Why do certain lyrics touch us so deeply? We studied 35 years of hits to find out
A growing body of research suggests that listening to music has a positive impact on our health and well-being. We use music in at least seven different ways to regulate our emotions, including for entertainment, comfort or reflection. And it's not just feel-good tracks; we also turn to music to sit with feelings of grief, sadness or frustration.
A recent study published in Psychology of Music examined the emotional impact of popular music lyrics over a 35-year period from 1988 to 2023. Researchers analyzed the top 10 songs from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) charts, which included 360 unique songs in total. The findings revealed that themes of relatedness appeared in 73% of the lyrics, making it the most frequent theme.
This was followed by themes of autonomy (15.6%) and competence (11.4%). Satisfaction of these needs was observed in 47% of the songs, while frustration in 25%. The research suggests that song lyrics can support emotion regulation by reflecting themes of connection, agency, and self-efficacy. Early findings from follow-up research suggest that the frequency of themes and valence may vary by genre, with hip-hop lyrics including more frequent themes of competence satisfaction.
The study also found that Australia's Triple J Hottest 100 demonstrates a strong lean toward themes of relatedness frustration, possibly reflecting young people's use of music to navigate experiences such as heartbreak or betrayal. The researchers are currently investigating how our connection to certain themes in song lyrics can impact mental health and exploring the potential of music as a low-cost therapeutic tool.
Written by urgent.news from Phys.org's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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