Inspire Yourself With This Playlist

Do you use music for inspiration or to pump yourself up for something? I do.

Here’s a playlist to inspire and encourage you as you work to make a difference in the world. It includes songs that can spur self-reflection and music that can help you feel more powerful and ready to tackle difficult problems. Take the ones that resonate with you and add your own favorites to create a playlist to listen to as often you need it.

Beds Are Burning – Midnight Oil

“How do we sleep while our beds are burning?”

Midnight Oil wrote this song to protest white Australians’ treatment of Aboriginal Australians. Although this song is about something very specific that may seem far-removed from your life, the chorus speaks to any injustice we may feel called to confront.

Big Yellow Taxi – Joni Mitchell

“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
‘Til it’s gone?
They paved paradise,
Put up a parking lot.”

Here’s a song to inspire us to appreciate and protect what we have — particularly the beauty of nature.

Boys Will Be Boys – Dua Lipa

“If you’re offended by this song
Then you’re probably sayin’:
‘…Boys will be boys.'”

This song also addresses a specific issue: sexual harassment.

“Boys Will Be Boys” brings out a lot of emotions when I listen to it. I think about how I had to change my route to and from my junior high school not once but twice due to sexual harassment, and I’m angry at myself for just accepting that as reality. I also think about how betrayed I felt when someone told me that he’d purchased this shirt as a statement against people who were upset when a space scientist wore the shirt to work. It may be “just a shirt,” but it’s beyond me how anyone could think it is work-appropriate. I know I would have felt very uncomfortable interacting — as a peer, a supervisor, or a direct report — with anyone wearing it.

When will we stop saying “boys will be boys?”

Hammer and a Nail – Indigo Girls

“A distant nation my community,
A street person my responsibility.
If I have a care in the world, I have a gift to bring.”

This song presents us with a clear call to action: We cannot simply focus on our own lives or spend all of our time thinking about problems without doing something about them. We must act.

Is She With You? – Hans Zimmer

I could have chosen any of a number of songs instead of this one. Simply put, if you have a favorite movie (or television) superhero, one you think is kickass, pick a song that represents that hero, and add it to your playlist for those times when you need to feel a little more powerful. This is Wonder Woman’s theme song, first appearing in Batman v. Superman. I could have just as easily picked Fox and Gimbel’s “Wonder Woman” or The Avengers theme by Alan Silvestri, among many “superhero” themes. What, if anything, would you choose?

Living for the City – Stevie Wonder

“I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow
And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow.”

Stevie Wonder’s 1973 classic “Living for the City” explores racism that we still need to address decades later.

Love… Thy Will Be Done – Martika

“No longer can I resist your guiding light,
That gives me the power to keep up the fight.”

This song, written by Prince, is clearly religious and could be read solely in terms of “Have your way with me, God.” But what if “thy will be done” calls us to some sort of action?

Man in Black – Johnny Cash

“Oh, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day
And tell the world that everything’s O.K.
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back.
‘Til things are brighter, I’m the man in black.”

Sometimes I hear someone talking about harsh realities and calling us to make a change, and I think, “That’s a prophetic voice.” The prophetic spirit is less about the future than it is about speaking hard truths concerning the present. What truth must we tell today?

Pastures of Plenty – Solas

“California, Arizona, I’ve worked on your crops,
And northward up to Oregon to gather your hops,
I’ve dug beets from the ground, I’ve cut grapes from the vine
To set on your table that white sparkling wine.”

This lively cover of a Woody Guthrie song always forces me to stop and think about the cheap labor I benefit from. If I can keep that in mind, then I can vote and act in ways that place greater value on the work of others.

Proud – Heather Small

“What have you done today to make you feel proud?”

This is another song that isn’t directly about making a difference, but it can be used as inspiration. While the song can be about any human achievement, if there’s anything that can make a person feel proud, it’s striving for something bigger than oneself.

Stand – Rascal Flatts

“You get mad, you get strong,
Wipe your hands, shake it off,
Then you stand.”

I confess I don’t have a lot of appreciation for country music, and I’d never heard this song before I decided to write this blog post. But I felt like my original playlist wasn’t long enough, so I started looking for songs about making a difference or feeling strong. In the course of my research, I ran across this one, and it fits the bill. If we want to work toward changing the world, we have learn to get back on our feet when we’d rather just give up.

Notice any similarities between this video and the Indigo Girls video above?

The Trouble With Normal – Bruce Cockburn

“‘It’ll all go back to normal if we put our nation first.’
But the trouble with normal is it always gets worse.”

This song is from 1983. I’ll repeat that: This song is from 1983. It’s eerily applicable to today. Let’s fight to make it sound foreign to our ears.

The Way It Is – Bruce Hornsby & The Range

“That’s just the way it is.
Some things will never change.
That’s just the way it is.
Ah, but don’t you believe them.”

In 1986, Bruce Hornsby reflected on poverty and racism in the U.S. Unfortunately, we still need songs like this.

You Gotta Be – Des’ree

“All I know, all I know
Love will save the day.”

This is another song that I’m sure wasn’t written specifically to motivate people to make a difference (except, perhaps, in their own lives), but its lyrics can inspire you to approach problems from a position of strength.

Your Life Is Now – John Mellencamp

“Would you teach your children to tell the truth?
Would you take the high road if you could choose?
Do you believe you’re a victim of a great compromise?
‘Cause I believe you could change your mind and change our lives.”

What good will you do with this life you have been given?

Yes. the video is weird.

Note: I’m giving myself a mini-vacation and won’t publish a blog post next week. My next post will be on July 27.