The last few weeks have been a lot. On Tuesday I wrote about the emotional roller coaster we’ve been on over the last few weeks. This afternoon I watched VP Harris at her first rally as the presumptive presidential nominee and I was struck by how happy she was to be able to talk to people about her vision. Here’s a taste of it:

Vice President Harris: In this election, we each face a question. What kind of country do we want to live in? A country of freedom, compassion, and the rule of law? Or a country of chaos, fear, and hate? We each have the power to answer that question pic.twitter.com/GWeEOVT1WS

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) July 23, 2024

So I started thinking about what it was like to feel hopeful and joyful again, and thought I’d continue exploring those good feelings instead of delving back into the political scene. So, off the top of my head. here are some songs that just make me happy.

First, here is a song that just makes me swoon every time. I love everything about it, the arrangement, the vocals, his inflections, all of it:

I got to hear this live during his tour for As Time Goes By, where he toured with a small orchestra. It was incandescent.

I don’t know why, but this one makes me happy when I hear it. It has nothing to do with the lyric, either. I just like how it sounds:

I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it. I am still in love with it.

It took a long time for this album to grow on me, but this song always makes me happy:

Here’s a song I randomly thought about the other day and remembered how much fun it was when it came out, and which led to my writing this post–with the Tower of Power on horns:

Are you watching Somebody, Somewhere on HBO (you should be)? If so, you know why this is a happiness song:

More Americans should listen to Dave Dobbyn. Here is a classic that is fun to sing:

I’ll close with one of the most joyous songs I’ve ever heard. Feel free to leave your joyous songs below.