Song lyrics reveal how trauma shifts artists’ focus
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Researchers analysed over a century of song lyrics to understand how major cultural events affect artists’ psychological states.
They examined millions of songs, looking for changes in lyrical content following the Vietnam War, the September 11th attacks, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed a decrease in self-referential language, a sign of psychological withdrawal, in artists’ work after both the Vietnam War and 9/11, suggesting a shift away from inward focus during times of crisis.
The team also found that artists used more language related to cognitive processing following these upheavals. This indicates an increased effort to understand and process the disruptive events. Specifically, lyrics began to focus more on broad societal themes like “life and freedom” and less on personal topics like “courtship and nightlife,” demonstrating a change in artists’ priorities. This research provides large-scale evidence that cultural events profoundly alter individual expression.
The study demonstrates how collective trauma impacts creative output and offers a new method for tracking societal psychological responses to major events. Further research could explore how these lyrical shifts correlate with other measures of public mental health and social change.
