Lyrical Breakups

How did we get so many love songs?

By Teagan Warren

Examining the Billboard 100 songs for the week of March 7, about 72 of the 100 songs listed covered romantic love or sexual content as central topics. 

Many other topics seem neglected in modern music, even considering other forms of love: love of a parent for a child, love among friends or the love for those in our communities.

Beyond even these relationships, there are the strangers who amuse with their oddities, the acquaintances who delight upon realizing that the two of them are from the same town and the antagonists who anger with their snide remarks. These common aspects of being human are rarely covered in music.

Family and friendship relationships are foundational, making up childhood years long before romantic interest is incited. Additionally, if older people tend to play romance-focused music in front of children, are they teaching them that this is what being an adult is about? Children go from storytelling music in the form of songs like “Puff the Magic Dragon” and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” to becoming “too old” for this kind of music, and enter into a world of music that exalts the intensity of amorous love, oftentimes
in graphic ways. 

“Sometimes I wonder if it becomes about shock value,” said Scott Dawson, co-leader of music at Arbor Church in Dayton and member of multiple a capella groups including NexDetour.

It is fascinating to think about how much of life is really lived within the emotional rush of falling in love. Much of life is lived in a steady, day-to-day pace for people. If one has found a life partner, oftentimes
the butterflies do not stick around like the first experience of falling in love, and that is OK. The average age of marriage is increasing, and for some this is due to an attribution of true love to the quick rush of feelings. When these pass, life does not feel so much like a love song anymore and the relationship falls apart. When so much pressure is put on another person to bring happiness to you, you set yourself up for a very dangerous path of discontentment.

“They [songs about love] talk about love in a way that that’s what you need,” Dawson said. 

“I need this relationship love, I need this physical love, and this is what I need to be satisfied,” he quotes the culture as saying sometimes. Yet, he points to 1 Corinthians 13 to show that humans do not always love with patience and kindness, but in the Lord, people are meant to love others and love God. 

Dawson knew a pastor who described marriage as “two sinners living under one roof.” Yet, he sees much of music exalting love into an idol. Growing up, he listened to whatever he wanted to, but becoming a believer years later, he is able to see the dangerous impressions music can leave on listeners.

“Swearing never was in a title, maybe every once in a while it would be in a lyric of a song,” said John Chilcote, associate professor of music who teaches classes such as songwriting and contemporary music theory at Cedarville University. 

“Back to Olivia Rodrigo, some of her songs are definitely like the ‘break-up’ or ‘how-dare-you’ songs, but it goes into some real coarse language, telling the story, showing the emotion, but it’s showing it in a way that definitely wasn’t done probably 20 years ago, for sure not 50 years ago,”
said Chilcote. 

He summarizes by saying lyrical themes more or less have stayed the same, but the way of telling the story and the use of language have changed.

Why do films present a variety of topics while music seems more restricted? For example, genres within film include mystery, historical and action, but music lyrics generally do not express a range of experiences such as these.

Chilcote pointed to the visual and time format of films that enables a different kind of storytelling than that of a song. In films, there typically will be a love story of some kind, but it is located within the broader context of the film, whether that be mystery, action or romance. 

Why specifically is romance so prevalent, no matter the genre?

Chilcote attributes this focus to the age group that new artists reach out to. When an artist develops a strong fanbase, he or she will have come to know the audience. Artists typically write for people, ages 14-18 as their target listeners. In fact, the music people like throughout their lives, is most often accepted during their teenage years.

At this age, many teenagers are entering a phase of their life where romantic relationships are new to them. Even if they are not connecting with the lyrics on a personal level because they lack dating experience, people, especially youth, look forward to the next stage.

Music can guide their expectations of what dating is like, making them see it as a fantasy until they have experienced romance for themselves. Dawson, Chilcote and Joel Ansett all remark on how the broader music industry focuses on selling a product.

“It’s strange; even just music business feels like an oxymoron,” said Ansett, an independent singer and songwriter from Colorado. “Like, it’s strange to figure out how something so inherently priceless can then enter a marketplace. It’s like if someone had built an economy around laughter.” 

Ansett sees the music industry as more of a “factory mentality,” while the independent music scene could be described as, “more of like a gardener or like a farmer’s market sort
of environment.” 

“It’s probably gonna have more nutrients and less additives,” Ansett said. “And probably be a little more enjoyable artistic experience for the artist and listener.”

He talks about how many great works have come from the label world, but he sees this as becoming less common. 

“The reality is it’s all driven by market,” Chilcote said. “All of it is driven by the industry and what’s going to sell.” 

Ansett says that when pursuing a No. 1 song, it will not be the “quirky” artist just writing about something he sees, who will come up top.

“Creation is a love song, the Fall is a breakup song,” Ansett said. “I think every single human being is carrying the shared trauma of a broken relationship with the perfect love; with God.” 

Ultimately, any love and breakup song reflects this idea, and this offers insight into the universality of the love song.

Looking at the Billboard 100 again for the same week, one such song featured was called “Time’s Ticking” which encourages the listener to make the most of each relationship and even just enjoy little things like a Sunday drive.

Romance can be a mountaintop experience for many, but may we not forget that there’s also a reason God brings each person and gift into our lives.

Art, such as music is one of these gifts, and we have the opportunity to think about how we engage with it and what we express through it.

Teagan Warren is a senior psychology major who enjoys exploring small towns and people watching.