What is it about music that can stir up your soul and make you feel so many emotions all at once? Sometimes it only takes a few chords to spark a memory and make you yell out, “I LOVE THIS SOOOOONNGGG!” Well, I've hand-picked 50 of my favorite songs for happiness and put them in a playlist that is not only a mood-booster but family and classroom-friendly too!

SONGS FOR HAPPINESS

You might be wondering, just what makes a good song for happiness? Well, I'm positive you could ask 100 different people that question and get 100 different answers, but I'm sure there would be a few things in common too.

I decided to put this to a little test on my Instagram. I asked people to finish this statement:

Happiness is…

You will see a common thread among some of these responses:

• love and laughter
• family!
• laughing with my family, friends, and my students
• family and books. LOTS of books, and maybe coffee!
• swapping out your work pants for your lounge pants when you get home in the evening (I personally agree 100% with this one!!)
• the sound of a cat purring
• margaritas!
• tacos. lots and lots of tacos.
• my son's laughter
• a drink on the beach with a good book
• positivity
• doing what you love
• faith, hope, and love
• family, friends, faith, and puppy snuggles!
• warm chocolate chip cookies, snow falling, and cat snuggles!
• just being your complete unaltered self
• love, comfort, and belonging
• feeling safe and being respected
• my son's giggles
• hugs and smiles from my kids
• reading a book I enjoy
• family. friends. faith.
• laughter
• being content with yourself and your path
• singing of course! music can lift your spirits!
• not having to do any paperwork after work
• chocolate, pasta, coffee, family, and friends
• love, gratitude, joy, chocolate, tacos, and dogs
• skating alone on an empty sheet of ice
• joy, laughter, time spent together
• family, coffee, chocolate, joy, love
• being curled up under a blanket with a good book
• indoor plumbing in the wintertime
• waking up to the sun on your face
• my God and my family. Friends also included.

What would you say are the most common happy thoughts?

I bet you're saying family, friends, love, laughter, and clearly, coffee and tacos are high on the list too! (Note to self: open a family-style restaurant that serves coffee and tacos. Maybe call it Cof-cos. Or Ta-ffee. Or maybe neither.)

What would YOU say this list is missing, or do you concur with some or all of the above? I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments! Happiness is…

song for happiness

Shameless plug alert!!

I have a new song out called, Giving It Away. The hook of the song is, “happiness is made by giving it away.” I truly believe that too! I also believe happiness IS family, friends, tacos, and more…but I believe it is MADE by giving it away.

Let me clarify, I am not planning on giving my family away. Nor my friends. Actually, I may find it quite difficult to give away tacos too…

But what you CAN give away are smiles. Always free. You CAN give away laughter. Always the best medicine. You CAN give away gratitude, joy, encouragement, and love. And technically speaking, if someone were giving away tacos or coffee, well, that would just be pretty amazing, now wouldn't it?

BEST SONGS FOR HAPPINESS

Let's get back to that question, what kind of song makes it one of the best songs for happiness? Songs with a strong message? Good lyrics to songs?

The song, Happy, Pharrell Williams made so popular, would be the perfect case study. Talk about a best song for happiness! It feels happy. It sounds happy. It's…..HAPPY.

Good lyrics to songs are often overlooked, and what might be a fantastic beat or groove might not be too fantastic of a message for our kids to hear – and subsequently sing along to. (As a past nanny and current aunt, I'm guilty of this too!)

I've hand-picked these songs for happiness that, in my opinion, do one or more of the following things: make your best dance moves break out, make your head start to bob spontaneously, make your fingers tap the steering wheel, make you sing out, and cause a smile to spread across your face.

Some of these songs and artists will be familiar to you, and a few may be new to you. I've picked some of my favorite kindie artists to highlight here, as well as my old faithfuls. Fair warning – a few of my kindie releases are on this list too!

The ultimate Playlist of songs for happiness

1. Happy – From “Despicable Me 2” – Pharrell Williams
2. Giving It Away – Kaci Bolls
3. Can't Stop The Feeling! – Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick, Gwen Stefani
4. Universal Joint – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
5. Better When I'm Dancin' – Meghan Trainor
6. Let The Good Times Roll – JD McPherson
7. Let My Rooster Crow – The Happy Racers
8. Elevator – Lucky Dias and the Family Jam Band
9. Don't Worry Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin
10. Don't Slack – Anderson, Paak, Justin Timberlake
11. Dare To Be Me – Kaci Bolls
12. Glue – Frances England
13. Love Train – Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, James Corden, Ron Funches, Caroline Hjelt
14. Joy Spice Soul – Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats, Falu, FYÜTCH
15. Get Yo Body Movin' – Koo Koo Kanga Roo
16. I Am Enough – SaulPaul
17. Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder
18. Happiness Is Simple – Rabbit!
19. Good Day – Kaci Bolls
20. Stereotype – The Happy Racers
21. Treat People With Kindness – Harry Styles
22. Hope Machine – The Okee Dokee Brothers
23. Walking On Sunshine – Katrina & The Waves
24. Coconut – Kaci Bolls
25. Happy Dance – MercyMe
26. Good Vibrations – Remastered 2001 – The Beach Boys
27. The Sound Of Sunshine – Michael Franti & Spearhead
28. Beelieve – Elliott Park
29. Hey, Soul Sister – Train
30. Move Your Feet – Junior Senior
31. Best Day Of My Life – American Authors
32. I'm Good – The Mowgli's
33. Somewhere Over The Rainbow_What A Wonderful World – Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
34. On Top Of The World – Imagine Dragons
35. You Make My Dreams (Come True) – Daryl Hall & John Oates
36. I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown
37. Lovely Day – Bill Withers
38. You Make Me Happy – My Sun and Stars
39. Blessings – Hollow Coves
40. Be Nice – Black Eyed Peas, Snoop Dogg
41. I Ain't Worried – One Republic
42. Get Happy – Judy Garland
43. Here Comes The Sun – Remastered 2009 – The Beatles
44. I'm a Believer – The Monkees
45. Hey Ya! – Outkast
46. We Got The Beat – The Go-Go's
47. One Little Heart – The Okee Dokee Brothers
48. Some Days You Gotta Dance – The Chicks
49. Blue Skies Over The Rainbow – Elliott Park, Anna Park
50. Sing – Pentatonix

Click the button below to get that happy dance going!

I hope you make it a favorite playlist for the car, the kitchen, or the classroom! Dance, sing, and shake yourself to some happy thoughts and a good mood – life's too short not to enjoy it!

Enjoy this? Read this next! “Why I Am Passionate About Writing and Performing Kids' Songs for Kids!”

You might like this too! “5 YouTube Happy Songs For Your Next Kitchen Dance Party”