"Hey me, Carlos, take me on your bike"
What would your day to day be without being able to listen to a single song? How would you survive long journeys (and even subway rides) without your favorite playlist? And what sadness would give us a summer without its corresponding commercial song... Conclusion: without music, our lives would not be the same.
For this reason, we wanted to honor the voices that have accompanied us these last twenty years and, since covering all the topics would take us another two decades, we have selected the 20 most traveling songs. Globetrotters, here is the repertoire:
1. 'January at the Beach' by Facto Delafé and Las Flores Azules
The first month of the year 2019 it made us dream of palm trees, sand and salt water; fact that already happened in 2006, and it was not the fault of Carlos Sadness , but of Facto Delafé and The Blue Flowers. And it is that the colder it is, the more we miss beach days.
The remedy proposed by this band from Barcelona for the harsh winter? Nothing more and nothing less than a bit of ingenuity: "Imagine a cove, I'll serve you a clear one, It is summer and the sun is shining, it is the Catalan coast”.
Gazpacho, a siesta, a beach bar, a pistachio ice cream, golden skin, crickets singing... Warning: five minutes of song are enough to awaken in you an irrepressible desire to teleport to any charming town in the Costa Brava .
two. 'Australia Street' by Sticky Fingers
If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to this band yet, australian indie rock , the moment has come. And, without a doubt, one of his most famous songs (with more than 47.5 million plays on Spotify) is 'Australia Street', a nod to the sunny days in Camperdown Park and, above all, at Good vibrations that loosens its land.
In the video clip, which was recorded in one go, the members of the group walk through the streets of the bohemian neighborhood of Newtown (Sydney), full of restaurants and second hand shops.
January at the beach? Why not!
3. 'Copenhagen' by Vetusta Morla
Maybe Copenhagen be one of the happiest cities in the world , the cradle of hygge and other clichés associated with the capital of Denmark , but for Vetusta Morla she is also melancholic to rage , or so they make us understand with this song.
But 'Copenhagen' not only has a traveling side because it talks about a love story that took place the canals (in the rain, to add insult to injury) of the city , but also evokes that emptiness that we sometimes feel in the airports and the nostalgia it produces travel by train.
“Airports, some come, others go , just like Alicia without a city […] A moment while the tourists leave, a train at dawn managed to draw the border between always or never ”. As well as mentioning the longing (which you have surely felt at some point) to leave everything and start from scratch: “Dream of waking up in another time and in another city” . oh old man...
Four. George Ezra's 'Budapest'
“My home in Budapest, my hidden treasure chest, golden grand piano, my beautiful Castle”, sings in english the singer and songwriter george ezra , which, despite its British roots, on this issue declares itself a in love with the Hungarian capital.
"My beautiful Castillo" sings George Ezra
And it is that budapest it is not for less. Anyone who has been lucky enough to get to know this spectacular city knows that it is impossible not to fall in love with it: the sunsets at the foot of the Buda Castle, with the Parliament as a backdrop ; walks under the sun on Isla Margarita; the iconic ruin bars of the Jewish quarter, as Szimpla ; the thermal baths , Like the ones of Szechenyi ... The reasons are endless.
5. Miley Cyrus's 'Malibu'
Love is capable of making you pass from rebellion to sweetness in the blink of an eye, and a clear example is ' Malibu' , the song with which Miley Cyrus returned to conquer the music scene after a couple of years of absence.
The American actress and singer danced and strolled down the Malibu coast to shoot the video clip of this romantic theme: “I never came to the beach or stood by the ocean. I never sat on the shore in the sun with my feet in the sand […] But here I am, by your side. The sky is bluer in Malibu ”.
Despite this, we must recognize that she is not the first to succumb to the spell of this city west of Los Angeles (California) , nor in making us dream of living some other idyllic movie scene on its beaches: Sandy and Danny they already did the same in grease.
6. 'Brooklyn Baby' by Lana Del Rey
A melody that transports us to the seventies, a letter that makes us travel to the golden age of Lou Reed, leader of the rock group The Velvet Underground. Therein lies the magic of this nostalgic theme, with which Lana del Rey winked at her hometown: New York . “'Cause I'm a Brooklyn baby...”.
7. IZAL's 'Copacabana'
It may be one of the most touristic beaches on the planet , but also an essential Rio de Janeiro . walk along the kilometer copacabana beach It should be a mandatory task for any self-respecting traveler.
The song that IZAL baptized with his name manages to awaken us a little more (if possible) the desire to pack your suitcase and head to Brazil : “Bath salt, golden glow on the skin and a sincere kiss on the mouth. Bare feet, virgin sand, Copacabana and tap dance ”. What more could you want?
8. 'Love without clauses' by Kase O.
Kase O., one of the great milestones of Spanish rap , he dedicated these rhymes to his better half: “My Cleopatra, take me to New York, I want to walk by your side, anonymous. As if we were the last romanticists, who dance embraced among the tourists”.
New York has conquered more than one
And in case you are not satisfied with escaping in the big Apple also offers the following: “We will always have the Riviera Maya, take me to grow old on that beach. With your hat and your green beer bottle, watching the ships that move away and get lost...”.
What plan would you stay with, traveler? City or beach? Succumb to New York overtourism or escape from it in the Caribbean?
9.**'Empire State of Mind' by Alicia Keys (feat. Jay-Z)**
If you still haven't found an answer to the previous question, Alicia Keys has it quite clear: New York , the chaotic concrete metropolis where, as she sings, dreams are made.
from neighborhoods like Brooklyn, Tribeca, Harlem to monuments such as Statue of Liberty , going through skyscrapers that will make you twist your neck from side to side, like the empire state , which gives the song its name.
That's all that awaits you in New York , and in the verses of this theme, in which Alicia Keys ask for applause for the city of lights, the one that never sleeps.
10. Sharif's 'first person plural'
Speaking of those cities that invite mass tourism due to their magnetic beauty, this theme tells a fiery story that has as its setting two of the most visited places in Europe: Rome and Venice.
“In the shadow of the works of Bernini”
Unlike Kase O., the Spanish rapper Sharif opted for “scream for Italy 'Ciao, amore'” hand in hand with his traveling companion. The song begins by narrating his journey through florence , where they watched the sunset together:
"Afternoon at Michelangelo it was spilled blood. Then by the river I took some photos and the night he would light his violins for us”. Next stop? Venice , where, as we usually do ( feeling alien to that horde of strangers walking around the city, camera in hand) were “two tourists trying to escape from the tourists”.
Or at least they tried, because both in the city of canals and in Rome they ran into "too many people who went with the flow." And, despite having been protagonists of an inimitable love, like so many other relationships, it came to an end.
Since then, for Sharif love is no longer the same, he is afraid of planes and Italy has become a distant, cold and strange place.
eleven. Andrew McMahon's 'Ohio'
Leaving your home is always hard. As much as you like to travel and even if you are going to change the rain for the Californian sunbeams , there is no greater nostalgia than that of leave the city that has seen you grow. And that feeling is what the American singer wanted to convey Andrew McMahon with this topic:
Goodbye Ohio
“My sister fell asleep when we started the trip to **California, where it's warmer.** I'm going to start a new life, I'm going to miss Ohio But this time we're going to do it right."
12. 'Lady Madrid' by Pereza
Non-citizen in Madrid who has not sung on a loop this song by Sloth no amateur guitarist that he has not played it due to pressure from her small (but demanding) public. In addition, most of her phrases are ** Instagram caption meat ** (the millennial who has not sinned from it, cast the first stone).
“You tried your luck in 1996, from Malaga to La Coruna, sleeping at the train station. The star of the rooftops, the most rock & roll around here, we cats were hanging, Lady Madrid”.
'Lady Madrid' has become one of those timeless pop songs, of which They don't understand ages or decades.
13. 'Don't go back to Japan' by Carlos Sadness and Santi Balmes
As we already mentioned in our compilation of the most traveled songs of 2019 , Carlos Sadness is an expert in awakening our spirit wanderlust.
Against all odds, 'Don't go back to Japan', written and performed in collaboration with the singer of Love of Lesbian -Santi Balmes- , does not speak of the syndrome 'Lost in Translation' , but of the barrier that many times implies having different feelings.
“Going back, I have realized that I am better than what I explained to you in my love song, which was number one in Japan. You see, here everyone understands me, except me” . Amen.
14. 'Paris' by The Chainsmokers
The video clip of this song begins by presenting two meanings of the word 'Paris' . However, both refer to a state of mind and not to the French capital.
Here they go: 1. Sentimental longing for a reality that is not genuine. 2. Unrecoverable condition for the fantasy it evokes nostalgia or daydreams.
For this reason, although the lyrics make us unconsciously place the leading couple in "french paris" , stills from the music video reveal that that idyllic place they speak of turns out to be a coastal destination. What would be your Paris?
fifteen. '537 CUBA' by Orishas
This theme is a true work of art. The reason? Because Orishas has managed to merge the most iconic verses of the Cuban artist Compay Segundo with current music. In this way, the song starts with the beginning of 'Chan Chan' (composed in 1987):
A walk through Old Havana
17. Ed Sheeran's 'Galway Girl'
"I played violin in an Irish band, but he fell in love with an English man.” This is how Ed Sheeran introduces the mysterious galway girl that he met at the door of a bar on Grafton Street, in Dublin.
Thus, between sips of Irish beer and thanks to some other dance, love arose. On the other hand, although it did not have the same success, its theme also deserves a mention 'Barcelona' : “Las Ramblas, I will meet you, we will dance around the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona”.
18. 'Are you with me?' by Lost Frequencies
With just one verse from country artist Easton Corbin's **'Are you with me'** and a pretty catchy deep house tune, Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies managed to turn this song into one of the anthems of 2014.
“I want to dance by the water under the Mexican sky, drink Margaritas under a string of blue lights, listen to the mariachi play at midnight. You are with me?". We are, without a doubt.
Are you with me, are you with me...?
19. 'The Bicycle' by Carlos Vives and Shakira
quoting Modern Village , “if it is a matter of confessing, I'm from Shakira's old songs club”. And whoever says that this collaboration between Carlos Vives and the Colombian artist is up to the task, without going too far back, 'Torture' , he is expelled from the club.
Despite having surrendered at the feet of reggaeton, Shakira can boast that 'La Bicicleta' was, without a doubt, THE SONG of the summer of 2016. Three months in which it was impossible to spend a day without having heard this catchy song on some station, bar or nightclub.
"He likes Barranquilla, he likes Barcelona"
Your #YoSoyTraveler side? The allusions of both artists to your dear Colombia . We refresh the lyrics: “Hey, Carlos, take me on your bike, I want us to go through that area together, from Santa Marta to La Arenosa [...] What if Piqué one day you show him the Tayrona, then he won't want to go to Barcelona”.
twenty. Coldplay's 'Amsterdam'
We close this improvised list with 'Amsterdam', yes, despite the fact that the lyrics do not mention the city. The reason? Because Coldplay is one of those faithful groups that have been putting the soundtrack to our travels for the last two decades and because the flirtatious capital of Holland... sorry, the Netherlands, never too much in a ranking.
Here we go, 2020!