They say that home is where the heart is. And that’s probably why so many artists pour their heart out onto songs about home – whether it’s a place, a time, or a person. Songs about home evoke such powerful emotions that it’s hard not to appreciate them.
So to all of you who want a taste of home through song, we’ve compiled a bunch of songs that are perfect for when you feel a little nostalgic or homesick.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Sweet Home Alabama
No list about being home would be complete without Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama. While the band hails from Jacksonville, Florida, they created this song as a tribute to the studio musicians over at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. This studio means a lot to them as this is where they were able to record a full album in the early 70s.
Lyrics about home: Big wheels keep on turning
Carry me home to see my kin
Singing songs about the Southland
I miss Alabama once again
And I think it’s a sin, yes
Simon and Garfunkel – Homeward Bound
While it sounds like a song about homesickness, Homeward Bound is actually a sort of love song. Paul Simon had met Kathy Chitty during his stay in Essex. While they dated briefly, Simon wanted to perform in London and so they parted ways. However, during Simon’s time in London, he started to miss Chitty, and thus started writing Homeward Bound. This wouldn’t be the first time Chitty is featured in a Simon and Garfunkel song, as she is also featured in Kathy’s Song and America.
Lyrics about home: Homeward bound,
I wish I was homeward bound,
Home where my thought’s escaping,
Home where my music’s playing,
Home where my love lies waiting silently for me
John Denver – Take Me Home, Country Roads
While the song is about West Virginia, oddly enough Denver and the songwriters had never even been there. However, his friends had already started writing the song while headed to Maryland. West Virginia seemed like such a foreign place to them, but one of his friends was already inspired to write the song based on postcards his friends sent over from West Virginia.
Lyrics about home: Country roads, take me home to the place I belong.
West Virginia, mountain mamma, take me home, country roads
Eddie Money – Take Me Home Tonight
Take Me Home Tonight is actually based on the song by The Ronettes called Be My Baby. It also features the band’s singer in the chorus singing the line, “Be my little baby.” The song is about wanting to be with someone in the darkness of night. It’s subtly hinting at a one night stand, but it’s not like anything’s wrong with feeling like home with someone for the evening, right?
Lyrics about home: Take me home tonight
I don’t want to let you go till you see the light
Take me home tonight
Listen honey
Just like Ronnie sang
Be my little baby
Phillip Phillips – Home
This sweet and reassuring song is actually Phillip Phillips’ coronation song for American Idol. It’s about taking on an unfamiliar road with the one you love and making it your home. Phillips has also acknowledged comments saying that it sounds a lot like a Mumford and Sons song, and he does admit that he draws inspiration from the band.
Lyrics about home: Hold on, to me as we go
As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along
Just know you’re not alone
‘Cause I’m going to make this place your home
Bing Crosby – I’ll Be Home for Christmas
This classic Christmas song was recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943, which was at the height of World War II. The song was originally intended to honor soldiers fighting overseas who longed for home during the Christmas season. It has since become a part of the standard for oft-played Christmastime songs.
Lyrics about home: Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I’ll be home for Christmas
And you’ll be in my dreams
Bee Gees – Massachusetts
Massachusetts has cemented its place in the music world as the Bee Gees’ first No. 1 hit in the UK. The song was written as an antithesis to the popular flower anthems of the time like San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair). The story is about a person who went to San Francisco to join the hippies, but he’s now homesick. He looks back on Massachusetts to see that the lights had gone out because everyone had gone off to San Francisco.
Lyrics about home: Feel I’m goin’ back to Massachusetts
Something’s telling me I must go home
And the lights all went out in Massachusetts
The day I left her standing on her own
Lonestar – I’m Already There (Message from Home)
While I’m Already There (Message from Home) used to be an anthem for long-distance relationships, it has since become associated with the September 11 attacks. It’s often played with the backdrop of family members returning from being deployed. The song is about a man on the road who misses his family. He wants to tell his family that while he may not be there physically, he is there in spirit.
Lyrics about home: I’m already there
Take a look around
I’m the sunshine in your hair
I’m the shadow on the ground
I’m the whisper in the wind
I’m your imaginary friend
And I know I’m in your prayers
Oh I’m already there
Tom Jones – I’m Coming Home
This song just reminds us all that home doesn’t have to be a place; it can be a person. Tom Jones’ I’m Coming Home is about a protagonist who wants a second chance with the one he loves. He calls her his home, which is possibly one of the sweetest things you can call someone.
Lyrics about home: I want you I need you
A chance is on I’m asking now
I must get back to you so now
So I am coming home to you
‘Cause I am nothing without you
May be you found somebody new
‘Cause I’m still coming home to you
Tom Jones – Green, Green Grass of Home
Of all the songs on this list, this one is probably the most despressing. Green, Green Grass of Home is about a man who returns to his childhood home for the first time since he had left in his youth. He sees his parents and his beloved, Mary, who all greet him. However, it turns out that the man was only dreaming, as he’s actually in a prison cell on the day of his execution. A guard and a priest are present to lead him to the execution chamber and to give his last rites, respectively. It’s later revealed that the man will be sent home to be buried under the old oak tree that he used to play on.
Lyrics about home: The old home town looks the same
As I step down from the train
And there to meet me is my Mama and Papa
Down the road I look and there runs Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes – Home
“Home is whenever I’m with you” is the hook line that you’ll remember when you hear this song. Home was written by vocalists Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos while they were still a couple at the time. It was inspired by a leisurely romp through Elysian Park in Los Angeles, and Jade had lost her shoe. Alex then carried her on his back and they decided to write the song. Sadly, the couple are no longer together, but this song is like taking a slice of their romance and immortalizing it through song.
Lyrics about home: I’ll follow you into the park
Through the jungle, through the dark
Girl, I never loved one like you
Moats and boats and waterfalls
Alleyways and pay phone calls
I’ve been everywhere with you
Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks
We simply had to put this song right next to Home because the two have been compared by many critics due to their similarity. Little Talks, however, is much less romantic and carefree. The songwirters explain that the song is about a couple wherein the husband passed away. The lyrics are taken from conversations between the two. The song was inspired by the people who lived in a house for 30 years before one passed away, suggesting that the couple’s home is keeping the memory of the husband alive in this strange way.
Lyrics about home: There’s an old voice in my head
That’s holding me back
Well tell her that I miss our little talks
Soon it will all be over, and buried with our past
We used to play outside when we were young
And full of life and full of love
Tony Bennet – I Left my Heart in San Francisco
There’s a stark difference between the fast-paced lifestyle of New York and the relaxed lifestyle of San Francisco. And that’s the exact sentiment that inspired songwriters George Cory and Douglass Cross. They were two amateur songwriters at the time, and they started becoming nostalgic for San Francisco after moving to New York, though the lyrics mention Paris and Rome as well.
Lyrics about home: The loveliness of Paris seems somehow sadly gray
The glory that was Rome is of another day
I’ve been terribly alone and forgotten in Manhattan
I’m going home to my city by the Bay
Chantal Kreviazuk – Feels Like Home
While Linda Ronstadt was the first to record the song in March of 1995, the version by Chantal Kreviazuk is undoubtedly the more popular one. It was released as a single from the soundtrack of Dawson’s Creek back in 1999, and has become quite a popular wedding song since.
Lyrics about home: It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I’m all the way back where I come from
It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me
It feels like I’m all the way back where I belong
Madness – Our House
Undoubtedly Madness’ biggest hit, Our House is a fun and catchy track that’s easy to relate to – perhaps that’s also the reason for the song’s success. Our House is a recounting of the chaotic yet homey events that happens in the protagonist’s home. It gives a mix of fun playfulness and nostalgia in each beat.
Lyrics about home: I remember way back then when everything was true and when
We would have such a very good time such a fine time
Such a happy time
And I remember how we’d play, simply waste the day away
Then we’d say nothing would come between us
Two dreamers
Which of these songs make you appreciate your home so much more? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
