Music and Lyric Characteristics of Popular Dutch Funeral Songs

This study compared the characteristics of 150 songs (Dutch lyrics, N = 47, English lyrics, N = 103), popular at Dutch funerals, to an equal number of non-funeral songs. The variables explored included those linked with the music (valence, energy, danceability, acousticness, key, and tempo); and lyr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Omega: Journal of Death and Dying 2024-06, Vol.89 (2), p.452-469
Main Authors: Hanser, Waldie E., Mark, Ruth E., Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Emotions
Female
Funeral Rites - psychology
Funerals
Future
Humans
Lyrics
Male
Music
Music - psychology
Netherlands
Past experiences
Pronouns
Religion
Sadness
Songs
Words
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Summary:This study compared the characteristics of 150 songs (Dutch lyrics, N = 47, English lyrics, N = 103), popular at Dutch funerals, to an equal number of non-funeral songs. The variables explored included those linked with the music (valence, energy, danceability, acousticness, key, and tempo); and lyrics, namely: linguistics-related (first-person singular/plural, second-person pronouns; past, present, future tense; expressed emotion (positive, negative words, and the discrete emotional categories anger, anxiety, sadness); and category words (those relating to family, friends, death, religion). Funeral music was lower in valence, energy, and danceability and higher in acousticness than non-funeral music. Furthermore, English funeral music lyrics contained more second-person pronouns and were more future-focused than comparison songs. Funeral lyrics were not particularly negative, but English texts contained more words relating to sadness. In conclusion, funeral music differs in severable notable respects from general popular songs that may reflect the special purpose of this music.
ISSN:0030-2228
1541-3764
DOI:10.1177/00302228221075471