Nostalgia is a powerful thing, and to me, one of the best ways to experience nostalgia is through music.
Older songs can send you through many points in time, make you feel an endless sea of emotions, and have the potential to make you feel like you can get through anything.
Music is so powerful.
I absolutely love old music, and I listen to it often, not just for nostalgic purposes.
Old music brings me so much joy.
I will tell you about a few of my favorite older songs that have topics varying from love, the journey of life, and even sadness.
No matter the topic, these songs bring me a lot of happiness and even strength to make it through the toughest of times.
“Good Timin’” by Jimmy Jones
Released in 1960, “Good Timin’” is a feel-good song about how life works its way out.
Throughout the song, Jones makes cultural references such as David and Goliath and Christopher Columbus, but I promise you, the song isn’t a boring historical one.
These are small references made to enhance the message of the song, that if it wasn’t for good timing none of these events would have transpired, and sometimes you gotta leave things up to fate.
Later in the song he sings, “What would’ve happened if you and I didn’t just happen to meet, we might’ve spent the rest of our lives walkin’ down Misery Street.”
This is one of my favorite lines in the song as it adds a personal, and frankly cute touch, to the already amazing song.
To me, this song represents how life works out the way it’s supposed to.
Whenever I hear it streaming through my headphones or blaring through my car radio, I feel a sense of relief and overwhelming happiness due to its meaning and incredible feel-good sound.
“(Somebody) Ease My Troublin’” Mind by Sam Cooke
Before Cooke even sings, you hear the actual sound of this song and it is unreal.
It’s so moody, so rich, and so immersive.
His voice mixed with trumpets and a slow tempo is a match made in heaven.
You can feel the emotion through the instruments and even more through the lyrics.
“I wish somebody would come and ease my troublin’ mind,” “They tell me when you tell somebody your troubles, trouble flies away from you. I’m looking for somebody I can tell my troubles to.”
This song speaks volumes and has helped me through many difficult times and sour moods.
Although it doesn’t speak on how to get out of your troublin’ mind, it talks about a cry for help, and has made me feel so much less alone in this confusing and crazy world.
It normalizes pain and having your low points, as those are things every person on this earth deals with.
People dealt with troubles then, people deal with them now, and I hope this song can help you in how it has helped me.
“To Be Loved” by Jackie Wilson
When this song came out in 1958, I’m sure it stole the hearts of many listeners, like it did to me when I first heard it.
This melody is the epitome of romance, and my heart melts whenever I hear it.
This song is your typical mushy-gushy love song, but it has such a truth to it since the song was made so long ago.
It’s not like a love song you’d hear today, it’s so simple yet so beautiful.
The song raves about how amazing it is to have someone you love, love you back unconditionally.
They see you in your “lonely hours and moments of despair” and will be there when you need “someone to kiss and someone to miss.”
The lyrics are from the heart, the sound is so elegant, and the message is pure.
Although this song is about romance, you can take the lyrics into any relationship you might have whether it be romantic, familial or platonic.
“Oh, what a feeling to be loved,” Wilson sings. He may be talking about romantic love, but this lyric reigns true no matter what kind of love you give or receive.
Love is such an intense feeling and can be so wonderful, and this song is a reminder of that.
Even if you aren’t into old music, I recommend giving these songs a quick listen to hear what they’re about.
They bring to light values, stories and messages that our new age society forgets about too easily.
Also, the music isn’t made on a computer, not that that’s wrong or less than, but you can truly hear everything that these songs entail and the creativeness behind them.
These songs are true works of art and they will never leave my list of favorites.