.
'Cause after a while
And a thousand miles,
It all becomes the same.

I am the entertainer,
I bring to you my songs.
I'd like to spend a day or two.
I can't stay that long.
No, I've got to meet expenses.
I got to stay in line.
Gotta get those fees
To the agencies.
And I'd love to stay,
But there's bills to pay,
So I just don't have the time."

one of my favorite songs.
posted by DetonatedManiac at 1:04 PM on November 4

Metallica also did a cover of Bob Seeger's "Turn the Page"
posted by AtomicBee at 1:05 PM on November 4

Ooh, how about "Man in a Suitcase" by The Police?
posted by chowflap at 1:07 PM on November 4

Ballad of Tindersticks (can be heard here)

...We are artists. We are sensitive and important
We nod our heads earnestly
Already halfway down the champagne
On our way to leaving the place dry
A $2000 bar bill

Showbiz picks up the tab
And we're on our way laughing
Laughing at what
Los Angeles, 8 days in
And our sense of irony's running pretty thin

All the friends we've made
It's 2am, closing time at the Dresden
Marty and Layton play one last sleepy "Strangers in the Night"
And the last of the martinis dribble down our chins
We're sitting chasing the conversation around a table

Jesus, how long have I been in this state?
The limousine's still waiting outside
Anything you want to do?
Anywhere you want to go?
We're on our way to the airport and a plane to Vegas....
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:10 PM on November 4

Jukebox Hero - Foreigner
posted by torquemaniac at 1:10 PM on November 4

B A Band by Dieselhed is an epic song about the end of a tour/end of a band. You can listen to it on this myspace page.

"Someday we won't......be a band!"
posted by otolith at 1:11 PM on November 4

Pots & Pans by Les Savy Fav

There was a band called the Pots and Pans.
They mad this noise that people couldn't stand
and when they toured all across the land,
the people said, "No, no, no!"
But the drummer said, "Yes, yes, yes, this tour is a test."
posted by battleshipkropotkin at 1:14 PM on November 4

Otolith! I thought I was the only Dieselhed fan left. I love that song.

Virgil, he started an oyster farm...
he was last seen hitchhiking up north of Jenner...
posted by Kafkaesque at 1:14 PM on November 4

Wayne Hancock, Life on the Road
Southern Culture on the Skids: 40 Miles from Vegas
posted by sciencegeek at 1:15 PM on November 4

Gameface - Chasing the Sun
posted by knowles at 1:16 PM on November 4

On The Road Again -- Willy Nelson...
posted by Pantengliopoli at 1:23 PM on November 4

I Will Play this Game Beneath My Spin Light by Brand New
posted by timdicator at 1:29 PM on November 4

Homeward Bound by Simon and Garfunkel.
posted by travis08 at 1:31 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]

In addition to Who Needs Sleep, the Barenaked Ladies have a song called It's Only Me (that I can't find a link to anywhere, but it's on Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits) about wankin' it on the tour bus.


I was twelve when I heard Ed Robertson explain that at a concert. My dad was sitting next to me. It was awkward.
posted by coppermoss at 1:34 PM on November 4

Rush—"Making Memories", from Fly By Night.

If you're into Rush, of course.
posted by ixohoxi at 1:35 PM on November 4

I Will Play My Game Beneath The Spin Light - Brand New
posted by lukeo05 at 1:36 PM on November 4

"Little America" - REM. Cryptic, but appropriate.
posted by smelvis at 1:38 PM on November 4

"No Sleep til Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys
"Just a Friend" by Biz Markie touches on the subject.
posted by clorox at 1:41 PM on November 4

Tour Spiel by the Minutemen, too.

Yeah Kafka, I surely do miss Dieselhed.
posted by otolith at 1:46 PM on November 4

Eagles, Take it to The Limit.
posted by not that girl at 1:49 PM on November 4

The Road by Frank Turner.
posted by dogwalker at 1:51 PM on November 4

Neil Young - Thrasher [lyrics]

Rolling Stones - Torn and Frayed [lyrics]
posted by prinado at 2:01 PM on November 4

"45 Years" BY Stan Rogers,
with the lines :

"So alone in the lights on stage every night
I've been reaching out to find a friend
Who knows all the words, sings so she's heard
And knows how all the stories end
Maybe after the show she'll ask me to go
Home with her for a drink or two
Now her smile lights her eyes, but Honey, all I see is you"
posted by newfers at 2:10 PM on November 4

Travelin' Band by CCR
posted by mmascolino at 2:23 PM on November 4

Wings, "Rock Show"

If there's a rock show at the Concertgebow
They've got long hair at the Madison Square
You've got rock and roll at the Hollywood Bowl
We'll be there

Seems to me that "Homeward Bound" and "Man in a Suitcase" are great songs but aren't specifically about being a musician on the road.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:26 PM on November 4

A less famous They Might Be Giants song about touring, but probably more accurate: 'They Got Lost', from the album of the same name:

John said to John, "I think we make a left at the light
There should be a big 'B,' assuming this map is right"
John looked over and he said, "Hey, no it's not
It's a crumpled up wrapper from the fast food that we got"

I heard They Might Be somewhere near this town
They Might Be Giants got lost driving around

---

'The Mesopotamians' is also about touring, if outmoded gods could form a band.
posted by spamguy at 2:30 PM on November 4

A bit different than the others, but Dave Frishberg's "Sweet Kentucky Ham" is a beautiful song about being road weary - Rosemary Clooney does a great version
posted by snowymorninblues at 2:33 PM on November 4

"The Road" by Tenacious D.

I think the reason this popped into my head immediately is because I'm playing Brutal Legend right now.
posted by waitangi at 2:36 PM on November 4

40 Boys in 40 Nights — The Donnas:

Spendin every night in a different state
Spendin every night with a different date
I come into town and have a look around
And then I find a guy who wants to get down

I got boys all over the road
I got boys helpin me unload

Forty boys in forty nights
I got no time to see the sights
posted by nicwolff at 2:40 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]

I think "Homeward Bound" by Simon and Garfunkel should count:
"On a tour of one night stands, my suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one man band."

And 2nding "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson, which was the first think that came to mind for me.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:55 PM on November 4

Bands With Managers by Pedro the Lion
posted by disaster77 at 3:02 PM on November 4

Pat Green-- Three Days
posted by jschu at 3:06 PM on November 4

It's funny how homeward bound uses touring tropes by it actually about relationships while the Donnas song is actually really more about touring.

Links to lyrics really help, and these are great. I totes forgot about neil young he's got like 700 songs on the subject.

CHEERS
posted by Potomac Avenue at 3:09 PM on November 4

Wiser Time by the Black Crowes.
posted by contrariwise at 3:18 PM on November 4

Hurtlin' by American Steel is a fantastic road/love song, if you're interested.
posted by Ghidorah at 3:21 PM on November 4

Tour Song by Jawbreaker is truly awesome.

Tuscadero, from DC, who released their first stuff on Teenbeat had a good song on The Pink Album called Crayola. "I drew a picture with my own two hands, just something simple my mind could understand, for you while you're on tour with your band."

It's definitely not their best song, but it's decent. (Don't listen to the Mark Robinson Remix, which is not as good, no matter how great Mark Robinson is.)
posted by OmieWise at 3:24 PM on November 4

[True fans of "Homeward Bound" should be aware of Ditton railway station in Merseyside, England. Paul Simon allegedly wrote the song while stranded there for the night after mis-reading a timetable. It is now disused but this picture should give you a good idea why he wanted to be somewhere else.]
posted by rongorongo at 3:38 PM on November 4

A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour
posted by citron at 3:57 PM on November 4

My Morning Jacket - Dancefloors
posted by Midnight Rambler at 4:23 PM on November 4

Ramones: Touring has already been mentioned, but also Danny Says from End of the Century, and maybe I Wanna Be Sedated, too.
posted by Infinite Jest at 4:35 PM on November 4

"Neal and Jack and Me" by King Crimson:

Strange spaghetti in this solemn city
there's a postcard we've all seen before
past wild-haired teens in dark clothing
with hands full of autographed napkins
we eat apples in vans with sandwiches
Rush into the lobby life
of hurry up and wait hurry up and wait hurry up and wait
for the odd-shaped keys which lead
to new soap and envelopes

Hotel room homesickness on a fresh blue bed
and the longest-ever phone call home
no sleep no sleep no sleep no sleep
and no mad video machine to eat time
posted by jbickers at 4:54 PM on November 4

Grand Funk Railroad - We're an American Band
posted by hydrophonic at 4:56 PM on November 4

Whiplash lyrics.

The show is through the metal is gone
It is time to hit the road
Another town another gig
Again we will explode
Hotel rooms and motorways
Life out here is raw
But we will never stop
We will never quit
cause we are Metallica
posted by ignignokt at 4:59 PM on November 4

Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive
posted by nooneyouknow at 5:20 PM on November 4

Hello friend
It's been to long
and every town sings the same sad song
Without you here
this hotel year
will sure slow down with so much left to hear

Finish Line - Yellowcard
posted by jus7brea7he at 5:21 PM on November 4

Ramones: Touring has already been mentioned, but also Danny Says from End of the Century, and maybe I Wanna Be Sedated, too.

There is also a version of this song on Tom Waits' Orphans collection, if that fits your vibe.
posted by corey flood at 5:35 PM on November 4

Surprise Surprise by X definitely fits the bill.
posted by crinklebat at 5:50 PM on November 4

the bridge on "One armed Scissor" by at the drive-in made me think it was a tour song.
posted by djduckie at 6:06 PM on November 4

Bobby Bare Jr's "Let's Rock and Roll," from From the End of Your Leash:

I live on the floor of a minivan
Driven by drunks across this land
And I wake up in the worst part of your town
Drink free beer and sing until I fall down
Let's rock and roll let's rock and roll
posted by librarina at 6:21 PM on November 4

Jackson Browne, Nothing But Time (Running on Empty)

Rolling down 295 out of Portland, Maine
Still high from the people up there and feeling no pain
Gonna make it to New Jersey, gonna set it up and do it again
I got a bottle of wine (pass it over)
I got a broken white line (I'm still sober)
There ain't nothin but time between this Silver Eagle
And that New Jersey line
Well it's a rock and roll band or a movie you can take your pick
And it ain't bad work if you can get it
But you gotta make it stick
But getting any kind of sleep on this rolling motel--that's the trick
It's just a bottle of wine (pass it over)
It's just a broken white line (I'm still sober)
It's just a whole lot of time in the twilight zone
Between me and these friends of mine
posted by yoga at 6:24 PM on November 4

^ the ultimate road song, having been recorded on their bus, using a cardboard box for a bass drum. YMMV
posted by yoga at 6:35 PM on November 4

Jackson Browne's "Rosie," the story of a roadie who loses a girl to the drummer, and must resort to taking matters into his own hands.
posted by illenion at 7:19 PM on November 4

"Once More into the Breeches" by The Upper Crust
posted by cadge at 7:32 PM on November 4

Play That Fast Thing (One More Time) - Rockpile ...kinda sorta

So it Goes - Nick Lowe

Wish I had got out to see youse at The Vic.
posted by readery at 8:06 PM on November 4

Oh, and Okkervil River's "A Girl in Port".
posted by punchdrunkhistory at 9:16 PM on November 4

BEST TOUR SONG EVER

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
posted by cyphill at 9:25 PM on November 4

The greatest tour song of all time. Motörhead, We Are the Road Crew:

Another town another place,
Another girl, another face,
Another truck, another race

I'm eating junk, feeling bad,
Another night, I'm going mad,
My woman's leaving, I feel sad

But I just love the life I lead,
Another beer is what I need,
Another gig my ears bleed
We Are the Road Crew

Another town I've left behind,
Another drink completely blind,
Another hotel I can't find

Another backstage pass for you,
Another tube of super glue,
Another border to get through

I'm driving like a maniac,
Driving way to hell and back,
Another room a case to pack
We Are the Road Crew

Another hotel we can burn,
Another screw, another turn,
Another Europe map to learn

Another truckstop on the way,
Another game that I can play,
Another word I learn to say

Another blasted customs post,
Another bloody foreign coast,
Another set of scars to boast
We Are the Road Crew

Also, Motörhead, Stone Deaf in the USA
posted by stargell at 9:29 PM on November 4 [1 favorite]

Chicago, Wishing You Were Here

Iron Maiden, Wasted Years
posted by stargell at 9:43 PM on November 4

Escape is at Hand for the Travellin' Man by The Tragically Hip
posted by backwards guitar at 3:39 AM on November 5

"White Lightning and Wine" by Heart:

"This night's gone, we're moving on
Highway's calling out loud ..."

Maybe "You Had Time" by Ani DiFranco:

"you'll say did they love you or what
i'll say they love what i do
the only one who really loves me is you
and you'll say girl did you kick some butt
and i'll say i don't really remember
but my fingers are sore
and my voice is too"

or maybe "Little Plastic Castles", also by Ani DiFranco:

"in a coffee shop in a city
which is every coffee shop in every city
on a day which is every day
i picked up a magazine
which is every magazine
read a story, and then forgot it right away"

or perhaps "Egos Like Hairdos", also by Ani DiFranco:

"they told me you wanted to play last
every profession has its system of castes
so they reverse the order we go on
and then you stand at the bar
and you talk through my songs"

or possibly "Every State Line", also by Ani DiFranco:

"a little town in pennsylvania
there was snow on the ground
a parked in an empty lot
where there was no one else around
but i guess i was taking up too much space
as i was trying to get some sleep
'cause an officer came by anyway
and told me i had to leave"

or possibly even "Shy", also by Ani DiFranco:

"'let's not ask what's next,
or how, or why'
i am leaving in the morning
so let's not be shy"


but definitely "Freakshow", also, of course, by Ani DiFranco:

"life in the circus ain't easy
but the folks on the outside don't know
the tent goes up and the tent comes down
and all that they see is the show
and the ladies on the horses look so pretty
and the lions are lookin real mad
and some of the clowns are happy
and some of the clowns are sad

but underneath
there's another expression
that the makeup isn't making
life under the big top
it's about freedom
it's about faking
there's an art to the laughter
there's a science
and there's a lot of love
and compliance

welcome to the freakshow
here we go...

we live to hear the slack-jawed gasping
we live under a halo of held breath
and when the children raise up a giant shield
of laughter, it's like they're fending off death
and we can make somethig bigger
then anyone of us alone
and then the clowns will take off their makeup
and the people will go home

but life on the outside ain't easy
no sequins, no elephants,
no parading around
yeah, the tent goes up
and the tent comes down
and they're stuck in this fucking town

you need a lot of love and compliance"
posted by kristi at 9:46 PM on November 5

Oh, geez - also, much of Paul Simon's One Trick Pony:

Paul Simon's "God Bless the Absentee":

"Lord, I'm a working man
And music is my trade
I'm travelin' with this five-piece band
And I play the ace of spades
I have a wife and family
Who don't see much of me
God bless the absentee"

Paul Simon's "Jonah":

"Half and hour you change your strings and tune up
Sizing the room up
Checking the bar
Local girls unspoken conversations
Misinformation
Plays the guitar"

and "How the Heart Approaches What it Yearns" sounds like a hotel-room-on-the-road song to me, but I'm not certain it is.

But also Paul Simon's "Ace in the Hole":

"Riding on this rolling bus
Beneath a stony sky
With a slow moon rising
And the smokestacks drifting by
In the hour when the heart is weakest
And the memory is strong
When time has stopped
And the bus just rolls along"

and also his "Long, Long Day":

"I sure been on this road
Done nearly fourteen years
Can't say my names well known
You don't see my face in Rolling Stone
But I sure been on this road"
posted by kristi at 10:07 PM on November 5

Jimmy Buffett, Come Monday:

"Headin’ up to San Francisco
For the Labor Day week-end show
I’ve got my hush-puppies on
I guess I never was meant for glitter rock and roll
And honey I didn’t know
That I’d be missin’ you so

Chorus:
Come monday, it’ll be all right
Come monday, I’ll be holdin’ you tight
I spent four lonely days in a brown LA haze
And I just want you back by my side

Yes, it’s been quite a summer
Rent-a-cars and west-bound trains
And now you’re off on vacation
Somethin’ you tried to explain
And darlin’, since I love you so
That’s the reason I just let you go..."
posted by timepiece at 11:12 AM on November 11