After my last Five Existential Songs I knew the list wasn’t finished. A part two needed to be put together. Except, this time the songs are drenched with redemption and second chances. They ignite in you that promise, that you will fulfill this gift called life, even though you have messed up or have been wronged before. The hope that things will be better: that you will be better. This can not exist without the awareness that one day it will be all over. The second chance you are given, every day, to redeem yourself and work hard to be happy: that’s what these next five existential songs are all about.

1. Alive by Sia

This is a song for survivors. Sia is a survivor. She speaks very openly about the struggles she had to overcome – has to overcome daily – in order to stay sane & sober. Her music is powerful and empowering. She is extremely talented and her voice is terrific.

2. One Day/ Reckoning Song by Asaf Avidan

I heard this song for the first time when we were on one our trips to Curacao, back in 2012 I think it was. I heard it on the radio and it made such an impact. That realization, that one day, well, we will be old. It’s not something we think about every day and we probably shouldn’t. But we should definitely stop & think about what we have now and what stories we want to be able to tell when we are older, about today.

3. Glorious by Macklemore

“I heard you die twice, once when they bury you in the grave
And the second time is the last time that somebody mentions your name
So when I leave here on this earth, did I take more than I gave?”

The first part is a Banksy quote and I love it. It reminds me of the Beyonce song, I was here. Except this song is all about second chances.

4. I’ll Be Good by Jaymes Young

This is the song you listen to after you have done something stupid. A fight with a lover, too much alcohol, a relapse into bad habits. You promise yourself, no you urge yourself, that from now on, you will be good.

5. A Change is Gonna Come by Otis Redding

To be honest, every song Otis Redding has ever sung sounds like an existential song. His voice is just so… I think I spent all of 2004 listening to that voice, smoking (funny) cigarettes and drinking coffee (or rum). I prefer his version over Sam Cooke [even though I love Sam Cooke!]. But there is something about Otis… that makes you value life.