The Red River runs along the Texas and Oklahoma line and on into Louisiana, and 'Red River Valley' made it one of the most-sung rivers in the American songbook long before the modern era. In country and folk it stands in for the dividing line between home and everywhere else.
Here are the songs that name the Red River and the places they tie it to.
The river as RoadyGoat maps it; pins mark songs placed along it.
The Songs
65%
40%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
25%
24%
24%
23%
Bob Wills Is Still The King
Asleep at the Wheel · TX
“But when you cross that ol' Red River hoss that just don't mean a thing”
23%
23%
22%
22%
22%
22%
22%
22%
22%
21%
21%
21%
21%
21%
20%
20%
20%
Please Don’t Play Red River Valley
“Of Red River Valley Oh My Darling Clementine or Salty Dog”
Tex-Mex
“Prettiest bride from the Red River to the Rio Grande”
19%
19%
19%
19%
19%
19%
18%
13%
Where Rivers Are Red and Cowboys Are Blue
Triston Marez · TX
“Where rivers are red and cowboys are blue”
8%
7%
5%
4%
4%
3%
3%
2%
2%