Songs for a Better World

It’s Ann and Andy here today. OurLittleCorner is closed for Election Day. There’s no new recipe, but we heartily recommend World Peace Cookies.

We’ve heard via the grapevine of a couple of college students who communicate their feelings about each other by sending each other playlists with relevant songs. For our blog today we thought we’d do the same. So here’s our Playlist for Election Day 2024, sorted by day and time. The song titles say it all, so you don’t even need to look at each (fun) video, but fun is what we need today!

*Here’s a Spotify link to these songs on our Election Day playlist (slightly modified for better fluidity).*

To start Tuesday morning: Feeling optimism

• Morning Has Broken – Cat Stevens (Cat has the perfect 1st name for this day, BTW)
• Give Peace a Chance – The Peace Choir (love, love, love it!)
• We Are the World – Lionel Ritchie et al (amazing who all sang in this 1985 performance…Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Daryl Hall, Cyndi Lauper, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, and so many more; it makes me tear up.)
• One Love – Bob Marley (what a great video; the lyrics are so meaningful for today. Be sure to turn on closed captions .)

• Don’t Worry; Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin (with Robin Williams!  Hysterical)
• God Bless America – Kate Smith

Middle of the day – Sending out positive vibes

• Georgia on my Mind – Ray Charles
• On Wisconsin – University of Wisconsin -Madison Concert Choir
• Carolina in My Mind – James Taylor in 1970 (beautiful!)
• Pennsylvania Polka – Frank Yankovic
• Especially in Michigan – Red Hot Chili Peppers (can someone please tell me if those are actual scenes from Michigan in this VERY “athletic” video?)
• Home Means Nevada – The Killers
• Goodbye Arizona – The Sweet Remains

Late Tuesday afternoon – Mulling over the issues

• The Pill – Loretta Lynn
• It’s Money That Matters – Randy Newman
• Across the Borderline – Willy Nelson
• Springtime for Hitler – Mel Brooks (kind of amazing what you could sing and dance to in 1968 that you wouldn’t dare do now)
• The Taxman – The Beatles
• Don’t Take Your Guns to Town – Johnny Cash
• Pollution – Tom Lehrer (there will never be another performer quite like him!)
• I Am Woman – Helen Reddy (perfect!)

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning – Hoping…fretting…hoping

• Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Eric Idle (from 2010 – and way less mortifying than the original Monty Python’s Life of Brian film version)
• Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel
• Help Me Make It Through the Night – Kris Kristofferson
• Leaving on a Jet Plane – John Denver (But where shall we go?)

• Whispering Hope – Jo Stafford and Gordon Macrae (my dad and granddad loved to sing this together, so it brings back lots of good and positive memories)

Beyond Wednesday: May this be the grand finale for our playlist and may we see the light – just like Jake and Elwood, The Blues Brothers. Hope we’re crazy and joyous; hope we can celebrate with dancing and singing.