Top 10 Most Popular Oktoberfest Songs - Best Music For Traditional Oktoberfest Party (2024)

1.I Salute You(Ein Prosit): Ein Prosit is THE song of Oktoberfest as it is played like clockwork in the beer tents every 15 minutes.This iconic song starts with the band repeating the words “Ein Prosit (Eyn Pro-zit) Der Gemütlichkeit (Dare Ga-mute-lic-kite)” meaning I Salute To Our Cozy Friendship & Good Times We’re Having Together. The entire crowd joins in singing with the band which helps the excitement build.

The song Ein Prosit continues with an “Eins, Zwei, Drei (einz, sfeye, dry)” or 1, 2, 3 countdown to “G’suffa (zuffa)” which means take a big drink. Ein Prosit ends with the band asking if you are having fun with either “Zicke Zacke Zicke Zacke?” or “Ticky Tocky Ticky Tocky?” and you respond “Oi Oi Oi” meaning yes we are. Some tents like the Schützen Feszelt also add their flair to Ein Prosit with a unique call to action before the song starts and an extra festive chant added to the end.

It is said that the beer tents at Oktoberfest started playing this song four-times-an-hour to get people to take more drinks so they could sell more beer, and it sure has paid off. As an example, the Hofbrau Beer Tent now sells over 750,000 liters a beer during the festival each year. Joining along with Ein Prosit is really a ton of fun, it helps you stay engaged with your neighbors, and it keeps you drinking!

2.The Flyer Song(Fliegerlied): Released in 2008, this children’s song filled with playful animal gestures, was cemented into Oktoberfest lore thanks to a 2008 cover by Tim Toupet. The Flyer Song is about a man lying in the grass on a sunny day when we sees an airplane fly by and thinks of all the ways in which he would go to his love to share the beautiful day with her.

You’ll do a lot of singing the lyrics “La La La La La” & “Schwimm, Schwimm, Schwimm”, but it’s the dance that really makes the Fyler Song fun. If you don’t know the words, just pay attention to the motions the Germans are doing and follow along. The song has you flying like a plane, then acting strong like a tiger, being as tall as a giraffe, hopping like a kangaroo, and of course, swimming through the water before embracing your neighbor’s hand. The full name of the song is actually Today Is Such A Beautiful Day, but because of the crazy dance involved the nickname Flyer Song has stuck.

3.Hey Baby – If You’ll Be My Girl:

Hey Baby is the one song that gets the biggest crowd reaction out of them all as pretty much every person in the tents will be singing along. The band doesn’t even have to be playing the song as chats ofHey Babyjusterupt out of nowhere from the crowd.

Hey Baby has been a huge hit in America ever since Bruce Channel’s original in 1961 hit #1 on the charts, but it was DJ Ötzi that brought it to Germany. The German-speaking DJ from Austria releaseda remix to the song in the year 2000 that was popular on radios Worldwide.

4. Hands to Heaven(Hände zum Himmel):

5. Hulapalu:

The song Hulapalu has one of the most contagious hooks that you will hear in any Oktoberfest beer tent and is guaranteed to get people dancing. This hit dance club song was originally released in 2015 and but didn’t being to get very popular at Oktoberfest until two years later. The phrase Hulapalu doesn’t have a real meaning and the phrase was said in passing by the Austrian song writer’s girlfriend one day. Lucky her new word was blended perfectly into a tune that will be one of the best songs at Oktoberfest for decades to come.

6.The Donkey Song, Ia Ia Ia Oh(Esellied):

Surprisingly The Donkey Song is one of the only traditional Oompah band songs to actually make our list as the top songs at Oktoberfest. It is one of the main Bavarian songs that you’ll hear at Oktoberfest celebrations in America and is also one of the most popular pump up songs at Oktoberfest in Munich.

The full name of The Donkey Song in German is Esellied (Ia Ia Ia oh) and is iconic for its unique yodeling chorus. The song is about a Donkey that just won’t go home as he waits outside for the lovely female donkey Veronica. You’ll catch on the Ia Ia Ia Oh part pretty easy. If you are wondering what they are saying when it sounds like “Hey Baba Ria” they are actually saying The Babe River.

7. Country Roads:

American musician John Denver is still huge in Europe and even bigger at Oktoberfest as country roads take you home. Ironically Denver’s real name was Henry John Deutschendorf as he was actually part German.

Many German and Polish bands have done popular covers of this and other John Denver songs. It’s not just this part of Europe that loves John Denver. If you go into bars or pubs anywhere you are bound to hear it at some point. We have fond memories of hearing Country Roads belted out by locals while visiting both England and Ireland.

8. Cordula Grün:

Every couple years a brand new song comes out and totally takes over Oktoberfest which was the case in 2018 with the hit Cordula Grün. The song by the band Josh, is about a short lived love affair with a girl named Cordula Grün. The signer sees the woman dancing when he falls in love and is still taken by her beautiful even after learning she is married to a pediatrician. The song has a very catchy choris and was turned into a brass band Oktoberfest hit by the band Die Draufgänger who really played off of the girl’s last name being Green (Grün) in their music video.

9. Breathless Through the Night(Atemlos durch die Nacht):

Since it was released in late 2013 by Helene Fischer, Breathless Through the Night (Atemlos durch die Nacht) has become an instant German party hit. The following year, this song about love and living in the moment, became one of the main Oktoberfest jams. When done by a live band the song makes the entire tent come alive. In the years to come, Atemlos durch die Nacht, has a chance to move way up our list as it solidifies itself as a top Oktoberfest song.

10. Sweet Caroline:

You can’t go wrong with Neil Diamond’s mega-hit about a young Caroline Kennedy riding a bike. The chorus of this American classic is known by pretty much every person in the beer tents, no matter what country they are from. Even if you don’t like the song, there is something energetic about it at Oktoberfest as the music really is the universal language. In 2009,DJ Ötzi released a remix to Sweet Caroline that was very popular in Germany and Austria which helped to reboot the song at Oktoberfest.

When Sweet Caroline comes on at Oktoberfest, expect thepeople around you to all reachtowardthemiddle of the tableand givespirit fingersright before the chorus. It happens during the lyrics “Hands touchin’ hands, Reachin’ out, touchin’ me touchin’ you” and was captured in the video to the Right. After watching it you won’t be able to stop yourself from copying them the next timeSweet Caroline is played. Don’t be alarmed if it feels natural to fist pump during the chorus, it’s Oktoberfest, let loose.

11. Mountain Mother(Sierra Madre):

It is crazy to think that a German song with a Spanish chorus could be so huge in Munich, but it is, and it is awesome. The song was originally a 1970s ballad, but it wasn’t until an emotional cover by the Austrian band Zillertaler Schürzenjäger in 1987 that the song really latched on and became a mega-hit.

Sierra Madre is about a field worker who is greeted by the mountains in the morning as the day breaks and greeted by them again at sunset as he returns home from a hard day’s work. It is meant to make you reflect on the ending day not in sadness for it being over, but in happiness that yougot to experience it at all. Because of the fitting theme, Sierra Madre is often played as the last song in the tents on the last day of Oktoberfest each year. In the Hacker Tent,everyone lights sparklerstogether and sings along in joy. It is a truly amazing experience.

12. Cowboys and Indians(Cowboy und Indianer):

Like the Flier Song list above, this is another children’s song that has become a hit with the Germans because of its silly dance; called the Lasso Dance. The dance is basically pretending like you are riding a horse, then using a lasso, followed by a lot of humping motions.

The lyrics to the song itself are very innocent as it is just about kids playing, so it’s super weird that it became a popular song for adults to drinking too. It is also a little strange that German kids play Cowboys and Indians anyway since they are so far removed from even knowing what they are. Either get ready to do your best Lasso Raus.

13. Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Será, Será):

Iconic Doris Day song featured in the the Alfred Hitchco*ck film The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) is a classic staple at Oktoberfest in Munich Germany. Belting out this song at the top of the your lungs is one of the easiest ways to let all of your cares and worries melt away.

14. Seven Nation Army:

The chant from the song Seven Nation Army has made the American band the White Stripes a huge hit not just at soccer games, but also at Oktoberfest. There doesn’t even have to be music playing for the chat to become contagious and is spontaneously erupts from the crowds multiple times a day. Soccer has a big influence on sports culture in Munich even outside of Seven Nation Army being one of the top songs at Oktoberfest. The local professional team FC Bayern is well represented around Munich and in the beer tents you will even see the Icelandic team’s famous Skol Clap Chant many times inside the Oktoberfest tent.

15. Anton From Tirol (Anton Aus Tirol):

This is really a love it or hate it song that is a very popular song at Oktoberfest, and we love it. In 2000, the hit version of “Anton From Tirol” by DJ Ötzi reached#1 in both German & Austria and it was quickly converted into the Oompah brass band style for Oktoberfest. The traditional version they do in the Oktoberfest tents is one of the biggest crowd favorites and could easily be in our top 10 Oktoberfest songs.

16. Fürstenfeld:

Preformed by the Austrian group STS, Fürstenfeldis one of our favorite songs in the Oktoberfest tents. Just clap with everyone, reply to Zicke Zacke Zicke Zacke with Hoi Hoi Hoi and you’ll have a great time. The song is about a young manfrom Fürstenfeld, a small town in Southeastern Austria near Graz, who is living inVienna and is homesick.