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Lawrence Technological University

Popular music has changed over the years, and the music of 2019 is noticeably different from the music of the 1960s or 1970s. But it is not just the music that changed, but also the lyrics. Data scientists at Lawrence Technological University in Michigan used quantitative analytics to study the change in lyrics of popular music over seven decades, from the 1950s to 2016. The results showed that the expression of anger and sadness in popular music has increased gradually over time, while the expression of joy has declined.



The analysis showed that the expression of anger in popular music lyrics has increased gradually over time. Songs released during the mid 1950s were the least angry, and the anger expressed in lyrics has increased gradually until peaking in 2015. The analysis also revealed some variations. Songs released in the three years of 1982-1984 were less angry compared to any other period, except for the 1950s. In the mid 1990s, songs became angrier, and the increase in anger was sharper during that time in comparison to previous years.


The study shows that the tones expressed in popular music change over time, and the change is gradual and consistent, with a few exceptions. Since the researchers analyzed the most popular songs in each year, the study does not show that music changed, but in fact that the preferences of music consumers have changed over time. While music fans preferred joyful songs during the 1950s, modern music consumers are more interested in songs that express sadness or anger. "The change in lyrics sentiments does not necessarily reflect what the musicians and songwriters wanted to express, but is more related to what music consumers wanted to listen to in each year," says Lior Shamir, who participated in the research.

