I read an article recently that talked about how certain songs have seen a spike in sales and streams because the title or lyrics can be applied to our current situation as we deal with the ongoing battle to stop the spread of COVID-19. The interesting part is, some of the songs that have noticed these increases are decades old! Among them are R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive”.
It’s incredible how many songs like this you can find just by looking though your own music collection. These are songs that have themes of social distancing, being isolated, sickness, and survival. With so many songs out there whose lyrics fit the theme of what’s going on right now in our lives, I decided to go on a quest to find as many as possible that fit the theme. Here’s the list so far, can you think of some more?
- Alanis Morissette – “Hands Clean”
- Alex Clare – “Too Close”
- Alice Cooper – “Sick Things”
- Alice in Chains – “I Stay Away”
- At the Drive-In – “Quarantined”
- Bad Religion – “New Dark Ages”
- Black Keys – “Fever”
- Cake – “Distance”
- Destiny’s Child – “Survivor”
- Disturbed – “Down With the Sickness”
- Elton John – “Sick City”
- Fifth Harmony – “Work from Home”
- Fleetwood Mac – “Behind the Mask”
- Hall & Oates – “Out of Touch”
- Iron Maiden – “Virus”
- Jack Johnson – “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing”
- John Lennon – “Isolation”
- Joy Division – “Isolation”
- Georgia Satellites – “Keep Your Hands To Yourself”
- Gloria Gaynor – “I Will Survive”
- Matt Maeson – “Cringe” <— (what we do anytime we hear a cough now)
- Motorhead – “Stay Clean”
- Nirvana – “Stay Away”
- NOFX – “Just The Flu”
- Police – “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
- Police – “When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What’s Still Around”
- Queens of the Stone Age – “Sick, Sick, Sick”
- Ramones – “You Sound Like You’re Sick”
- R.E.M. – “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”
- Semisonic – “Closing Time”
- St. Vincent – “Apocalypse Song”
- Styx – “Too Much Time on My Hands”
- Tame Impala – “Apocalypse Dreams”
- Thompson Twins – “Doctor! Doctor!”
- Twenty One Pilots – “Stressed Out”
- Tom Petty – “The Waiting”
- Tom Petty – “Don’t Come Around Here No More”
- Van Halen – “Somebody Get Me A Doctor
- Warren Zevon – ” Don’t Let Us Get Sick”