Songs About Mountains – Everest

A few weeks ago, I was listening to my iPod on shuffle and a song came on that I had not heard before; Everest by Andy Stochansky.  It got me thinking about creating a play list for the Everest Expedition about mountains and climbing.  So during this holiday break when I had a few minutes, I Googled “songs about mountains” and found pretty much nothing.  Just obvious songs like Rocky Mountain High and On Top of Old Smokey.  I then set upon a quest to create my own list but I set some of my own arbitrary rules:

a) Must already own the song and be in iTunes

b) Be linked to mountains/climbing through the title, lyrics or song meaning

c) Not be about too negative (falling, death, despair etc.)

d) A song that I actually like or at least are willing to listen to on the climb

e) Should be generally motivational about teamwork, pursuing goals or overcoming challenges

In the end, I came up with 81 songs (yes that’s a lot!) – and though you might disagree with their inclusion, hey – it’s one person’s opinion.  And they’re going to the mountain!  They range over the past 45 years … So here goes – in alphabetical order, song title and artist:

1. Against the wind – Bob Seger

2. All these things that I’ve done – The Killers

3. Beautiful day – U2

4. A beautiful morning – Rascals

5. Because the night – 10,000 Maniacs

6. Believe – K’s Choice

7. Big rock candy mountain – Harry McClintock

8. Black mountain side – Led Zeppelin

9. Breathe – U2

10. Clear blue skies – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

11. Cold as ice – Foreigner

12. Comfortably numb – Pink Floyd

13. Crown of creation – Jefferson Airplane

14. Danger list – John Mellencamp

15. The dark of the sun – Tom Petty

16. Do you believe in magic – Lovin Spoonful

17. Don’t dream it’s over – Crowded House

18. Don’t stop me now – Queen

19. Eight miles high – The Byrds

20. Elevation – U2

21. Empty spaces – Pink Floyd

22. Endless night – Graham Parker

23. Everest – Andy Stochansky

24. Every breath you take – The Police

25. Four seasons in one day – Crowded House

26. Full force gale – Van Morrison

27. Get off of my cloud – Rolling Stones

28. Get on top – Red Hot Chili Peppers

29. Good day sunshine – The Beatles

30. Hand to hold on to – John Mellencamp

31. Heading for the light – Traveling Wilburys

32. Here comes the sun – The Beatles

33. Higher love – Steve Winwood

34. Higher place – Tom Petty

35. Homeward bound – Simon and Garfunkel

36. I can see for miles – The Who

37. If I should fall behind – Bruce Springsteen

38. If it makes you happy – Sheryl Crow

39. Imagine – John Lennon

40. Just a song before I go – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

41. Knife-Edge – Emerson Lake and Palmer

42. Landslide – Fleetwood Mac

43. Learning to fly – Tom Petty

44. The Lifting – R.E.M.

45. Like the weather – 10,000 Maniacs

46. Lost horizons – Gin Blossoms

47. Move along – The All-American Rejects

48. Never say never – The Fray

49. No holding back – Graham Parker

50. On the way home – Buffalo Springfield

51. Play it safe – Rachel Ferguson

52. Ridin’ the storm out – REO Speedwagon

53. Roll me away – Bob Seger

54. Room at the top – Tom Petty

55. Sense of purpose – Pretenders

56. Show me the way – Peter Frampton

57. Sitting on top of the world – Amanda Marshall

58. Skating away on the thin ice of the new day – Jethro Tull

59. Skies the limit – Fleetwood Mac

60. Sky blue and black – Jackson Browne

61. Something beautiful – Great Big Sea

62. Speed of sound – Coldplay

63. Speeding up to slow down – Better Than Ezra

64. Stand or fall – The Fixx

65. Starting at the sun – U2

66. Straight into darkness – Tom Petty

67. Sugar mountain – Neil Young

68. Take it as it comes – The Doors

69. This is the place – Red Hot Chili Peppers

70. Time to move on – Tom Petty

71. Tryin’ to throw your arms around the world – U2

72. Until I fall away – Gin Blossoms

73. Vertigo – U2

74. The waiting – Tom Petty

75. Walk of life – Dire Straits

76. Walking man – James Taylor

77. Walking on a thin line – Huey Lewis and the News

78. We stand a chance – Tom Petty

79. Wild mountain honey – Steve Miller Band

80. Your life is now – John Mellencamp

81. Your wildest dreams – Moody Blues

Now for step two.  I’ve got this list ready to go and now are looking for new contributions – they just need to meet regulations b) to e)!