- ‘Carolina On My Mind’ – James Taylor
- ‘Wagon Wheel’ – Old Crow Medicine Show
- ‘Gone to Carolina’ – Shooter Jennings
- ‘Oh, My Sweet Carolina’ – Ryan Adams
- ‘Carolina’ – Eric Church
- ‘Chapel Hill’ – Sonic Youth
- ‘Raise Up’ – Petey Pablo
- ‘Carolina’ – Parmalee
- ‘Greensboro Woman’ – Townes Van Zandt
- ‘Carolina Sunset’ – Marshall Tucker Band
‘Carolina On My Mind’ is a song written and performed by Chapel Hill, North Carolina native James Taylor. He wrote it while he was overseas recording for Apple Records and the song reflects his homesickness at the time. The song has become known as the unofficial song of the state of North Carolina as well as an unofficial song for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where it is sung at events, games and commencement by the students. In the song Taylor sings, “In my mind I’m goin’ to Carolina.” It has become one of his greatest hits.
‘Wagon Wheel’ is a song by Old Crow Medicine Show, an old-time string band. The song is one of their most popular songs and known as their signature song. Ketch Secor got the inspiration to write the song from a Bob Dylan outtake, which is seen in the chorus of the song. The song is very popular at North Carolina State University because of its reference to Raleigh, NC. The band sings, “Headed down south to the land of the pines and I’m thumbin’ my way into North Caroline.”
‘Gone to Carolina’ is a song by singer-songwriter Shooter Jennings, the son of the late Waylon Jennings. The song is about having a home, no matter where it is. In the song he sings, “yes I’m gone, gone to Carolina, where I know I belong.”
‘Oh, My Sweet Carolina’ is a song by Jacksonville, North Carolina native, Ryan Adams. This song, like James Taylor’s ‘Carolina On My Mind’, also seems to be about homesickness and missing what he has left behind in North Carolina. In the chorus, he sings “Oh, my sweet Carolina, what compels me to go? Oh my sweet disposition, may you one day carry me home.”
‘Carolina’ is yet another song sung by a North Carolina native, Eric Church from Granite Falls. And like others before this song on the list, it is also about homesickness. In the chorus of the song he sings “like the sound of a siren song, oh, Caro-lina you keep callin’ me home.”
‘Chapel Hill’ is a song sung by Sonic Youth. They take a different turn when referencing the state and focus on the political feelings of the college town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina and surrounding places like Durham and Raleigh, both of which also have large universities. The band makes references to the well-known music venue Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill, the longtime North Carolina senator Jesse Helms, and Char Grill, a well-known restaurant in Raleigh. The band also references the unsolved murder of a bookstore owner, Bob Sheldon, who was shot and killed in the bookstore, Internationalist Books, right around the corner from Cat’s Cradle in February 1991. The band sings “we’ll round up the Durham H.C. kids and the Char Grill killers, Jesse H. coming to our pit, all ages show.”
‘Raise Up’ is a rap song by Greenville, North Carolina native, Petey Pablo. He represents his home state through the song when he says “This ones for North Carolina! C’mon and raise up, take your shirt off, twist it ’round yo head, spin it like a helicopter.” The song is used by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during football games when the Marching Tar Heels play the chorus.
‘Carolina’ is a song written and performed by more Greenville, North Carolina natives Parmalee, a Southern Rock/Country band. The song is about being homesick, but finding comfort in a girl that makes you feel at home. This is easy to see in their lyrics “she makes me feel like home’s not so far away, she feels like Carolina.”
‘Greensboro Woman’ is a song by Townes Van Zandt, a Country/Folk singer-songwriter. The song is about meeting a woman from Greensboro on the road and, instead of finding comfort with her, he thinks about the woman waiting for him at home. In the song he sings “Greensboro woman don’t you smile on me, I do not feel like being comforted.”
‘Carolina Sunset’ is a song by the Marshall Tucker Band, a Southern Rock band. The band sings about the effect a Carolina sunset and the Smoky Mountains can have on someone. They sing “I love a Carolina sunset, that’s one thing a man will never forget, it brings Heaven a little bit closer to Earth.”
Let me know your thoughts and opinions on the top songs about North Carolina.
Let the music do the talking. 