There’s No Better Way To Kick Off 2026 Than With Charlie Robison’s “New Year’s Day”

One of the first songs that should be played this fine New Year’s Day.

Happy New Year! I hope your night was filled with laughs, lots of fun, and, hopefully, a hangover that’s not leaving you questioning last night’s choices today. While I am sure there were many folks the previous night who fired up specific songs so they were belting out their favorite lyrics when the clock struck midnight, thinking about what music you choose to listen to today also sets the tone for what this new year will bring you.

And there is no better song to set the tone for what’s to come in 2026 than firing up Charlie Robison’s iconic “New Year’s Day.”

Although the Texas singing and songwriting legend passed away in 2023, his legacy lives on through phenomenal tracks like “New Year’s Day,” “Loving Country,” “My Hometown,” and more. “New Year’s Day,” released in 2004 from his record Good Times, became one of his biggest hits.

The song is the perfect way to kick off the new year as Robison sings about a man who woke up with a bit of extra change in his pocket and decided to go to Camino Espinoza, in the border town of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and let’s say, the lyrics are… colorful.

A song that is written primarily about the Boy’s Town neighborhood of Nuevo Laredo, it’s essentially an ode to the “red light district” of the area where prostitution is legal, brothers are plentiful, and whatever other kinds of freaky sh*t you’re into when the lights go out, you can find it there.

We got references to the infamous Mexican “donkey shows,” references to tranny bars and dancing girls, we’re talking about the kind of debauchery that you have to leave the country for. I mean, is there a better way to go into 2026?

“Went down Camino Espinoza
Gonna get me a divorce
I’m gonna split with all my money
See that girl who loves a horse

It’s New Year’s Day here on the border
And it’s always been this way
I never do the things, I oughta
I think I’ll stay, it’s New Year’s Day”

Of course, I’m not sure how safe the area is these days, especially after dark, but nevertheless, we wish you all a happy and healthy start to the new year… Cheers to 2026, whatever strange adventures are on the horizon, and the late great Charlie Robison.

Turn it all the way up: