Please feel free to scroll through the dozen songs using the player above.
School is in full swing, it’s our time of year! We are hoping for cooler days and … its football season (as our songs reflect). Read below for info on our selections. All songs are school safe, upbeat and positive and have zero calories. Crank it up!
Principal Matters Playlist for September 2023:
September Songs
- September. Earth Wind and Fire. Obviously the go-to, get-September-started song.
- Baba O’Riley. The Who. It’s not titled “Teenage Wasteland.” If you’re a fan of the Georgia Bulldogs, you already knew that though. If not, you should still enjoy this intro to Sanford Stadium.
- Thunder. Imagine Dragons. The boys from Nevada have been linked with College Football since ESPN adopted their songs to promote the College Football Playoff over the past decade. This song is an “underdog beats the odds and makes it big” song which all school people should like.
- The Boys of Fall. Kenny Chesney. This line: “In little towns like mine that’s all they got;
Newspaper clippings fill the coffee shops” … this is a straight up Ode to High School Football and if you don’t shed a tear you just need to listen a little harder. - The Horse. Cliff Nobles. If you ever had an eight-track tape player in your car, your high school band probably played this song and if you were on dance team or cheer squad then you probably still know the dance.
- Eye of the Tiger. Survivor. Intros can make the song, and this one is well-known among all of the high schools in the land with Tiger mascots, which, according to Massey’s Mascot Index (seriously, it’s an actual thing), total 879, second only to Eagles. (1,229)
- Crazy Train. Ozzy Osbourne. Auburn fans and Chipper Jones all like this one, and if you take a deeper look at the lyrics, you’ll find some positive ideas in a song whose title seems perfect for school leaders.
- Mr. Brightside. The Killers. This one is a stadium song in colleges all over the fruited plain, but the school that has officially adopted it is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the U of M.
- Jump Around. House of Pain. You don’t need to know the words; just the choreography. At Camp Randall Wisconsin, the Badgers fans get in their cardio between the third and fourth quarters with ths one.
- Sandstorm. Darude. Techno meets football with Sandstorm, the get-psyched song for the U of SC.
- I Won’t Back Down. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. In the Swamp, University of Florida fans sing along in a tribute to the most famous of all Gainesville exports this side of Gatorade.
- Seven Nation Army. The White Stripes. This generation’s The Horse. Infectious rhythm. Easy to sing lyrics (actually just one in the audience participation portion). Perfect for a high school band.
WHY? If you’re reading this far, you may be asking why we’re including this on a site devoted for learning about school leadership: Well, for starters, it’s fun. Not sure why we’re just now starting it, but we use music in all of our trainings so sharing it here seems natural. Secondly, YOU may want to use music in what you do. If we can offer some school-appropriate, upbeat positive tunes, that seems to fit our overall mission. Finally, it’s an idea that YOU may want to activate at your school or system. Not THIS playlist, but what about some custom curated playlists for your school? You can use music to support a thematic emphasis and that can connect learning you’re working on.
We’ll be back again next month with another dozen songs for your consideration. Enjoy!
