Songs about home

What are good songs about leaving home?

Good songs about leaving home include The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John and Long Time Gone by The Chicks, each about heading out and what you leave behind. They suit a graduate, a mover or anyone starting over somewhere new.

1. 01Homeward BoundSimon & Garfunkel · 1966Written on a train platform, wishing you were on the way home.
2. 02Goodbye Yellow Brick RoadElton John · 1973Leaving the high life to go back to simpler things.
3. 03500 MilesPeter, Paul and Mary · 1962A folk song about being too far from home to turn back.
4. 04Going to CaliforniaLed Zeppelin · 1971Acoustic and wistful, about leaving to find something new.
5. 05Long, Long Way from HomeForeigner · 1977Restless rock about life in a big city far from where you started.
6. 06Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)Billy Joel · 1977About leaving one life for another and what you give up.
7. 07My HometownBruce Springsteen · 1984A town changing over a lifetime, and a family deciding whether to stay.
8. 08The BoxerSimon & Garfunkel · 1969A young man leaves home for the city and finds it harder than he hoped.
9. 09Long Time GoneThe Chicks · 2002Leaving a small town to chase a dream, and looking back.
10. 10HomePhillip Phillips · 2012A promise that wherever you’re going, you’ll have somewhere to land.

What are the best homesick songs?

The best homesick songs include Carolina in My Mind by James Taylor, Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles and Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel, all about longing for a place a long way off. Several name a real place, which is half their power.

11. 11Carolina in My MindJames Taylor · 1968Written far from home, aching for North Carolina.
12. 12Georgia on My MindRay Charles · 1960Slow and soulful, the homesick song of homesick songs.
13. 13Detroit CityBobby Bare · 1963A factory worker up north who wants to go home.
14. 14HomesickDua Lipa · 2017A piano ballad about missing a person who feels like home.
15. 15HomeMichael Bublé · 2005Tired of touring, ready to go home. Gentle and wistful.
16. 16Home AgainCarole King · 1971Short, quiet piano about wanting to be back where you belong.
17. 17I'll Be Home for ChristmasBing Crosby · 1943The wartime homesick song, still played every December.
18. 18GalvestonGlen Campbell · 1969A soldier thinking of the seawall and the girl back home.
19. 19The House That Built MeMiranda Lambert · 2010Going back to the house you grew up in, hoping to find yourself there.
20. 20Sloop John BThe Beach Boys · 1966A trip gone wrong and one wish: to go home.

What are good songs about coming home?

Good songs about coming home include Back Home Again by John Denver, Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree by Dawn and Home by Daughtry. Two are Christmas songs, I’ll Be Home for Christmas in the homesick list and Driving Home for Christmas here, because December is when a lot of people make the trip.

21. 21Back Home AgainJohn Denver · 1974The quiet joy of getting home after a long trip.
22. 22Mama, I'm Coming HomeOzzy Osbourne · 1991A rock ballad about heading home to the one waiting for you.
23. 23Home Sweet HomeMötley Crüe · 1985A touring band’s piano ballad about finally going home.
24. 24HomeDaughtry · 2007Leaving the dream behind to go home. Big rock ballad.
25. 25Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak TreeDawn · 1973A man coming home, wondering if he’s still welcome. Joyful payoff.
26. 26Green, Green Grass of HomeTom Jones · 1966A dream of a homecoming, with a twist at the end.
27. 27Back in the U.S.S.R.The Beatles · 1968A cheeky rocker about landing back home.
28. 28Bring It On Home to MeSam Cooke · 1962Gospel-flavoured soul asking someone to come back home.
29. 29Driving Home for ChristmasChris Rea · 1988Stuck in traffic but nearly home. Cosy and gentle.
30. 30HomeDierks Bentley · 2011A country song about the country as home.

What songs say home is a person?

Songs that say home is a person include Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, You’re My Home by Billy Joel and Coming Home by Leon Bridges. They’re the ones to send to a partner, a parent or a best friend you’re apart from.

31. 31Our HouseCrosby, Stills, Nash & Young · 1970A cosy domestic morning that makes a home out of two people.
32. 32Coming HomeLeon Bridges · 2015Retro soul about a person who is home.
33. 33HomeEdward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros · 2009A whistled, call-and-response duet about home being a person.
34. 34Feels Like HomeChantal Kreviazuk · 1999The Randy Newman song sung softly. About someone who makes anywhere feel like home.
35. 35You're My HomeBilly Joel · 1973Written for his wife. Wherever she is, that’s home.
36. 36House of GoldTwenty One Pilots · 2013A ukulele promise to look after a mother.
37. 37Small TownJohn Mellencamp · 1985Proud of where you’re from and the people who raised you.
38. 38Where I Come FromAlan Jackson · 2001Country pride in roots and the people back home.
39. 39HomeGabrielle Aplin · 2013A soft song about a person who feels like home.
40. 40Our HouseMadness · 1982A busy, noisy family home, remembered fondly.

Missing a particular someone more than a place? Our songs about missing someone go further.

How do you make a mix CD for someone far from home?

To make a mix CD for someone far from home, choose 18 to 22 songs that name their home, their people or the trip back, check the total is under 80 minutes, and burn it as an audio CD so it plays in a car or dorm-room stereo. It travels well in a care package or a deployment box.

• Start local. A song about their actual state or city beats any general homesick song.
• Check the length. See how many songs fit on a CD or use the playlist length calculator.
• Order it as a journey. Leaving, missing, coming back. Our guide to making a mixtape has more on sequencing.
• Print a cover. A photo of the house, the street or the family on the free CD case template.
• Clean or explicit: everything here is clean in its usual release. A few, like My Hometown and Home Sweet Home, also appear on compilations flagged explicit, so ask for clean versions if the CD is for a kid.

Sending it a long way? We’ll burn your playlist to a custom CD and post it, with a photo from home as the cover.

More ideas for people who are far apart: our long distance relationship gifts, and songs about growing up for a kid leaving for college.