A house can be made of brick and mortar, but a home is a concept built with love and hope.
Yes, the building blocks of a place to call home are very different from those in regular houses; we can create a home wherever we are.
Indeed, sometimes home is a person, or a feeling rather than a physical place.
These songs are the hits that have accompanied dreamers to build their homes around the planet and also help others deal with the loss of that place.
These are just some of the many hits the notion of a home has given us.
1. Nobody Home – Pink Floyd
Nobody Home is a song from the celebrated 1979 Pink Floyd album, The Wall.
- This song is part of The Wall movie and is about feelings of isolation and estrangement. In the movie, the song refers to Pink’s wife, a woman with whom he loses contact.
- According to fan speculation, the song might not be talking about Roger Waters but about Syd Barrett. Moreover, the character in the movie can be considered as a merger between the two Pink Floyd frontmen.
- The Wall’s epic show included a wall that was built throughout the spectacle between the band and the audience and eventually covered the entire stage. During the performance of this song, a piece of the wall opens up to reveal the singer inside a small hotel room replica.
2. Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
“Sweet Home Alabama” is part of “Second Helping” (1974), the band’s second album and it can be considered a timeless hit and a bonfire classic.
- The song was written to answer “Southern Man” a song by Neil Young released in 1970. According to the band, Neil’s song wrongly blamed the entire South of the United States for American slavery.
- Neil Young, despite knowing the intentions of the song, performed it once at the memorial service for the three Lynyrd Skynyrd band members who passed away in a plane crash in 1977.
- The guitar solo featured in the song is played in a key that is not the correct one by the book. Indeed, Ed King played the solo in the key of G while the song’s progression starts in D. Although producer Al Kooper noticed this, the solo was kept as it is.
3. Hometown Glory – Adele
“Hometown Glory” is a very important song in the history of this uncanny English singer since it was her all-time debut single, released on 22 October 2007 in the UK. The song is also a part of Adele’s debut studio album, 19 (2008).
- The song was written in only 10 minutes by a furious 18-year-old Adele after having an argument with her mother about leaving London for university. The lyrics and overall mood represent the bittersweet beauty of life in London.
- Adele’s debut album was titled 19 because it pictures in detail the last 12 months of the English singer as a living-at-home teenager.
- According to the singer, “Hometown Glory” is the first song that she ever wrote.
4. You’re My Home – Billy Joel
The 1973 Billy Joel album Piano Man included “You’re My Home” as one of its main singles.
- The song was written by Billy Joel as a Valentine’s Day gift for his first wife Elizabeth. He wrote her a song because flowers and chocolate were out of his budget.
- The song’s cadence is dictated by Joel’s uncanny use of the piano. According to the artist, he was playing it as a guitar because it gives rhythm to the song and makes interesting notes. Moreover, he described those notes as “broken-up chords” to try different rhythms.
- In May 2010, NASA used this hit song to wake astronauts on board the space shuttle up during mission STS-132.
5. Home – Michael Bublé
“Home” is part of the Canadian singer Michael Bublé’s second studio album, It’s Time (2005). It was released on January 24, 2005, as the second single.
- “Home” was Michael Bublé’s breakthrough song and it shows the b-side of successful life on the road as the main character misses home despite the overwhelming success.
- The lyrics to “Home” are centered on the male narrator as he explains the hardships of missing home while being forced to be away for work touring.
- Upon release, “Home” won the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 2006. During that same ceremony, Michael Bublé won the Artist of the Year award.
6. Honey, I’m Home – Shania Twain
Shania Twain’s album Come On Over (1998) was utterly successful and granted the Canadian country artist worldwide recognition. The song was co-written and released in August 1998 as Come On Over’s sixth single.
- The lyrics to “Honey, I’m Home” play with the traditional roles of a family in which the husband gets back home after a long day at work and expects everything to be taken care of. It was a famous line in Canadian television during the ‘60s and ‘70s.
- The uniqueness of the song is that Shania inverts traditional roles being the wife who comes home and expects the husband to rub her feet while she’s watching TV. It is a story told from the perspective of a woman.
- Although it is a fiction story, Shania co-wrote this song with her supportive husband at the time, Mutt Lange. He also produced it as well as other hits for bands like AC/DC, Def Leppard, and artists the size of Billy Ocean and Bryan Adams.
7. Going Home – The Rolling Stones
“Going Home” is the sixth track in side one of Aftermath, the album The Rolling Stones released in 1966. The US version, on the other hand, featured the song as the fifth track of side two.
- With 11 minutes and 35 seconds, “Going Home” was the longest song in popular music upon its release. Not only that, but it was also the first time a major act released an extended rock improvisation.
- “Going Home” was also the first ever rock and roll single to break the two-minute barrier.
- “Going Home” is a song that revolves around a single topic and is played as a long jam that builds up progressively. This differentiates this song from other Rolling Stones tunes such as “Can’t you hear me knocking” and “Midnight Rambler” which feature distinct sections with different instrumentation.
8. This House Is Not For Sale – Bon Jovi
This House Is Not for Sale is Bon Jovi’s thirteenth studio album. “This House is not for Sale” is the title track and was released on August 12, 2016, as the album’s lead single.
- Years 2014 and 2015 were turbulent for Jon Bon Jovi since his long-time bandmate and fellow rockstar Richie Sambora left the band suddenly. Also, the singer ended a 32-year relationship with Mercury Records. All these events show in the song’s lyrics.
- The theme of the house with roots in the video clip was inspired by a photograph by Jerry Uelsmann showing a big mansion that had tree roots as a bottom part. Jon Bon Jovi felt that was his feeling at the time, and that the photograph told the story perfectly.
- The music video was filmed in Pennsylvania after house hunting. The band can be seen walking across a graveyard to reach an old house that’s surrounded by gigantic tree roots.
9. The Last Great American Dynasty – Taylor Swift
10. Castle On The Hill – Ed Sheeran
11. Our House – Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
12. Mama, I’m Coming Home – Ozzy Osbourne
13. Beth – Kiss
14. She’s Leaving Home – The Beatles
15. Nobody’s Home – Avril Lavigne
16. Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
17. Home Again – Michael Kiwanuka
18. Home – Phillip Phillips
19. We’re Going Home – Vance Joy
20. Home – Jorja Smith
21. Home – Jack Johnson
22. Home – Foo Fighters
23. Home – Goo Goo Dolls
24. A Long Way From Home – The Lumineers
25. Home – Passenger
26. Coming Home – Leon Bridges
27. Drake – Hold On, We’re Going Home
28. Dirty Money Coming Home – Diddy ft. Skylar Grey
29. Our House – Madness
30. Driving Home For Christmas – Chris Rea
31. Come Home – Anderson Paak feat. André 3000
32. Baby Come Home – Olivia Dean
33. Home – Lwah Ndlunkulu (Ft. Sjava & Siya Ntuli)
Hello there, my name is Ramiro and I’ve been playing guitar for almost 20 years. I’m obsessed with everything gear-related and I thought it might be worth sharing it. From guitars, pedals, amps, and synths to studio gear and production tips, I hope you find what I post here useful, and I’ll try my best to keep it entertaining also.