A song on Alicia Keys’ new album, Alicia, strikes me as a tonic for this dismal year.

“Authors of Forever”, with light, propulsive and percussive rhythm and her assertive, optimistic vocals, expresses a relaxed yet steadfast sense of unity.

The tune is upbeat. Lyrics, rhyming shadow with rainbowspeak of harmony.

We are born on our own

And we die on our own

And we’re here to make meaning

Of what happens in between

We could hate, we could love

We could doubt, we could trust

But we’re here to make meaning

For as long as we’re breathing

The song’s theme, honoring the individual creator, is in the title, really. It’s featherweight pop music to lift one’s mood, one of several songs on a new album which I’m thoroughly enjoying.