Hello Survivor,
Nothing better than music to cheer up! Particularly in a difficult moment like the current one, people turn to certain songs to come together, despite social distancing, and lift our spirits. These songs may not be played with official trumpets, but they are still anthems of the confinement. Some places tend more towards uplifting (e.g. Spain), some let themselves fall into a little bit of depression (a.k.a. UK, where melancholy is more of a national product than fish&chips). Let’s take a look at how the currently top hit countries have approached this: US, Spain, Italy, Germany, France and UK. Our thoughts are with you – and our dance moves too!
(You can find the spotify playlist here)
United States of America
As you can see in the video above, USA is not really into balcony singing. However, once you resolve to sing inside (and not too loud) the playlist from USA Today is not too bad, quite uplifting. Nothing like classic golden hits with social distancing relevant lyrics to cheer up.
| Song | Artist |
| Gimme Shelter | Rolling Stones |
| Let’s Stay Together | Al Green |
| Don’t Stand So Close To Me | The Police |
| So Far Away | Carole King / Dire Straits |
| Stand Back | Stevie Nicks |
| Keep Your Hands to Yourself | Georgia Satellites |
| Imagine | John Lennon |
| That’s Life | Frank Sinatra |
Spain
You can feel the sun shining in this uplifting list! (1/2) The top song among them – Resistiré, from Dúo Dinámico – has jumped from the 80s to the daily balcony applause that happens every evening through Spain, rising spirits (as well as some increasing tiredness after a number of repetitions). Also, special mentions to the comedy song from Olaya Alcázar, with a sweet melody but explicit lyrics, that has been played on loudspeakers by balcony Gestapo neighbours to encourage fellow residents to stay home.
| Song | Artist |
| Resistiré (I Will Resist) | Dúo Dinámico / Multiple artists (2020 version) |
| Quédate En Tu Casa (Stay at home) | (Multiple Artists) |
| Sobreviviré (I Will Survive) | Mónica Naranjo |
| Tusa | KAROL G, Nicki Minaj |
| Safaera | Bad Bunny x Jowell & Randy x Ñengo Flow |
| Baila conmigo (Dance with Me) | Dayvi x Victor Cardenas x Kelly Ruiz |
| El Aguante (The endurance) | Calle 13 |
| Quédate en tu pvta casa (Stay at your f*** home) | Olaya Alcázar |
Italy
It’s not easy to get a playlist for the Italian quarantine because it seems that they’ve sung pretty much anything – including a lot of regional/local songs. In a display that impressed the whole world, people from all over Italy went out to their balconies to sing and play all kind of instruments to cheer their neighbours. So in the face of a lack of consensus, we’ve chosen this list from Linkiesta.
| Song | Artist |
| Bella Ciao (Hello/Bye Beautiful) | Antifascist resistance song, 1943 (versioned as soundtrack for Money Heist) |
| Crudele | Colombre |
| Rapide | Mahmood |
| Guerre Fredde | Coma_Cose feat. Stabber |
| O Core Nun Tene Padrone | Liberato con 3D |
| Come Quella Volta | Laila Al Habash |
| Contento | Frah Quintale |
| Nuova Registrazione 527 | Mara Sattei feat. Tha Supreme |
| Quando Crollerà il Governo | La Municipal |
| Settebello | Caleffi |
Germany
When the first Italians went to sing from their balconies, a Sicilian friend said every country would do it – it was human nature. Well, as you could see from Trevor and this poor German guy, it’s not quite the case. However we could dig this ‘official playlist’ from which, in the spirit of featuring truly local music, you can find below a selection of the songs in German. Pair with a couple Jägerbombs for a full experience.
| Song | Artist |
| Quarantäne (Quarantine – Macarena parody) | Stard Ova, Robin Wick |
| Allein Allein (Alone Alone) | Polarkreis 18 |
| Urlaub in Italien (Holidays in Italy) | Erobique |
| Egal (Same) | Michael Wendler |
| Geh Mal Bier Hol’n (Go Get Beer) | Geier Sturzflug |
| 20 Zentimeter (20 cm) | Möhre |
| Küssen verboten (Do Not Kiss) | Die Prinzen |
| Bruttosozialproduct (Gross National Income) | Geier Sturzflug |
| Ich geh heut nicht mehr tanzen (I’m not going to dance anymore today) | AnnenMayKantereit |
France
From this playlist “Coronavirus à la française” – an interesting mix of mainstream music and actual war anthems. Watch the French, they know how to revolt!
| Song | Artist |
| La Vie Est Belle (Life is Beautiful) | La Belle Vie |
| Ce N’Est Rien (This is Nothing) | Julien Clerc |
| La Strasbourgeoise (war anthem) | Colonel Salvat |
| Toi Mon Toit (You My Roof) | Alma Vox |
| La Piscine (The Swimming Pool) | Hypnolove, Voilaaa |
| Le Chant Des Partisans (The Partisan’s Song) | Germaine Sablon |
| A La Plage (To the Beach) | Juniore |
| La Danse De Daphnis (Daphnis’s Dance) | Pavane |
| Écoute chérie (Listen, Darling) | Vendredi Sur Mer |
United Kingdom
Here’s the official top 10, according to BBC, led by football anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone. As expected, with a pinch of depression, because that’s the national sport in this country where the sun only comes out when we’re locked up. But hey, we Keep Calm & Carry On!
| Song | Artist |
| You’ll Never Walk Alone | Gerry and the Pacemakers |
| Locked Up | Akon |
| Don’t Stand So Close To Me | The Police |
| Lost | Frank Ocean |
| Lonely | Akon |
| Move Your Feet | Junior Senior |
| Imagine | John Lennon |
| It’s the End of the World as We Know It | REM |
| Reach | S Club 7 |
| Everybody Hurts | REM |
Bonus track #1
The catchy vietnamese hand washing song that went viral – including a brilliant challenge dance to show how to wash your hands:
Bonus track #2
The real top hit, the song that we have sung the most during all this time – twice every time that we washed our hands, which is about a million times per day!
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