76 Songs About Helping Others or Asking for Help

FlourishAnyway believes there is a playlist for just about any situation and is on a mission to unite and entertain the world through song.

None of Us Gets by Without Help

None of us stands alone in facing life's headwinds. Instead, we rely on the strength and assistance of others. They provide both tangible and invisible assistance, listening and fortifying our spirits with inspiration and motivation and delivering hard truths, if necessary.

We count on some helpers to teach important skills and life lessons. During times of weakness and difficulty, others allow us to lean on them so we will not falter. None of us can succeed without the aid of others.

Celebrate the importance of the assistance we give one another by making a playlist of pop, rock, R&B, and country songs. We have a long list to start you off!

1. "Help Me, Rhonda" by The Beach Boys

Don't do it, Rhonda. Don't help him. You don't need his kind of trouble.

This chipper #1 rock ditty from 1965 features a lovelorn fellow who just got dumped by his fiancé for another man. On the rebound now looking for a replacement girlfriend, he is making goo-goo eyes at a new gal named Rhonda. He begs her to assist him in getting over his heartbreak:

Help me, Rhonda
Help, help me, Rhonda
Help me, Rhonda, yeah
Get her out of my heart.

2. "How to Save a Life" by The Fray

This 2005 rock song was inspired by the lead singer's volunteer work with troubled teens. It features an example of how to listen non-defensively, without judgment, providing the life-saving support to someone who feels they are all out of options.

3. "Help Me Hold On" by Travis Tritt

Can this love be saved? The guy in this 1990 country song sure has waited until the last minute to tune in to his partner's needs. He notices that his missus is packing her suitcase and finally gets the message that there's a problem here alright. Yep, he gets the memo that he needs to sit down and have a listen to her grievances about their relationship before she walks out.

Although she's complained before, it's only now that he understands the situation's gravity. Seeking to be a better man, he begs her to stop packing up her belongings and just try to make him understand what he's doing wrong. Not wanting to lose this love, the narrator tries to enlist his partner's participation in holding onto their relationship. Hey, second chance anyone?

4. "Where Is the Love?" by Black Eyed Peas

In a new post-9/11 world, this 2003 pop tune highlights the terror and political unrest across the globe. Among the issues that trouble the narrators include terrorism, gang crime, war, discrimination, and violence. Overwrought, they are moved to ask God for help:

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Father, Father, Father help us
Send us some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love? (Love).

Years later, in 2016, the group updated this song. Both releases were worldwide hits.

5. "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams

The woman at the center of this 1991 pop power ballad is the focus of her partner's universe, and the narrator wants her to know it. Everything he does is in service of her.

With his heart on his sleeve, the man declares that he will fight for his beloved, lie for her, and even die for her. (Imagine being helped like this! I hope he vacuums, cooks, and washes dishes.) Written for the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, this Grammy Award-winning song topped the charts across the globe, but remarkably, it only took 45 minutes for Bryan Adams and Mutt Lange to write.

6. "Chandelier" by Sia

If you think that the life of the party is having fun, then this 2014 electropop song provides an eye-opening, alternative perspective. A party girl loses herself in the social chaos of another night out on the town of heavy drinking. What a sad, broken character she is!

As she figuratively swings from the chandelier, the narrator pushes down her feelings and tries to delay the shame-inducing consequences of her wild behavior. This is a young woman with a raging substance abuse problem whose life is out of control. She asks that her glass stay full

'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Help me, I'm holding on for dear life.

From the outside, her lifestyle looks like a blast, but her behavior telegraphs her dire need for intervention.

7. "One More Light" by Linkin Park

In this 2017 song of grief, the band memorializes a record executive friend who passed away from cancer, wanting to help bring closure and peace. They provide a reminder that although there are billions of people alive at one time, each life (and thus each passing) is significant. The song's main point is that it is important to let loved ones know that you care.

"One More Light" was subsequently played in honor of Soundgarden musician Chris Cornell who who died by suicide. It was also Chester Bennington's last single before he died two months later in the same manner.

8. "Hey Brother" by Avicci

The bond uniting brothers and sisters is invincible, according to this 2013 electropop song by Avicci. If a sibling—or someone you are so close to that you regard them as such—summons your help, then there's nothing you wouldn't do to assist them.

Avicci himself had three half-siblings. Before the exhausted world-famous musician died in 2018, Avicci's family became increasingly concerned about his mental state. His older brother flew to Oman, where the Swedish DJ was staying, to bring him home. However, he sadly arrived just hours too late, after Avicci had died from self-inflicted wounds.

9. "Stand By You" by Rachel Platten

If someone you love has experienced setbacks in their life, share this inspirational 2016 pop tune to let them know that you're with them no matter what. The narrator enthusiastically informs her significant other that she's their "ride or die." She'll stand by them, carry them when needed, and work with them through all their emotions (good, bad, and ugly). This gal redefines helpmate.

10. "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye is clearly thinking below his belt, as he grovels for some sexual healing to help ease his (ahem) "mind." He says he's feeling hot as an oven in this classic 1982 R&B tune and needs relief.

Claiming to feel ill, ole Marvin is looking to play doctor, and his notion of finding help for his problem is a booty call! He claims that when he's short on emotional stability, he can "get on the telephone and call you up, baby / And honey I know you'll be there to relieve me." That's a very convient relationship they have there.

11. "How Can I Help You Say Goodbye" by Patty Loveless

Goodbyes can be difficult, and in this 1993 country song a young woman's mother wants to help her to adjust to important life transitions. The narrator experiences several separations throughout different points of her life. Her mother tries to soften the blow of these sad partings with words of solace.

First, their family moves away, and the narrator must leave a childhood friend. In adulthood, her husband packs his suitcase and leaves the marriage. Lastly, it's time for her dying mother to say goodbye. The narrator's mother offers comforting reassurance in each circumstance that it's okay to cry and express her pain. Time will eventually ease the burden of her grief.

12. "Hands" by Jewel

Jewel displays human vulnerability in this emotional 1998 pop ballad which advocates the importance of kindness and human dignity. Despite the small size of her hands, she knows that she is never broken and can help herself.

The singer wrote this song when she was experiencing poverty as a result of kidney troubles that put her out of work. She had been stealing food and was considering shoplifting a $40 sundress. In a moment of clarity, however, the songstress wondered when she had lost faith in herself by thinking that she could not earn that money for herself?

13. "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers

With its recognizable reggae vibe and message of idealism, this inspirational 1972 soul track helps to paint the picture of an idyllic place where the dream of the civil rights movement has been achieved. There is no crying, worrying, and "No more smilin' faces / lyin' to the races." They'll take you there.

The rousing single topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In addition, Rolling Stone magazine named it to its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

14. "The First Cut Is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow

The woman in this 2003 love ballad bears the emotional scars of a previous lover who betrayed her and left her with trust issues. Although she is trying to move on and love again, she asks for her new partner's patience and help:

I still want you by my side
Just to help me dry the tears that I've cried
And I'm sure gonna give you a try
If you want, I'll try to love again, try.

15. "Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)" by Ne-Yo

The man in this uplifting R&B dance pop tune from 2012 wants to help his lover with her self-worth. Whether from a difficult childhood or past relationships, her heart is numb and filled with pain. She doesn't have a good example of how to value herself properly, and the narrator believes he is just the person to teach her. Help is on the way!

16. "Somebody's Daughter" by Tenille Townes

Standing on on a busy street corner, a young homeless woman holds up a cardboard sign asking for help in this 2018 country song. As the female narrator drives past, she hands the stranger several dollars to help her out and envisions her in the context of relationships. Although homeless and hungry, the panhandler was someone's best friend, daughter, and sister.

17. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

The ties that bind the ex-lovers in this catchy 1967 R&B hit will last their whole lives, as these exes pledge to lend aid to one another out no matter what. All one of them needs to do is call and the other will be there in a hurry to help

'Cause baby, there ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough,
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you, baby.

The song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

18. "Be Kind" by Marshmello (Featuring Halsey)

Oh, girl, are you sure you're not in over your head with this relationship? Some people's emotional baggage is much heavier than that of others'.

The narrator in this 2020 EDM song is a young woman who sees herself as her boyfriend's rescuer, trying to assist him with his emotional issues. Because of scars from a previous relationship, he lies to her and demonstrates trust issues. His girlfriend tries to help him out by being patient and reassuring the broken, "stone cold" man that "you can be kind to the one that you love." (There are some relationship red flags here.)

19. "Here for You" by Kygo (Featuring Ella Henderson)

We all need someone to help us through the low points in our lives. In this 2015 electropop hit, a woman assures her significant other that when he has had enough with life's disappointments, she will come through for him. When he experiences doubt and frustration and feels that he has wasted all of his love, she'll be his emotional safety net.

20. "Put It All on Me" by Ed Sheeran (Featuring Ella Mai)

The couple in this 2019 pop song provide one another mutual aid, leaning on one another for support. The narrator looks forward to arriving home to his sweetheart's touch after a long day. Only she can help make it better. He's there for her as well. They slow dance, talk out their troubles, and provide each other a reprieve from the world outside.

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