Everyone wants to enjoy life, but somehow humanity does not yet have the key to happiness. Unfortunately, many people find happiness only at the expense of others. To enjoy life sustainably, you don't need material things, status symbols, prestige, or travel around the world. Sure, you need financial security to pay rent and bills, but you don't need money in abundance.
We have compiled the most beautiful songs about enjoying life. And: Happiness in the vast majority of cases does not just fly in by itself, you have to "work" for it, as it is explained in this article "How to Enjoy Life: Explained".
1. Enjoy Your Life - Romy
Romy was so lastingly impressed by the lyric "My mother says to enjoy your life" at a performance by Beverly Glenn-Copeland in Stockholm to which she took Swedish singer Robyn, that Romy embedded Beverly's voice as a sample in her later own song Enjoy Your Life.[1]
In the official music video you can see Romy in several life situations enjoying life, in particular she can be seen in a dancing crowd.
2. Enjoy Your Life - Oby Onyioha
Up next in our list we have the funky 80s dance track Enjoy Your Life by Nigerian singer Oby Onyioha.
On the compilation Doing It In Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980s Nigeria, released in 2016, which consists of two CDs, the song is the fourth track on the first CD. The British music magazine The Quietus described Enjoy Your Life as an ode to carefreeness:
"Featured are 20 rare and mostly unavailable tracks and one of those is Oby Onyioha's 'Enjoy Your Life', six minutes of pure, grin-inducing funk - an ode to being carefree."[2]
3. La Vita - Beverly Glenn-Copeland
La Vita is the first track by American singer-songwriter Beverly Glenn-Copeland from his album Primal Prayer. It's really a life-affirming song, as the title La Vita promises. The online music magazine Stereogum wrote about La Vita in a review about the Beverly Glenn-Copeland Documentary and Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined, a 2021 re-release of the 1986 Beverly Glenn-Copeland album Keybooard Fantasies:
"This profound sense of poetry and power is captured in Copeland’s most popular song, “La Vita,” an anthem for being in the world."[3]
4. Enjoy Your Life - MARINA
The song Enjoy Your Life by Marina is essentially about the impediments to living a full life: Constantly fearing what bad things might happen in the future, escaping reality into the future, hoping that the future will somehow make you happy, as well as regretting things that happened in the past stand in the way of enjoying life.
5. Enjoy The Ride - Morcheeba
The meaning of the song Enjoy Your Ride by Morcheeba is: don't get lost in the details, but see the bigger picture. It's no use chasing shadows, which means not running after anyone or anything that is elusive. Instead, we should enjoy the ride, in other words, enjoy our life.
The rest of the lyrics are described in a more metaphorical way.
6. Zorba's Dance - Mikis Theodorakis
For Alexis Zorba, the main character in the movie Zorba the Greek, life is going terribly on the surface and he has to suffer severe blows of fate. But dancing helps him to be in the present moment and thus regain the joy of life. In the famous film scene, Zorba is seen dancing with Basil to the music of Mikis Theodorakis.
7. Back To Life - Soul II Soul
8. Cherish - Kool & The Gang
9. Good Life - One Republic
An essential message in the song Good Life by OneRepublic is: if you are really happy, enjoy it fully and don't start ruining it by complaining.
10. Life - Des'ree
11. Beautiful Day - U2
12. Enjoy Your Life - Chris Le Blanc feat. Liz June
References
[1] DeVille, C. (2023, April 11). Romy Shares New Single “Enjoy Your Life”: Listen. Stereogum. https://www.stereogum.com/2219907/romy-enjoy-your-life-feat-beverly-glenn-copeland/music/
[2] Eede, C. (2016, October 13). The Quietus | News | LISTEN: Oby Onyioha On Soundway Lagos Compilation. https://thequietus.com/articles/21132-listen-oby-onyioha-on-soundway-lagos-comp
[3] Stockton, L. D. (2021, October 28). Review: Beverly Glenn-Copeland Documentary & “Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined.” Stereogum. https://www.stereogum.com/2165441/beverly-glenn-copeland-keyboard-fantasies-movie-new-album/columns/sounding-board/