The Top 10 Americana Songs of All Time: Peter Thompson

So what makes a song a credible candidate for the Top 10 Americana Song of All Time feature? The task of selecting the top 10 has been assigned to the AUK staff writers, but without specific criteria. So, from my perspective, I asked myself some questions: should the songs be ones that I enjoy listening to? They are. Genre-defining? Some are, some are not. Influential? Again, some are, particularly if you consider the number of times they have been covered by other artists. Overall, though, I think they are all great songs and I am therefore happy to present to you, the 10 best americana songs of all time, but with the usual caveat that should I be asked to repeat the exercise next week, at least some of the songs would be different, but then surely that’s the beauty of this kind of thing. And there are links to some alternative versions that are seriously worth listening to.

Number 10: Justin Townes Earle Harlem River Blues from Harlem River Blues (2010)

Justin Townes Earle morphed from the tall, skinny kid in dungarees who toured with his Dad, playing the keyboard part to What’s a Simple Man To Do in the early noughties, transforming into a fine, accomplished singer-songwriter in his own right.

Being the son of an americana legend and being named after another of the greatest americana singer and songwriters, and Steve Earle’s mentor, Townes Van Zandt, was always going to be a challenging gig, but Justin’s music ably demonstrated that he was up to the job at hand. Awards, including the New and Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2009 Americana Music Awards, are evidence of that. In 2011, Earle was presented with the Song of the Year Americana Music Award for the song Harlem River Blues.

Following his untimely death in 2020, Earle’s music was honoured by Steve Earle & The Dukes with the release of the album J.T., which saw the band covering 10 Justin Townes Earle songs plus a Steve Earle original, the poignant Last Words (the album was released in January 2021).

The song Harlem River Blues is so catchy, my guess is you’ll probably catch yourself singing along by the second chorus. The clip of Justin Townes Earle below features Jason Isbell on guitar. The second clip is of Steve Earle & The Dukes performing the song – you can find the video here.

Number 9: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert and Jon Randall In His Arms from The Marfa Tapes (2021)

AUK doesn’t generally go a bundle over artists considered to be current mainstream Nashville acts, so I realise I’m taking a risk including a song here that features the talents of Miranda Lambert, who, it has to be said, is one of the biggest acts out of Nashville over the past decade or so. This is a collaborative album by American country artists Jack Ingram, Lambert, and Jon Randall, artists who have known each other for a couple of decades and each having written and recorded their fair share of songs, but with Lambert being by far the biggest name of the trio.

The recordings for The Marfa Tapes took place in desert surroundings in Marfa, Texas, with the album sleeve notes describing Marfa as “An eccentric outpost in the midst of a vast expanse of nothingness“. Being so far removed from everyday life, the trio found it a liberating experience, spending most of their waking hours outdoors writing and recording songs. The recordings were each made in one take, with any mistakes left in there. Two microphones and two acoustic guitars were used. Getting out into the open air in the middle of the Texan countryside to record live performances has resulted in many of the songs including extraneous noises, such as coyote calls, aeroplanes flying over and the constant crackle of a campfire.

I’ll tell anyone who will listen that The Marfa Tapes was the best album of 2021. In His Arms is one of a number of outstanding songs on the record, with a great melody and lyrics, it is very much suited to the simple arrangement here. Some of the songs on the record have also appeared on other Lambert releases; however, in all cases, the recorded-in-the-studio versions pale against the versions here.

A documentary film about the making of the album was also released.

Number 8: Melody Gardot Your Heart is as Black as Night from My One and Only Thrill (2009)

Melody Gardot is a noted jazz singer, songwriter and musician. She has a fascinating back story, having studied music as a child, she performed live in her teenage years, playing piano regularly in the Philadelphia area. This came to a sudden halt in 2003 at the age of 19, however, as she was struck by a vehicle while riding her bicycle, sustaining significant, life-changing injuries. Hospitalised and confined to a bed for a whole year, Gardot had injuries to her head, spine and pelvis. Forced to relearn basic movements, a doctor treating her conditions suggested that music may help Gardot to overcome her brain injuries, so she learned to hum, then to sing. The humming and singing were recorded onto tape, and eventually she progressed onto writing songs. Gardot learned how to sing before she had relearned to speak. During her period of recovery, she also learned to play the guitar. She has subsequently become a keen, high-profile supporter of the benefits of music therapy.

The song Your Heart is as Black as Night is a smoky, atmospheric song; it was covered by Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa on their first collaborative effort, the 2011 LP Don’t Explain. Although I really like the (jazz style) Gardot original, I think the bluesy arrangement on the Hart and Bonamassa version is preferable and can be found here.

Number 7: Van Morrison Caravan from Moondance (1970)

Van Morrison approached his third LP, 1970’s Moondance, under a certain amount of pressure, following the record’s predecessor, Astral Weeks, which, although critically acclaimed, failed to generate sales in the expected quantities. As it turned out, if Morrison felt the pressure, perhaps he needn’t have done so, as Moondance succeeded where Astral Weeks had failed. Moondance also included some of Morrison’s most celebrated songs, such as the title track, And It Stoned Me, Into the Mystic and Caravan.

The song Caravan is full of references to gypsy life and the radio, much of which relate to Morrison’s time spent isolated in a remote house in Woodstock, New York.

In 1978, the film The Last Waltz, a record of The Band’s final concert, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on 25th November (Thanksgiving Day) in 1976, included Morrison among the guest artists taking the stage with The Band on the night. He performed Caravan that night with The Band, and it’s here.

Number 6: Natalie Merchant Sister Tilly from Keep Your Courage (2023)

After singing on the first seven 10,000 Maniacs albums, Natalie Merchant left in 1993 to pursue a solo career. 2023’s release Keep Your Courage was Merchant’s tenth solo release, comprising nine studio albums and 1999’s Live in Concert.

Merchant told the music podcast ‘Song Exploder’ in 2023 about how Sister Tilly is about women friends from her mother’s generation who she had found to be inspirational, but who had now passed away, including Sally Grossman, who appeared on the cover of Bob Dylan’s 1965 LP Bringing It All Back Home and ended up running Bearsville Records after the death of her husband. Merchant wanted to celebrate the lives of these women who had inspired her. She created the character of Sister Tilly to reflect the different characteristics of these many different women.

The Keep Your Courage album was recorded at a studio in Vermont, towards the end of the Covid period, but while there remained some restrictions on movement and gatherings. Sister Tilly is a long song at almost seven and a half minutes; it features shifts of tempo and extensive brass and strings.

Number 5: Steve Earle My Old Friend the Blues from Guitar Town (1986)

My Old Friend the Blues is a song from Steve Earle’s debut LP, 1986’s twangy Guitar Town, it’s an achingly slow ballad about solitude. The song opens with a simple introduction played on an acoustic guitar. Lyrically, it’s one of Earle’s more straightforward songs, with an arrangement that highlights the song’s simplicity.

The recording of Guitar Town was interesting from a technical perspective, as it was one of the earliest fully digital recordings in a period when Nashville’s major recording studios were starting to move in that direction.

Over the years, in the live environment My Old Friend the Blues has often been paired with Someday, the song which follows it in sequence on the record.

Number 4: The Rolling Stones Dead Flowers from Sticky Fingers (1971)

Dead Flowers is from my favourite Stones album, Sticky Fingers, an LP which is also the band’s most americana-focused record, highlighting the influence that Gram Parsons had on the band around that time; the album also includes Wild Horses. Dead Flowers features a vocal from Jagger where you get the feeling that he has his tongue planted quite firmly in his cheek, as seems to be the case with some of the band’s other country-tinged output, such as Country Honk and Faraway Eyes.

I particularly like the live version of Dead Flowers from The Marquee in 1971; it has such energy, and Mick Taylor’s guitar work is great throughout.

Number 3: Counting Crows A Long December from Recovering the Satellites (1996)

Following the band’s smash debut full-length release, 1993’s August and Everything After, Counting Crows eventually returned to the studio to record the follow-up, aka the difficult second album. It turns out they smashed it out of the park. I would say that Recovering the Satellites is the equal of its predecessor and shades it in some areas, having some brilliant songs such as Goodnight Elisabeth, Have You Seen Me Lately, Daylight Fading and of course A Long December, all of which are a match for anything on August and Everything After.

Back in July 2025, I wrote a piece for AUK’s Essentials feature series, Essentials: The Top 10 Counting Crows Songs, and I chose A Long December as my #1, so I guess it’s no real surprise that my favourite song by one of my favourite artists features strongly here.

Number 2: Whiskeytown Houses on the Hill from Strangers Almanac (1997)

Houses on the Hill is a song that is far too short, at 2 minutes and 38 seconds, but very sweet. It’s one of the handful of songs of which I’m tempted to restart when it reaches its conclusion. To me, it’s almost the perfect americana song (hence its position at #2 in my top 10): very well written, the playing and singing are top-notch, and the arrangement is spot-on.

Written by band members Ryan Adams and Caitlin Cary, the song features on an album, Strangers Almanac, a record that somehow managed to emerge from the chaos of a band in meltdown. At the time of the LP’s recording, only Adams, Carey, and guitar player Phil Wandscher from the band were involved in the recording, with session musicians and a new rhythm section hastily drafted in; despite the chaos, this is a quite majestic record.

Houses on the Hill is a wonderfully moving song lyrically. Also, I can’t bring to mind another song (from any genre) that includes the word “artefacts” in its lyrics. And this is a great live version.

Number 1: Eagles The Last Resort from Hotel California (1976)

From the seminal Hotel California LP, which was bookended by two amazing, epic songs, Hotel California opened side one, coming in at six minutes 30 seconds and, at seven minutes 25 seconds, The Last Resort closed side two. Of course, everyone is all too familiar with the song Hotel California, but The Last Resort kind of flies under the radar a little. The Last Resort took seven months to complete (they were clearly not working to a time-and-materials contract). Written by Don Henley and Glenn Frey, although Frey has previously sought to play down his own contribution, with Henley taking the lead vocal, the song is a commentary on what people would do in the name of progress and how humans will seemingly destroy their habitat and the environment in the quest for ‘paradise’. It’s an extremely powerful song lyrically and quite a simple song melodically; three chords and the truth, anyone?