A Song for Every Season
The songs we pick as music therapists are tools to orient clients to the day of the week, weather, month, season, upcoming holidays, and more. Themes can also tie sessions together and provide opportunities for reminiscence. Here is my running list of themes by category. I hope it sparks some ideas for your individual and group sessions!
Weather
Rain/Storm
- “Singing in the Rain”
- “Pennies from Heaven”
- “Over the Rainbow”
- “Catch a Falling Star”
- “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head”
- “A Foggy Day”
- “Blown Away”
- “Hurricane”
Sun/Sunny Weather
- “Here Comes the Sun”
- “Sunny Side of the Street”
- “You Are My Sunshine”
- “Walking on Sunshine”
- “Blue Skies”
- “Hot, Hot, Hot”
Time of Day
Morning
- “Good Morning” (Singing in the Rain)
- “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’”
Evening
- “Goodnight, Ladies”
- “Goodnight, My Someone”
Seasons
Winter:
- “Frozen Penguin”
- “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”
- “Let It Go”
- “Snow” from White Christmas
Spring
- “April Showers”
- “Blue Skies”
- “When the Red Robin Goes Boppin’ Along”
- “Edelweiss”
- “It Might as Well Be Spring”
- “Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year”
- “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover”
- “April in Paris”
- “While Strolling Through the Park One Day”
Summer
- “It’s Summertime”
- “In Summer”
- “Summertime” (Gershwin)
- “The Summer Wind”
- “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”
- “Beyond the Sea”
- “Under the Boardwalk”
- “Summer Song” (Brubeck)
- “Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days Of Summer”
- “In the Summertime” (Mungo Jerry)
- “Hot Hot Hot”
- “Jump in the Line”
- “Summer of ‘69”
- “Surfin’ Safari”
- “Memphis in June”
Fall
- “Autumn Leaves”
- “Colors of the Wind”
- “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain”
- “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”
- “Wagon Wheel”
- “Country Roads”
Holidays
Patriotic Songs (for President’s Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Fourth of July, Veteran’s Day, etc.)
- “My Country Tis of Thee”
- “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
- “You’re a Grand Old Flag”
- “Proud to be an American”
- “God Bless the USA”
- “Stars and Stripes Forever”
- “God Bless America”
- “Yankee Doodle” and “Yankee Doodle Boy”
- “Star-Spangled Banner”
- “America the Beautiful”
- “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”
- “This is Worth Fighting For”
- “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue”
- “Over There”
- “You’re In the Army Now”
- “Home on the Range”
- “Caissons Go Rolling Along”
- “Anchors Away”
- “Marine’s Hymn”
- “Semper Paratus”
- “The U.S. Air Force”
Easter:
- “Easter Parade”
- “A Tisket, A Tasket”
- “Here Comes Peter Cottontail”
- “On the Good Ship Lollipop”
- “The Candyman”
- “I Want Candy”
Money/Tax Day
- “Three Coins in the Fountain”
- “Pennies from Heaven”
- “Side by Side”
- “Money, Money, Money”
- “If I Were a Rich Man”
Labor Day
- “Nice Work if You Can Get It”
- “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”
- “Whistle While You Work”
- “Working for a Living”
- “Nine to Five”
- “Car Wash”
- “Sixteen Tons”
Halloween
- “Thriller”
- “Addams Family Theme”
- “Ghostbusters”
- “Witchcraft”
- “Old Devil Moon”
- “Soul Man”
- “Time Warp”
- “Purple People-Eater”
- “Monster Mash”
Thanksgiving
- “Thankful”
- “Come On-A My House”
- “Shoo-Fly Pie”
- “I’ve Got Plenty to Be Thankful For”
- “Autumn Leaves”
- “Sweet Potato Pie”
- “We Are Family”
- “Be Thankful”
- “Blessed”
- “Autumn in New York”
Academic Concepts
Alphabet
- “Alphabet Song” (of course)
- “26 Letters in the Alphabet” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY6JOnqxpyo
- “The alphabet is filled with consonants and vowels…” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36IBDpTRVNE
Parts of Speech
- “Pronouns Song” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh62KQ7mujA
- “Verbs: That’s What’s Happening”
- “A Noun Is A Person, Place Or Thing”
- “Conjunction Junction”
- “Interjections”
- “Unpack Your Adjectives”
- “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly Get Your Adverbs Here”
- “Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla”
- “Busy Prepositions”
Counting Songs
- “Who Stole the Cookies from the Cookie Jar”
- “10 Little Racing Cars”
- “5 Little Ducks”
- “10 Little Racing Cars”
- “The Ants Go Marching”
- “5 Little Apples/Cookies”
- “10 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”
Travel/Transportation
Cars/Driving
- “Baby, You Can Drive My Car”
- “On the Road Again”
- “Life is a Highway”
- “Route 66”
- “Fun, Fun, Fun”
- “Little Deuce Coupe”
Trains
- “Chattanooga Choo Choo”
- “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”
- “Long Black Train”
- “Take the A Train”
- “This Train is Bound for Glory”
Travel
- “Route 66”
- “Beyond the Sea”
- “You Can Drive My Car”
- “Life is a Highway”
- “Come Fly With Me”
- “Fly Me To The Moon”
- “Side By Side”
- “Wagon Wheel”
- “Sentimental Journey”
- “Leaving on a Jet Plane’
- “Yellow Submarine”
- “Surrey with the Fringe”
- “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”
- “Michael Row Your Boat Ashore”
- “Walking My Baby Back Home”
- “Old Grey Mare ”
- “In My Merry Oldsmobile”
- “Back in the Saddle Again”
- “Slow Boat to China”
Adventure/Exploration
- “They All Laughed”
- “Fly Me to the Moon”
- “Beyond the Sea”
- “Don’t Fence Me In”
- “Cruising Down the River”
- “I’ve Been Everywhere”
Places
Cities and US States
- “New York, New York”
- “Chicago”
- “Goodmorning, Baltimore”
- “I’ve Got a Gal in Kalamazoo”
- “April in Paris”
- “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”
- “A Foggy Day” (in London town)
- “Memphis in June”
- “Do You Know What It Means (to Miss New Orleans)”
- “Carolina in the Morning”
- “Georgia on my Mind”
- “Sweet Home Alabama”
- “Alabamy Bound”
- “Blue Hawaii”
- “Deep in the Heart of Texas”
- “All My ‘Exes Live in Texas”
- “Yellow Rose of TX”
- “Meet me in St. Louis”
- “Oklahoma”
Ocean
- “Octopus’s Garden”
- “Yellow Submarine”
- “Slippery Fish”
- “Surfin’ USA”
- “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”
- “Beyond the Sea”
- “Under the Boardwalk”
- “Girl from Ipanema”
- “Red Sails in the Sunset”
- “Rock the Boat”
- “Knee Deep”
Animals
- “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
- “La Cucaracha”
- “Crocodile Rock”
- “Disco Duck”
- “Eye of the Tiger”
- “Fireflies”
- “Barracuda”
- “Baby Shark”
- “Hound Dog”
What are your favorite themes or seasonal songs to use in music therapy sessions? Let us know in the comments below!
-Molly, Music Therapy Intern
