Throwback Thursday – Songs That Heal and Protect

This has been one of those weeks where I wish I could just go back to Monday and start over. I’ve been pretty much flat in bed, drinking Nyquil by night and Dayquil by day. Yup, I’m sick and on top of that the deadlines and e mails don’t ever stop when you work for yourself. So through this week I’ve been soothing my troubled spirit with the kind of music that helps me feel better.

When it comes to songs that offer than aural healing I’ve been desperately needing, it has nothing to do with genre or a particular artist. It’s entirely a lyrical thing. And sometimes it’s just the chorus that lifts me up.

This post is about to get random! Are you ready?

5. Deliver Me From My Enemies by Vivian “Yabby You” Jackson.

I wrote a longer post about this song for the Game Well and Truly Over blog’s 2010 Music Project. And it’s true, I really do need to listen to this song at least once a week. The horns, the rhythm, the harmonies all intoxicate me. But the lyrics say it ALL.

Deliver me, oh my God, from my enemies.
Oh I? plea unto thee, to guide me.
Cause me to hear thy love and kindness in the morning.
For in thee do I trust, cause me to walk in thy way
For I lift up my soul right up to thee,
Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God,
Thy spirit…it is good. Lead me in uprightness.

Yabby You passed away this year, after a brain aneurysm. His musical legacy will never be forgotten by fans of roots reggae music.

4. One Day I’ll Fly Away by Randy Crawford.

I said it before and I’ll say it again – Randy Crawford’s voice does things to me. There’s such a distinctive quality to it. One Day I’ll Fly Away is so beautiful to me. Despite the fact that the song is about leaving a relationship behind, it’s just the chorus and her soaring voice in the song’s bridge… Listening to this song at the end of a hard day gives me everything I need.

3. Shake it Off by Mariah Carey.

Ooooh, Mariah. Although I can’t get with her near-constant half nakedness, she can craft a song that delivers the goods and then some. Shake it Off is a sassy modern day, brand-name dropping dismissal to a lover, but the chorus totally lifts my spirits. When I’m struggling to get my mood back up where it should be, this track does it everytime.

2. Ain’t No Stopping Us Now by McFadden and Whitehead.

The quintessential 70’s disco upliftment track! The beat is mellow but still makes me wanna dance, and the lyrics are so perfect in every way. This song is so perfect for the times when the negative energy of others threatens to infect you. Brush them off. Hold your head high. And let this song take you onward and upward. If you’ve ever been held down before, I KNOW you refuse to be held down anymore!

1. Bless Me by Garnett Silk and Sizzla.

Few reggae vocalists did it better than Garnett. This song is exactly what I was talking about in my post about lyrical therapy. In the Caribbean, sometimes there’s no divide between religious music, and the music that gets the party started. I love the balance of Garnett Silk’s original track, countered with Sizzla’s mournful chanting. And that refrain pops into my head whenever I feel weak and stressed. Bless me, bless me so that they can’t curse me. Garnett Silk left this world far too soon. RIP.

Those are the songs that helped me get over this week! What songs help you get through, when times get rough?