Songs About BBQ

How you livin’? And by that, of course, I mean “how you grillin’”? Hey, Meh contributor @JasonToon here. I think the backyard BBQ (or the driveway BBQ, or the deck BBQ, or whatever) has been a key prop holding up the wobbling edifice of late capitalism. Your job can be downsized, your social safety net can be slashed, your rights can be steadily eroded away. But as long as you can still stand outside over an open flame, inhaling the aromas, hearing the sizzle, feeling the cold beer in your hand, master of fire and flesh - well, you’re going to think twice about gambling it all on a revolution.

And I mention the music? Everybody’s got their favorite BBQ jams - but what about those of us who like our 'cue with a side of on-the-nose, nuance-free literalism? Where are the songs about BBQ? They are right here (and in a YouTube playlist). So slather on the lighter fluid and let’s cook!

ZZ Top - “Bar-B-Q” (1972)
Now you know we, of all companies, couldn’t start this list with anything but a genuine slab of sauce-dripping Texas flavor. In the music critics’ dictionary, under the word “blistering”, you’ll find Billy Gibbons

Colour Me Wednesday - “(I’m Not Coming to Your) BBQ” (2013)
I had no idea effete British indie-pop kids even had BBQs, much less used them as arenas for social rivalry.

Rehab - “Lawnchair High” (2002)
Rehab doesn’t specify if there’s a grill going, but otherwise this ode to hanging out in a lawnchair with a good buzz on is perfect BBQ material.

Murphy’s Law - “Crucial Bar-B-Q” (1989)
I just featured the Dance Hall Crashers in last week’s list, so I had to leave off their thematically appropriate “Skinhead BBQ”. It’s just as well since NYC skinheads Murphy’s Law recorded the ultimate ode to hardcore 'cueing.

Robert Earl Keen - “Barbeque” (1994)
More Texas, this time in a reflective mode about the lost barbeques of youth.

Bo Carter - “Pigmeat is What I Crave” (1931)
Given Carter’s reputation as a master of the Delta double-entendre, it’s safe to assume this song isn’t really about food.

Eric Bogle - “The Aussie Bar-B-Q” (1982)
I moved to Australia a few months ago, just as summer was ending here and just before it got going back home in the USA. So I moved between two countries where bar-b-q is a national ritual, just in time to miss grilling season in both my new country and the country I just left. When the Southern Hemisphere summer rolls around, you best believe I’m gonna bar-b-q the hell out of it. Anyway, here’s folk giant Eric Bogle’s salute to “half-cooked meat” and “sausages that taste like fried toothpaste”.

Wendy Rene - “Bar-B-Q” (1964)
No cultural anthropology, no double entendres, no metaphors for lost youth here: just an uproarious soul stomper about how “I like bar-b-q”.

Miracle Legion - “The Backyard” (1984)
Another one I wedged in despite its lack of explicit references to BBQ. It’s about memories of “the hottest day of the year” in “the backyard”, so close enough. Besides, tell me that guitar riff, with just the right balance of crunch and shimmer, isn’t a perfect BBQ sound.

Louis Armstrong - “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue” (1927)
This one has been recorded with lyrics - notably by Willie Nelson - but I opted for the original instrumental because it’s, you know, really great. It was actually written by Armstrong’s then-wife and piano player, Lil Hardin - and the “barbecue” she had in mind was herself, the delectable delicacy on Armstrong’s arm as he promenaded down the avenue.

Whatever tunes you’re spinning this 4th of July, whatever’s on the grill, have a kick-ass holiday and see you here next week.

Here’s a buffet spread of side dishes courtesy of our past weekend playlists:

• Grazing in the Grass: A Picnic Playlist
• Drinking Songs. Just Drinking Songs.
• Pour This in Your Ear: A Wine Playlist
• The Thirsty Sound of Desert Rock
• Weekend playlist archive