The season of spring officially began on March 20th of this year, and it will end on June 20th. Whether you’re doing some spring cleaning and need a good soundtrack, or lamenting over the hardships and relationships of this past winter, here are our top 10 songs about spring that will put some pep in your step while also forcing you to be introspective about the changing seasons.
Number Ten: “The First Days of Spring” by Noah and the Whale. “The First Days of Spring” is a song by Noah and the Whale, off of their 2009 album of the same name. The first verse goes, “it’s the first day of spring / and my life is starting over again / well the trees grow, the river flows / and its water will wash away my sin / for I do believe that everyone / has once chance to f*** up their lives / like a cut down tree, I will rise again / I’ll be bigger and stronger than ever before.” The second verse goes, “there’s hope in every new seed / and every flower that grows on the Earth / and though I love you, and you know that / well I no longer know what that’s worth / and I’ll come back to you, in a year or so / and rebuild ready to become / oh the person you believed in / or the person that you used to love.” This song has semi-optimistic lyrics with a heart-breaking melody. Many speculate the song was written as a response to former bandmate Laura Marling leaving the band to pursue a solo career. Perhaps this is evidenced within the lyric, “if I’m still here hoping, that one day you may come back.”
Number Nine: “Some Other Spring” by Billie Holiday. “Some Other Spring” is a song by Billie Holiday, off of her 1956 album, Lady Sings the Blues. This track seems to be about a woman who feels regret and sadness over a lost love; moreover, she thinks she won’t be able to love again till “some other spring.” The song begins, “some other spring / I’ll try to love / now I still cling / to faded blossoms / fresh when worn / left crushed and torn / like the love affair I mourn / some other spring / when twilight falls / will the nights bring / another to me?” The song continues, “not your kind / but let me find / it’s not true that love is blind / sunshine’s around me / but deep in my heart it’s cold as ice / love, once you’ve found me / but can that story unfold twice? / some other spring / will my heart awake? / stirring to sing / love’s magic music / then forget the old duet / love in some other spring? / spring?”
Number Eight: “Spring Love” by Stevie B. “Spring Love” is a song by Stevie B, off of his 1988 album, Party Your Body. This is a classic, upbeat track that reminisces about lost love. One of the verses goes, “I can remember the first time we ever met / The sun was shining, love was gleaming in the air / You caught my eye and the next thing that I knew / I was in love, I was so in love with you,” followed by, “We were so close for a season of my life / I wanted so much to have you for my wife / But something changed the season came to an end / I had to leave you and that’s where my heartache began.” The chorus goes, “spring love, come back to me / I need you and I want you baby.”
Number Seven: “Can’t Stop the Spring” by The Flaming Lips. “Can’t Stop the Spring” is a song by The Flaming Lips, off of their 1987 album, Oh My Gawd!!! The first verse goes, “you can walk among us, but you can’t walk on by / you just keep on bleedin’ on your clothes as they dry / all your Teflon pancakes always make me too high / you’re thinkin’ that you’re here but you’re really up in the sky,” followed by, “there she was just walkin’ down the street / smoking with her hands and walking with her feet / keeping her paint cans underneath the seat / keepin’ her hair dryer on her favorite piece of meat.” Other lyrics include, “you can crush the flowers / but you can’t stop the spring / no matter what you say,” and “so you can put the clouds up in your own little way / but the sun is gonna come up the very next day / it’s gonna be so bright it’s gonna blow you away / and once it’s over your head will never be the same.” Of course, no one knows what these lyrics are about except the band, but this is a great song to jam out to while dancing with a duster.
Number Six: “The Sun” by Mirah. “The Sun” is a song by Mirah, off of her 2002 album, Advisory Committee. The song starts off mellow, with the first verse beginning with, “you needed a big wide space / you needed light, you need grace / disappointment in your skin / I’ll always let you in,” followed by, “pull a feather from the nest / fasten it to your chest / shoot yourself up to me / cut through the gravity / you don’t have to be scared / you hold yourself down there / you would like it here I know / you were meant to let it go.” Then the tone of the music builds up when she sings, “’cause I am the sun / I’m the only one / I’ll pull you to me / the moon and the sea / when the oxygen comes / and blows it all clean / remember to breathe.”
Number Five: “Who Loves the Sun” by The Velvet Underground. “Who Loves the Sun” is a song by The Velvet Underground, off of their 1970 album, Loaded. This is another track about mourning lost love. The song begins, “who loves the sun / who cares that it makes plants grow / who cares what it does / since you broke my heart,” followed by, “who loves the rain / who cares that it makes flowers / who cares that it makes showers / since you broke my heart.” The chorus is the following: “pa pa pa pa / who loves the sun / pa pa pa pa / who loves the sun / pa pa pa pa / not everyone.” Despite its lyrical content, this song is surprisingly upbeat.
Number Four: “Spring (Among the Living)” by My Morning Jacket. “Spring (Among the Living)” is a song by My Morning Jacket, off of their 2015 album, The Waterfall. The song seems to be about survival. The first verse, which is repeated in the song, goes, “boy, I was ready / boy, I was ready for spring / it’s beauty changes / changes everything / done hibernating / we animals roam / out of our holes / then we spend all spring / looking for the next one to go down.” The chorus goes, “among the living / among the living again / out in the light of day’s warm embrace again,” and “among the living / among the living again / I didn’t think I’d make it.” Besides featuring various electric guitar-filled instrumental breaks, we also hear multiple howls in the song, reflecting the theme of “animals” in the record.
Number Three: “Light & Day/Reach for the Sun” by Polyphonic Spree. “Light & Day/Reach for the Sun” is a song by Polyphonic Spree, off of their 2002 debut album, The Beginning Stages of…. The song was written by Tim DeLaughter and is also known as “Section 9.” There are several songs on this album I could have chosen for this list, but I felt this track best embodied the spirit of Spring. The song begins, “light and day, is more than you’ll say / ‘cause all my feelings are more / than I can let by or not it’s more than you’ve got / just follow the day, follow the day and reach for the sun.” Then repeated twice are the following lyrics: “Follow the day and reach for the sun / you don’t see me fly into the red, one more you’re done / just follow the seasons and find the time, reach for the bright side / you don’t see me fly into the red, one more you’re nuts / just follow the day, follow the day and reach for the sun.” Many have speculated on what this song is about; despite it being one of the most optimistic songs in existence, some have said it’s about suicide and others have said it’s a message to avoid drugs.
Number Two: “Spring Haze” by Tori Amos. “Spring Haze” is a song by Tori Amos, off of her 1999 album, To Venus and Back (I was tempted to use “In the Springtime of His Voodoo,” off of 1996’s Boys for Pele, but I personally prefer this track.) The song begins, “well I know it’s just a spring haze / but I don’t much like the look of it / and if omens are a god send like men / breezing in / certain these clouds go somewhere / billowing out to somewhere / in a single engine Cessna / you say we’ll never make it there / so all we do is circle it.” The chorus is the following: “Uh oh / let go / off on my way / unseen this eternal wanting / uh oh / way to go / so I get creamed / waiting for Sunday to drown / uh oh / way to go / waiting on Sunday / waiting on Sunday to land / uh oh / way to go / waiting on Sunday / waiting on Sunday to drown.” The second verse goes, “so I know it’s just a spring haze / but I don’t much like the look of it / and all we do is circle it / and I found out where my edge is / and it bleeds into where you resist / and my only way, way out is to go / so far in / billowing out to somewhere / billowing out Luna Riviera / billowing out to somewhere.” Lastly, repeated three times is the lyric, “why does it always end up like this?” Tori has always been enigmatic with her lyrics, so no one knows what this song really means, although she has stated that the album “says a lot about the shadows and the shadow world.” Hmm…
Number One: “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles. “Here Comes the Sun” is a song by The Beatles, off of their 1969 album, Abbey Road. Here is a quote from George Harrison, who wrote the track: “’Here Comes the Sun’ was written at the time when Apple was getting like school, where we had to go and be businessmen: ‘Sign this’ and ‘sign that.’ Anyway, it seems as if winter in England goes on forever, by the time spring comes you really deserve it. So one day I decided I was going to sag off Apple and I went over to Eric Clapton’s house. The relief of not having to go see all those dopey accountants was wonderful, and I walked around the garden with one of Eric’s acoustic guitars and wrote ‘Here Comes the Sun.’” I chose this song for number one as it simplistically describes winter’s end and spring’s beginning. Such lyrics that portray this include, “little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter / little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here,” and “little darling, I feel the ice is slowly melting / little darling, it seems like years since it’s been clear.” And of course, the chorus, which goes, “here comes the sun / here comes the sun / and I say, it’s all right.”