Music reflects society – our passions, our loves, and our misery, but what can we learn from the most common words used in song titles over the years?
Datablog Prooffreader has put together graphs of the most decade-specific words in popular song titles, from 1890 to present, where “decade specific” means words that are used disproportionally in a particular decade.
It is immediately apparent that modern music offers a coarser and more aggressive language than that of previous generations with “hell”, “fuck” and “die” all making the list, but this may be a result of the variation of modern styles that encompass everything from rock to rap In fact, with “yeah” and “we” also making the top five for the 2010s, may be a reflection of the rise in EDM and the group euphoria that comes with the MDMA or “Molly” experience.
Other notable findings in the data include the increased usage of “rock” and “fire” in the 1980s when glam metal was at its most excessive, while the 1960s was all about “twistin'” to the “twist” as people started dancing to pop music.
The 1950s was apparently the “Christmas” decade with “Rudolph” making an appearance in the top five, and it was all about the “swing” the 1930s.
