Spending a day on the water and unsure of what to listen to? Below are some of the best sailing songs from the 1950s to the 2010s. With genres ranging from pop, classic rock, and reggae, you can create the perfect sailing music playlist.
50s Music for Sailing:
“Red Sails in the Sunset” – Tab Hunter
Release Date: 1957
Genre: Rock
Best lyrics: “She sailed at the dawning, all day I’ve been blue. Red sails in the sunset, I’m trusting in you.”
“Beyond the Sea” – Bobby Darin
Release date: 1959
Genre: R&B
Best lyrics: “Somewhere beyond the sea, somewhere waiting for me, my lover stands on golden sands, and watches the ships that go sailing.”
“Sea Cruise” – Frankie Ford
Release date: 1959
Genre: Rock
Best lyrics: “So be my guest, you got nothin’ to lose. Won’t ya let me take you on a sea cruise?”
60s Music for Sailing:
“I’ll Sail My Ship Alone” – Patsy Cline
Release date: 1963
Genre: Country
Best lyrics: “With all the dreams I own, drifting out across the ocean blue”
“When the Ship Comes In” – Bob Dylan
Release date: 1964
Genre: Rock
Best lyrics: “Then the sands will roll out a carpet of gold for your weary toes to be a-touching’”
“Wooden Ships” – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Release date: 1969
Genre: Soft rock
Best lyrics: “Sail away where the mornin’ sun goes high, sail away where the wind blows sweet and young birds fly”
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The 70s
“A Pirate Looks At Forty” – Jimmy Buffet
Release date: 1974
Genre: Pop
Best lyrics: “Mother ocean I have heard your call, wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall”
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“Sailing” – Rod Stewart
Release date: 1975
Genre: Hard rock
Best lyrics: “I am sailing stormy waters to be near you, to be free”
“Sail On Sailor” – The Beach Boys
Release date: 1977
Genre: Rock
Best lyrics: “Heartbreak searing, always fearing. Never caring, persevering. Sail on, sail on, sailor”
The 80s
“Sailing” – Christopher Cross
Release date: 1980
Genre: Soft rock
Best lyrics: “Sailing takes me away to where I’ve always heard it could be. Just a dream and the wind to carry me, and soon I will be free.”
“Southern Cross” – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Release date: 1982
Genre: Soft rock
Best lyrics: “My love is an anchor tied to you, tied with a silver chain”
“The Downeaster “Alexa”” – Billy Joel
Release date: 1989
Genre: Rock
Best lyrics: “And I go where the ocean is deep. There’s giants out there in the canyons, and a good captain can’t fall asleep.”
The 90s
“The Wild Wild Sea” – Sting
Release date: 1991
Genre: Pop rock
Best lyrics: “I swam till the night became morning, black sail in a reddening sky”
“The Tide Will Rise” – Bruce Hornsby
Release date: 1993
Genre: Rock
Best lyrics: “Oh, we’ll be working on the water when the long, long day is gone”
“Barometer Soup” – Jimmy Buffet
Release date: 1995
Genre: Soft rock
Best lyrics: “I travel on the song lines that only dreamers see”
The 00s
“Life On A Boat” – Gene Mitchell
Release date: 2003
Genre: Pop
Best lyrics: “Once you discover the beauty of sail, you never can get enough”
“Where The Boat Leaves From” – Zac Brown Band
Release date: 2007
Genre: Country
Best lyrics: “You got worries you can drop them in the blue ocean, but you gotta get away to where the boat leaves from”
“The Movement” – Set Sail
Release date: 2008
Genre: Reggae
Best lyrics: “Look up in the sky, let the stars take you home”
The 10s:
“Only the Ocean” – Jack Johnson
Release date: 2010
Genre: Rock
Best lyrics: “Stars come out, I’m finally free. It’s only the ocean and me.”
“Sail Into the Sun” – Gentleman Hall
Release date: 2013
Genre: Alternative
Best lyrics: “Don’t need no reason, we’ll just get away when we sail into the sun”
“Wind In Our Sail” – Weezer
Release date: 2016
Genre: Alternative
Best lyrics: “We got the wind in our sail and we can do so many great things together”
