 One night when I was… Music and Cowboys go as well together as Cowboys and music. Red Dead Redemption 2 has both. While not a perfect game, there's one aspect of this western that puts it above the other Sims games, and that is the campfire songs. In Red Dead Redemption 2, player character Arthur Morgan is part of a big gang led by the plan with a man, Dutch Fanderland. It's funny that he has family from the Netherlands and also looks like Captain Hook. You can do things like eat, sleep, do your chores, juggle unnecessary drama between friends, things that feel even more difficult to do in this game than in real life, but you can also hear some very interesting dialogue between other gang members, play cards in other tabletop games, tend to your horse, make a fucking spiffy new bag, have a rug made for you, get punched in the face, and the best part, the campfire songs. When the AI lines up right in this game, characters will meet up at the gang campfire and sing some songs. Sometimes it'll be a cappella, other times it'll be with a guitar or other instrument, but some songs you can sort to rover, cop a spot on the log and join in. Arthur is a terrible singer, but he sings off key and off time with a glorious purpose. With the parts of the song that he doesn't know, he hums or he cops. Different people leave the songs, get involved, sometimes it'll be a solo and the song might be a sad lament on the members and their precarious positions, or it'll be a snapcrackling snortfest on getting your meat tenderised. So many songs, so much variety, today we're gonna pull a watchmojo and look at the top 10 campfire songs in Red Dead Redemption 2. This list is a mixture of what I think are the best songs, the general consensus on which one is the most popular, and also which ones are my favourites. I'm only counting campfire songs, so anything from the soundtrack like the house building song or unshaken, they don't count. It has to be a diabetic tune, song from the campfire camp table on a boat or on a coach like Ryawisky, unlike the score or soundtrack which is non-diabetic. The qualifiers I'm looking for are just basic enjoyment and what the songs accomplish, whether you can interact, what the songs tell us about the character and their relationships, how funny you're up, setting the songs maybe in a good way. It's a bit loose, but I think the video will work by the end. I was able to make this video thanks to the amazing work of CalMeth, whose channel I'll put in the description. They isolated a lot of the audio from the game files and was able to put together the tracks that you hear as it is in the playlist they'll also put in the description. Basically puts together the songs as you could imagine to hear them on, like imagine if Rockstar released an official album of the campfire songs. This is probably what we'd hear and it's really amazing work CalMeth, I'm really sorry if I'm not pronouncing that wrong, if I am pronouncing, I'm really sorry if I **** you did fantastic work here and the credit is all deserved. So everyone go subscribe to CalMeth and listen to their stuff. As weird as it might be to hear these tracks without the campfire crackling in the background, it is nice to hear them without the sounds of Dutch and Molly arguing or a bore squealing in the bushes at Shady Bell. So that's it for all of the disclaimers, let's have a look at the best in my objectively subjective opinion campfire songs in Red Dead Redemption 2. First, let's get some honourable mentions out of the way, Harvia's solo songs on guitar and vocals are beautiful. I can't pronounce the song names because I'm racist, without the interaction though it's more just a great tune to hear as you explore camp. He does have a beautiful voice though and the songs themselves are really tight. Probably the most sellable songs if the Vanderland gang were to make an album. Can you imagine? The Vanderband? Come Bustle, Bustle is great and I was very much considering it for the top 10. To clear things up I'm talking about the version with Uncle and the Ladies in the standard game. The epilogue was fun with this one too, the one you hear after Charles, John and Uncle complete the house. Easily it's the best song to tap along to, but I don't know, there's a lot of good songs in this. I wouldn't marry, I love hearing Karen and Susan getting along. This song is fun and feels very early country as far as the guitar goes from Harvia. The singing is very much folk though. Great to hear them sing of their marital preferences. Not the best Karen and Susan song though. Rev. Swanson's I'll Never Get Drunk Anymore. One night when I was frisky, from too much potent whiskey, like waves on the bay of That's all I have to say about that. Home, dearie, home. Pearson's, Constatina and Sean's amazing timbre make a great, sad duo. Beautiful scene. Still being drunk, it's the most serious I've ever heard, Sean. It almost sounds like he's about to cry singing about home. Actually, a lot of these songs are about how good things used to be or how much they missed someone, some time, some thing or some place. I guess that's the theme of the game. Change. Change. Fuck, I can't believe these amazing moments can be missed. The Carefire song should have been mandatory. Can't get 100% of the game without listening to everyone. Fuck the Ambient Challenges. Keyhole in the Door. A lovely soprano from Uncle. Just dudes singing about places where they like to put their pricks. One version with Sean and another one solo from Uncle. I like Uncle and Sean singing together though. California Stage Company. Another great Uncle and Ladies track about career change. This song paints a very vivid picture. It's like, you know, just the way they sing. There's something very vivid about the way they sing about it. I can imagine this California Stage Company going through a gay viejo in Nueva Presa, where Abraham Reyes is holed up in 1911. Is that his family home? Anyway. Moving on. A Yankee Ship. Sean and Pearson again. Much more uplifting this one. Sean's voice could cure tuberculosis. If only he hadn't. Dan Taylor. Karen Leeds a song. Javier plays on guitar. We should have gotten more Karen in Red Dead Redemption 2. It's a cute little story. It almost seems to force Shadow John's tone from the business into an eventual rancher with Abigail as his wife. Three Mariners. Now, this is a bit of a controversial one. I love this mission. I will never reject fishing with Hosea in Dutch, but I think there's a better song that they sing in this boat. John Brown. A harmonica. This is not hard. This is just another hit. Pearson sort of leads this one with his duet pal Sean Hedgehog McGuire. These two are just a riot together. A brethren tune of Brethren Brethrening. I Got a Girl is a great introduction to the game and the songs the gang sing together. All the ladies sing a unique little tune that feels like the most Red Dead campfire song. Maybe because it says Valentine, the name of the town they're going to. It just feels better ingrained into the world. A lot of these tracks in this video are traditional folk tunes that have been given a red dead coat like Otis Miller based on some other guy. Great to hear Tilly on a track. I don't think we heard much of her on the other tunes, but the more members the better. Buffalo Gals. Susan Grimshaw shows us what Dutch is missing on this one. Charles belts the harmonica and Susan belts a tune instead of Karen for a change. It is time for the creme de la creme, the top 10 best songs in the cowboy game. Alright, I got one for you. I asked that girl to give me some. I asked that girl to give me some. Number 10 is Taters. At me I don't care. This is better than three mariners. Two fathers with their one song singing about rampant horniness is what great parenting is all about. If only Arthur's two dads were there for him in the end to sing about potatoes, Arthur is on point for once, in key and on time. The rowing, going in time with the gents humming between singing about spud fucking it is a wondrous thing. No wonder this got game of the year. It goes for less than a minute, but stands out amongst the tens of hours of content in this game because potatoes and sex go better together than music and cowboys. People also sings this song solo when he's drunk, well I know that he's always drunk but like drunk for uncle. It's pretty cool too but can't top Arthur and his dads. Number 9 is Otis Miller, a beautiful guitar intro from Javier before uncle sings with Karen like a father and his daughter. Pierced in chips in, pulling an Arthur by singing out of time and out of tune and humming half lyrics. It's sort of invasive but I love it. There's so much character here. The story about Otis Miller is really cool too. The song details his exploits as an outlaw before being killed by his own man Charlie Tatum looking for fame. Based on the assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford, I think that was a movie. Otis Miller is one of the most famous gunslingers in the Red Dead series, maybe even more famous than Landon Ricketts. You could find a bunch of his books and even his gun in the game. It feels like there's a lot of history here. Maybe because there's a lot of history here. If Arthur gets really drunk in the open world he'll sing lyrics from this song and give us a rip roaring, I kind of want to do my own yee-ha but I'm going to restrain myself. Number eight is Paul Lonesome Cowboy, sad cowboy hours. This slower tune is sung by a fair chunk of the gang and really encapsulates the tone of the game and life in the gang. They have happy, jubilant moments but they're fleeting, they're on the run, scared and hungry, who knows who's going to make it in the end. The lives are running their course and the utopia Dutch keeps promising doesn't seem worth it when you lose your soul. Still, getting out of it on an honest path after such a time can leave you wondering on how things could have been in this savage utopia. This is exemplified by Pearson looking sadly on a photo of him and the gang in the old days. It's almost about the loneliness each member feels, they've all been abandoned and forgotten by the world and that's why Dutch's savage utopia seemed so appealing. They look out for each other but for the most part they're looking out for themselves. They're scared, they don't want to die. It's like they're reminding themselves I am doing this for me, it just so happens it helps the other folks. The ring dang doo is coming I promise. Number 7 is The Sailor Boy Slash A prisoner for life. Alright so I'm kind of cheating with this one. Two Karen Slash Grimshaw songs but for good reason. Red Dead 3 should be about Karen coming out of the wilderness and supering up before reviving Grimshaw like she's a friend zombie at the end of Shaun of the Dead. They're at each other's throats frequently in the game, a very intense mother-daughter relationship but at the end of the day they did care about each other and they could have really come to understand each other if Shaun and Molly's deaths didn't drive them apart. Still, The Sailor Boy is such a great icebreaker for the Karen Grimshaw tension. Let's drop the whole Lady Act for a second, stop washing those clothes, stop telling people off for taking it easy, let's have a few drinks and sing about getting a raw. Later these two sing a song in Shealy Bell that's much more somber, a goodbye of sorts for Shaun. They're not sitting at a table with drinks in their hands, Karen is working away and Grimshaw sits with a cigarette, they seem tired, drained from the goings on and it really catches a depressing tone. I love these two together and the first song is probably their best chipper duet and the second tune is one of the best and unique in the game. It almost feels like a chore, they'd rather not talk about Shaun's death, it'd be easier to just pretend they didn't care, pretend it didn't happen but they want to address it, they want to talk about it, it's like honestly Shaun's death is the one thing that I wish they addressed more in the game, they kind of rush past it after Jack was kidnapped, that's the thing it's like Arthur came back to camp and he was ready to just like bear Shaun was killed but it's like no, Jack's been taken, it's like oh okay, it's like at that point they weren't worrying about dead gang members anymore, anyway. Number 6 is Clementine, in the epilogue we get this one, Abigail's beautiful singing voice that we rarely see any of in the game, with Jack's fucking boss harmonica skills, there's a dreadful irony in Abigail singing a song about a guy who couldn't save his love from drowning because he couldn't swim. With that darkly funny thought aside it is a really sad song and lyrically just messed up, but there's a faux bittersweet tune to it that really does a great job putting its own full stop on the game as far as campfire songs go, the very ending to the game is bittersweet in its own right, John's with his family, they're enjoying their new life, Mike is dead and they have plenty of money to live thanks to Dutch leaving them the black water money, but we know any moment Edgar Ross is going to swoop in and fuck things up for the Mastin family. For now though, let's enjoy the song, I saw somebody's gameplay where during this interaction they stare at Abigail and Jack as John and just take it in, their joy and contentedness, they're next to them uncle just spouts out, I'm pretty sure this is a scripted response to the player just idling out, camp and family members will be like you're good, something on your mind if you stand still in camp or stare at them, but accidentally the AI script made the moment even more beautiful, in a way John is miles away, taken there by his wife's voice and his son's harmonica, he's right where he wants to be, but it still feels like a dream, like it's too good to be true and perhaps it is. Number 5 Goodbye Fare ye well, Pearson rips the concertina back out for this one, a sauntering solo where he sings of life on the seas, farewells and so longs off the docks as life at sea carries you away, clearly he misses the navy, he's not the best singer but it still comes across very genuine and hearty and if you get this song while in Beaver Hollow it's even more depressing, Pearson never got to go back to the navy and he lost his life in the gang as well and he's married now, he's happy with his new life and like by the epilogue he seems to enjoy the store but he definitely seems to be mad by some nostalgia, that's the thing it's almost like he didn't appreciate the gang because he was worried about the navy, makes you think it's just like was he nostalgic during his times in the navy as well, he was thinking about times he was gonna get back to land, he was nostalgic as well when he got to the gang about the about the navy and now he's nostalgic with his wife and the store about the gang so it's like what if he gives the store to his son and he's gonna be nostalgic about the store, this song and the heavy breaths that follow it are very telling of Pearson's character and the song it's an easy favourite That's the most on-time Arthur has ever been while singing, so confident that he even added that very light syncopation to contrast the other men, it makes him forget the next two or so lines but his spirit is what matters here, this romantic tune with Sean gliding over the instrumentals with a strange gruff grace that only he can pull off, tells a fair bit about Sean in his relationship with Karen, we don't see too much of it and what we do see comes across as young love but perhaps Sean was afraid of getting attached to Karen or Karen to him and with his death we see just how hard Karen starts to fall, maybe they did really care for each other maybe it was just the scenario they were put in but who knows Number three is Cieletto Lindo, the last high note for the Van der Linde Gang after Jack is rescued from Bronte the gang have a party and almost everyone joins in with a song led by Javier, what I love about this is that it shows the gang's camaraderie, this whole time we've seen the gang songs and Javier songs and they're very separate, Javier's flamenco guitar playing and singing in his native language doesn't get joined in by the other members causing you to wonder if they care to know it at all but then the Marston family are also together, John's accepted Jack as his son and really seems like he's gonna give it a go, it's completely player choice but if Arthur joins everyone at the fire then looks over to the Marstons it's like he can recognize it this is really one of those moments you want to stay in especially considering where the game goes after this this feels like the happiest moment we see of the Van der Linde gang in Red Dead Redemption 2 fitting that the song itself is just telling everyone to be happy Lenny, Susan, John, Abigail, Karen, Marybeth, Hosea, Dutch, Jack, Pearson, Uncle Javier everyone you'd want there in that moment because Bill's a fucking talk it about what he would do in the army or Karen pulling himself away from the moment because he's like I'm still not ready to be there but if you go to talk to him after this he'll be like oh joining with you guys was the best choice I ever made it's like he was finally starting just finally starting to accept himself in this new situation but then things happened after this number two is Lorena many may not expect this one and I can understand that but honestly I can never look past this by herself usually sitting by the campfire sometimes you can see Karen seeing this one she's a little bit tipsy and tuck it out but it does not take away from just how isolated and amazing this feels get this interaction on a good night starry sky and quiet around camp as Karen sings a song that sort of mirrors her own journey a lonely sad life full of drinking and bitterness Karen can be seen singing this before end after Sean's death and in other case the song is extremely strong she doesn't really sing it with any thought of key or timing but the half seeing half talking approach makes it feel like she's truly thinking out loud here it's kind of uncomfortable very candid but very effective at conveying Karen's anxieties and it's easily one of my favorite tunes apparently there's another version that she sings where she's not as drunk but it's a bit more tuneful I've only ever gotten the version where she's drunk and sings it kind of roughly I can imagine having a playthrough where you hear her I guess nice version first and then the drunk version after Sean dies and I imagine that could really immerse you too it's unfortunate that this really strong aspect of the game is missable I wish this amazing stuff was more ingrained into the experience and wasn't only based on luck I once sat next to Karen as Arthur while she sang this song all by herself at the campfire Arthur sat there in silence besides her like a genuine attempt to comfort her and reach an understanding there are many times in the game where Arthur can awkwardly insert himself into a conversation at camp or observe other interactions and he's just standing there unflinching as Dutch and Jose's entire relationship is put to the test right in front of him sometimes he can interact with the conversation and other times it's just okay I'll catch you later then this however sitting with Karen in solemn silence felt truly well contextualized and made for a unique moment that felt a little off script for what Rockstar had in mind great moment is great moment good song it's good song I've completely forgotten about another song that deserves to be in the top 10 without fucking with my ranking screw it this is my list 1.5 is one-eyed Riley one-eyed Riley is the apex uncle and ladies song we get a lot of songs like this in this game but not only is the concept unique for the choice of songs in our yard to a brazen fool sleeping with a murderous man's daughter it's just so funny and entertaining maybe a bit less loose than other songs but this feels like the stock-standard RDR2 campfire song the perfect example solid musically if simple obviously with very witty and entertaining lyrics funny ad libs and the string mutes in the chorus really helped this song stand out uncle really does have a way with the ladies and now after much trouble and turmoil and a few drinks we have which we have reached the number one my number one best favoritist song is number one ring dang do of course it was gonna be the number one whenever I hear this song at camp I'll barge over like Arthur's found the cure to limbo go and really wants to tell uncle it's probably the most popular song in the bunch and for good reason it's funny it incorporates a lot of the other members and it can happen twice in gameplay Arthur sounds more committed to singing than ever even with the lions he doesn't know he's very proud to say made in head the subject matter of the song is about some dude sleeping with a chick and then her dad finds out and sends it to the house it's everything the song should be sexist and simple capping it all off with Arthur calling uncle a dirty man at the end like he wasn't singing louder than anyone else brilliant I honestly don't know what else I can say about this song other than just let you know I met this gal from Old Bordeaux she had blonde hair and blue eyes too and she let me ride on the ring dang do the ring is soft and round like a pussy cat it's got a hole in the middle and it's split in two that's what you call a ring dang do she took me down into her cellar that I was a mighty fan fella fed me a wine and whiskey too let me ride on the ring dang do now what is that soft and round like a pussy cat it's got a hole in the middle and it's split in two that's what you call a ring dang do father came in you have lost your meaning back your bags and your coat tags to make a living off the ring that you pussy cat into that's what you call a ring dang to be a hook on the sign upon the door I reach and flee for two take a crack at my ring dang do me soft and round like a pussy cat I'm sober now thank you for watching this silly video and taking the time to learn about how amazing camps are in Red Dead Redemption 2 most of the time that's a thing anything that works in Red Dead Redemption 2 feels like it should have most of the time written next to it never do the songs waiver though so that's why I wanted to close out the year with this fun little video about drinking and singing songs which is what we should all be doing these holidays I'll be back next year with some new videos the titles I'll put up now so yeah these are some of the projects I'll be working on in 2022 thank you so much to anyone who's watched my videos I really appreciate every view remember to look after your friends especially if they're named Lenny I hope everyone had a good Christmas or anything else you may celebrate