Music is medicine for a weary heart. There will be times in our lives when we can’t muster up the will to smile. But during those moments, the most effective way to help you crack a grin is to listen to some happy songs.
While these songs might not make you happier, they can help you put a smile on your face when you need it!
Aretha Franklin – I Say a Little Prayer for You
Let’s start off this list with a song that’s guaranteed to put a smile on your face when you sing it first thing in the morning. Dione Warwick definitely nailed this song, especially since it was made for her. But we can’t deny that Aretha’s soulful rendition is the one that will instantly make your day!
Happy lyrics: The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you
While combing my hair, now
And wondering what dress to wear, now
I say a little prayer for you
James Brown – I Feel Good
If this song doesn’t put in you in a great mood, we don’t know what will! Not only did this song end up becoming James Brown’s signature song, but it also gave him his ubiquitous catchphrase, “I feel good.” This song has been used in various movies like Good Morning, Vietnam; The Nutty Professor; and Transformers.
Happy lyrics: Whoa, I feel good
I knew that I would, now
I feel good
I knew that I would, now
So good, so good, I got you
ABBA – Dancing Queen
When you just feel like dancing the night away without a care in the world, this is the song you should be playing. ABBA’s Dancing Queen has become not only a disco anthem, but also a song that reminds us to live free while we’re young. Lee Ann Womack did say she hopes we dance, and the Dancing Queen sure did!
Happy lyrics: You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen
Dancing Queen, feel the beat from the tambourine
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene, digging the Dancing Queen
Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy
It’s not easy to be completely free from worry with all the things we think about every day. But Bobby McFerrin has the perfect song to help you keep those worries at bay. McFerrin came up with the song thanks to a poster featuring the Indian guru Meher Baba. He saw the poster with the phrase and thought it was “a pretty neat philosophy in four words.”
Happy lyrics: Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry, be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don’t worry, be happy
Don’t worry, be happy now
Nina Simone – Feelin’ Good
Nina Simone’s incredibly popular version has made a lot of us think that this is her original song. On the contrary, it was written by Anthony Newly and Leslie Bricusse for the Broadway musical the Roare of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. However, Nina’s voice was able to perfectly convey the message of joy and contentment after hard times, which is why her version resonates so well with us.
Happy lyrics: Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by you know how I feel.
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day
It’s a new life for me yeah
Hall and Oates – You Make My Dreams
If any of you have watched (500) Days of Summer then you know this as the song Tom dances along to after he spends the night with Summer. We believe the entire song and dance number he performs is a perfect representation of what this song means – finding the person who makes your dreams come true.
Happy lyrics: On a night when bad dreams become a screamer
When they’re messin’ with a dreamer
I can laugh it in the face
Twist and shout my way out
And wrap yourself around me
‘Cause I ain’t the way you found me
And I’ll never be the same, oh yeah
Well ’cause you
You make my dreams come true, oh yeah
The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
This is one of those songs that you simply can’t resist dancing or singing along to. It also helps that the Scottish twins Craig and Charlie Reid unabashedly sing this song with the smuggest Scottish accent. This song is all about wanting to spend the rest of your life with the love of your life, even if that means walking 500 miles just to be by her side.
Happy lyrics: But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles
To fall down at your door
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
Despite the ecstatic and borderline manic feel of the song, this was actually written by Freddie Mercury during a tough time in his life. To the audience, the song is a message of empowerment that encourages us to go out there and achieve our dreams without letting anything stop us. However, during this time, Freddie Mercury was throwing caution to the wind as he partook in the drugs and promiscuity that may have led to him acquiring AIDS.
Happy lyrics: I’m burnin’ through the sky yeah
Two hundred degrees
That’s why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I’m trav’ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you
Blue Swede – Hooked on a Feeling
Have you ever been so deliriously in love that you start a nonsensical chant before singing your loved one a song? That’s what Hooked on a Feeling is all about. This is the only hit by Swedish band Blue Swede to hit the American charts, but its legacy lives on in soundtracks like those for Reservoir Dogs and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Happy lyrics: When you hold me
In your arms so tight
You let me know
Everything’s all right
I, I’m hooked on a feeling
I’m high on believing
That you’re in love with me
Third Eye Blind – Semi-Charmed Life
If you’ve been a huge fan of the grunge and alternative scene back in the 90s then you definitely know this song. Third Eye Blind is known for infusing downright depressing lyrics in the most upbeat tunes. However, if you listen to this song without really thinking too much about the lyrics it sounds like a fun, happy tune that you can sing whenever you want to feel uplifted. But when you dive into the meaning of the song, it’s actually about a couple on a crystal meth binge, hence all the energy in the song.
Happy lyrics: And I make her smile
It’s like a drug for you
Do ever what you want to do
Coming over you
Keep on smiling, what we go through
One stop to the rhythm that divides you
And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse
Chop another line like a coda with a curse
And I come on like a freak show takes the stage
We give them the games we play, she said
I want something else
To get me through this
Semi-charmed kind of life
Jimmy Eat World – The Middle
We can’t mention Third Eye Blind without mentioning Jimmy Eat World simply because they belong in the same genre. But don’t worry, The Middle is free from drug references. This song is actually an encouraging song about how everything’s going to be just fine. The “middle” refers to that odd middle ground we all face during a critical time in our life when we’re not sure if we’re on the right path.
Happy lyrics: Hey, don’t write yourself off yet
It’s only in your head you feel left out or looked down on
Just do your best
Do everything you can
Don’t you worry what their bitter hearts are going to say
Jack Johnson – Banana Pancakes
Amid all these danceworthy tunes, we had to include one laid-back track that all of us can relate to. Banana Pancakes is a song about just savoring the little moments you have with someone you love – like sleeping in, appreciating the rain, and making banana pancakes!
Happy lyrics: But, baby, you hardly even notice
When I try to show you this
Song is meant to keep you
From doing what you’re supposed to.
Waking up too early
Maybe we can sleep in
Make you banana pancakes
Pretend like it’s the weekend now
The Darkness – I Believe in a Thing Called Love
According to the New York Times, this song “sticks to listeners like hair gel.” We completely agree because once you hear this song, it’ll be stuck in your head for hours on end. I Believe in a Thing Called Love is a love letter to the in-your-face lyrics and over the top vocals of the 80s glam rock era, and The Darkness executes it so well!
Happy lyrics: I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There’s a chance we could make it now
We’ll be rocking ’til the sun goes down
I believe in a thing called love
Pharrell Williams – Happy
We don’t know if it’s Pharrell Williams’ sunny disposition or his songwriting prowess that can make everyone agree that his song is one you can’t help but dance to. Pharrell wrote the song himself, and despite it being lumped in with the hit songs of the time, Happy has a staying power that lives on as one of the most delightful songs ever written.
Happy lyrics: Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you
Because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
Beyonce – Love on Top
Last but not the least is this gem by Beyonce that’s impossible to resist singing and dancing along to. Love on Top holds the simple message that love conquers all – perhaps one of the most uplifting mottoes that will put a smile on your face!
Happy lyrics: Baby it’s you
You’re the one I love
You’re the one I need
You’re the only one I see
Come on baby it’s you
You’re the one that gives your all
You’re the one I can always call
When I need to make everything stop
Finally you put my love on top
Get lost in the rhythm of these tunes and let them help you smile even on your most stressful day!
