The Evolution of Song Lyrics: An NLP-Based Analysis of Popular Music in Germany from 1954 to 2022

Music is an indispensable cultural product, reflecting changes in social, psychological, and cultural contexts. This study analyzes the historical evolution of topics and conveyed affect in popular music lyrics in Germany from 1954 to 2022, using LDA-based topic modeling and transformer-based sentiment analysis. These results show that Love & Relationships is the most referenced topic, with Dreams & Longings prominent until the mid-1960s and Society & Status rising from 2017. The sentiment analysis reveals a significant decline in positive sentiment since the mid-1960s, accompanied by increases in negative, ambiguous, and neutral sentiments. These trends may reflect broader societal changes, including shifts in cultural values, rising individualism, and increasing mental health issues. The study highlights the evolving nature of popular music and its reflection of social dynamics.