“I was worried last night and the night before, but I ain’t gonna worry no more.”

It feels like there’s a lot to worry about right now, what with the wars, violence, hatred, violent and hateful rhetoric, and that hard-to-shake feeling of impending doom. That feeling that the wheels are about to fall off, a vile narcissitic sociopath is at the controls, and we’re all going to careen into a fiery abyss. Who knows what will happen later this month and in the months and years to follow?

Hope, however is a powerful muscle. It’s buoyant, and it has a way of rising to the surface even in the most troubled waters. There’s something comforting in the fact that we’re all in it together. Everybody has worries and woes, (though obviously some have more reason to worry than others). There’s solace in the fact that people have always written songs about their worries and cares and about their determination to end their worries — or their decision to pretend that they have so that they can get on with their life.

I love the spirit of a hopeful song — a song about the moment that trouble and worry are over and you’ve decided you’re moving on. Maybe you’ve had hard financial times, bad relationships, bad luck, any form of trouble, but you’re moving past it, you’re not going to worry any more. I love the way that the songs themselves lift you out of the worry and woe, with their hopeful, resiliant, defiant words, and with the sense of community and connection that they invoke.

So here is a playlist of songs about putting your worries aside and moving forward, for anyone who might need a reminder that we’re all in it together.