Music soothes the soul—especially, when all you want to do is hide from the world. As a person living with scoliosis, and the chronic Pain that comes with it, there are days when an endless stream of music is all I can cope with. If you’re having on of “those days,” here is my list of relatable songs I listen to during those tough days.

Skyscraper – Demi Lovato

You can take everything I have
You can break everything I am
Like I’m made of glass
Like I’m made of paper
Go on and try to tear me down
I will be rising from the ground
Like a skyscraper

Way Over Yonder – Carole King

A way over yonder, that’s where I’m bound
I know when I get there
The first thing I’ll see
Is the sun shining golden
Shining right down on me
Then trouble’s gonna lose me
Worry leave me behind
And I’ll stand up proudly
In true peace of mind

Try – Sidsel Endresen & Bugge Wesseltoft

Keep on wondering
you keep on asking
keep on reaching
keep on taking chances
keep on longing
you keep on dreaming
keep on doing what you do never give up believing

Just try, try, you just try
You just try, try, you just try

Swim – Jack Mannequin

You gotta swim
Swim for your life
Swim for the music
That saves you
When you’re not so sure you’ll survive
You gotta swim
Swim when it hurts
The whole world is watching
You haven’t come this far
To fall off the earth

What It’s Like – Everlast

God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to sing the blues
Then you really might know what it’s like

Oceans – Hillsong United

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

The Lazy Song – Bruno Mars

Today I don’t feel like doing anything
I just wanna lay in my bed
Don’t feel like picking up my phone
So leave a message at the tone
‘Cause today I swear I’m not doing anything

Learning to Fly – Tom Petty

Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I’ve started out for God knows where
I guess I’ll know when I get there
I’m learning to fly, around the clouds
But what goes up must come down

I Wonder – Chris Isaak

I keep on praying for a blue sky, I keep on searching through the rain.
I keep on thinking of the good times, will they ever come again?
Now I wonder.

The Cave – Mumford & Sons

And I’ll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways

Have You Ever Seen the Rain? – Creedence Clearwater Revival

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin’ down on a sunny day

Last Hope – Paramore

And the salt in my wounds isn’t burning anymore than it used to
It’s not that I don’t feel the pain, it’s just I’m not afraid of hurting anymore

Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.

When your day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
When you’re sure you’ve had enough
Of this life, well hang on

A Better Son/Daughter – Rilo Kiley

But the lows are so extreme that the good seems fucking cheap
And it teases you for weeks in its absence
But you’ll fight and you’ll make it through
You’ll fake it if you have to
And you’ll show up for work with a smile
You’ll be handsome and you’ll be beautiful
You’ll be happy

Pardon Me – Incubus

I need you to hear. I need you to see.
That I have had all I can take
And exploding seems like a definite possibility
To me
So Pardon me while I burst into flames.

Wake Me Up – Avicii

Feeling my way through the darkness
Guided by a beating heart
I can’t tell where the journey will end
But I know where to start
They tell me I’m too young to understand
They say I’m caught up in a dream
Well life will pass me by if I don’t open up my eyes
Well that’s fine by me

Strong – London Grammar

Excuse me for a while
While I’m wide-eyed
And I’m so down caught in the middle
…
Yeah, I might seem so strong
Yeah, I might speak so long
I’ve never been so wrong

Happy – Pharrell Williams

Well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine, yeah,
No offense to you, don’t waste your time
Here’s why
—-
Bring me down
Can’t nothing
Bring me down

Life is a Highway – Rascal Flatts

Life’s like a road that you travel on
When there’s one day here and the next day gone
Sometimes you bend and sometimes you stand
Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

We Are Young – Fun

Tonight
We are young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun

Hurt – Johnny Cash

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that’s real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away

Wake Me Up When September Ends – Green Day

Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are
As my memory rests
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when September ends

When You Believe – Whitney Houston

Now we are not afraid
Although we know there’s much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could, oh yes

Fighter – Christina Aguilera

‘Cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter

Want to hear all my favorite songs? Follow the playlist on Spotify.