This is a scientific observation that will perhaps prove your old boomer uncle right. Music is increasingly poor in vocabulary, with increasingly repetitive lyrics, according to a study published in the journal Nature Thursday and spotted by The Parisian. In total, some 12,000 country, pop, R&B, rap and rock songs in English, released between 1980 and 2020, were sifted by the team of researchers from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) led by Eva Zangerle.
“We find that pop music lyrics have become simpler and easier to understand over time: not only does the lexical complexity of lyrics decrease (measured for example by vocabulary richness or lyric readability), but we observe also that structural complexity (for example, the repetitive nature of lyrics) decreased,” the researchers explain in their analysis.
Anger and love always
The five genres studied are concerned with more repetitive lyrics than a few decades ago. However, it is in rap that this increase in repetitions is strongest. Conversely, it decreases more in country music.
Eva Zangerle’s team also notes that “the emotion described by the lyrics has become more negative” in recent years, confirming previous analyzes going in the same direction. Among these negative emotions, we find anger, disgust or sadness to the detriment of joy or confidence.
Love is still a key subject in music but the sexual aspect of the relationships described in songs has increased considerably, the study further notes.