Many songs have been written about or feature Santa Cruz in the lyrics, including:
- Roller Coaster By The Sea by Jonathan Richman
- Highway 17 by Michael Gaither
- Living In Santa Cruz by Andy Fuhrman, Andy Fuhrman
- Lonestar Peak by Will Bagley and Andy Fuhrman
- Neal's Fandango by the Doobie Brothers
- My Heart's In Santa Cruz (1995), collection of songs about Santa Cruz written and produced by written Ross Gibson and Ukulele Dick
- Paddle Out by Sublime
- Pulling Into Santa Cruz by Eddie Vedder, written shortly before he performed it at his 2008 show at the Santa Cruz Civic
- Roller Coaster, a symphonic piece inspired by the Giant Dipper, composed by Michael Shapiro
- Santa Cruz by Dogbone
- Santa Cruz by James Durbin
- Santa Cruz by J.J. Cale
- Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far) by The Thrills
- Santa Cruz Local by Andy Fuhrman
- Steamer Lane Breakdown by the Doobie Brothers
- Surfin' USA by The Beach Boys
- Watsonville from Bread! The Musical by Joe Ortiz, featuring Ukulele Dick
- Santa Cruz After The Nick of Time (1977) from the album Signs Of Life by the The Lost Gonzo Band http://www.texasmusic.org/lost_gonzo_band.php
- Beer Run by Todd Snider. That's "B-double E double R U-N beer run." on Near Truths and Hotel Rooms album (2003)
- Drag it Out by GLAT from the 2015 album "Delusions of Grandma"
