An attitude of gratitude carries us through life’s roller coaster ride.
An article published in the Mayo Clinic website reveals that a daily gratitude habit provides a host of benefits for our physical and mental well-being.
Today, we’ve rounded up a collection of the best songs about gratitude. They are wonderful reminders to appreciate the people we love, the circumstances we find ourselves in, and everything else—both great and small—in our lives.
Add these tracks to your personal playlist or create one for somebody to show your appreciation for them.
1. Days, The Kinks
via The Kinks
“Thank you for the days, those endless days, those sacred days you gave me. I'm thinking of the days. I won't forget a single day, believe me.”
This song of gratitude is also a song of farewell for someone you care about. In the song, The Kinks list all the things they appreciate about that person and express gratefulness for the time they shared together.
2. Thank You for Loving Me, Bon Jovi
via Bon Jovi
“Thank you for loving me. For being my eyes when I couldn't see. For parting my lips when I couldn't breathe. Thank you for loving me.”
If you’re looking for a song to show your appreciation to a loved one, you might want to consider this one from Bon Jovi.
It is a song of commitment and deep gratitude for a person who has stood by you through the good times and the bad.
3. Kind and Generous, Natalie Merchant
“Oh, I want to thank you for so many gifts you gave, the love, the tenderness, I want to thank you. I want to thank you for your generosity, the love and the honesty that you gave me. I want to thank you, show my gratitude, my love, and my respect for you. I want to thank you…”
This song is Natalie Merchant’s tribute to her fans. In it, she expresses gratitude for their support, generosity, and love throughout her career.
4. Thank God I'm a Country Boy, John Denver
via John Denver
“Well I wouldn't trade my life for diamonds and jewels. I never was one of them money-hungry fools. I'd rather have my fiddle and my farmin' tools. Thank God, I'm a country boy.”
This song is an appreciation for where one grew up. For John Denver, life as a country boy, with his music and farm, is a blessing he would never trade for any amount of money.
5. Thank You, Dido
via elcoroneIGOD
“And I want to thank you for giving me the best day of my life. Oh, just to be with you is having the best day of my life.”
There are times when life can challenge us and bring us low. This song is perfect for expressing appreciation for those who made our lives easier in the midst of the most challenging moments.
6. Thankful, Josh Groban
via Josh Groban
“So for tonight we pray for what we know we can be thankful for. And every day, we hope for what we still can't see. It's up to us to be the change. And even though we all can still do more, there's so much to be thankful for.”
This song is a fervent wish that we recognize the big and small blessings we receive in life and remember to be grateful for them. It is a reminder to listeners that there’s so much that we can be thankful for.
7. Thank You Friends, Big Star
via Big Star
“Thank you, friends. Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I'm so grateful for all the things you helped me do.”
This song is dedicated to the friends who helped us along the way. It is a beautiful tribute that acknowledges the contributions of wonderful people who supported us in our quests, ambitions, and dreams.
8. Thank You, Mom, Good Charlotte
via goodcharlotte
“And I thank you, I'll always thank you. More than you will know that I could ever show. And I love you, I'll always love you. There's nothing I won't do to say these words to you that you will live forever…”
This song is a tribute to mothers. In it, the singer thanks his mom and expresses his love for her, wishing that she’d live forever.
9. Who I Am Today, Jason Mraz
via Irene Chik
“I thank the captains of the boats who brave the sea. I thank the farmers for the sowing of the seeds. I thank the men who paved the roads I'm traveling on. They shaped my life, they took me down the path I've gone.”
This song acknowledges that we’re all more connected than we could ever imagine. It is an appreciation of how every interaction—whether toxic or nourishing—contributes to who we are today.
10. Thank You, Girl, The Beatles
via The Beatles
“Thank you, girl, for loving me the way that you do. That's the kind of love that is too good to be true. And all I gotta do is thank you, girl. Thank you, girl.”
Celebrities owe their fame to the people who appreciate their work. This is one of The Beatles’ songs specifically intended to express gratitude to their fans.
11. Thankful (A Children's Thanksgiving Song), Shawna Edwards
via Shawna Edwards
“For every good thing that I have comes from God. Every day, every hour there are blessings he sends without number or end. If I counted a hundred or a thousand, I'm sure there would still be more to be thankful for.”
This song acknowledges that God showers our lives with countless blessings. The best thing we can do is express our gratitude.
12. Thankful, Celine Dion
via CelineDion
“But I'm thankful to be here. Thankful to feel clear. Thankful that my prayers have been answered. I'm thankful that you listened. Thankful to heaven. Thankful for feeling alive again. Thankful that hearts always mend.”
This song is about reminiscing about a person we love so much who’s now gone from our lives. However, the love and the gratitude for a beautiful life shared together remain.
13. The Heart of Life, John Meyer
via Joe Elias
“Pain throws your heart to the ground. Love turns the whole thing around. No, it won't go all the way it should. But I know the heart of life is good.”
This song is about how life is good, despite the pain we experience from time to time. It encourages us to be thankful and to trust that love can make things better.
14. Blessed, Brett Dennen
via Brett Dennen
“Blessed in this life. I'm gonna celebrate being alive.”
This song acknowledges who we are and the lives we have. The best way to show appreciation and gratitude for a blessed life is to celebrate it.
15. Grateful (Beyond the Lights OST), Rita Ora
via Rita Ora
“I'm grateful for the storm, made me appreciate the sun. I'm grateful for the wrong ones, made me appreciate the right ones. I'm grateful for the pain, for everything that made me break. I'm thankful for all my scars 'cause they only make my heart grateful…”
This song is a reminder that we should not only be grateful for positive experiences, but also for the negative ones.
It tells us that sometimes those negative experiences are springboards to a more wonderful and blessed life.
16. Thank God for Hometowns, Carrie Underwood
via Carrie Underwood
“Thank God for hometowns and all the love that makes you go round. Thank God for the country lines that welcome you back in when you were dying to get out. Thank God for church pews and all the faces that won't forget you. ‘Cause when you're lost in this crazy world you got somewhere to go and get found. Thank God for hometowns.”
This song is a tribute to hometowns. It reminds us that there are places in the world where we can go and be welcomed like family.
That is something to be thankful for! [Check out this collection of Songs About Home.]
17. Thank You Whoever You Are, Marillion
via marilliononline
“I won't ask you to care, but say you'll be there. If you can't love me tonight, just remember the light… Thank you, whoever you are.”
This is a song of appreciation for strangers.
Specifically, Marillion wrote this song as a tribute to their fans. The group is proud to dedicate this song to them.
18. Thank You, Keith Urban
via Keith Urban
“And I thank you for my heart. I thank you for my life. And I thank God for grace and mercy and that you became my wife. I'm seeing for the first time the stars, the sun, and moon. But they've got nothing on the power of this love I have for you. And I thank you, thank you.”
This song is Keith Urban’s tribute to his wife, in which he expresses his love and appreciation for her. Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman have been married since 2006.
19. Thank You for a Lifetime, Cliff Richard
via Cliff Richard
“And I've been blessed to live this life. I gave my best and now it's time to say thank you for sharing the story. Thank you for being there for me. Even though time doesn't wait, it brought you here tonight. I gave you a lifetime but you gave me the time of my life.”
Here’s another song that was specifically written as an expression of gratitude to fans. In it, Cliff Richard thanks his fans who supported his career for more than five decades.
20. Every Good Thing, The Afters
via The Afters
“You're the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat. Every day we get to breathe. You're the reason for everything that lasts, every second chance, every laugh. Life is so sweet.”
This song is about seeing the goodness and beauty in life because of someone’s influence. It is a heartfelt tribute to someone you care about.
21. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You), Marvin Gaye
via Marvin Gaye
“I needed the shelter of someone's arms and there you were. I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were. With sweet love and devotion deeply touching my devotion. I want to stop and thank you, baby. I just want to stop and thank you, baby.”
This song recognizes the wonderful feeling that comes with knowing there’s someone who loves and understands us. We can’t help but express our gratitude for the love that this person gives.
22. This, Darius Rucker
via Darius Rucker
“For every stoplight I didn't make. Every chance I did or I didn't take. All the nights I went too far. All the girls that broke my heart. All the doors that I had to close. All the things I knew but I didn't know. Thank God for all I missed 'cause it led me here to this.”
We mentioned earlier that we should also be thankful for the negative experiences we have, because they usually lead us to something better.
In this song, Darius Rucker expresses gratitude for all those missed chances and disappointments that finally led him to a life filled with happiness and love.
23. I Could Not Ask for More, Sara Evans
via Sara Evans
“These are the moments I thank God that I'm alive. These are the moments I'll remember all my life. I've found all I've waited for and I could not ask for more.”
In this song, Sara Evans takes stock of all the wonderful things in her life. They inspire her to be grateful, and she expresses her satisfaction with the way her life is going.
24. Thank U, Alanis Morissette
“Thank you, India. Thank you, terror. Thank you, disillusionment. Thank you, frailty. Thank you, consequence. Thank you, thank you, silence.”
In this song, Alanis Morissette expresses gratitude for the learning experiences she has had. These life lessons are often difficult in the moment, but they help us grow into the people we will become.
25. Be Thankful for What You Got, William DeVaughn
“Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac, gangsta whitewalls, TV antennas in the back. You may not have a car at all. But remember, brothers and sisters, you can still stand tall. Just be thankful for what you got.”
This song teaches listeners the value of contentment and gratitude.
Sure, we may not have the luxurious life we dream of, but if we have our dignity intact and our needs met, we have something to be thankful for.
26. The Best Day, Taylor Swift
via Taylor Swift
“I don't know if you knew. So I'm taking this chance to say that I had the best day with you today.”
This touching song is Taylor Swift’s tribute to her parents who supported her in her career. The music video includes clips of Taylor Swift’s childhood, with her parents’ (especially her mom’s) presence in key moments of her life.
27. Grateful: A Love Song to the World, Nimo Patel ft. Daniel Nahmod
via emptyhandsmusic
“All that I am, all that I see, all that I've been and all that I'll ever be is a blessing. It's so amazing. And I am grateful for it all, for it all.”
This song affirms that our lives are filled with blessings. It gives us an uplifting reminder of the small things in life that we can be thankful for.
The song shows us that to be alive here and now is a beautiful blessing in itself.
28. Thankful, Jonny Lang
via JonnyLangMusic
“Man, I used to think I didn't have a lot. Now I realize just how much I've got. Now every day I'm gonna take the time and stop to be thankful, thankful.”
Oftentimes, we focus on the things we lack in life. This song reminds us that it just takes a shift in our mindset to see the abundance in our lives instead.
It reminds us that the best response is to be thankful.
29. Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks, Art Garfunkel
“Grateful, grateful. Truly grateful I am. Grateful, grateful, truly blessed and duly grateful.”
Finally, this song is about the proper response to having a blessed life. Once we recognize how abundantly our needs are provided for, the only response is gratitude.
Final Thoughts on Songs About Gratitude
Gratitude has proven benefits for our well-being and our relationships.
To have an “attitude of gratitude” does not ensure that life will be easy, but it will help us develop an appreciation for every blessing that comes our way.
Hopefully these songs about gratitude can shine a light on the things that make your life wonderful.
If you’re looking for more collections of songs for specific topics, you might want to check out the following posts:
Finally, if you want to use these songs to make a lasting change to your life, then check out these 100 LIFE GOALS that can help you wake up each morning with a sense of enthusiasm about making progress toward what's important..
