Sing along (with lyrics)
Top 20 road-trip singalongs
On a long drive, the best songs are ones with a repeating pattern that everyone can join in, whatever their age.
Chosen from family road-trip playlists and parenting sites and checked on Wikipedia, Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
99 Bottles of Beer
Traditional · Ages 6-12
Counts down from 99; the long game is the point.
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Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Traditional · Ages 1-7
Animal sounds for the youngest passengers.
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Words
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O! And on that farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O! With a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there, Here a moo, there a moo, Everywhere a moo-moo, Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
The Wheels on the Bus
Verna Hills, 1939 · Ages 1-6
Hand motions optional; sung in a car seat it is still a hit.
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She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain
Traditional · Ages 3-10
Add a sound each time round.
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Words
She'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes, She'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes, She'll be comin' 'round the mountain, she'll be comin' 'round the mountain, She'll be comin' 'round the mountain when she comes.
I've Been Working on the Railroad
Traditional · Ages 4-10
Everyone knows the 'Dinah' part.
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Words
I've been working on the railroad, All the live-long day. I've been working on the railroad, Just to pass the time away. Can't you hear the whistle blowing? Rise up so early in the morn; Can't you hear the captain shouting, "Dinah, blow your horn!"
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, 1908 · Ages 4-12
Good for the drive to a game, and all the words fit on a single page.
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Words
Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd; Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I never get back. Let me root, root, root for the home team, If they don't win, it's a shame. For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out, At the old ball game.
On Top of Old Smoky
Traditional · Ages 5-12
A slow mountain song; parody 'On Top of Spaghetti' is a follow-up.
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Words
On top of old Smoky, all covered with snow, I lost my true lover, from courting too slow. For courting's a pleasure, but parting is grief, And a false-hearted lover is worse than a thief.
Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Traditional · Ages 4-10
Silly action song that works with just the hands.
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Words
Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie them in a knot? Can you tie them in a bow? Can you throw them over your shoulder Like a continental soldier? Do your ears hang low?
Bingo
Traditional · Ages 3-9
Spelling and clapping game.
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Words
There was a farmer had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, B-I-N-G-O, And Bingo was his name-o!
The Ants Go Marching
Traditional · Ages 3-8
Counting with silly rhymes.
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Baby Shark
Pinkfong, 2015 · Ages 1-6
Hard to avoid. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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Yellow Submarine
The Beatles, 1966 · Ages 4-12
A sing-along chorus from the Beatles. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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Octopus's Garden
The Beatles, 1969 · Ages 4-12
A gentle Ringo Starr song about an underwater hideaway. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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Under the Sea
Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, 1989 · Ages 3-12
Calypso from The Little Mermaid. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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Hakuna Matata
Elton John and Tim Rice, 1994 · Ages 3-12
The Lion King song with a catchy hook. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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You Are My Sunshine
Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell, 1939 · Ages 2-10
Easy to harmonize in a car. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Rose Bonne and Alan Mills, 1952 · Ages 3-9
Cumulative song; the silliest part is the list of animals. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
Watch for: The old woman dies in the original; picture-book versions soften it.
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Rubber Duckie
Jeff Moss, 1970 · Ages 1-6
Bath-time song that also works in the back seat. Words are copyrighted, so not printed.
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Down by the Bay
Traditional; Raffi version, 1976 · Ages 3-8
A rhyming game: ask a silly question at the end of each verse.
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The Bear Went Over the Mountain
Traditional · Ages 3-8
Four lines repeated.
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Words
The bear went over the mountain, The bear went over the mountain, The bear went over the mountain, To see what he could see.
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