Did you know that there are several tracks about New Mexico? From rock to country and everything in between, continue reading as we dive into the 20 best songs about New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment!
1. Taos, New Mexico – Waylon Jennings
First up on our list is Waylon Jennings with the 1967 song Taos, New Mexico, which was released on his album Love Of The Common People. This track is all about the majesty that surrounds Taos, New Mexico, and the beauty of the town. One of the legends about this area is that if it has just snowed and a stranger comes around, a fresh love will happen.
The narrator talks about it snowing and him finding true love and how this woman he just met is the one. There is a spiritual and emotional element to the song too because he believes this journey to Taos was meant for him to find the one. He talks about how the snow is what helped him find love and how there is a special power hidden within it. It’s a heartwarming track with a lovely message about going out to find love and knowing when it’s true love even from the first time you meet someone.
2. Albuquerque – Neil Young
Next on our list is Neil Young with Albuquerque, which comes from his 1975 album Tonight’s The Night. This song is all about a guy who wants to rent a car so he can drive to Santa Fe from Albuquerque and be alone. He wants to smoke some weed and then eat country ham with some fried eggs. When you hear this track, you get the feeling he is trying to escape life and the feeling of being on the go in the city, returning to a more rural life where he can relax.
3. Worst Comes to Worst – Billy Joel
Billy Joel makes the list with Worst Comes To Worst, which was released on Piano Man, the album from 1973. This song is all about a woman who lives in New Mexico, and it made it to number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s a track about fame, love, and uncertainty, and if you’ve ever fallen in love but aren’t sure about where it’s going to go, then you’ll relate to this classic country pop-rock tune.
4. New Mexico – Johnny Cash
Next is New Mexico by the legendary singer Johnny Cash, which comes from his 1964 record The Original Sound Of Johnny Cash. This song is all about a cattle drive in New Mexico that’s supposed to pay good money but turns into the biggest disaster of them all. There are all kinds of things getting in the way, such as thorns along his ride and storms he has to go through. To top that off, he doesn’t even get paid at the end of it.
5. New Mexico Rain – Bill & Bonnie Hearne
Bill & Bonnie Hearne make the list with New Mexico Rain, which was released in 1997 on the album Diamonds In The Rough. These two artists are visually impaired but are loved in New Mexico, and this is a song that’s all about finding love against the odds. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the track, we suggest you listen to it because it’s going to make your heart melt when you hear the love story that spawned from two people in New Mexico who had a rough life.
6. Feels Like Home (New Mexico True) – Richmond Music Group
Richmond Music Group released the song Feels Like Home (New Mexico True), which is all about the beauty of New Mexico, which is why it’s called the Land of Enchantment. The track gives you that classic country feel even though they are a younger band. They are from Albuquerque, so they have knowledge and a love for the city and state, and you can feel that energy, love, and upbeat vibe throughout the entire song dedicated to New Mexico.
7. Point Me In The Direction of Albuquerque – The Partridge Family
Next up is The Partridge Family with Point Me In The Direction Of Albuquerque, which was released in 1970 on The Partridge Family Album. This is a song about being at a bus stop and finding love, but it all goes wrong and the love is quickly lost. The track is one of several that they released that is still loved even today, and it was written by Tony Romeo, who wrote the famous song I Think I Love You.
8. Clovis, New Mexico – Hank Williams Jr.
Next up is Hank Williams Jr. with Clovis, New Mexico, which comes from his 1975 album Hank Williams Jr. & Friends. This song is all about how he and a friend went on a trip and ended up going through multiple cities such as Abilene, Texas, just to make it to Clovis, New Mexico. We love this track because if you’ve ever been on a road trip with a buddy, then you’ll feel that energy and nostalgia as you listen to this song.
9. O Fair New Mexico – Busy McCarroll
Busy McCarroll makes the list with O Fair New Mexico, which is famous within the state since she sang this at the 2014 Zozobra event. It’s the official state song, and while many people have never heard it, it’s the perfect track to pay homage to New Mexico and show pride in where you’re from.
10. Portales – Ray Wylie Hubbard
Up next is Ray Wylie Hubbard with Portales, which was released on Lost Train Of Thought in 1991. Even though he is from Oklahoma, he sings about having a love affair with a woman from New Mexico, which was brief, and he left the state never to return again.
There’s a lot of emotion in the song as he sings about longing and sadness when he thinks about this woman and how they had met through a chance encounter before he ended up leaving her behind. If you’ve ever had a brief fling with someone while on the road, then you’ll understand the mixed emotions that it’ll leave you feeling after the fact.
11. New Mexico – Ron Frost
Ron Frost makes the list with New Mexico, which is a silly track about the state you’ll find entertaining if you’re into a more country sound. He has a similar sound and style to John Denver, so it’s very soulful and folk-sounding with a lot of strings throughout the song. The track is all about New Mexico, and it’s found on the 1976 album Enchantment: Songs About New Mexico, which was a compilation album released by a local radio station KRST.
12. New Mexico’s No Breeze – Iron & Wine
In 2013, Iron & Wine released the album Ghost On Ghost, which contained the song New Mexico’s No Breeze. This track is a mixture of jazz, pop, and R&B, and it’s a song with a catchy melody and breezy beautiful piano featured within it.
It’s one of those tracks that will give you nostalgia from when you were 19 since that’s the age of the woman and man in the song. The man is looking back at this love he had and how this woman was and still is drifting through Santa Fe. It’s a story about a lost love and a time long gone, so it’s introspective and somewhat sad given he’s looking back and thinking about this same girl all of these years later.
13. New Mexico – Wake Self
Albuquerque rapper Wake Self is next with New Mexico, which was released in 2014 from his album Good Things Happen To Those Who Wake. This is one of his most beloved songs as he raps about the state he loves and grew up in, and this track is going to leave you wanting to hear more from him as he was an iconic rapper with a gift that was taken away too soon. Sadly, Andrew Martinez, his real name, was killed in a car crash in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2019.
14. Long White Line – Sturgill Simpson
Next up is Sturgill Simpson with Long White Line, which was released on his 2014 album Metamodern Sounds In Country Music. This is one of his most beloved songs, and it’s all about being a truck driver and going from city to city. It talks about hitting the road in the rig to forget about his girl and how he doesn’t need a home because he has his truck and he’s going to the white line.
While New Mexico is only mentioned briefly when he talks about passing through Albuquerque, it’s one of those tracks you’ll relate to if you travel for a living and have passed through the state at some point.
15. Lights of Albuquerque – Jim Glaser
Jim Glaser is on our list with Lights Of Albuquerque, which was released in 1986 on the album Everybody Knows I’m Yours. This track made it to number 40 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and it’s one of his most beloved tracks.
The song is about being on the road and just going through a breakup, and he’s wondering whether his woman will take him back. He asks whether the lights of Albuquerque will shine for him again, and this is likely him wondering whether he will have good luck and win her over. In the track, he’s trying to get back home to the city to hopefully rekindle this relationship, so it’s a song a lot of us can relate to if we’re on the road and just want to go home to fix parts of our lives that are broken.
16. New Mexico Kind Of Thing – Billy Dawson
Billy Dawson is on the list with New Mexico Kind Of Thing, which was released on the 2016 album of the same name. He had been going to New Mexico with his family since he was about two years old, so he wrote this song about all of the things he loves about the state and what makes it special.
It’s one of those tracks that makes you feel pride and nostalgia when you remember back on the trips you’ve had with your family through the years. That is what he does in this upbeat tribute song.
17. Albuquerque – “Weird Al” Yankovic
In 1999, “Weird Al” Yankovic released Albuquerque on his album Running With Scissors, which is 11 minutes and 23 seconds long, so it’s one of his longest songs ever recorded. If you didn’t know, it’s a parody as all of his tracks are, but it’s more spoken-word than some of his other material.
The song is all about a person who won a ticket aboard a first-class flight to go to the city and now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and can’t go home because it was a one-way ticket. It’s a hilarious track that delves into what life is now like for this person and the rock element of the song will remind you of the iconic artists like George Thorogood.
18. Sunset, Santa Fe – Dave Barnes
Dave Barnes makes the list with Sunset, Santa Fe, which was released in 2016 on the album Carry On, San Vicente. This song is all about the bittersweet emotions of being away from your significant other and missing them, but using them to help you get through tough times. Whether it’s being away from home on business or something else, he sings about missing his woman and how he’s out there chasing his dreams and using her as motivation to keep going.
19. The Golden Inn Song – The Last Mile Ramblers
The Last Mile Ramblers are on our list with The Golden Inn Song, which was released on the album While They Last. This is a tribute track to The Golden Inn, which was a bar and club where this bluegrass band from Golden, New Mexico, would perform regularly. They are a mix of bluegrass and country, and when you listen to this song, you get the sense they loved performing for their hometown crowd and loved the people within their small town in New Mexico.
20. Out In New Mexico – Johnny Horton
Last on our list is Johnny Horton with Out In New Mexico, which is all about the state and the beauty you’ll find if you visit it. From the mesas to the plains, he tells you everything about the landscape and the allure that is found throughout New Mexico
This is a cover of the song originally performed by Clyde Moody, but Horton, who is also a country singer, probably has the most well-known and beloved rendition of the track out of everyone. The melody is catchy and he talks about the nostalgia as well as the adventure he found while in New Mexico, so it’s a captivating story you’ll want to hear more than once.
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From the time she was little, Florence loved listening to music and quickly learned how music can make you happy and feel fulfilled. One of her favorite memories is being in the garage with her dad working on classic cars with the local rock station blaring in the background. Ever since Florence was 3, she loved grunge music and spent hours listening to bands such as Alice in Chains, Mad Season, Soul Asylum, and Soundgarden.
She also enjoys classic rock, modern rock, nu metal, alternative rock, and old 90’s R&B. Her love of music grew as she got older, and used music to help her get through tough times in her life. More often than not, you’ll see Florence with earbuds in while she’s writing, cooking, cleaning, and doing other tasks. She also loves to debate music with her friends such as which lead singer is the best vocalist, the most iconic guitar solos in music, and what songs are really the best of the decade.
