11 Songs About Alcoholism & Drinking Problems
Alcoholism is basically the inability to control drinking due to both a physical and emotional dependence on alcohol. Many things can lead to one developing alcoholism such as emotional heartbreak, mental health issues, peer pressure, lack of self-confidence etc. Below is a list of songs that touch on the topic of alcoholism and drinking problems together with their consequences:
1. Kendrick Lamar – Swimming Pools
In this single, Kendrick addresses the psychological connection between peer pressure and alcoholism. We see an introspective take on the social pressure and self-defeating attitudes that drive people to drive. ‘Swimming pools’ has been used as a metaphor for alcoholism.
The chorus of the song describes how parties go in chronological order. It starts with pouring liquor and shots excessively which then leads to passing out.
2. Midland – Drinkin Problem
This is the debut single for Midland which is featured in his album On The Rocks. It reached #4 on the US Hot Country Billboard charts and #45 on the US Billboard Top 100.
The track shares the singer’s attempt to cure his heartache with alcohol. People think he is suffering from a drinking problem judging by how frequently he visits his local watering hole but that is far from the truth. They ended up labeling him as a deadbeat, broke person who is running from something.
3. Brad Paisley feat Alison Krauss – Whiskey Lullaby
The hit song was composed by Bill Anderson and Jon Randall. The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts and #41 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was able to win the 2005 Country Music Association Song of the Year award and is one of Paisley’s three songs certified Platinum by RIAA.
The song tells a story of a soldier who returned from deployment only to find out that his wife has been unfaithful to him while he was away. He then turns to out-of-control drinking to drown his heartbreak but this leads to his eventual death. His ex-girlfriend feels guilty for being responsible for the heartache that caused the death of her ex. She also develops a drinking problem which led to her death.
4. Ed Sheeran – Drunk
The single was released as the 4th track from his debut studio album + (Plus). Lyrically, Ed Sheeran sings about getting drunk to be away from the reality that his ex-girlfriend is no longer with him and he misses her. He reminisces about happier times since he knows they won’t be coming back again.
5. Gary Allan – It Ain’t The Whiskey
The song starts with Gary in a church at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. His turn comes and he gives his story as to what led him to start drinking. He reveals that he mainly blames his ex for ripping his heart out and leaving him with emptiness within. This has been giving him a hard to time and suffering with hurt. He now uses alcohol to drown his hurt inside.
6. Blake Shelton – The More I Drink
The song is from the album Pure BS which was released in 2007. Blake sings about a man who whenever he visits the bar he just can’t have a few drinks but ends up over indulging everytime. When asked why he does this he states that the more he drinks the more he becomes a better version of himself. He gets loud, dances and more confident. He loves this version so he will keep drinking more and more.
7. Carrie Underwood – Wasted
“Wasted” is a track about a lost woman finding herself anew. She had just broken up with her boyfriend/husband whom she had been with for many years and now she feels like those years have been wasted. She feels so much pain that she decides to indulge in whiskey drinking to kill the pain.
The song was written by Marv Green, Hillary Lindsey and Troy Verges. It hit number on on the US Hot Country Songs Billboard chart.
8. Dax – Dear Alcohol
Lyrically, the song is about mental health struggles. Dax is battling negative thoughts in his head so much that he has to seek alcohol to try and keep the voices in his head quiet. He has developed the habit of starting his day with a drink even though he knows it’s not good for his health.
Dax doesn’t want to use alcohol as an escape and is desperately searching for help from anyone including spiritual assistance.
9. Ed Sheeran – Bad Habits
On this song, Ed Sheeran reflects on his past habits of consistent drinking a partying and what these actions lead to. All the partying led to him using other drugs such as pills and these had their own withdrawal side effects. Ed wanted to curb his partying habits so that he could be ready to take his then pregnant wife to the hospital when the delivery time gets there.
In the music video, he wears a vampire constume and this has been used to symbolize the dark side of him and displays the bad habits that he carries.
10. Ed Sheeran – Eraser
The lyrics in the song mention everything from singing in church as a child to winning international awards as a professional musician. It also goes into how much he indulged in drinking and smoking and the pitfalls the habits brought. He references to alcohol as an eraser which was to lessen the pain he was experiencing. Eraser is also a cocktail that consists of equal parts of three main ingredients.
Ed Sheeran shared that he drank almost every day during the early years of his career and sometimes was drunk on stage. He took a year off music because he realized that he was slipping into bad habits.
11. Keith Urban & Pink – One Too Many
The song features on the album The Speed Of Now released in 2020. The chorus of the song reveals that the subject of the song spends a large portion of his money drinking on his own in a bar and staring at his phone asking himself where he went wrong in the previous unsuccessful relationship. He ends up drinking too much and wanted to call their ex significant other but couldn’t.