# Songs that Inspire You When You're Down **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496 "2006-01-05T00:47:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/21 "2006-01-05T16:55:19Z")
_Stormy Monday_ from **The Allman Brothers Band Live at the Fillmore East** ---
**Author:** ![mrklutz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@mrklutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrklutz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/22 "2006-01-05T18:46:56Z")
If you’re thinking of something mellower that’s a pick-me-up without being a wind-me-up (like Chumbawumba is for me), I’m partial to: _The Superman Song_ by Crash Test Dummies Bob Marley’s _Three Little Birds_ ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/23 "2006-01-05T19:51:11Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > OK, it’s stupid and shallow but that **Chumbawumba** song that was a hit a few years back. “I get knoccked down and I get up again…” over and over with a catchy beat always picks me up. This is the one I was going to post! I used to hear it when I was doing physical therapy after my knee surgery, and I took it as my unofficial anthem for getting mobile again. It still gives me good feelings to hear it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/24 "2006-01-05T21:44:52Z")
Hoover Dam by Sugar; Take a Chance with me by Roxy Music; She Floated away by Husker Du; Matinee by Franz Ferdinand; Oh You Pretty Things by Bowie; Love is Lies by the Buzzcocks. Why, yes, I WAS born in '72. … These are on my mind because this is the very project of the afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/25 "2006-01-05T23:02:14Z")
I find both **Polyphonic Spree** albums to be incredibly uplifting. Interestingly, over the holidays I was looking into the MBTI personality type stuff (I’m iNtJ and my partner is INTP) and some of the descriptors I read about INTP talked about music. Anyways, it turns out that my partner (along with his personality type peers, presumably) listens to music that _reflects_ his mood, whereas I listen to music to _put me in the mood_. So if he is feeling a bit down, he’ll look to music that expresses that emotion, whereas I’ll look to music that lifts me. Slightly off topic, but quite an interesting difference, I thought! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/26 "2006-01-05T23:33:36Z")
> [@mrklutz](#): > > Bob Marley’s _Three Little Birds_ Heh! I always got super-anxious about exams in college and this was the one I put on while falling asleep the night before. ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2006, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/27 "2006-01-05T23:35:25Z")
The Pretenders – _I’ll Stand By You_ Oasis – _Stay Young_ The first one for a gentle nudge out of an anxious or tense mood, the second one for a wake-up call when things really start looking miserable. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/28 "2006-01-06T01:52:02Z")
I’ve been listening to Hank Williams’ _I’d Love to Knock the Hell Out of You_, lately. Usually, I’d go with _Men of Harlech_, Madonna’s _Die Another Day,_ or maybe some nice Korn. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/29 "2006-01-06T10:36:51Z")
_Sometimes you’re beaten to the call Sometimes you’re taken to the wall But you don’t give in_ Midnight Oil’s “Sometimes” ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/30 "2006-01-06T19:26:03Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > OK, it’s stupid and shallow but that **Chumbawumba** song that was a hit a few years back. “I get knoccked down and I get up again…” over and over with a catchy beat always picks me up. I’ll second that. I’d also add “Don’t Give Up” or “Solsbury Hill” by Peter Gabriel. On the non-pop front, I’d add J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto, No. 3 in G Major, BWV 1048, G.F. Handel’s “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba,” and Saint-Saens “Bacchanalia” from “Samson et Delilah.” Just about any upbeat Dixieland Jazz, John Philip Sousa march (especially “The Washington Post March” or “Semper Fidelis”) or Scott Jolin rag will also lift my spirits. ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/31 "2006-01-06T19:33:36Z")
“Better Things” by The Kinks. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/32 "2006-01-06T21:13:37Z")
Anything off _Pretty Hate Mcahine_. Because when the world’s beating me down, nothing helps me more than getting in the mood to do the beating myself. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/33 "2006-01-07T19:20:27Z")
_How Can I Keep from Singing?_ , as sung (a capella) by Gordon Bok, Ed Trickett, and Ann Mayo Muir. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/34 "2006-01-07T19:32:12Z")
The theme song from the movie M_A_S\*H, aka “Suicide is Painless”. The TV show kept the music, but removed the words. But the lyrics are classic! > [@](#): > > Through early morning fog I see > visions of the things to be > The pains that are withheld for me > I realize and I can see . . . > That suicide is painless > it brings on many changes > And I can take or leave it if I please. [http://www.cfhf.net/lyrics/mash.htm](http://www.cfhf.net/lyrics/mash.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/35 "2006-01-07T19:33:31Z")
_Anything off Pretty Hate Mcahine. Because when the world’s beating me down, nothing helps me more than getting in the mood to do the beating myself._ OP by Cliffy Oh man, you just made me think of that song _Head Like A Hole_. I’m adding it to my itunes wish list. Nothing like an angry song to help you put things into perspective. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496/36 "2006-01-07T20:59:53Z")
The Allman Brothers Band – Jessica Additionally, anything that makes me want to pump the stereo up to full volume and move around - The Clash, Rush, Guns N Roses, etc. I’m also somebody who uses upbeat music to get me out of slumps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-inspire-you-when-youre-down/338496.md?page=1)