According to a survey by the folks at YouGov, if you're in a room with 99 other people, 27 of them don't know the words to the best-known song in America.
Do they think it's too complicated? ("Do I sing, 'Happy birthday to you' two or three times before saying 'Dear'?") Do they get confused by the words? ("Is it Earth Day or birthday?") Have they never been to a birthday party? Are they Jehovah's Witnesses?
Confounding. But if you're the songwriter of the "Birthday Song," take solace (which may be difficult, because the writer of the song – which is part of the public domain – surely died decades ago): It's the best-known song in America in terms of people being comfortable that they know most or all of the words, edging out "Jingle Bells" for that honor.
Third place? "The Star Spangled Banner," followed by "Amazing Grace" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."
If you're looking for a pop song, the tune at No. 6 is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," and if you're looking for a pop song that's less than 50 years old, No. 7 is "Hotel California." (Which is nearly 50 years old!)
You can argue with the findings (Mrs. Brad still insists that a lyric in "Hotel California," is, "She's got a lot of pretty, pretty boys that she calls men," although I've pointed out multiple times that the word is "friends," which rhymes with Mercedes-Benz in a couplet), but the survey reveals what we already know: Each generation is different. Women and men are different. And the differences aren't surprising.
If you know most of the words to "Let It Be," (No. 10), you're likely older and might not know the words to "Baby Shark" (No. 17). If you know the words to "Piano Man," (tied at No. 17 with "Baby Shark,") you might not know the words to "Old Town Road" (tied for No. 31).
One perfect example, from which you can draw all kinds of (likely wrong) impressions: More than 80% of people 65 and older know most or all the words to "The Star Spangled Banner," while only 36% of people 18-29 do. That seems outrageous to a typical 70-year-old and obvious to a 25-year-old (who is probably humming "Old Town Road.")
There's also no surprise that men and women are different. Some of the biggest gaps are for "Baby Shark" (known by 28% of women, 16% of men) and "All Star" by Smashmouth (known by 21% of men, 15% of women).
Maybe the best way to interpret this is to see songs for which you know the lyrics, but are an outlier for your age or gender. If you're under 30 and know the words to "American Pie," you're rare. If you're 65 or older and know the words in,"We Don't Talk About Bruno," you're . . . well, you don't exist, according to the survey, which said 0% of people in that age group know that song. If you're a man and know "Love Story" by Taylor Swift, take a bow. If you're a woman and know the lyrics to "Pokémon Theme," you're unusual.
Of course, some songs follow a predictable decline or incline as the respondents get older. The younger you are, the more likely you know the words to the song from "SpongeBob SquarePants." The older you are, the more likely you are to know the words to "America the Beautiful."
And then there's the age of my sons–people 30 to 44. They are disproportionately knowledgeable about the lyrics to "I Want it That Way," by the Backstreet Boys, "All the Small Things" by Blink-182 and theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," by Will Smith.
It all goes to show that few songs are eternal and each generation has special songs. Some are by the Beatles or Billy Joel, others are by whoever is responsible for the "Baby Shark" song.
But ultimately, the data presents this disturbing question: Do any of the 27% of Americans who don't know the words to the "Happy Birthday" song know the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody" (which ranks ninth)?
Goodbye, everybody, I've got to go. Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth.
Reach Brad Stanhope at bradstanhope@outlook.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment