Feeling the song before knowing the words

     Music has a way of reaching us before we even realize what it’s doing. We don’t need to fully understand the lyrics, the artist’s intention, or even like the genre for a song to affect us. Often, we feel music before we ever think about it. This is what makes music such a powerful force in pop culture.

    In Music, Culture, and the Human Brain, David Hajdu explains that music reflects the emotional and social conditions of the time. He suggests that music often mirrors the stress and instability people are experiencing, especially during difficult cultural moments. Hajdu writes that music helps express “the stresses involved in living that defy linear, discursive expression.” In other words, some feelings are too complex to explain with words alone, and music fills that gap.

    This helps explain why messy, repetitive, or emotionally raw music can feel comforting rather than annoying. Even if a song sounds chaotic, our brains respond to rhythm, tone, and emotion before we analyze meaning. That’s why sad songs can feel validating when we’re already sad, or why we replay the same song during a specific phase of life. Music can give shape to emotions we may not fully understand yet.

    Sellnow expands on this idea by explaining how music persuades us emotionally. She points out that when messages are “couched in music, listeners do not ordinarily anticipate persuasion.” Because we don’t expect music to influence us, we often absorb its emotional message without questioning it. We’re not listening to be convinced, we’re listening to feel something.

    A while back, my friend and I were sitting in the car and she played Alex Warrens song “One More I Love You”. I had never heard it before but before I even knew what this song was about I was crying so hard. My friend apologized and said she had no idea I was going to react this way. She thought it was just a good song, emotional sure, but not in the way it had affected me. It wasn’t until I got brave enough to listen to this song again that I realized he was talking about losing his dad, which hit pretty close to home for me. Somehow my brain was comprehending what was happening in the song before I fully consciously understood it. 

  (Incase anyone else needs a good cry) 

    This emotional connection is especially visible in modern pop culture. Songs trend on TikTok not because of lyrical depth, but because of how they feel in 15 seconds. Breakup songs, “sad girl” music, and lo-fi playlists all thrive because they match emotional states people already have. The music feels relatable before it feels meaningful.

    Ultimately, music doesn’t need to be complex or poetic to matter. It works because it connects to the brain emotionally first. As Hajdu and Sellnow suggest, music helps us process feelings that are hard to explain, making it one of the most powerful forms of pop culture communication today.