FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — From rock legends to rap icons, artists across genres have found a way to weave “Arkansas” into their lyrics.
This list is organized by genre, then alphabetically by song. While country music takes center stage, don’t miss appearances from pop stars like Lana Del Rey and ’80s rock legends such as Bon Jovi.
Pop
“Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
“Alabama, Arkansas / I do love my Ma and Pa / Not the way that I do love you”
“Crack Rock” by Frank Ocean
“You don’t know how little you matter until you’re all alone / In the middle of Arkansas with a little rock left…”
“Tulsa Jesus Freak” by Lana del Ray
“We should go back to Arkansas / Trade this body for the can of Gin”
Soul
“What’d I Say” by Ray Charles
“Tell your mama, tell your pa / I’m gonna send you back to Arkansas“
Folk
“Fare Thee Well (Dink’s Song)” by Unknown
(Popularized by Bob Dylan and other folk artists)
“Fastest man / I ever saw / Skipped Missouri / On the way to Arkansas“
“The Auctioneer” by Gordon Lightfoot
“Well, there was this boy from Arkansas / Who wouldn’t listen to his ma”
“The Lord God Bird” by Sufjan Stevens
“In the delta sun, down in Arkansas / It’s the great god bird with its altar call”
Rap
“Bunkin’” by Chris Brown & Tyga
“Told her hold my spot, I’m on the run (Skrrt) / I got my… J’s on, finna hit Arkansas“
“Let Me See” by Juicy J
“I got the breadwinner status, breadwinner automatic / I went to Arkansas and got at it”
“Off da Chain” by Lil’ Keke
“Alabama, Arkansas you know they off the chain“
“Pour Out the Seal” by The Migos
“All these baby bottles and no toddlers in my house / And my… keep that Razorback like Arkansas“
“Rock Steady” by Diplo
“Bank account doin’ gymnastics, flip / 40 cal. in the Razorback starter jacket (Arkansas)”
Country
“80’s Ladies” by K.T. Oslin
“We’re gonna sell apples / And live in Arkansas“
“Achy Breaky Heart” by Billie Ray Cyrus
“You can tell your ma I moved to Arkansas / You can tell your dog to bite my leg”
“Arkansas” by Chris Stapleton
“Gotta get down, gotta get down to Arkansas / Havin’ so much fun that it’s probably a little bit against the law”
“Arkansas” by Glen Campbell
“Arkansas, land of opportunity / Arkansas, oh, what you do to me”
“Arkansas Dave” by George Strait
“He said, ‘You probably know my name / If you don’t, it’s Arkansas Dave'”
“Arkansas Lovin’ Man” by Johnny Cash **
“But there ain’t no use in kiddin’ myself I like the way I am / I’m a natural actual real authentical Arkansas lovin’ man”
| ** One of many of Cash’s songs that reference Arkansas, including “Have You Ever Been To Little Rock?,” “Southwestward,” “Joe Bean” and more. |
“Good Lord Lorrie” by The Turnpike Troubadours
“Well your brother said he’d break my jaw / But here I stand with the dark-haired daughter of Southwest Arkansas“
“Home Ain’t Where His Heart Is (Anymore)” by Shania Twain
“And we’d kiss all the way from Arkansas to Rome / ‘Cause in each other’s arms, we were home sweet home”
“Honkytonk U” by Toby Keith
“My grandmother owned a nightclub on the Arkansas-Oklahoma line / Momma put me on a Greyhound and I went to stay with her in the summertime”
“Montgomery to Memphis” by Lee Ann Womack
“I’ve got a two room flat with a view of the bridge / That crosses over into Arkansas“
“Tennessee Bottle” by Kenny Rogers
“All I want is a Tennessee bottle / All I need is an Arkansas bride”
“Tennessee Stud” by Jimmy Driftwood
“I never would’ve made it through the Arkansas mud / If I hadn’t been riding on the Tennessee stud”
“Thicker Than Blood” by Garth Brooks
“She was born in Kansas City / Raised in Arkansas“
“Up in Arkansas” by Waylon Jennings
“A man ought to know when he’s got it all / Holding it down up in Arkansas“
“We’ve Come a Long Way Baby” by Loretta Lynn
“We’ve come a long way, baby / All the way to Hollywood from Arkansas“
Rock
“Mary Queen of Arkansas” by Bruce Springsteen
“Mary, Queen of Arkansas, it’s not too early for dreamin’ / The sky is grown with cloud seed sown and a bastard’s love can be redeeming”
“Do What You Can” by Bon Jovi
“The chicken farm from Arkansas bought workers PPE / Not before five hundred more had succumbed to this disease”
“The Kindness of Strangers” by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
“She’d grown up hungry, she’d grown up poor / She left her home in Arkansas“
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
