i’ve been trying to make a playlist for the little traveller, and apparently my musical personality is a woman driving across australia, a woman drinking wine in the sun, and a woman giving a full celine dion performance in her car.

all three are me.

i’ve travelled to 81 countries and spent eight months driving around australia alone with a swag. music has been there for the long stretches of road, the mornings when i couldn’t wait to see what was next, and the evenings when i would have quite liked someone beside me.

“drift away” by dobie gray is my favourite song of all time. it had to be first. i don’t need to be going anywhere in particular to put it on; within about ten seconds, i want to find my car keys.

“evening star” by kenny rogers reminds me of my dad. the other night he made me walk outside to see the actual evening star. i love that he still wanted to show me something in the sky. now that song has that moment attached to it, which is one of the lovely things music does. you can hear a few notes and suddenly you’re right back there with someone.

then there’s “alone” by céline dion. it’s on this playlist because i love it, and because nobody should be denied the chance to sing it very dramatically in a car by themselves.

and “just breathe” by willie nelson and lukas nelson is my funeral song. i realise that’s quite a turn for a travel newsletter. i’m hoping it won’t be needed for a very long time, but if you’re going to choose one, that’s mine.

there are songs here to get you out the door, songs for the middle of a long drive, and songs that might make you feel a bit emotional when you least expect it. they’re not all about travel. they’re the songs i’d want with me.

so here are my 50. put them on the next time you’re driving somewhere lovely. or the next time you’re thinking about going somewhere and need a little push to book it.

listen to my playlist on Spotify the little traveller playlist


the 50 songs

  1. Drift Away — Dobie Gray
  2. Chained to the Wheel — The Black Sorrows
  3. Edge of Seventeen — Stevie Nicks
  4. Send Me On My Way — Rusted Root
  5. Ends of the Earth — Lord Huron
  6. Everywhere — Fleetwood Mac
  7. Young Folks — Peter Bjorn and John
  8. The Look — Roxette
  9. Are You Gonna Be My Girl — Jet
  10. Hold On — Wilson Phillips
  11. Boston — STELLA LEFTY
  12. Santa Monica Dream — Angus & Julia Stone
  13. Evening Star — Kenny Rogers
  14. Big Jet Plane — Angus & Julia Stone
  15. Wide Open Road — The Triffids
  16. The Sound of Silence — Simon & Garfunkel
  17. Boots of Spanish Leather — Bob Dylan
  18. Wonderful World — Sam Cooke
  19. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) — Taylor Swift
  20. Alone — Céline Dion
  21. The Sweetest Taboo — Sade
  22. More Than This — Roxy Music
  23. Into the Mystic — Van Morrison
  24. Cootamundra Wattle — John Williamson
  25. Flame Trees — Cold Chisel
  26. Harley + Rose — The Black Sorrows
  27. Roll Up Your Sleeves — Meg Mac
  28. Fast Car — Tracy Chapman
  29. Waiting for My Real Life to Begin — Colin Hay
  30. Holocene — Bon Iver
  31. Dream Lover — Bobby Darin
  32. Bloom — The Paper Kites
  33. Amsterdam — Gregory Alan Isakov
  34. My Baby Just Cares for Me — Nina Simone
  35. Run Run River (Angels Above Me) — David Guetta, Alok & Stick Figure
  36. Starting Over — Chris Stapleton
  37. California Dreamin’ — The Mamas & the Papas
  38. Sweet Disposition — The Temper Trap
  39. Home — Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
  40. Weather With You — Crowded House
  41. Tougher Than the Rest — Bruce Springsteen
  42. Have You Ever Seen the Rain — Creedence Clearwater Revival
  43. Heart of Gold — Neil Young
  44. Shake the Frost — Tyler Childers
  45. Show Me Heaven — Maria McKee
  46. You Were Right — RÜFÜS DU SOL
  47. Hermannsburg — Shane Nicholson
  48. Learning to Fly — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
  49. Just Breathe — Willie Nelson & Lukas Nelson
  50. Great Southern Land — ICEHOUSE

tell me which song you’d add. i’m already suspicious that 50 won’t be enough.

jen x

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