Conveying Lived Experience through Rock and Pop Music Lyrics explores rock and pop music lyrics of the last seventy years to elucidate a broad spectrum of themes about the collective human experience. The opening chapters discuss personal topics, with a first chapter about developing a romantic relationship and a second chapter about breaking up. Subsequently, lyrics describing nostalgia, that is, the longing for the past, as well as those about leaving home, going on the road, and returning home are considered. More social topics are treated in chapters devoted to lyrics about the outsider in society, those experiencing mental illness, and alcohol and drug use. Next, songs of social and political critique are surveyed, followed by an examination of utopian and dystopian lyrics. Finally, rock and pop songs about religious topics are considered, first with a chapter on the use of the prophetic voice, and then with a description of lyrics about hell and the devil, as well as heaven, angels, and God. This broad survey of several hundred songs, using a close reading approach, shows how rock and pop lyrics convey the lived experience of people in contemporary society.
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This book explores rock and pop music lyrics of the last seventy years to elucidate a broad spectrum of themes about the collective human experience.
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1 Tales of Love and Desire
Chapter 2 Depictions of Intimacy Loss
Chapter 3 Nostalgic Songs: The Phenomenology of Loss and Yearning
Chapter 4 Songs of Leaving Home, Going on the Road, and Returning Home
Chapter 5 Portraits of the Outsider
Chapter 6 Accounts of Fleeing Social Reality through Alcohol and Drug Use
Chapter 7 Representations of Mental Illness
Chapter 8 Music of Social and Political Critique
Chapter 9 Images of Utopia and Dystopia
Chapter 10 Lyrics in the Prophetic Voice
Chapter 11 Visions of Heaven and Hell
Conclusion
Bibliography
Discography
About the Author
David C. Wright, Jr. is professor emeritus of history and government at Misericordia University.
