Yes, we DJ too.
Maybe Cardi B in the middle of a hurricane is your thing. Or maybe Broadway tunes give you comfort as you’re evacuating town due to a wildfire. Perhaps a little Britney on the way back home after evacuating town? You do you.
No matter what natural disaster may meet you or what emergency you may face, music is ALWAYS a good idea. Music can do wonders for our well-being. Research has shown that it can improve your mood, reduce the feeling of pain, bring about the feeling of security, and diminish anxiety.
According to Harvard Health, music can even help you heal!
“In controlled clinical trials of people having colonoscopies, cardiac angiography, or knee surgery, those who listened to music before their procedure had less anxiety and less need for sedatives.”
So, it’s pretty safe to say that listening to music can help you get through any tough time, emergency, or disaster too. Even though the days of mix tapes and CDs are over, we thought a good disaster song playlist would do you good.
Without further ado, here’s our Disaster Song Playlist for you, 12 tunes to help you get through anything.
1. Rock You Like a Hurricane, Scorpions
Great for:
- Putting up storm shutters and creating sand bags for potential storm surge
- Evacuating town due to a tropical storm or severe hurricane
- Coming back home after a mandatory evacuation for a hurricane
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
Here I am
Rock you like a hurricane
Here I am
Rock you like a hurricane
My body is burning, it starts to shout
Desire is coming, it breaks out loud
Lust is in cages 'til storm breaks loose
Just have to make it with someone I choose
2. Umbrella, Rihanna
Great for:
- Staying hopeful and positive even in the midst of dreary weather
- Preparing for an incoming rain storm, hurricane, tornado, or severe weather
- Nurturing feelings of both togetherness and self-empowerment
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath, I'ma stick it out 'til the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh
Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh
Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh
Under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
3. Heat Wave, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Great for:
- Eating ice cream while hydrating during a crazy-hot heat wave
- Blasting your air conditioner on Low when it’s 120 degrees outside
- Driving to one of your town’s cooling centers, the beach, or the pool
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
Has my blood pressure got a hold on me
Or is this the way love's supposed to be
Just like a heatwave (Heatwave)
Burning in my heart (Heatwave)
Can't keep from cryin'
It's tearing me apart
Heatwave
Heatwave
4. Earthquake & Hurricane, Tina Turner
Great for:
- Cleaning up your kitchen or entire home after a mild earthquake
- Anxiety about the big one coming yet staying positive and dancing anyway
- Listening to updates on your NOAA radio about a hurricane or earthquake
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
Mighty earthquake and a hurricane
Mighty earthquake and a hurricane
The earth cracked open
And was breathing fire
Everybody running
Some was ready to die
Some was going crazy
Some insane
Saying save me
From this hurricane
5. Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Dean Martin
Great for:
- Curling up with hot cocoa and your hubby as a blizzard rages outside
- Shoveling your driveway or sidewalk, building snow people, sledding
- Assembling your winter kit with all your cold weather supplies, food, and water
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
I really can't stay (but baby, it's cold outside)
I've got to go away (but baby, it's cold outside)
This evening has been (been hoping that you'd drop in)
So very nice (I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice)
My mother will start to worry (beautiful, what's your hurry?)
And father will be pacing the floor (listen to the fireplace roar)
So really I'd better scurry (beautiful, please don't hurry)
Well maybe just a half a drink more (put some records on while I pour)
6. Going Up the Country, Canned Heat
Great for:
- Road trips, mandatory evacuations, leaving town due to wildfires
- Changing your tire on the side of the road or waiting for roadside assistance
- Heading in your vehicle to your safe spots out of town for any disaster or emergency
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
I'm going up the country
Baby, don't you wanna go?
I'm going up the country
Baby, don't you wanna go?
We gonna go somewhere
Where I've never been before
7. Rain on Me, Lady Gaga
Great for:
- Sudden harsh weather, rain, hail, mighty winds, impromptu flash mobs, flash floods
- Dancing safely with your family while inclement weather rages outside
- Hiding safely in your safe room fully stocked with supplies and food
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
I didn't ask for a free ride
I only asked you to show me a real good time
I never asked for the rainfall
At least I showed up, you showed me nothing at all
It's coming down on me
Water like misery
It's coming down on me
I'm ready, rain on me
I'd rather be dry, but at least I'm alive
Rain on me, rain, rain
Rain on me, rain, rain
I'd rather be dry, but at least I'm alive
Rain on me, rain, rain
Rain on me
8. We Didn’t Start the Fire, Billy Joel
Great for:
- Right after you put out a kitchen fire, prevent a fire, or prepare for wildfires
- Shopping for fire extinguishers, fire ladders, smoke detectors, and fire blankets
- Grabbing your Go Bag and evacuating quickly because a wildfire is on the way
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"
Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana, goodbye
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning, since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it
9. Flood, Jars of Clay
Great for:
- Making sandbags with your family and preparing for potential floods
- Buying a Rapid Raft or Life Jackets if you live on the coast or a flood plane
- Assembling your Go Bag before any rainy seasons begin
Some lyrics in case you want to sing along:
Rain, rain on my face
Hasn't stopped raining for days
My world is a flood
Slowly I become one with the mud
But if I can't swim after 40 days
And my mind is crushed by the crashing waves
Lift me up so high that I cannot fall
Lift me oh
When I'm falling
(Lift me up) I'm weak and I'm dying
(Lift me up) I need you to hold me
(Lift me up) Keep me from drowning again
