Can lyrics influence behaviour ?

grimtraveller

grimtraveller

If only for a moment.....
Do you think the lyrics of songs can influence the behaviour of some that listen to those songs ?
Do you think song lyrics can cause people to go or assist people in going down paths that they otherwise would not have ?
 
The meaning of the lyrics of a song exists only in the mind of the listener. The composer's intentions (if any) for the song are irrelevant, because the song will be interpreted by the listener according to his or her own frame of reference. John Lennon vigorously and unwaveringly claimed that "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" had nothing to do with LSD, yet thousands still believe the opposite. Who knows what was going through the minds of the Beatles when they wrote Helter Skelter, but Charles Manson's interpretation of it led to fatal consequences.

However, was that a path that Manson took because of the song? Or was Manson already on that path, and his perspective of the song was influenced by that path? My view would be the latter. I'm inclined to think that behaviour is generally not influenced by any song itself. Sometimes, though, songs are used to justify, excuse or explain, and maybe will amplify, existing behaviour.

I think that most people's beliefs and values are set early in life. Once set, they are very difficult to change. Witness assorted doomsday cults that continue despite their predictions of end-of-the-world not happening. So, for the most part, I can't see songs having that much power.
 
When Eminem spat in a burger while working at a drive-through in one of his "songs", I'm pretty sure there was a lot of teenage spit around in burgers than there is normally. And I'm sure many people picked up the guitar because of Johnny B. Goode. Many had a stronger urge for global peace after "Give Peace A Chance". Many wanted anarchy after "Anarchy in the UK". Lyrics can be really powerful when they mean something.
 
Except for the occasional epiphany circumstances:
Change behaviour?
No, not unless there was a desire to do so in the 1st instance.
Reinforce behaviour?
Definitely.
Precisely in line with the wishes/expectations of the writer?
I'd suggest this is highly unlikely due largely to the situation as described by Gek - though that argument is tempered by the occasional simplistic and unmissable message song that is sometime used in govt. promotions and children's pop.
 
Do lyrics influence people? Yes, obviously. People worship their favorite stars and follow everything they say. Some of the more subversive styles of music, like rap and punk, have a big following of wannabes.
 
Greg_L said:
Do lyrics influence people? Yes, obviously. People worship their favorite stars and follow everything they say. Some of the more subversive styles of music, like rap and punk, have a big following of wannabes.
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Hero worship is a little different to being influenced by lyrics
 
Chili said:
Was there any particular song that prompted you to post this question?? :D
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I'm not even sure what prompted the question !
In saying that though, there's been a long debate in England about the relationship between the newspapers people read and how they vote. I've felt for over 33 years that the same questions apply to song lyrics.
Aside from the multitudes of stuff that I've read from others over the years in which it's pretty clear to me that some peoples' behaviour has been influenced by films/programmes they've watched or magazines/books they've read or songs they've listened to, I've actively known and know people who are influenced by the same. As a teenager, some of mine was.
But it doesn't seem as simple and straightforward as that. It's not like it happens in isolation or overnight. If it does happen, it's over a period of unspecified time and in conjunction with many other factors.

gecko zzed said:
Hero worship is a little different to being influenced by lyrics
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Yes and no.
If you hero worship someone and they write or sing songs, certainly younger minds are more likely to take on board what is in those songs, lyrically.
For example, many young Black people in the UK in the 70s and 80s either became Dreads {Rastas} or developed a lengthy affinity with Rastafarianism and much of that was down to the lyrics in the reggae that people listened to. Not solely, but in part. I watched it happen. In the 90s I watched a generation of kids take on views that had begun with many of their parents' reggae subject matter reinforced views; these were compounded by the NWA led rap lyrics. Again, not solely, but certainly as part of the stew.
Both the punk and hippie movements gathered ground before the bands took hold of the messages, but both became grade A national and then global when artists and theaccompanying songs began to hit.
On the other hand, as you pointed out in your first post, many people are already on or are heading towards a particular path and lyrics of songs they like don't necessarily cause the change. Taking on messages in song lyrics isn't necessarily a conscious thing, either.
The meaning of the lyrics of a song exists only in the mind of the listener. The composer's intentions (if any) for the song are irrelevant, because the song will be interpreted by the listener according to his or her own frame of reference
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There's a heck of a lot of truth in this.
But that sometimes presupposes that the writer has no specific aim in mind as far as the listener goes and I just do not believe that is true, not when you have so many writers of songs admitting that they have an agenda in mind. When you're up against 'the establishment' or whoever you feel your 'enemy' is, you have an agenda and as such, are seeking to inform someone of something.
 
grimtraveller said:
... there's been a long debate in England about the relationship between the newspapers people read and how they vote.
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If that's your only problem.... In the US there's been a long debate about the relationship between the video games people play and how they go on shooting rampages. :(

But that's for a different thread, I guess.
 
LOL! I've got this LP in my collection, but it has a different cover. It has a pair of shattered mirror sunglasses with blood oozing out of them as it's cover! LOL! The Green Manilish! LOL! That is actually a Peter Green song. He also wrote Black Magic Woman made popular by Santana. I prefer Green's playing and tone over Santana's. Just MHO. LOL!
fat_fleet said:


DO IT.
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Chili said:
In the US there's been a long debate about the relationship between the video games people play and how they go on shooting rampages
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It's harder to definitely link the two but it's foolhardy to instantly dismiss it without looking into it. It's been a long running debate here also. In fact, just tonight, I refused my son a game because I thought the violence in it was too graphic and I think he's too young at the moment to be filling his head with the stuff that I saw on the demo.

ido1957 said:
Yes - several thousand suicides have occurred due to heavy metal music.
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I presume that's kind of tongue in cheek.
But I would not say that those people that killed themselves were influenced by the lyrics of songs they listened to, simply because there's nothing in the songs often cited that recommend killing oneself. There's a difference between writing about someone that kills themselves and writing about it being a good thing or recommending it as a way out.
 
You might think this cold-hearted, but I think it's Darwinism at it's finest: anyone so weak-minded that they'd commit suicide because of a song has done the rest of society a big favor! Keeps our tax dollars from being spent treating, supporting, and cleaning up the messes that these individuals make. Is it sad? Of course it's sad, but I'd much rather them commit suicide than to go on murderous rampages against innocent people. Because I sometimes do work within prison system, I see the direct result of what happens when young, impressionable minds, without any parental supervision, listens to gangster rap. Our prisons are over-flowing with the aforementioned individuals. Was the music the sole reason these individuals are in prison? No, but it was definitely a contributing factor. Just MHO.
 
XploZiveToyz said:
You might think this cold-hearted, but I think it's Darwinism at it's finest: anyone so weak-minded that they'd commit suicide because of a song has done the rest of society a big favor! Keeps our tax dollars from being spent treating, supporting, and cleaning up the messes that these individuals make. Is it sad? Of course it's sad, but I'd much rather them commit suicide than to go on murderous rampages against innocent people. Because I sometimes do work within prison system, I see the direct result of what happens when young, impressionable minds, without any parental supervision, listens to gangster rap. Our prisons are over-flowing with the aforementioned individuals. Was the music the sole reason these individuals are in prison? No, but it was definitely a contributing factor. Just MHO.
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I think music is the last reason people are in jail. Try drugs, alcohol, broken homes, poverty, racial discrimination.
 
I was kidding about the suicides btw....:) Metal just isn't my favorite music. I could have said polka causes suicide and would have been more accurate
 
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