Song lyrics getting simpler, more repetitive, angry and self-obsessed – study
研究发现，歌词变得更加简单、重复、愤怒以及自恋
Researchers analysed the words in more than 12,000 English-language songs across several genres from 1980 to 2020
研究人员分析了1980年至2020年间超过12,000首不同流派英语歌曲的歌词
You’re not just getting older. Song lyrics really are becoming simpler and more repetitive, according to a study published on Thursday. Lyrics have also become angrier and more self-obsessed over the last 40 years, the study found, reinforcing the opinions of cranky ageing music fans everywhere.
觉得无法欣赏现在的歌曲？可不只是因为我们变老了。根据周四发表的一项研究，歌词确实变得越来越简单重复。研究发现，在过去40年里歌词也变得更加愤怒和自恋，这和烦躁抱怨、年纪渐长的乐迷们的观点并无二致。
A team of European researchers analysed the words in more than 12,000 English-language songs across the genres of rap, country, pop, R&B and rock from 1980 to 2020. Before detailing how lyrics have become more basic, the study pointed out that US singer-songwriting legend Bob Dylan – who rose to fame in the 1960s – has won a Nobel prize in literature.
欧洲研究团队分析了1980年至2020年间超过12000首英语歌曲中的歌词，涵盖说唱、乡村、流行、节奏布鲁斯和摇滚等流派。在详细介绍歌词如何变得更加简单之前，该研究还提到美国唱作传奇人物鲍勃·迪伦，他在20世纪60年代声名鹊起，荣获诺贝尔文学奖。
Senior study author Eva Zangerle, an expert on recommendation systems at Austria’s University of Innsbruck, declined to single out an individual newer artist for having simple lyrics. But she emphasised that lyrics can be a “mirror of society” which reflect how a culture’s values, emotions and preoccupations change over time.
资深研究作者、奥地利因斯布鲁克大学推荐系统专家伊娃·赞格勒拒绝点名哪一位歌词简单的新人艺术家。但她强调，歌词可以成为“社会的镜子”，反映文化价值观、情感和关注点如何随着时间推移而变化。
“What we have also been witnessing in the last 40 years is a drastic change in the music landscape – from how music is sold to how music is produced,” Zangerle said. Over the 40 years studied, there was repeated upheaval in how people listened to music. The vinyl records and cassette tapes of the 1980s gave way to the CDs of the 90s, then the arrival of the internet led to the algorithm-driven streaming platforms of today.
“在过去40年里，我们还目睹了音乐领域的巨大变化——从音乐的销售方式到音乐的制作方式，” 赞格勒说。过去四十年里，人们听音乐的方式不断发生变化。 20世纪80年代的黑胶唱片和盒式磁带被90 年代的CD替代，然后互联网的到来催生了今天算法驱动的流媒体平台。
The researchers looked at the emotions expressed in lyrics, how many different and complicated words were used, and how often they were repeated. “Across all genres, lyrics had a tendency to become more simple and more repetitive,” Zangerle summarised. The results also confirmed previous research which had shown a decrease in positive, joyful lyrics over time and a rise in those that express anger, disgust or sadness. Lyrics have also become much more self-obsessed, with words such as “me” or “mine” becoming much more popular.
研究人员观察了歌词中表达的情感、词汇丰富度和复杂度以及词汇的重复频率。 “在所有流派中，歌词都倾向于变得更加简单和重复，”赞格勒总结道。研究结果还证实了之前的研究，随着时间的推移，积极、快乐的歌词会减少，而表达愤怒、厌恶或悲伤的歌词则会增加。歌词也变得更加痴迷于自我，诸如“我”或“我的”之类的词变得更加流行。
The researchers also investigated which songs the fans of different genres looked up on the lyric website Genius. Unlike other genres, rock fans most often looked up lyrics from older songs, rather than new ones. Rock has tumbled down the charts in recent decades, and this could suggest fans are increasingly looking back to the genre’s heyday, rather than its present.
研究人员还调查了不同流派的乐迷在歌词网站Genius上查找了哪些歌曲。与其他流派不同，摇滚乐迷最常查找老歌而不是新歌的歌词。近几十年来，摇滚乐在排行榜上不断下滑，这可能表明粉丝们越来越多地回顾这一流派的全盛时期，而不是听现在的摇滚乐。
Another way that music has changed is that the first 10-15 seconds are highly decisive for whether we skip the song or not, Zangerle said. Put simply, songs with more choruses that repeat basic lyrics appear to be more popular.
赞格勒说，音乐改变的另一个方面是前10到15秒对于我们是否跳过这首歌具有高度决定性。简而言之，具有更多重复基本歌词的副歌的歌曲似乎更受欢迎。
