The Most Common Words In Billboard Popular Song Titles Per Decade Prove English Is Doomed

The Most Decade-Specific Words In Billboard Popular Songs

If u ever needed, like, proof that the English language is f--ked, ya need look no further than this chart thang.

Put together by David Taylor of Prooffreader, the chart below denotes the most common words used in the titles of songs that ranked on Billboard per decade, from 1890 to 2014:

song title words

From the 1990s on, Internet slang like "U," "Ya" and "Thang" have become more popular in song titles, following the rise of the texting and social media. Artists and listeners also seem to be developing a penchant for more crass language as "Hell" and "Fuck" have taken hold in the 2010s. The most interesting part of the chart is the ability to track changing popular styles of music through each decade through titles: "Rag" (1910s), "Blues" (1920s), "Swing" (1930s), "Boogie" & "Polka" (1940s), "Mambo" (1950s), "Twist" (1960s), "Disco" (1970s) and "Rock" (1970s & 1980s). After the 1980s, it seems artists no longer felt it necessary to spell out their genre so explicitly.

For more information on how David Taylor put together the chart, and for further insight into the data, head over to Prooffreader.

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