From *NSYNC to Massive Attack; here are the songs that actually make people happy

By Violet Bouwes-van Nood ‘24

Graphic by Eva Vu-Stern

I love sad music. I love the way beautifully tragic lyrics hit me, and melancholy melodies have this otherworldly ethereal feeling to them. Still, there is a time and place for sad music. In this article, I sought out music that truly makes people happy. 

The first person interviewed for this project was a cashier in an art supplies store where a bad cover of “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield was playing. As I checked out, I got the courage to ask them what song made them happy. It took a surprising amount of time for them to answer, or at least more than I expected. 

They chuckled under their breath.

“What song makes me happy?”

The cashier, whose name tag read ‘Woody,’ scribbled down their answer to my question on a post-it note; “Soul in my Body” by Pinc Louds. It’s not a happy song in the stereotypical sense, and it’s a bit haunting, actually. But I can understand why the song made Woody happy. The catchline of the song stood out to me, “I’ve got no soul in my body, I’ve just got a soul in my brain.”  

The song's lyrics made me feel happy; I could relate to them fully. “Soul in My Body” changed my idea of happy songs.

A song that will always fill me with joy is “Nellie” by Dr. Dog. Its energy never fails to pick me up and brings back happy memories of screaming the chorus at a concert with my friend this November. 

While interviewing people for this article, that was something that came up a lot: the memories attached to the songs.

“That was a song I used to listen to as a kid a lot,” said eighth grade Catlin Gabel School (CGS) student Maddie Snyder in reference to the song “Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC.

When I asked sophomore Ima Kennerly what song brought her joy, she told me, “Anything that has memories attached to it.” 

She went on to list songs like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” (specifically the youtube version with the owl and the star) and “Castaways” from the TV show “The Backyardigans.”  

So that is one type of happy song, the songs that bring you back to a specific moment. Another type of happy song are the ones that have a vibe that serves a purpose, for example, a song dance, drive, or write to. 

Junior Keola Edelen-Hare recommended “Gap” by The Kooks, “Toca la Guitarra” by Professor Caveman,  “Estrelar” by Marcos Valle, and “Two Doors Down” by Mystery Jets. “Me and my friends really like these songs, so we play them on car rides, and then we all get excited.” 

“Those songs are really good for driving or background music while I’m studying,” Annie Chang said about The Smiths’ songs. 

“[“Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles] is a perfect song for a dark and rainy day.” Kenny Nguyen, CGS Upper School Mathematics Teacher, told me while listing many of his favorite songs, including Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” (the piano version) and any Tegan and Sara song. 

Sunshine came up again during my interview process. When I was at Music Millenium in SE Portland, I interviewed an employee there named Paige.

“It’s got a really good message, it’s got a really funky beat,” they said about Massive Attack’s version of “Be Thankful For What You Got.” 
“The song, It just reminds me of the sun.”

I noticed a massive variety in not only the sound of the music but its feel amongst the songs recommended to me;  the general vibes that songs gave off. I asked Paige, who probably spends hours listening to music at her job, what she thought made a happy song.

“Intent,” they said, “even if it’s just a sad song or an angry song, I think that if someone cares about what they are making, it comes across very clearly, and I think that is a pretty happy or at least comforting feeling, when listening to music is when you can tell there was genuine emotions put into it.” 

With that in mind, I created a playlist with the songs from the people I interviewed. I also added pieces that make me happy and were created with intent. If you feel inclined, take a moment to listen to it, whether you are stressed, sad, angry, or already happy.

If you would like to request to add a song to the playlist, fill out this form.