Ever feel down or lack motivation? Listen to some of these songs to inspire and motivate you to get back up again. After all, courage is often found in resilience. As Isaiah 40:31 says, ‘But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.’
‘Never Too Late’ – Michael Franti. This song encourages listeners to have a fresh start every day as it is ‘never too late to start over’. Franti reminds the audience that even our worst friends are really just our best friends who have done us wrong, and not to fear people but give them the benefit of the doubt.
‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)’ – Kelly Clarkson. This is the perfect anthem for overcoming adversities and getting stronger because of the hard stuff. One of the songwriters, Ali Tomposi, wrote it after her then boyfriend had not been replying to her messages and had been seen with another girl. The writer was not in the mood to go to a song-writing session and felt as if she couldn’t do it. She was on the phone to her mother at the time and her mum said, ‘Ali, what doesn’t kill you is going to make you stronger and it's not going to kill you’.
‘The Climb’ – Miley Cyrus. This tune was inspired by Cyrus’ personal struggles in the music industry and is an extended metaphor of the beauty and strength of being resilient. This song encourages listeners to keep trying and appreciate the journey that it takes to get to the end goal.
‘Shake it off’ – Taylor Swift. This song is about not allowing negative experiences of the past to stick with you but instead to ‘shake them off’. This song takes a light-hearted view and encourages listeners to instead to focus on the joys in life such as dancing and singing; especially in the line, ‘It’s like I got this music, in my mind/Sayin’ it’s going to be alright’.
‘Here comes the Sun’ – The Beatles. This timeless classic feels nostalgic and is quietly uplifting. It is all about the arrival of the ‘sun’, which is a metaphor for joy after a long period of darkness and sadness. This is a great song that is hopeful and optimistic that everything will be ‘all right’.
‘UP!’ – Forrest Frank. This ditty has climbed the charts over the past year and has been the most used song on social media platforms such as Instagram (2.7 million reels) and TikTok (141,100 videos). This song talks about being down but now being ‘UP!’; Frank uses the metaphor ‘I used to be stuck in the mud, yeah/I was down but now I’m up’. This catchy, upbeat song is just the thing to get you feeling motivated again.
These songs provide hope for the future and a sense of renewal, strength and resilience after coming out of times of adversity.
Sophie McMahon is a member of the Australian Catholics young writers community.