It’s that time of year again.
The temperature is dropping, the leaves will be changing, and fans everywhere are dusting off the grills and trailers to get ready for tailgating, and that can only mean one thing: football season is back.
Football and country music go together like apple and pie, so it’s no surprise that there are plenty of songs written about it. Here’s some of the best ones to get you ready for game day.
Boys of Fall- Kenny Chesney
Maybe the most well known country football song, The Boys of Fall perfectly encapsulates the magic of Friday night lights. Kenny goes beyond the field, reminding us how the local football team brings communities together. He perhaps puts it best with just one line: “In little towns like mine it’s all we got.”
Tennessee Orange- Megan Moroney
No team has more real estate in country music than the University of Tennessee, and Moroney added to it in 2022 with her biggest hit to date. Team loyalty runs deep in the south, so the thought of a bulldog crossing over to the vols might as well be a crime in Georgia. The things we do for love, right?
Nineteen- Billy Ray Cyrus
Talk about a tearjerker. Few fans know that Billy Ray is a lot more than the goofy Achy Breaky Heart singer or Miley’s dad, but the man made some legitimately good music in his day, and Nineteen is a prime example. The story of a high school star who gives up his football dream to fight for his country, this is one of the best offerings to come out of the surge in patriotism following the 9/11 attacks.
I Hate Alabama- Conner Smith
Don’t we all, Conner. Alabama is the evil empire of college football, and they have no shortage of haters. No one needs another reason to hate the Tide, but getting your heart broke at a football game (that your team loses, no less) will make that rivalry game mean just a little more every year.
Had Me By Halftime- Morgan Wallen
Wallen might singlehandedly be responsible for an entire new generation of Tennessee fans, so it makes sense that he have a song about his love of football. While not as pointedly about Rocky Top as his newer song Tennessee Fan, Had Me By Halftime is a bit more relatable to fans of any team, and it’s a must have on any tailgate playlist.
South On Ya- Luke Combs
Now this is a song to fire you up. Combs was tasked with providing a theme for the 2021 SEC season, and he provided nothing short of a banger. There are no silly love stories tied into this one. South On Ya is about one thing: down south football. This is music to run out of the tunnel to with 90,000 fans singing along.
Brantley Gilbert – Friday Night
Probably one of the lesser known songs here, Brantley Gilbert sings about football being a “religion” in his quiet, small town. Featured on his 2009 debut studio album, “A Modern Day Prodigal Son,” BG’s sound is astronomically different than anything you’ve heard from him over the last decade. This one is for the diehard football fans who have no other sense of community aside from getting together under the Friday night lights and rooting for your local high school team to win the state championship.