Singing in the car is a something most of us indulge in while on the road. Even if you can’t keep a tune. Because assuming you keep the windows closed, your car is like this secret environment. There’s no one to hear you but you—unless of course you’ve got passengers, in which case, singing badly is all part of the fun. After all, a little Kar Karaoke never hurt anyone, right? And just like in real karaoke, you get to choose the songs you like best: show tunes, novelty songs, golden oldies or popular songs with a catchy or iconic chorus.
Some of the best songs for singing in the car are the songs you’d never ever sing in public. Belt out My Heart Will Go On or Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and pat yourself on the back for sounding “almost” like Celine Dion or Judy Garland. But if you’ve got passengers along for the ride, you’ll want to pick something less serious and possibly a little rowdy. The Rolling Stones’ I Can’t Get No Satisfaction, is the perfect choice. Another great selection for singing in the car with a crowd is Dire Straits’ Money For Nothing.
If you’ve got kids in the car, fun novelty songs are the way to go. 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall never gets old. Frere Jacques is fun to sing first in French, then in English, and then as a round. You can wind up the fun with Harry Nilsson’s Coconut, which is perfect for singing in the car no matter how old you are.
Singing in the Car: Songs about Cars
Old favorites for singing in the car naturally include King of the Road; 500 Miles; Hit the Road Jack; Beep Beep; and Fun, Fun, Fun. All of these songs are great for road trips because they are specifically about cars, driving, and road trips. What could be better than singing car songs in the car??
Golden Oldies are an ever-popular choice for singing in the car. Who doesn’t enjoy singing along to Sweet Home Alabama, Black Betty, Bohemian Rhapsody, Sweet Caroline, Ramblin’ Man, or The Joker? Then there are the more contemplative or soulful songs such as Sundown, Dreams, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, and Lean on Me.
Going back even further in time we find some great material for singing in the car. From the 40s and 50s we have such tunes as Don’t Fence Me In, Swinging on a Star, Rum and Coca-Cola, and Fly Me to the Moon. And just for fun there are the novelty songs from this era such as the Hut-Sut Song and Mairzy Doats.
Singing Stimulates Brain Activity
Finish off your singing in the car playlist with show tunes such as Marian the Librarian and Pickalittle from The Music Man; Do-Re-Mi and So Long, Farewell from The Sound of Music; to The Rain in Spain and On the Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady and There is Nothing Like a Dame and Happy Talk from South Pacific. By now, the singers . . . er, passengers in your car should be feeling no pain. The science tells us that singing improves your mental and physical health as it stimulates the chemicals in your brain responsible for motivation, reward, and pleasure. Aside from which singing in the car gets your diaphragm working, which means pushing more oxygen into your brain. More oxygen to the brain stimulates brain activity leading to improvements in concentration, clarity, and focus.
Exactly what you need to drive safely.
That extra burst of oxygen to the brain may be why, in a recent study of safe drivers—those with at least four accident-free years of driving, almost a full quarter of them, 24 percent, said that music, and singing in the car, aided their driving concentration. So feel free to keep singing some pretty great kar karaoke. Singing all your old favorites can only bring pleasant memories to the fore, ensuring a positive frame of mind, and a safer and more enjoyable ride for all.
