Sometimes you just need a minute. To collect yourself. To get away from other people—their constant chatter, their expectations, their opinions. And sometimes you just need to go to your room, put on some headphones, and listen to music that will blow your mind. We get you.
Videos by American Songwriter
Here below, we wanted to explore three one-hit wonder songs that are perfect for such an occasion. Three thoughtful, perhaps even introspective songs that will let you feel at one with yourself and also give you a chance to get away from the outside world. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders to listen to on your own in your room.
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“What Is Love?” by Haddaway from The Album (1993)
Passion incarnate. And oh by the way, what IS love? Sometimes the simplest questions are the most important. They’re worth pondering over when you have a few seconds alone to stare out the window and reflect on what your deepest truths might be. And Haddaway nails it with this song, which hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Not only does the ask the question, he does so with booming power, singing,
What is love?
Baby, don’t hurt me
Don’t hurt me no more
Baby, don’t hurt me
Don’t hurt me no more
What is love?
“You Get What You Give” by New Radicals from Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too (1998)
It’s a lesson we all need to learn and remember. And sometimes you retain things like that best when you’re on your own and you can really sit with an idea. This tune has the upbeat music to get your vibrations buzzing and then the lyrics are poignant and deliberately try to make your day better, your outlook better. Passion-plus-kindness. That’s the recipe that makes this song, which hit No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100, lasting. And on it Gregg Alexander sings,
Wake up, kids
We got the dreamers disease
Age fourteen, they got you down on your knees
So polite, we’re busy still saying please
Frienemies, who when you’re down ain’t your friend
Every night we smash a Mercedes-Benz
First we run, and then we laugh ’til we cry
“Bittersweet Symphony” by The Verve from Urban Hymns (1997)
Doesn’t life sometimes just seem like a bittersweet symphony? That sentiment combined with those violin strings—wow. It’s the type of thing to pick you up and carry you off without you even realizing it. Suddenly you’re floating above a city as you see the people walk through the streets like ants through a maze. And you can grin because you have the vantage point that makes it all seem so silly and simple. That’s what this song can do for you. It’s uplifting in its brooding. And on the track, which hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band’s lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft sings,
‘Cause it’s a bittersweet symphony, that’s life
Tryna make ends meet, you’re a slave to money then you die
I’ll take you down the only road I’ve ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah
No change, I can change
I can change, I can change
But I’m here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I’m a million different people
From one day to the next
I can’t change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
(Have you ever been down?)
Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock
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