No day of the week captures the popular imagination more potently than Saturday, and this day provides singers and songwriters with great musical fodder. The songs on this list feature Saturday literally and metaphorically to celebrate partying, love, and even sadness.
Let’s look at the best songs about Saturday.
1. “Saturday Night’s Alright” by Elton John
Song Year: 1973
Elton John worked with his long-time collaborator, Bernie Taupin, to compose the quintessential Saturday night drinking song. “Saturday Night” is a big, raucous number with a glam rock edge.
John leaned into his blue-collar rocker roots with the song about getting incredibly drunk and starting fights.
2. “Piano Man” by Billy Joel
Song Year: 1973
Billy Joel didn’t include “Saturday” in his biggest hit’s title, but the first day of the weekend informs every line of “Piano Man.” The song tells the story of a specific Saturday, describing the various characters who wander in for a weekend drink from a casual observer’s perspective.
3. “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago
Song Year: 1972
No July 4th is complete without several listens to “Saturday in the Park.” The upbeat Chicago song details a pleasant summer day spent in a park. The narrator remembers the day fondly, though he’s not quite certain it was Independence Day.
4. “Little Red Corvette” by Prince
Song Year: 1982
Prince allows Saturday night’s charm to lead him into bad decision-making in “Little Red Corvette.” The titular crimson car is both literal and metaphorical; Prince wisely harbors some suspicions about the vehicle but decides since it’s Saturday night, he’ll take a chance.
Not quite a ballad, “Little Red Corvette” is a mid-tempo, playful tune. The song was Prince’s first single to break into the United States top 10.
5. “Saturday Night Special” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Song Year: 1975
Listeners frequently associate Lynyrd Skynyrd with red states and good ol’ boy rhetoric. “Saturday Night Special” defied those expectations.
Saturday Night Special is a nickname for handguns. The song suggests that weapons provide volatile people with easy access to violence. The band performs the music with a menacing intensity, maintaining its southern rock allure while infusing it with social commentary.
6. “Saturday Night” by The Bay City Rollers
Song Year: 1974
The Bay City Rollers didn’t exhaust their rhyming vocabulary with “Saturday Night.” The song is simple, repetitive, and incredibly catchy.
A celebration of dancing, young love, and the joy only the weekend can bring, “Saturday Night” repeatedly spells out everyone’s favorite day in a chanted refrain.
7. “Another Saturday Night” by Sam Cooke
Song Year: 1964
Many Saturday night songs laud the fun and parties of the ultimate date night. “Another Saturday Night” by Sam Cooke glares at those songs through a bedroom window.
Cooke explains that he’s got money but is still new in town and having trouble meeting girls. An acquaintance attempts to set the narrator up with his sister, but Cooke finds her unattractive and continues to lament his loneliness.
8. “Someday I’ll be Saturday Night” by Bon Jovi
Song Year: 1994
Bon Jovi transfers a lifetime of longing into a seven-day week in “Someday I’ll be Saturday Night.” The story song compares the hard lives lived by various characters to the unpleasantness of a Monday.
Despite the song’s melancholy undertones and the difficult travails each verse details, “Someday I’ll be Saturday Night” is hopeful. Each character maintains the hope that they will reach a point in their lives where they feel the bliss of a weekend.
9. “Saturday Night” by the Misfits
Song Year: 1999
The Misfits apply their signature dark sensibilities to “Saturday Night,” a song about loss with a wide margin for interpretation.
The song follows the tradition of 1950’s dead teen ballads. “Saturday Night” is a be-bop anthem about a man lamenting the absence of his lover on Saturday night. The narrator seems to confess to a double murder; however, some interpret the song as about a car accident.
10. “Saturday” by Rebecca Black
Song Year: 2013
Singers seldom release sequels to hit songs, but Rebecca Black defied the odds with “Saturday.” “Friday” garnered enough chatter and success to skyrocket Black to fame. “Saturday” finds the performer continuing the party into the weekend.
The pop song celebrates the sense of immortality young people feel on weekends. “Saturday” is a dance track that achieved moderate success, though nowhere near the cultural juggernaut “Friday” proved to be.
11. “Saturday Night at the Movies” by The Jackson 5
Song Year: 2002
“Saturday Night at the Movies” fuses the innocence of puppy love with the more amorous tendencies of lovers at a film.
The narrator sings about his enthusiasm for date night with his girlfriend. He’s excited about the candy, popcorn, and technicolor film. He also doesn’t plan on watching one second of it because he will be in the back of the house, smooching his lady.
12. “Saturdays” by Broken Bells
Song Year: 2022
Broken Bells took a different approach to the weekend in “Saturdays,” a song about losing the sense of freedom and possibility associated with the first day of the weekend.
The narrator quickly establishes that he’s in a bad place. His partner has left, and he is alone. The song is a melancholy rumination on aging and lost love.
13. “Saturday” by Twenty-One Pilots
Song Year: 2021
Saturdays represent relief and joy for many. Tyler Joseph wrote the Twenty-One Pilot’s song “Saturday” to vent his emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The band chose to make the music an upbeat, pop-funk track, believing listeners needed escape and joy more than a sad reflection of reality.
14. “(Looking For) The Heart of a Saturday Night” by Tom Waits
Song Year: 1974
Tom Waits understands melancholy and longing better than any other songwriter. “(Looking For) The Heart of a Saturday Night” details the pursuit of joy and the fear that the best times are already past.
The narrator tells a story about a man pursuing the perfect Saturday night and receiving diminished returns. He does everything right; the car, the girl, the pool hall, but nothing achieves the joy he felt on precious weekends.
15. “Say Amen (Saturday Night)” by Panic! At the Disco
Song Year: 2018
“Say Amen (Saturday Night)” perfectly captures the whimsical impishness that endears Panic! At the Disco to many listeners.
Brendon Urie wrote the song to reflect his spiritual journey as a rock star and a former Mormon. An electronic pop beat cuts the heavy subject matter and Urie’s soaring vocals. Spiritual listlessness has never been so danceable.
16. “American Saturday Night” by Brad Paisley
Song Year: 2009
“American Saturday Night” celebrates America’s status as a melting pot. The jaunty Brad Paisley song defies notions of country music as exclusionary, gleefully inviting everyone to partake in an American Saturday night.
17. “Saturday” by Fall Out Boy
Song Year: 2008
“Saturday” is Fall Out Boy’s primal scream, lamenting a feeling of stagnation and mourning the loss of hope.
The narrator sings about remembering a feeling of potential and promise. He knows things could be worse and that he’s in a pretty good place. However, he senses the best times-the Saturdays-are gone, and he exists in the shadow of that era.
18. “Saturday” by Babyface
Song Year: 1993
Nobody composes a slow jam like Babyface. Most Saturday songs celebrate partying, dancing, and sowing young oats. “Saturday” is a more mature love song, suggesting the best way to spend the weekend is with a devoted partner.
19. “On Saturday Afternoons in 1963” by Rickie Lee Jones
Song Year: 1979
Most Saturday songs focus on the night, praising the parties and dates. “On Saturday Afternoons in 1963” shifts the spotlight to peaceful afternoons during the narrator’s youth.
The song meditates on how quickly time passes and childhood is lost and advises listeners to hold onto their youth.
20. “Saturday Night” by the Eagles
Song Year: 1973
The Eagles return us to Saturday nights with a heavy dose of melancholy as the narrator tells listeners how he met a girl and fell in love. The young couple married, but the happiness was short-lived, and he mourns the loss of Saturday nights when they were young, hopeful, and in love.
21. “Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)” by Frank Sinatra
Song Year: 1945
“Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)” finds Frank Sinatra in a melancholy mood. The singer considers the prospect of spending the first night of the weekend alone. He used to spend the evening with his romantic partner, but now she’s gone, and he dreads the time alone.
22. “Jukebox Saturday Night” by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
Song Year: 1942
“Jukebox Saturday Night” celebrates a date on a budget. The narrator takes his partner out to a restaurant with a jukebox and buys one soda for the pair to split. The young lovers stretch a dollar by listening to whatever bigger spenders play on the jukebox.
23. Saturday Night Fish Fry by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
Song Year: 1949
“Saturday Night Fish Fry” warns listeners about the dangers of eating fish at strange houses. The singer and his friend are hungry in New Orleans, so they visit a home for Saturday night fish fry. The party’s hopping until the cops show up and arrest our hero and his friend. The narrator’s girlfriend bails him out, but he never recovers a love for fish fries.
24. “Saturday Morning” by the Eels
Song Year: 2003
Indie rock royalty, the Eels, capture the joy and possibility of a whole weekend ahead of you. While others sleep in, the singer seeks out a friend to play with, a partner in crime to take on the world with.
The song brings to mind the joy children feel waking up early on a Saturday morning while the adults sleep and the kids have an entire weekend of freedom ahead of them.
25. “Saturday Morning” by Harry Chapin
Song Year: 1976
Harry Chapin’s folk classic “Saturday Morning” is a melancholy rumination on love and loss. The singer laments a lost lover. He took for granted the comfort of their time together, and now that they separated, he feels he is running out of time. Seasons change too quickly, and the narrator longs to regain his lost relationship.
26. “Friday Night, Saturday Morning” by The Specials
Song Year: 1980
“Friday Night, Saturday Morning” finds the Specials tearing into a raucous weekend. The singer plans to go out on Friday night and live it up. The narrator details the drunken debauchery he intends to get into until the bars close. He stays out all Friday night, not returning home until Saturday morning.
27. “Saturday Sun” by Vance Joy
Song Year: 2018
Vance Joy’s bright, hopeful “Saturday Sun” pulses with romantic hope. The narrator met a girl on the West Coast and fell in love. The pair have separated, and he’s longing to return to her.
A full horn section compliments the song, helping punctuate the singer’s journey back to his love.
28. “It Always Rains on Saturday” by Reba McEntire
Song Year: 1989
Many of our Saturday songs explore romantic love. In “It Always Rains on Saturday,” Reba McEntire contemplates the love between a mother and son. The singer explains how happy she spends time with her child throughout the week. However, her son’s father picks him up on Saturdays, breaking her heart.
29. “One More Saturday Night” by Grateful Dead
Song Year: 1972
Grateful Dead prepares for an apocalyptic party in “One More Saturday Night.” The verses see a disparate group of revelers preparing to wear their dancing shoes—the first volatile group dancing at an armory.
“One More Saturday” is shorter than many Grateful Dead songs but still captures the band’s signature energy.
30. “When Saturday Comes” by Def Leppard
Song Year: 1996
Def Leppard wrote “When Saturday Comes” for the film of the same name. The narrator discusses his plans to play some very intense UK football when Saturday comes. The song follows the long tradition of inspirational sports films, expressing an earnest intention to leave it all on the field.
31. “10:15 Saturday Night” by the Cure
Song Year: 1979
The Cure created a generation of sad goths with their signature melancholy songs. The narrator spends the first night of the weekend alone, listening to the sink drip and hoping for a phone call from a lost love.
The simple, repetitive song captures the singer’s sense of loss and hopelessness as Saturday passes and his former lover never calls.
Top Songs About Saturday, Final Thoughts
Saturday inspires a sense of love, loss, hope, and celebration in artists. The day carries great literal and metaphorical significance. As long as writers have composed songs, Saturdays have anchored their tunes. The songs on this list celebrate every aspect of the best day of the weekend. Whether celebrating the partying potential of the day or using the day as a metaphor for possibility, these tunes explore every valuable facet of Saturday.