🎶 Comeback Songs 🎸
April 27, 2021 9:04 AM   Subscribe

I’m looking for songs to listen to when you’re down but not out. Any genre!
posted by BuddhaInABucket to Media & Arts (57 answers total) 20 users marked this as a favorite
 
"When the going gets tough (the tough gets going)" by Billy Ocean
posted by kschang at 9:08 AM on April 27, 2021


"The Mary Ellen Carter" by Stan Rogers.
And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again
posted by hanov3r at 9:11 AM on April 27, 2021 [7 favorites]


“This Year” by The Mountain Goats
posted by mekily at 9:11 AM on April 27, 2021 [13 favorites]


Blue Stahli - Rockstar
posted by Drastic at 9:11 AM on April 27, 2021


The Lighthouse Family - Lifted. I just heard this on the radio and danced round and round the room singing my head off, it made me feel that good.
posted by essexjan at 9:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]


So Long Superman and Glitter Days, both by Firewater, have never once failed me.
posted by mhoye at 9:19 AM on April 27, 2021


"Rappoport's Testament: I Never Gave Up," by Chumbawamba. (Best heard preceded by "Never Do" on the Showbusiness! live album. But all versions are good.)
posted by eotvos at 9:20 AM on April 27, 2021


Survivor - Eye of the Tiger
Joe Esposito - You're The Best
Robert Tepper - No Easy Way Out (from "Rocky")
Heart - Never

(best enjoyed with a montage)
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 9:22 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]


Always and forever: Get Better, by Frank Turner.

"We can get better, because we're not dead yet."
posted by gideonfrog at 9:24 AM on April 27, 2021 [6 favorites]


Best answer: I apologize in advance that most of these are all super pop songs. These types of songs are the only ones that keep me running/biking/whatever when I am ready to give up. My spouse calls them my pop anthems. So...I have hours and hours of them on play lists. Here are the ones that I find most motivating:
Work Bitch, Britney Spears
Confident, Demi Lovato
What’s Up Danger, Blackway & Black Caviar
Fighter, Christina Aguilera
Hand Clap, Fitz and The Tantrums
The Warrior, Patty Smyth
Hate Me Now, Nas
How You Like That, BLACKPINK
Till I Collapse, Eminem
Run The World, Beyoncé
Can’t Hold Us, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Heads Will Roll, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Rise, Katy Perry
The Man, The Killers
Crazy On You, Heart
The Chain, Fleetwood Mac

I could go on.
posted by teamnap at 9:38 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]


My go-to is "Just One Victory" by Todd Rundgren.
posted by dfan at 9:41 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]


"Guts Over Fear [feat. Sia] [Explicit]" - Eminem
"Crazy Crazy Nights" - Kiss
"Give It a Go" - Timbaland featuring Veronica
"Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow" (musical Annie)
"Won't Back Down" - Tom Petty
"King of New York" - (musical Newsies)
"Streetcorner Symphony" - Rob Thomas
"This Is It" - Kenny Loggins
"I'm Still Standing" - Elton John
posted by forthright at 9:47 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]


Best answer: A Better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley
Ring the Bells by James
posted by gauche at 9:47 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]


I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor
posted by ejs at 9:52 AM on April 27, 2021 [5 favorites]


Comeback Songs

Don't call it a comeback...
posted by Thorzdad at 9:57 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]




Self-Destruction (as a Sensible Career Choice), Spanish Love Songs
posted by holborne at 10:15 AM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]


Brett Dennen - Comeback Kid
posted by Redstart at 10:38 AM on April 27, 2021


Phish - The Line.

It's about not letting your failures define you. Specifically it's about when Darius Washington, Jr missed two free throws in a tournament game.
posted by bondcliff at 11:02 AM on April 27, 2021


Big Sean - Bounce Back - - for some reason, it really works for me.
posted by VioletU at 11:18 AM on April 27, 2021


Two here:

1. Ordinary Day by Great Big Sea.

2. Fisherman's Blues by The Waterboys, particularly for the final verse ("I know I will be loosened from the bonds that hold me fast/The chains all around me will fall away at last") and because the chorus includes a literal triumphant whoop ("Light in my head, you in my arms, [whoo-hoo]")
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:34 AM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]




Best answer: Tubthumping by Chumbawamba.
posted by catquas at 11:49 AM on April 27, 2021 [4 favorites]


Walkmen - In the New Year
posted by downtohisturtles at 12:13 PM on April 27, 2021


The Tower by Alana Henderson

"Climb up to the top of the tower you descended
and don't come back down until you are mended
and regale your loved ones with how it all ended
and you will be fine,
but for now
it's gonna take time."
posted by Pallas Athena at 12:13 PM on April 27, 2021




"Billy The Kid" - Tom Petty

"Well I went down hard
Like Billy the Kid
Yeah, I went down hard
Yeah, but I got up again"
posted by riverlife at 12:22 PM on April 27, 2021




Stevie Wonder, Higher Ground
The Impressions, Keep on Pushing
ELO, Mr. Blue Sky

Also (weirder choices that work for me):
Fountains of Wayne, Utopia Parkway
Emmylou Harris, Luxury Liner (I like her version best)
Stevie Wonder, You Met Your Match
posted by miles per flower at 12:34 PM on April 27, 2021


Best answer: Hedwig and the Angry Inch - Tear Me Down
posted by chbrooks at 12:34 PM on April 27, 2021


Ali in the Jungle - The Hours
posted by greycap at 2:06 PM on April 27, 2021




This Is Me got me through some pretty tough times
posted by forza at 3:12 PM on April 27, 2021


"The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World is my go-to song for when I'm feeling like shit but need to hang in there.
posted by BeeJiddy at 3:34 PM on April 27, 2021 [1 favorite]


Still Hungry by DJ Format and Abdominal.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 3:50 PM on April 27, 2021




Lots of good suggestions previously, here. (Including my favorite Get Better from Frank Turner, also mentioned above.)
posted by hydra77 at 4:37 PM on April 27, 2021


Airfield by Enter Shikari starts soft, meanders a bit, and builds to a resounding anthem message of hope, figurative rebirth, and marshaling the power to overcome adversity using nearly the exact words you posted in your question.

An airfield is a place when one takes off from ones lowest point, climbing into the sky to soar.
posted by glonous keming at 4:38 PM on April 27, 2021


Sia - Soon We'll Be Found

Well it's been rough but we'll be just fine
We'll work it out, yeah, we'll survive
You mustn't let a few bad times dictate
...
Turn around, I know we're lost but soon we'll be found
posted by Rumple at 5:02 PM on April 27, 2021






The Touch by Stan Bush (from the soundtrack to the 1986 Transformers movie).
posted by ambulatorybird at 6:31 PM on April 27, 2021




Don't Bury Me (I'm Still Not Dead) - The Riverboat Gamblers
posted by pdb at 7:44 PM on April 27, 2021


The closing line of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" always hits me.

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving! I am leaving!"
But the fighter still remains
posted by Pater Aletheias at 7:46 PM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]


Styx - Fooling Yourself
posted by Horkus at 7:58 PM on April 27, 2021 [2 favorites]


Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings! Retreat is a great tune for getting ready to kick some ass and take some numbers.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 9:50 PM on April 27, 2021


Brandi Carlile -- The Joke
posted by archimago at 4:28 AM on April 28, 2021


Two more Frank Turner entries (although there's probably more, it's very much his vibe):

Recovery and Love Forty Down

Titles are pretty self-explanatory :)

Add to that:
The Smith Street Band - I Don't Wanna Die Anymore
Rise Against - Survive
Brian Fallon - A Wonderful Life
Dave Hause - C'mon Kid
"C'mon kid, c'mon, it's one foot and then the other
Everybody needs a hand sometimes, everybody needs a brother
Well c'mon kid, c'mon, I'm reaching out to you
Get out of bed kid, face the world, and show us what you can do"
Cloud Cult - Take Your Medicine
"Suck up, suck up and take your medicine. It's a good day, it's a good day to face the hard things."
posted by snusmumrik at 4:43 AM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


"I Still Believe" by The Call.
posted by Gelatin at 5:10 AM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


Amy Rigby, "Like Rasputin"

Kimya Dawson, "The Competition"
posted by praemunire at 8:25 AM on April 28, 2021


"Toughest Girl Alive" - Candye Kane
"Freak Like Me" - Halestorm
"Not Dead Yet" - Styx
"You Got Another Thing Comin'" - Judas Priest
"Private Property" - Judas Priest
"Thunder and Lightning" - Thin Lizzy
"We're Not Gonna Take It" - Twisted Sister
"Tusk", Fleetwood Mac
"Johnson's Motorcar" - Clancy Bros and Tommy Makem
"Wild Colonial Boy" - Clancy Bros and Tommy Makem
"Rocky Road to Dublin"- Dubliners
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 10:00 AM on April 28, 2021


I have two playlists for this kind of thing. A couple from the "get pumped up" list:

BTS – "Not Today"
If you can’t fly, run
Today we will survive
If you can’t run, walk
Today we will survive
If you can’t walk, crawl
Even if you have to crawl, gear up
Point, aim, shoot!
P1Harmony – "Scared"
Never listen to people saying
What’s different is wrong
Don’t be afraid of showing your truth
No more, no more oh
And from the "feels like a hug" playlist:

ATEEZ – "One Day at a Time"
When it's overwhelming, hold on tight
I'll be here, don't forget it
'Cause in life sometimes we need a
Helping hand, you'll be alright
Just take it slow, one day at a time

If you think you're trapped
You're in that box you built yourself
I'll help you break it
posted by Lexica at 4:32 PM on April 28, 2021 [1 favorite]


Sleigh Bells' "Comeback Kid" meant a lot to me the year it came out.
posted by edencosmic at 7:29 PM on April 28, 2021


Dessa, 5 out of 6
posted by Spinneret at 9:35 PM on April 28, 2021


Argent, Hold Your Head Up
posted by young_simba at 9:06 AM on May 1, 2021


Fox Stevenson, Comeback


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=90VwPOLVYkw
posted by Orrorin at 2:01 PM on May 7, 2021


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