A Better World Song Playlist
published August 16, 2026
by Catharine Hannay, founder of MindfulTeachers.org
Continuing the series of playlists for teaching mindfulness and compassion, here are a variety of songs about helping each other and spreading goodness in the world.
As always, please read the lyrics and watch the full video before deciding what’s most appropriate for your particular context. I never include anything I would consider offensive—but with such a multicultural audience teaching young children through adults, I can’t guarantee that every word and image will be appropriate for your students.
Beauty in This World, Wendy Forbes
Quiet, uplifting song about healing our own scars so we can spread kindness and peace.
Congo to the Mississippi, Mermans Mosengo and Greg Johnson
lyrics; video
In Kituba and English, and featuring musicians from around the world. If you like this song, you might also be interested in the Multilingual Song Playlist on Unity, Diversity, Peace, Love, and Tolerance.
Let’s Make a Better World, Earl King
lyrics; audio; performance by the First Unitarian Brooklyn Choir
Up-tempo song about putting into the effort to make things better for each other.
Love, Imagine Dragons
lyrics; video from Playing for Change with musicians from around the world
Wondering where it all went wrong—why can’t we just love each other rather than hating each other or ignoring the problems in the world?
Metta Prayer
video from Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church
a cappella choral version of a traditional Buddhist lovingkindness meditation
Show Me a Peace Sign, Michael Franti
lyrics; video of live performance
We can’t just turn our backs on hate; we need to actively promote peace.
Spiritual Revolutionary, Nabil and Karim
Gentle hip hop song about finding your calling in the world.
This Little Light of Mine, LZ7 (adapted from a hymn)
a Christian electronic dance music group performs their version of the traditional gospel song. (There are dozens of other versions of “This Little Light of Mine” on YouTube; I thought LZ7’s video best fit the theme of this playlist.)
United, Playing for Change
“Playing For Change joined forces with the United Nations […for the] 7 Billion Actions campaign. […] The world population reached 7 billion, and […] 7 billion people means 7 billion hearts.”
We Want Peace, Emmanuel Jal
video (lyrics in video description)
Former child soldier Emmanuel Jal uses his experiences to help spread peace through music and activism.
Related Posts
There are many more playlists and other resources here at MindfulTeachers.org on compassion and serving our communities, including the following posts: