Music has always been an integral part of my life, whether it be as a stress buster or as a source of energy, even inspiration. I believe music is one of the few universal experiences we all carry through our lives. A song can transform a moment, unlock a memory or shift the entire flavour of a day. Whether it’s the quiet strum of a guitar or the pulse of a bassline, music has a direct line to our emotions, bypassing logic and tapping into something far deeper within us.
At its core, music engages two powerful dimensions of the human experience: beat and meaning.
The beat — the rhythm — speaks to the body. It’s what makes us tap our feet, run that extra mile or feel the energy rise in a crowded room. Rhythm reminds us we are alive, connected and moving. Think of the Four-on-the-Floor beat of Jackson’s Billie Jean or the Shuffle / Swing beat of Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight or the Half-Time beat of Coldplay’s Fix You. Each of them has a rhythm of its own that connects with you differently.
Lyrics, on the other hand, speak to the soul. At times the words don’t matter to us but at other times, the right line at the right moment can articulate something we didn’t know how to express. Heartbreak, nostalgia, courage, longing — a great song somehow helps find the words we are searching for. We often borrow its poetry when our own voice fails.
This is why certain songs stay with us across decades. It isn’t just about their melody, it’s about their meaning. A well-crafted lyric can become a life companion; a timeless line can comfort, challenge or inspire us when we need it most.
Some examples of memorable lines that come to mind are below. These are all from English songs and I know there will be many examples in other languages too.
‘I’d trade all my tomorrows for one single yesterday’ from Janis Joplin’s Me and Bobby McGee
‘And you better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone, for the times they are a-changing’ from the poetic Dylan
‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans’ from the iconic Lennon
‘ And then one day you find ten years have got behind you; No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun’ from Pink Floyd
‘You only need the light when its burning low; Only miss the sun when it starts to snow’ from Passenger
‘People talking without speaking; People hearing without listening’ from the evergreen Simon and Garfunkel
‘So scared of getting older; I’m only good at being young’ from the talented John Mayer
‘I wish heaven had visiting hours; And I would ask them if I could take you home’ from the prolific Ed Sheeran
Music doesn’t just fill silence. It fills us — with emotion, with memory, with possibility. The songs we love tell our stories, sometimes even before we know how to tell them ourselves.
What does music mean to you?
