Song Lyrics That Make Us Cry: Word Use and Meaning

Abstract

This study analyzed the lyrics of songs that respondents (N = 2060) reportedly cried over. We first characterized these lyrics by comparing them to those of popular chart music. We then examined relationships between linguistic markers and themes for the most frequently reported emotions when crying over music: being moved, sadness, and their combination. We expected crying-song lyrics to be sadder than those of chart music. For specific song emotions, we anticipated the most negative language in sad songs, and the most positive in being-moved songs, with songs evoking both falling somewhere in between. Compared to chart music, crying songs are sadder and more sincere. Regarding the three emotion subcategories, minimal but significant differences in the use of first-person pronouns, words expressing sadness, and time focus indicate that the lyrics of songs evoking sadness are more self-focused and sadder than those associated with being moved. Lyrics of songs that evoked both sadness and being moved were also sadder than those that evoked only being moved. The thematic analysis revealed that the high levels of second-person pronouns across all crying songs reflect an emphasis on social bonds. In addition to social bonds, themes include major life events and the emotions associated with these people and events. There is considerable overlap among the three investigated song emotions in these themes. Listeners are likely to cry when their pains and most cherished experiences are put into words and combined with music. The minimal differences between the emotional subcategories for themes and linguistic markers suggest that personal associations and contexts may matter more for the emotional outcomes investigated when crying over music.