Homesickness is a feeling that so many of us can experience, regardless of what walk of life we’re on. Whether you’re thousands of miles away from home and your family or simply miss the comfort of your childhood home, homesickness has the capacity to make all of us feel quite sad.
Therefore, we’ve put this list together. With these 20 songs about homesickness, you’ll be able to find songs to relate to and to help you feel a little less alone!
1. “Homesick” by Sheryl Crow
“Homesick” by Sheryl Crow discusses the feelings many can feel when they arrive home after a journey, yet still feel homesick. Crow opens the song by explaining how she’s used to not being home, as she travels a lot. However, when she finally gets home, she expects to feel happy and content.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen — as her romantic partner is not there. She’s alone in her home and she misses her ex, which makes her feel homesick once again. As a result, she sings the lyrics, “I get homesick / For anywhere but home.”
2. “The Boxer” by Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel’s hit 1969 song “The Boxer”, which appears on their album Bridge Over Troubled Water, follows a young man who struggles with poverty and eventually becomes a boxer. As the duo sings about this story, they also touch on themes of homesickness.
At the beginning of the song, they sing about how this man left home and moved away. However, later on in the song, he misses home during the winter. They sing, “And I’m laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone / Goin’ home / Where the New York City winters aren’t bleeding me.”
3. “Homesick” by Kane Brown
“Homesick” by Kane Brown discusses life on the road as a musician. Brown sings about how he sells out places he’s never been while he tours around the country. However, he can’t help but miss his home — and specifically, his romantic partner.
As a result, he ends up singing, “If home is where the heart is / I’m homesick for you.”
4. “Tennessee Homesick Blues” by Dolly Parton
1984’s “Tennessee Homesick Blues” by Dolly Parton talks about missing family far away. Parton opens the song by singing about how she has moved to New York City. However, it hasn’t turned into the dream she thought it would. She finds that she misses home an awful lot.
The entire song follows Parton as she dreams about returning home, as she feels homesick. At the end of the song, she sums up her feelings beautifully by singing, “It’s hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world / With Tennessee homesick blues running’ through my head.”
5. “Homeward Bound” by Simon & Garfunkel
Simon & Garfunkel also sang about homesickness in the song “Homeward Bound”. In this song, they discuss traveling around and playing music. However, they cannot fight their feelings of homesickness. In the memorable chorus, they sing, “I wish I was / Homeward bound.”
6. “Lunch” by Stella Donnelly
“Lunch” by Stella Donnelly discusses a romantic relationship and how she can often feel homesick as a result of her feelings in this relationship. Throughout the song, she explains her relationship with this person, both the positives and negatives. Eventually, she repeatedly says, “And I get homesick before I go away.”
7. “People Help the People” by Birdy
“People Help the People” by Birdy discusses how we all should help each other. All of us struggle, and nobody is perfect. So, we should always try to lend a hand and spread kindness, when we can.
Birdy sings about how many of us can often feel homesick, especially if we’re living in a different country or city than where we’re originally from. To this, she sings, “People help the people / And if you’re homesick, give me your hand and I’ll hold it.”
8. “I Want to Go Home” by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash’s 1959 song “I Want to Go Home”, which appears on his album Songs of Our Soil, discusses missing home after you leave it. Even though Cash is with his grandfather and family, the situations he’s put in make him long to return home.
As a result, he ends up singing repeatedly that he wants to go home. He sings, “Let me go home, why don’t you let me go home? / Well, I feel so homesick I want to go home.”
9. “Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight” by Rod Stewart
1980’s “Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight” by Rod Stewart discusses wanting to return home to be with one’s romantic partner. Stewart sings to his partner and longs to reunite with her. He sings in the chorus, “Oh God I wish I was home tonight / With you in my arms.”
Unfortunately, by the end of the song, we learn that she’s begun to move on and find someone new, as he never returned home to her! However, Stewart still believes that they belong together. He thinks that this new person can’t possibly love her as he does!
10. “Prisoners” by John Denver
John Denver’s 1972 song “Prisoners”, which appears on his album Rocky Mountain High, follows two interconnected stories: that of a prisoner of war, and that of the mother of his baby. The narrator sings about how the mother of his child is a prisoner of her small town, in a way, as she doesn’t have opportunities to better herself.
The prisoner of war sings about how he longs to return home to his family. He sings, “I wish they would let me go home.”
11. “Just a Game” by Birdy
“Just a Game” by Birdy also discusses homesickness. Written for the film The Hunger Games, Birdy sings about the film’s main character’s feelings of confusion, anger, sadness, and more. She also sings about how she longs to return home to her family and her loved ones.
However, she also knows that she must hide her true feelings and play a part. She sings, “So homesick I can’t feel / But I know I must play my part / And tears I must conceal.”
12. “Just Another Night” by Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger’s 1985 song “Just Another Night” talks about a romantic relationship. Jagger sings about not wanting to be alone. Throughout the song, he tries to convince his partner to stay for another night, as he doesn’t want them to leave.
Through his pleading, we get a sense of his emotions and his feelings of homesickness. He sings the lyrics, “’Cause I’m homesick, feel a little down and blue / And I’m hurting, hurting baby just like you.”
13. “Mr. Lonely” by Bobby Vinton
“Mr. Lonely” by Bobby Vinton, first released in 1962, was written by Vinton during mandatory two-year military service. In this memorable song, Vinton sings about how lonely he feels. All he wants is to return home, yet he can’t.
In the chorus, he sings, “Now I’m a soldier, a lonely soldier / Away from home through no wish of my own / That’s why I’m lonely, I’m Mr. Lonely / I wish that I could go back home.”
14. “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” by Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong’s 1959 song “When It’s Sleepy Time Down South” describes what it’s like in the south when night falls. As he explains the setting and mood of the south at night, Armstrong then sings about how he wants to return to his home and family.
He sings towards the end of the song, “Dear old southland with his dreamy song / You take me back where I belong / Right in my mammy’s arms.”
15. “I’m a Long Way From Home” by Waylon Jennings
“I’m a Long Way From Home” by Waylon Jennings, which appears on his 1966 album Nashville Rebel, opens with the lyrics, “I’m a long way from home / And so all alone / Homesick like I never thought I’d be.”
As the song progresses, we learn more about Jennings’ loneliness. He becomes so homesick and sad that he wishes he would’ve listened to those who told him never to leave home!
16. “Flying” by Faces
Faces’ 1970 song “Flying” also details one’s feeling of homesickness. The song opens with the band explaining that they’re headed home. They then sing, “Can ya blame me for feeling homesick? / ‘Cause I’ve been away such a very long long time.”
Later in the song, we learn more about why the singer was away from home for so long. The singer explains that he had spent five years in the county jail!
17. “Home” by Diana Ross
Diana Ross released her song “Home” on her 1978 album Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz. In this song, Ross sings about memories of her home. She longs to return and wishes she could deal with her feelings of homesickness.
She sings the lyrics, “I wish I was home, I wish I was back there / With the things I been knowing.”
18. “Ain’t No Place Like Home” by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
“Ain’t No Place Like Home” by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince discusses feeling sad because of homesickness. The group sings about how there’s no place like home. They miss how things used to be and feel very nostalgic.
They also discuss how they miss their family and long to be reunited with them and their other loved ones again. The group says, “Oh never mind I’m just a little homesick / Thinking of my mum and my dad.”
19. “Oh My Sweet Carolina” by Ryan Adams & Emmylou Harris
Ryan Adams and Emmylou Harris’ duet “Oh My Sweet Carolina” also talks about homesickness! In this song, they sing about traveling around and missing home. As they travel around, the duo mentions various parts of the United States. However, even though they travel, they can never forget their home and their family.
As a result, they end up singing, “I miss Kentucky and I miss my family.”
20. “2 Places at 1 Time” by Zac Brown Band
At last, we have the last song on this list! “2 Places at 1 Time” by Zac Brown Band discusses the pain of going off and seeing the world, yet also missing your family back home. The singer explains that he wishes he could be in two places at once. He wants to travel and continue to see these beautiful sights, yet he also wants to stay home!
After all, he can’t help but miss his family. He sings the lyrics, “Miss my family when I’m gone.”