From virtue to vice: how the morality of popular music lyrics has changed since the 1960s

Popular music may be reflecting a growing culture of vices, according to new research from the Centre for Digital Music at Queen Mary University of London. The analysis of musical evolution has found that song lyrics have become increasingly negative over the past six decades, with declining references to moral virtues. This could provide an important indicator of a change of culture in society.

The findings suggest that music may act as a powerful cultural barometer, offering insights into how societies express emotions, values and moral concerns across generations.

After analysing more than 380,000 songs released between 1960 and 2023, researchers discovered a significant shift in the emotional and moral language used in popular music. Expressions associated with moral virtues such as care and decency became less common over time, while language linked to harm, cheating, subversion and degradation increased.

Lead author Dr Vjosa Preniqi, from Queen Mary University of London, said:

“Music is much more than entertainment. It is one of the ways societies tell stories about themselves. By analysing song lyrics across several decades, we can begin to see how emotional expression and moral narratives evolve over time.

What we found was a gradual shift away from language associated with virtues such as care and decency, towards themes that reflect conflict, harm and other moral concerns. These patterns are dependent on various factors, such as genre and shock-factor, but they provide a fascinating window into changing cultural values and emotional expression.”

The study examined two spanning more than 60 years, making it the first study to chart moral content in song lyrics at this scale: more than 377,000 English-lyrics songs covering 1960 to 2010 were filtered from the WASABI dataset and complemented with 5,500 songs that made Billboard's year-end charts between 1960 and 2023. Using advanced artificial intelligence and language analysis techniques, the researchers tracked how different moral themes appeared in music over time.

Their analysis revealed a rise in expressions associated with moral vices such as harm, cheating, subversion and degradation, alongside increasing levels of negative sentiment, anger and disgust. At the same time, expressions linked to moral virtues such as care and decency became less prominent.

Senior author Dr Charalampos Saitis, Assistant Professor of digital music processing at Queen Mary University of London and a co-investigator CDT in AI and Music, said:

“Popular music provides a unique lens through which to explore cultural change. Because music is such a widespread and influential form of expression, analysing lyrics at scale allows us to identify patterns that would otherwise remain invisible. Music both reflects and shapes the world around us. Understanding how moral narratives evolve in lyrics can help us better understand wider changes in culture, identity and collective values around important social issues.”

The research also uncovered differences between genres and artist groups, suggesting that moral expression is closely linked to musical style and storytelling traditions. While some genres were more strongly associated with themes of care and social connection, others more frequently expressed conflict, rebellion and darker emotional narratives.

The findings also revealed observed associations between attributed artist gender categories and lyrical moral content, though these should be interpreted in light of the binary artist gender classification and the substantive artist gender imbalance in the datasets. The research found that women artists were more frequently associated with virtues like care and loyalty, while in contrast men and mixed-gender groups more frequently reflected negative themes such as harm, subversion and degradation.

By combining computational methods with theories of morality and human behaviour, the researchers were able to uncover long-term cultural trends hidden within decades of popular music.

As debates around mental wellbeing, social cohesion and cultural change continue, the team believes music offers a valuable record of how societies communicate their emotions, meaning and values.

You can read the full paper via the following link.