I never fail to have a song stuck in my head. Whether I’m at school or just watching TV at home, I always have some song lyrics stuck in my head. So it should come as no surprise that when I travel I experience this same musical phenomenon. In light of my recent travels, I wanted to make a playlist of songs that have had significance for me when traveling.
"I Was Here" by Beyoncé
Walking along the Thames River, heading towards Tower Bridge in London, I had this song from Beyoncé’s “Four” album stuck in my head. Looking up at Tower Bridge is awe-inspiring enough, but having this track play like a theme song in my head made the moment even more impressive.
"I was here, I lived, I loved." #london #towerhill #towerbridge
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"Fast Car" by Jonas Blue ft. Dakota
This song may be the most profound one yet, in terms of travel. The tour group I was with listened to an acoustic version of this song on our journey from the Scottish Highlands back to Edinburgh, where we were staying. I remember looking out the window and seeing these majestic, foggy mountains, and it took everything in me not to cry. Seeing those mountains and being in Scotland became my dream. And this is such a beautiful song. The lyric that always strikes me is “We gotta make a decision / Leave tonight or live and die this way.” And in that moment, on this bus driving between the highlands and the lowlands, I realized I was doing it. I was traveling abroad and therefore doing what I’ve always dreamed of, and I did it on my own. That was a profound moment for me and “Fast Car” was a part of it.
"We gotta make a decision: leave tonight or live and die this way" #finallyhome #stl #ultimatebreak
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"Swallowed in the Sea" by Coldplay
When I was 17, my family went to Negril, Jamaica. It was my first time out of the country and that was memorable enough. But when I think back to that trip, the song that stands out to me is this one. I was laying on the beach one afternoon, and most others had fled the beach because a storm was imminent. But I remained under a cabana on a lounge chair and watched as the storm moved through. I probably could have fallen asleep there with the lulling sound of the ocean waves and thunder playing together. All the while, I had the song “Swallowed in the Sea” stuck in my head. This song reminds me of Hans Christian Andersen’s “Little Mermaid.” The melody is transfixing, yet the lyrics are somewhat dark, it just reminds me of a fairy tale. It really is a lovely, magical song.
"You belong with me, not swallowed in the sea." #travel #Jamaica
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"Up" by Justin Bieber ft. Chris Brown
Every time I hear this song, I’m taken back to being on an airplane. I listened to this years ago when my family was flying to Vegas. And since then, I’ve never been able to separate this song and flying. Plus, I get nervous on planes, like a lot of people, and it helps calm my nerves with how positive and upbeat it is.
"We can go nowhere but up, from here, my dear." #travel #jamaica #up
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"Paradise" by Coldplay
I love Coldplay, and I think their songs are applicable to a lot of different moments in life. “Paradise” is one of those classic songs that comes up time and time again, especially in my travels. I had it stuck in my head in Jamaica multiple times because that place is a postcard paradise. But I also had the song stuck in my head when I was in Scotland. On our first day there, the tour group I was with hiked to the top of Calton Hill. You can see the whole city and some coastline from there. The sky was a white cloud-speckled bright blue and the grass was lush and green, and in that moment, I was in paradise and this song is what I thought of.
"She dreamed of paradise, every time she closed her eyes." #scotland #paradisefound
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Music is so important to me, and I love that it pops into my head at times when my mind decides a moment is special enough to warrant a theme song. What songs remind you of your travels?
