Whether you’re escaping on holiday, looking for love across the globe or spreading a positive message to the furthest reaches of the planet, our playlist of pop and rock songs about travelling the world spans the genres and eras of music, collecting the best of the lyrical concept in one place.
Songs About Travelling The World
1. Nat King Cole – Around The World
This rosy vintage pop track by Nat King Cole takes top place on our list for its timeless message of true love, as breathtakingly resonant and otherworldly today as at the time of its release over 60 years ago.
While Cole’s version is simply a cover of the original 1956 theme tune for a movie titled concurrently, this classic piece is perfect for any old romantics searching far and wide for their soulmate before settling in the haven they’ve spent a lifetime envisioning;
“No more will I go all around the world, for I have found my world in you.”
Any younger listeners usually averse to older pre-”pop” music stand a good chance of being swept away by this track’s old-school ambience, its symphonic sections bearing striking similarities to classic, whimsical Disney soundtracks, clad with deep, haunting nostalgia for a faded era.
2. Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Around The World
Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ 1999 single, Around The World, is about travelling around the world for the women and reporting back your discoveries.
From the Swiss mountains, Sicily, Bombay, Russia and the US, RHCP detail the travel of a lifetime, anchoring their experience in the love-fuelled lines, “I know, I know for sure, that life is beautiful around the world.”
In their signature melodic blend of funk, rock and rap, RCHP craft an upbeat anthem for those craving to travel and taste every country before their time runs out, whilst appreciating the world’s diversity for all its natural beauty.
3. Daft Punk – Around The World
Daft Punk’s classic 1997 club anthem, Around The World, has been set in stone in the world of dance and house music for its timelessly innovative and ever-current soundscape.
Crafted around an iconic hook, Around The World layers a plethora of addictive electronic elements upon a funk-inspired bass line, plastering only one revolving lyric upon their plushly conjured soundscape, “Around the world, around the world, around the world…”
The track’s trance-like lyrical cyclicality is a perfect reflection of a lifetime of ceaseless travel, whether you’re a worldwide joyrider or a touring musician haloing the atmosphere in perpetual plane rides.
4. Oasis – All Around The World
This 9-minute album closer by Oasis is a Brit-pop track anchored in the pure message of spreading peace and love to the farthest reaches of the planet.
All Around The World also captures the themes of switching stagnancy and monotony for the chance of a better life elsewhere;
“Take me away because I just don’t want to stay… These are crazy days but they make me shine, time keeps rolling by. All around the world, you’ve got to spread the word, tell them what you heard, we’re gonna make a better day … You know it’s gonna be OK.”
Oasis’ 1997 single is a shamelessly feel-good rock song clad with countless guitar solos and sing-a-long sections, every moment embracing pure optimism for the future’s endless potential against a grungy vibe.
5. Electric Light Orchestra – All Over The World
ELO’s 1980 hit single, All Over The World, is crafted around receiving a message of a worldwide party and spreading the message across the world.
Between their lists of capital cities, retro amazement at worldwide communication and uplifting disco ambience, ELO summon bright energy that celebrates a different style of world peace: where mankind is brought together through dance, encouraging optimism to overpower world trauma;
“Everybody all around the world, gotta tell you what I just heard, there’s gonna be a party all over the world, I got a message on the radio, but where it came from, I don’t really know, and I heard these voices calling all over the world.”
Interestingly, ELO very discreetly nod to Nat King Cole’s iconic track about adventuring across the globe, lifting Cole’s striking lyrical phrase of exploring ‘gay Paris’ from his 50s hit, and placing it within their 80s evolution of a similar concept;
“Everybody come along with me, we’re gonna hit the night down in gay Paris.”
6. Metallica – Wherever I May Roam
Metallica’s 1992 single, Wherever I May Roam, uses its gripping heavy metal riffs to underlight a story of self-assertion and confidence in whichever situation you find yourself.
This song carries a prominent theme of escapism, however it refuses to be crippled beneath the weight of the implied traumas driving the narrator across the face of the Earth;
“I’ll take my time anywhere, free to speak my mind anywhere and I’ll redefine anywhere. Anywhere I roam, where I lay my head is home, and the earth becomes my throne, I adapt to the unknown, under wandering stars I’ve grown, by myself but not alone.”
Wherever I May Roam is a gritty metal anthem for anyone wanting to sever their ties to the past so they can wander and find domination within a new world and a new life.
7. John Denver – Leaving On A Jet Plane
Leaving On A Jet Plane by John Denver is a retro country track centred around leaving your lover behind whilst you set off on an adventure around the world.
Denver fashions his romantic lyrics like a goodbye conversation between a husband and wife, revealing the lies and despair in their relationship that led to him leaving;
“There’s so many times I’ve let you down, so many times I’ve played around, I tell you now they don’t mean a thing, every place I go I’ll think of you.”
Whilst Denver’s lyrical content is overwhelmingly depressing, the track itself is unimaginably bright, suggesting the husband can’t contain his excitement at the thought of leaving his partner and starting over again, and that his goodbye message is rife with false optimism that he will one day return.
This is a track for those who can’t wait to get away from their partner and enjoy some time for themselves.