Lyrics within Hit Songs Contain Drinking and Drug Taking Messages
A study by American academics has revealed that one in three hits songs contains reference to drinking alcohol and taking drugs, with rap music having almost 80% of lyrics mentioning marijuana or alcohol and making it the worst offender.
Songs in the charts are aimed towards the younger generation and with the substance abuse messages contained within the lyrics, there are growing concerns that drinking and drug taking will be seen by the young as stimulating and exciting activities.
The findings were based on five different musical genres from US Billboard charts in 2005. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that 20% of R&B and hip-hop songs contained references to drugs and alcohol, with lower figures of 14% for rock songs and 9% for pop songs.
The country and western music world of honky tonk lyrics are fuelled by the heartbreaking sorrows being drowned by alcohol, making it the second worst offender at 37%.
Speaking at a recent scientific conference, Brian Primack, assistant professor of medicine at the Pittsburgh faculty, who led the research, said: “We’re learning that the media affect a lot of health behaviours. Tobacco in movies, for example, is now known to lead to smoking.
“We started realising adolescents are exposed to 2½ hours a day of music. What’s in the music? It’s good for us to know this exposure is there so that we can go the next step . . . We can talk to kids about it and say what we think is correct and what is not.”
Although smoking tobacco is as low as 3% within most of the lyrics, marijuana use rises to over 14% and drinking is way ahead with lyrics in almost a quarter of the hit songs.
With his No 3 hit single Disco Inferno, American rapper ’50 Cent’ has lyrics littered with drug references. In one line he raps: “Let’s party, everybody bounce wit’ me. Sip champagne and burn a little greenery.” Another line is: “I ain’t stupid – I see Doc and my dope come quicker.”
Peter Stoker, director of the UK-based National Drug Prevention Alliance, said: “It’s very important to focus on the culture around drug use and the impulses that young people respond to – and this is one of them. Most young people are mad keen on music, even if they have a greater love like soccer.
“It doesn’t surprise me that the majority of these references are positive or neutral. The more you hear about something in a positive way, the more likely you are to give it a try.”
Singers and Songs and ‘Fun’ Drinking Games
Songs for many years now have had lyrics making reference to drinking and smoking. Looking back it was not unusual to see a singer on stage with a glass of whiskey or brandy balanced on a stand ready to be drunk between songs, along with a cigarette in the other hand!
Rowdy songs urging us to ‘down our pints’ and drinking games played by youths who feel they can drink anybody under the table and know when to stop! Jelly vodka’s and alcopops all aimed at ‘fun’ and a quicker way to get the ‘buzz’ as well as hearing the lyrics from famous bands and pop artists. Books contained verses of 120 drinking songs! Is it really no wonder that the UK are gaining the top reputation of binge drinkers?
Many lyrics written during the 60’s leads us to wonder how ‘high’ most of the songwriters were while they were written!