Songs for a New Year
A few recommends to kick start your year.
Paul Weller - Brand New Start
There's an album version you can check out but for me, it's all about this live cut. It's been my go to song for the new year for over two decades now.
“I'm gonna clear out my head
I'm gonna get myself straight
I know it's never too late
To make a brand new start.”
The lyrics are great but they're made greater by the fact you're hearing them Paul Weller sing them.
The guy just *is* authentic. If Weller was coming up as an artist now, he wouldn't be worrying about followers, or trying to grow his TikTok. He'd just be creating songs like this. Incredible.
‘Brand New Start’ is the perfect new year song because, as the title suggests, it's about making a brand new start.
In the song, he's not saying he's going to revolutionise the world. He's making simple promises to himself.
“I'm gonna kick down the door
I'm gonna get myself in
I'm gonna fix up the yard
And not fall back again.”
Everything you need for the year is in that line “I'm gonna fix up the yard.”
Last year, you kept telling yourself you'd fix it up, but you didn't. But now, it's a brand new start. Let's fix up the yard.
Tom Petty - Square One
Much like Weller, Tom Petty is the truth. It oozes out of his voice at every turn.
“Square one, my slate is clear,
Rest your head on me, my dear,
It took a world of trouble, it took a world of tears,
It took a long time to get back here.”
There's a world weariness to Tom Petty. You feel how much he lived life.
There's positivity too, but he doesn't rub it in your face.
The killer line in this one is, “Later on won't work no more,” delivered so casually, so subtly, yet carrying all the truth that you need to get your year in gear.
Dina Carroll - The Perfect Year
Not being subtle with this one — this is a song that's precisely about this moment, the new year.
Maybe it's because I used to hear a lot of Dina Carroll growing up, but her voice always gets me.
I always forget this song exists. It's not in my brain at all.
Then, come late December, it returns, and it's absolutely something I need to hear.
“It's New Year's Eve, and hopes are high
Dance one year in, kiss one goodbye
Another chance, another start
So many dreams to tease the heart
We don't need a crowded ballroom
Everything we need is here
And face to face we will embrace, the perfect year.”
Cat Stevens - If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out
By March, you're tired. By September you've given up.
Before you know it, December's been and gone and you're back round to January.
But it's a new year and you remember, as Counting Crows once said “maybe this year will be better than the last.”
So you remind yourself — it's your life, you can be who you really are. There's a whole world of people and opportunities out there.
“Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are.
And if you want to be high, be high
And if you want to be low, be low
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are.”