How Songs May Help Us Change Our Minds | Part One

“Words make you think thoughts, music makes you feel a feeling, but a song makes you feel a thought.”

― E.Y. ‘Yip’ Harburg, lyricist

While “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “The Wizard of Oz” may go together in our minds, the word “rainbow” isn’t even found in the original screenplay. How did these lyrics end up being so pivotal to the message of the film? Lyricist Yip Harburg sought to give voice to Dorothy’s desire to escape from her monochromatic world. His meaningful lyrics and composer Harold Arlen’s rousing melody (that jumps an octave in the first two notes) combined to make the film’s iconic song. It has become an anthem for escaping a limited existence, to the desire for change, and symbolizes hope.

Take a moment to listen to or recall the song (either the original version or the remake popularized by Hawaiian artist Israel Kamakawiwo’ole). How does listening to the song feel different than just thinking about the idea of yearning and hope? Do you agree with Harburg that a song can make you “feel a thought?”

Songwriting gives us the opportunity to take a feeling or idea and make it come to life. A theme that seems abstract, like hope, can take on new meaning when crafted in a song and connect to us deeply. How might we otherwise explain the over a billion views of the (remake) video posted above and over 50 million on the original song?

Memory, feeling, thought, connection, and beauty all come together in song. Listening to music and songwriting can be excellent springboards to forge connections, especially for adolescents. Songwriting can be a vehicle for expressing difficult emotions or reimagining a situation. Songs can provide a container for our feelings. Moreover, that which seems unacceptable if we say it directly can sometimes be expressed in a song. Many of us turn to music to change our moods and minds.

Positive stimuli rather than painful ones activate the reward centers of our brain. Finding coping mechanisms that light up the reward centers in our brain—like listening to music or songwriting—can be particularly effective in dealing with chronic pain. Through songwriting, we can work on expressing ourselves and transform negative feelings about our situation or pain into something meaningful. This process can be fulfilling and may, in turn, make the painful emotions or sensations seem more tolerable as we feel a greater sense of self-efficacy and purpose.

How might you already use music in your life or home to help with mood regulation? What songs might you use to help lighten the mood? Find a song you mainly connect with and examine the lyrics and melody. What is it about it that you find compelling? Is there a certain feeling that it elicits in you? Does it bring up specific memories for you?

In the next blog, I’ll talk more about the craft of songwriting and using it as a tool for personal growth, connection, and healing.