"The World Needs a Melody" is a song written by Red Lane, Johnny Slate and Larry Henley and originally recorded by The Carter Family together with Johnny Cash. It is part of the 1972 Carter Family album Travelin' Minstrel Band.
Released in August 1972 as a single (Columbia 4-45679, with "A Bird with Broken Wings Can't Fly" by The Carter Family on the opposite side), the song reached number 35 on U.S. Billboard country chart for the week of November 4.