There are probably as many songs that brag about Texas as there are counties in our vast state (254, to be exact). You already know the biggies -- "Deep in the Heart of Texas," "All My Ex's Live in Texas," "Yellow Rose of Texas" -- but there scads of lesser-known gems, too.
To help you celebrate Texas Independence Day, which is March 2, 1836, the day Texas declared its independence from Mexico, here are seven deep cuts that pay tribute to the Lone Star State.
"Screw You, We're from Texas," Ray Wylie Hubbard
The Dallas-raised singer wrote this song with his tongue planted firmly in cheek. But Hubbard also takes serious pride in Texas music history, mentioning Gruene Hall, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the influential 13th Floor Elevators.
"Trinity River Blues," T-Bone Walker
Mississippi and Louisiana don't own the market for great blues songs about floods. Bemoaning the 1908 flood -- the worst in Dallas history -- "Oak Cliff" T-Bone Walker told the world that the 700-mile-long Trinity River was indeed a mighty force to be reckoned with.
"Headin' for the Texas Border," the Flamin' Groovies
In 1970, when hippies were still going to San Francisco with flowers in their hair, that city's Flamin' Groovies were headin' down to Texas to "get my mojo fixed." A little-heard garage-rock classic, "Headin' for the Texas Border" found new life when Jack White and the Raconteurs played it on Austin City Limits.
"Texas (When I Die)," Tanya Tucker
Tucker admits that her sinful ways will probably keep her out of heaven, but she'll be happy to spend eternity in the Lone Star State: "I'd ride through all of hell and half of Texas just to hear Willie Nelson sing a country song."
"Beautiful Texas," Willie Nelson
Before he became a long-haired outlaw, Willie Nelson was a country traditionalist, as he proves on his lovely version of Pappy O'Daniel's 1933 waltz, "Beautiful Texas." The song -- from Nelson's 1967 concept album Texas in My Soul -- features the late, great Chet Atkins on guitar.
"A State of Texas," the Old 97's
Lead singer Rhett Miller may have moved to New York, but he's still a diehard Texan, raving about how the state casts a spell on people "like a mystery train or a magic trick." As he sings, the rest of the Dallas band barrels forward like a locomotive at 90 mph.
"Ohio (Come Back To Texas)," Bowling for Soup
This comic slice of early aughts power-pop uses lost love as a springboard for all things Texan, from Troy Aikman to Pantera to Blue Bell ice cream. When all else fails, the Soup guys try to lure their sweetheart back to Texas with the line "Besides, the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway."
Let's test your Texas knowledge.
- Take our Texas citizenship quiz
- How many of these Texas towns can you correctly pronounce?
- Let's see if you love hot Dr Pepper
- What's Texas' most popular cocktail?
- 10 things you didn't know about the Texas Revolution
