From tear-jerkers to mic-drops, NPR's music critics share the 2025 lyrics that made them laugh, cry and hit replay.

Lyrics of successful songs in the United States have become simpler and more negative over recent decades, according to a ...

Sometimes, you only need a few intentional words to get a point across. These three songs say more in one line than entire tracks often do.

Songs have gotten more repetitive and angrier since the 1980s, according to a new study, furthering research that suggested songs have gotten shorter, simpler and more negative over the years due to ...

These four Eric Church songs are lyrical masterpieces, proving that he is not only a talented singer but songwriter as well.

Over the past 50 years, the lyrics of popular songs in the U.S. have become simpler, more negative, and contain more stress-related words, according to an analysis published in Scientific Reports. The ...

The beauty of emo music is that it provides a canvas for our own emotional projections. The lyrical narratives, even when relatively specific, often have just enough ambiguity that we can relate them ...

When comparing today’s hit tunes with the top 40 of past decades, strong opinions are never in short supply. Every generation seems to lament its successor’s musical tastes and listening habits.

Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash has become Chicago’s biggest hip-hop-oriented music festival. With this year’s fest headlined by Travis Scott (billed as Cactus Jack, suggesting a few friends joining ...