Joy Retro Disco presents

Uplifting Tunes for your Weekend

I must have first heard this tune when I was having a really bad day, as I recall my initial thoughts of it being “bloody useless hippy crap”. 

However, my bad day passed and after hearing this 2008 dance anthem a few more times, I really really warmed to it. Warmed to the point where the harmonies of “What a wonderful world it would be” often get stuck in my head on a continual loop.

What I love about the song now, and I think what I reacted to on the first listening, is the spoken word bit where Ron Carroll lists what a wonderful world would look like – people are smiling, having a good time, loving one another, sharing, there is only peace, love, joy.

I know it’s over the top but if you’re familiar with the concept of redressing, then you’ll know that you often need to swing things all the way over to the polar opposite before they will balance in the middle again. So, in living a modern western life, we see and hear so much negative stuff in the world that we need a litany of wonderful to get some balance back. 

Interestingly, while I first heard of redressing through politics and philosophy, it seems to be being borne out in the research in the field of positive psychology. They have found that to flourish in a relationship, work or life, you need about three positive encounters for each negative encounter (Losada). Some even say you need at least five positive encounters for each negative (Gottman). 

So while many may scoff at the idealistic lyrics of this tune, they actually serve a purpose, and if we allowed ourselves more positive encounters then our lives would be richer for it.

But back to the music… I mainly love this tune because it is a love generation, trance anthem that can getting you tapping into the warm fuzzies without attending a weekend workshop or scoffing a handful of ecstasy. 

Am off to twirl with abandon now…