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Cozy Country Songs for Winter
As the months get colder and the snow falls in Nashville, the crisp air is a reminder we have a couple more months to get cozy by the fireplace before springtime and the country music festival-filled summers approach. We’ve compiled a list of cozy country songs to fill these upcoming months.
1. “Colder Weather” by Zac Brown Band
“She’d trade Colorado if he’d take her with him / Closes the door before the winter lets the cold in / And wonders if her love is strong enough to make him stay.”
How could we make this list and not start with this classic? From their second album, You Get What You Give (2013), “Colder Weather” by Zac Brown Band is the perfect impossible love song during the winter months. The song was inspired by the time Wyatt Durrette was on tour in Green Bay, Wisconsin, missing a girl. When a snowstorm halted the plan to visit her after a radio show in Kansas City, Missouri, Durrette went to the bus and began writing the opening verse. Inspired, fellow bandmate Levi Lowrey did his research to find a small town in snowy Montana to make the story come to life.
2. “Heartbeat” by Carrie Underwood
“A cricket choir in the background, underneath a harvest moon / Standing on your shoes in my bare feet, dancing to the rhythm of your heartbeat.”
From Carrie Underwood’s 2015 album Storyteller, this song describes the simplicity of spending time together with your loved one, away from the party crowd. “You’re always — at least I’m always — trying to hang out with a million different people all the time. Sometimes you just want to be like, ‘Can it just be me you for a second?’ and I feel like that’s kind of where it was coming from, and everyone can relate to that,” Underwood said in an interview with The Boot. The minimal verses as a buildup to the chorus about a simplistic perfect moment with background vocals by Sam Hunt create the perfect ballad for a cozy winter night.
3. “Diamonds or Twine” by Ryan Hurd
“Rich or poor, rain or shine / The wind’s gonna blow wherever it goes / And the road is gonna wind / Doesn’t matter if its diamonds or twine / Forevermore, I’ll be yours and you’ll be mine.”
This 2018 single was a gift to his bride-to-be, Maren Morris, a song he wrote before he proposed. This song represents their real and honest love and that, although they may be in the spotlight, it “Doesn’t matter if its diamonds or twine / I’ll be wrapped around your finger.” The acoustics present a cozy and intimate take on his vows to Maren.
4. “Lonely Weekend” by Kacey Musgraves
“Guess everybody else is out tonight / Guess I’m hangin’ by myself, but I don’t mind / It’s a lo-, it’s a lo-, it’s a lonely weekend.”
Maybe the previously listed songs are a little too lovey-dovey for your liking on a cozy winter day. This song captures the solitude and the feeling of FOMO that many people experience when taking time for themselves. Like Kacey’s other hits, “Breadwinner” and “High Horse,” “Lonely Weekend” is the perfect song to listen to for your night (or weekend) in and reminds us to be confident in the idea that we are our own best friend and “It’s alright to be alone sometimes.”
5. “Cover me Up” by Jason Isbell
“So girl, leave your boots by the bed / We ain’t leaving this room ’til someone needs medical help / Or the magnolias bloom / It’s cold in this house and I ain’t going out to chop wood / So cover me up and know you’re enough / To use me for good.”
Morgan Wallen’s 2019 single “Cover Me Up” and a later feature on his album Dangerous was written and originally performed by Jason Isbell in 2013. Isbell’s original love song is even more solemn and stripped-down than Wallen’s rendition. With acoustics, including the fiddle, Isbell’s “Cover Me Up” is the song that will make sure you won’t be leaving this room.
6. “Telluride” by Tim McGraw
“Telluride, the snow falling down / I was waking up in that sleepy little town / In her eyes my world came so alive / I will never forget the moment she arrived in Telluride.”
Arguably one of the best winter-themed country music songs, this edition with the poster couple of country music makes for the perfect winter song. Their love for each other is magnified in their solos with the combination of soulful and traditional country. “We spent that whole winter tangled up by a fire / Casting shadows on the cabin wall, drowning in desire / Confessing all our secrets and laughing out loud / So high up on that mountain, I thought we'd never come down / It was a dream we were living in.” If that verse doesn’t scream cozy, I don’t know what does.
7. “The Long Way” by Brett Eldredge
“Take me the long way around your town / Were you the queen with the silver crown? / I want the secrets you keep, the shine underneath of the diamond I think I just found / Take me the long way around.”
The coziest days are the perfect opportunity to sit down and really get to know someone. In the busy and sometimes chaotic world, a genuine conversation connects each other in ways other things can’t. This song is all about reaching below the surface, asking questions to get to know their “Red blushin’ stories,” faults, and glories.
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