Music is a very powerful and emotional language. Whether you attend a live concert, or sit at home listening to a playlist on your device, music has the power to communicate to mass groups of listeners. A single song can reach millions of listeners and be interpreted and affect everyone in different ways. However, while music may intend to convey a specific message, do song lyrics actually have a strong impact on how you feel upon listening? You may be surprised to learn that lyrical content is actually one of the least influential aspects of a song's emotional projection. You may find that if you listen to a song in a different language, you are just as likely to feel the same emotions as someone who does understand the language. Not to say that lyrical content is incapable of taking you to an emotional place, the lyrics are simply not the main driving force. Consider the following songs:
All of these songs have something in common; they are all relatively upbeat songs but the lyrics tell very sad stories. Music and lyrics often tend to go in opposite emotional directions- almost pinned against each other. In this situation, the music will almost always win the battle of emotion over the lyrics... Not that Jump by Criss Cross doesn't make you want to jump up and down, but if you replace the word “Jump” with any other word, chances are, you will still feel the urge to jump. I suppose the question now is why do some songs have lyrical content that direct our emotions while others dont as much?
If we turn to science, one study discusses how emotional and semantic processing take place in different hempispheres of the brain. More specifically, the right hemisphere is responsible for processing emotional meanings from words, as well as negative emotions. In contrast the left hemisphere of the brain is involved in processing the semantic meanings of words, and processing positive emotions. This suggests that we are more prone to being affected by sad lyrics because processing the emotional meaning behind lyrics, as well as negative emotions, operate on the same side of the brain. To link this back to my previous point; while negative song lyrics are more likely to affect us emotionally, when paired with a happy sounding melody, the emotional impact of the lyrics will remain hidden...in plain sight.
Having said that, I understand how important lyrics are to a song. People wouldn't tattoo lyrics on their body if it didn't speak to them in one way or another. My point is more directed at how people feel about music on a surface level. Song lyrics are poetry, only with a bit of a different delivery platform. When listeners feel they would like to further decode the makeup of a song, they may find new feelings from further listening.
If you look into past cases related to lyrical decoding and emotional manipulation, you will find numerous lawsuits against artists and bands claiming that their lyrics drove listeners to suicide. First, there was the Ozzy Osbourne lawsuit, which consisted of a teenager committing suicide while listening to the A-side of Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz, which included the song Suicide Solution. Other bands appeared in court for similar acusations against their music such as Judas Priest (Which was more related to the idea of subliminal messages driving fans to commit suicide) but not a single one of these cases were won by the plaintiffs.
Scientists are still exploring our emotional relationship with music. There are many variables left to consider. For example, one study discusses the notion that females are more aroused by lyrics than men. Other studies have suggested that the vocal melody is more of a contributor to our emotional state as opposed to the actual lyrical content. I hope that scientists continue to explore these ideas, with the hope of gaining a further understanding on why music makes us feel the way we do.
Feel free to comment, and tell me your thoughts on the subject. Do you agree? Disagree? What songs make you happy? What songs make you sad? I would love to hear what anyone has to say!
Until next time!
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