The summer holiday has started and that means that many people move to the beach to sit in the sun, listen to music and drink some summer drinks. Even though it seems straightforward, a good playlist makes the day even more perfect than it already is.

Nevertheless, reality always seems to be that no one is prepared to put on the right music, and you end up listening to a ready-made playlist on Spotify. However, what songs do set the right tone for the day and give you the beach vibes that you are looking for? In this blog, we listed 10 perfect beach songs to listen to at or on the beach.

I’m So Excited – The Pointer Sisters

The title song of the album So Excited! by The Pointer Sisters was released in 1982, and is a fun, joyful and exciting song that seems to add perfectly to the beach vibes you might want to create on the beach. The song is about affection, love, and desire, which two people want to experience on a runaway night. The song crescendos as a piano solo takes over the vocals here and there, which makes the song a great illustration of excitement. Many films and series have included the song in their work to express the excitement of main characters, for instance in Glee, The Love Boat and The Big Bang Theory. Since we cannot imagine you will not go to the beach excited, we thought we should include this song for sure.

Waiting On the World to Change – John Mayer

Of course, going to the beach is about excitement. But being on the beach can also take serious turns and that makes Waiting On the World to Change by John Mayer a great addition to your summer playlist. Mayer is worried that his generation is “misunderstood” and there is nothing they seem they can do besides “waiting on the world to change”. Sitting with friends on the beach, this song can be confronting, but at the same time comforting in the sense that everyone is in it together and sharing a mutual feeling. Mayer ends on a positive note however, singing that “one day our generation will rule the world”. Although the song is meant to stir up a debate, it is also excellent for just a random day at the beach.

All Summer Long – Kid Rock

All Summer Long is both a song to listen to on the beach as a song about the beach. Kid Rock has mashed up different songs to construct this 2008 banger. Songs that are sampled in the song are Night Moves by Bob Seger, Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Werewolves of London by Warren Zevon. The mashup became a great hit across the United States and Europe, with Kid Rock performing at the Grammys, MTV Music Awards and World Music Awards. Nowadays, the song appears in many beach playlists which are listened to all summer long.

The Boys of Summer – Don Henley

Going from a song about to beach to a somewhat anti-beach song. Even though we put this song on the list for songs to listen to on the beach, the lyrics reveal that it is not actually a summer song. Grammy-Award winner Don Henley wrote The Boys of Summer in 1984, whereas Mike Campbell composed the music. Henley starts by singing that “the summer’s out of reach” and intends to illustrate the feeling of no longer feeling young and vibrant. The Boys of Summer seem to have won over a girl that he is still hanging on to, although he knows that she probably will not return to him. Having dived deep into the meaning of the song, the touching song nevertheless remains a perfect song for the beach.

My Way – Calvin Harris

Another song that has almost nothing to do with the beach is My Way by DJ Calvin Harris, who also does the vocals for the song. Because the song was released in September 2016, it nevertheless became a beach song where we do not think about often enough when we are composing beach playlists. The electropop and dance tunes, the easy-to-follow lyrics and Harris’ voice combined add to the summer vibes and will be stuck in your head immediately after you have heard the song. Although Harris sings about a situation in which he seems to be stuck, all we hear are summer tunes with – seemingly – nothing to worry about.

Riptide – Vance Joy

A completely different song than the ones before is Riptide by Vance Joy, whose actual name is James. He has described the song as a “weird mishmash of ideas” and not all the words make as much sense as for instance John Mayer’s Waiting On the World to Change. Nevertheless, the indie-folk song is great for beach days as the chorus is cheerfully and lightly composed. Many people have speculated about the meaning of the song, as Vance Joy seems to admire the girl largely, while at the same time being confused and dark sided. Nevertheless, the ukulele makes the song upbeat and fun to listen to. If you want to add to the beach vibes, you could even bring a ukulele to the beach to play this song with your friends!

Let’s go to the beach!

Have you added the above mentioned songs to your playlist already? Make sure to share the playlist with your friends, so that they can add songs to your playlist as well! To find more songs to listen to on the beach, you might listen to different radio stations in order to get inspired by songs you do not know very well or listen to songs you have not thought of to add to your playlist before. All in all, this will lead to a perfect playlist for you and your group of friends, since everyone will add songs that they like most. Aren’t you going to the beach, but more a fan of camping? Read our blog about songs for camping and road trips instead!