The 10 Best Songs About Animals

Some great animal-related songs are such classics that we forget they’re about animals.

We will go through 10 of the greatest songs about animals today, offering up a few tracks that might help you deepen your appreciation of animals’ roles in human art. All the songs below include lyrics about animals or are inspired by animals.

A few are about specific animals, such as pet dogs or fictional raccoons. The world of music is nearly as wide as the animal kingdom, so there are no doubt songs we’ve missed.

Let’s discover 10 tracks that are some of the best animal-themed songs ever written.

10. “Bird on The Wire” – Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen is regarded as one of the great songwriters of the 20th century, and this song is an excellent testament to the quality of his craft.

There are mentions of animals throughout the song, all used as metaphors and similes. The title, of course, is the strongest reference to animals, and it mirrors the first stanzas of the song.

“Like a bird on the wire,

like a drunk in a midnight choir,

I have tried,

in my way,

to be free.”

This classic song uses animal imagery to draw robust comparisons to some of the struggles we human beings go through in our search for betterment, self-acceptance, and love.

9. “Eye of The Tiger”- Survivor

You know the song; we all know the song. Despite our efforts to resist the corniness, we must all admit this is a great song.

Not only does “Eye of The Tiger” wait in the shadows of your brain at all times, but it’s also very catchy and inspirational. The song could be the anthem of nearly every montage from every 80s and 90s movie.

There was indeed a time when a person could listen to this song for the first time and think, “Wow! This song is great. I want to go take some boxing lessons now.”

Unfortunately, “Eye of The Tiger” is forever associated with Rocky, “that song in Blades of Glory,” or just generally a song that is so on-the-nose that it’s funny and inspirational.

The thing about this song is that it hits on something universally true. The iconic guitar part and the lyrics make us feel like we’re in the last stages of some athletic tournament.

We’re not out of the tournament yet; there’s no guarantee we’ll win. We’re back against the ropes. Somewhere in our hearts, though, we know we have what it takes.

The feeling that comes next is “Eye of The Tiger.” For that, this song deserves a spot on today’s list.

8. “White Rabbit” – Jefferson Airplane

“White Rabbit” from the album Surrealistic Pillow is about as trippy a song as they come. It’s an iconic song for the psychedelic movement of the 60s and beyond.

“White Rabbit” directly relates to the Alice in Wonderland story. That relationship, alongside classic 60s instrumentation and tone, lays the foundation for a psychedelic and groovy song. Grace Slick’s powerful voice caps it all off with surrealistic and mind-altering lyrics.

The white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland always runs late for a very important date. He also draws Alice down the rabbit hole, where she tumbles magically down and lands, finding wonderland.

Lewis Carrol’s classic story wasn’t likely written for its key demographic these days, but there’s no denying that it’s one of our time’s most “trippy” tales. “White Rabbit” perfectly matches the story’s energy and encourages people to “feed their heads.”

7. “Who Let The Dogs Out?” – Baha Men

Let the guilty pleasures roll. “Who Let The Dogs Out” is just as good as “Eye of The Tiger” for different reasons.

“Who Let The Dogs Out” expresses the feeling you got when you and your high school friends hopped into a rusty Jeep Cherokee Sport after graduation. The sun is shining, and who knows what kind of shenanigans you’ll get into?

You think, “Here we go, baby. The dogs are out!“

It’s a feel-good song, and it’s a timeless jam. The song is about dogs and friendship, as the “dogs” refer to the Baha Men and their friends. They’re out, and there’s no stopping them.

Still, the music video and the song use a lot of fun dog imagery. Like dogs on the loose, the Baha Men run wild and enjoy themselves. It’s a relatable feeling, and it’s one that we all wish we could experience more often.

What’s better than a sunny day with all your friends on the loose?

6. “Mbube” – Solomon Linda

“Mbube” is the song that contains the melody of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

While “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is one of the most memorable animal songs of all time, it would not exist if it weren’t for “Mbube,” and Solomon Linda was long denied credit for his contribution.

Recorded in 1939 at the only recording studio in Sub-Saharan Africa at the time, “Mbube” was performed by Linda’s group, The Evening Birds. Linda first delivered the famous melodies of the song in that performance. He even improvised the melody accompanying the song’s most famous lyrics: “In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight.”

The bulk of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” is also recognizable in “Mbube.” In terms of authenticity and beauty, the original is unmatched.

Linda sold the song to the record company shortly after it was recorded. He received less than the equivalent of $2. It’s estimated that “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” grossed more than $15,000,000 due to its iconic use in The Lion King.

5. “The Lark Ascending” – Vaughan Williams

Inspired by a poem by George Meredith, “The Lark Ascending” is an orchestral piece intended to reflect the beauty and grace of the lark’s song.

In many ways, that goal seems to have been achieved by its composer, Vaughan Williams. The leading violin drives the song valiantly and mirrors the warbling and “chirruping” of the lark.

If you plan to listen, enjoy the song in the company of the poem upon which it was based. Few poems and songs accompany one another in such a way.

Further, few songs reflect the beauty of nature, so specifically as this song does. If there were ever a song about an animal, why not make the melody reflect the sound of that animal? It’s hard for any composer to achieve, but Vaughan Williams did it successfully in 1914.

4. “Blackbird” – The Beatles

“Blackbird” was written and recorded mainly by Paul McCartney, although it’s credited as a Lennon-McCartney song. It includes acoustic guitar, vocals from McCartney, birdsong, and a foot tapping in the periphery.

The lyrics focus on a blackbird with broken wings and sunken eyes, only waiting for his moment to be free. This song is on The Beatles’ White Album, released in November of 1968.

Long after the album was released, McCartney said he had written the song as a metaphor for the African American struggle in the southern U.S. The idea that people were “only waiting for this moment to arise” stood out to him, and he used the blackbird as the symbol of Black empowerment.

One could also interpret the song as a love song or a song about the beauty of nature. It leaves space for interpretation and is almost universally heralded as one of the 60s’ most beautiful songs.

3. “Wild Horses” – The Rolling Stones

Released in 1971 on the album Sticky Fingers, “Wild Horses” is one of the Rolling Stones’ most beloved songs.

Legend states Keith Richards originally wrote the song for his son, Marlon. In that case, its first rendition would have been a short lullaby, although it’s hard to know that song’s true origin.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards co-wrote the song to be performed by Gram Parsons. Luckily, the Rolling Stones took the song for themselves and released it in a beautiful recording.

The critical line in the song goes, “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away. Wild, wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”

Jagger and Richards have since stated that the song is about being far from where you’d like to be. In Richards’ case, that place was wherever his son was.

The song is long and beautiful, including dozens of instrumental sections and arrangements. The “Wild Horses” endures as a beautiful, perfect song in the eyes of countless people.

2. “Hound Dog” – Big Mama Thornton

Elvis Presley famously covered this song with immense success. Before Presley took the song on, it was written and recorded by Big Mama Thornton in 1952.

The song has had an incredible impact on American music and culture, with countless young musicians hearing it and being inspired to write music like it in the early 60s. In many ways, this song and songs like it are responsible for creating Rock & Roll music.

It might be impossible to appreciate artists like Big Mama Thornton’s impact on music without having been there to hear their music when it was first played on the radio.

Rock & Roll music is ubiquitous worldwide now — and for a good reason. For many people, hearing it for the first time was like visiting a new country, seeing snow for the first time, or tasting fine cuisine after eating exclusively bland foods.

So, when you listen to a song like “Hound Dog,” played by Big Mama Thornton rather than Elvis Presley, you’re hearing the invention of something that would change culture forever!

“Hound Dog” is about a man hanging around a woman, evidently up to no good. He probably has a romantic interest but no intent on developing a relationship. A real hound dog might snoop around, tearing into things and leaving them behind like Thornton’s human “hound dog” is doing.

Mama Thornton’s song performance is empowering and stands in the face of the entitled hound dogs she must have been dealing with at the time.

Elvis’ song performance was much different and appealed to a broader audience. Elvis was a very talented and charismatic performer, but his music was initially written by Black artists who didn’t receive proper credit, especially in the 1950s.

1. “Rocky Raccoon” – The Beatles

It’s tough to tell whether Paul McCartney was trying to tell a story about a human character named “Rocky Raccoon” or if Rocky was meant to be an actual raccoon.

Regardless of the original intent, “Rocky Raccoon” inspired “Rocket Raccoon,” one of Marvel’s most beloved characters. The initial appearance of Rocket Raccoon even mimics the first lines of the Beatles song.

The song starts by saying, “Somewhere in the black mining hills of Dakota, there lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon.”

In the 1982 version of The Incredible Hulk, Rocket’s appearance introduces him by saying, “Somewhere in the black holes of Sirius Major, there lived a young boy named Rocket Raccoon.”

Even without its connection to the Marvel Universe, “Rocky Raccoon” stands out as one of the great animal-based songs of all time. If you’re not a fan of the Beatles, there’s a famous rendition by Charlie Parr that’s more modern.

In lyric and instrumentation, the song is nothing short of an old Western story, characters, and all.

Rocky checks into a saloon “only to find Gideon’s bible.” This is another name for the King James Bible found in many hotel room dressers — you know the one.

He’s there to “shoot off the legs of his rival,” Danny, who’s “stolen the girl of his fancy.” We won’t give any spoilers about how the story pans out.

“Rocky Raccoon” was released on the White Album along with “Blackbird,” its presence overshadowed by the other successful songs on that record. Still, “Rocky Racoon” is a masterful song and deserves recognition as one of the great, if not the greatest, songs about an animal of all time.

Summary of The 10 Best Songs About Animals

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