Peace, Love, and Understanding

"As I walk through
This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.
I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?

And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know:
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding..."
(Lyrics: Nick Lowe)

It's interesting to see how often this world seems to shy away from loving other people - and yet our society's popular songs mention it regularly.

I read today about a man called Chad Swiatowicz who did the study about love songs for his master's thesis in sociology at the University of Florida. He analyzed the lyrics of the year's 10 most popular songs listed in Billboard's online archives for two eras, 2002-2005 and 1968-1971.

He found that 24 of the 40 songs in the modern era (60%) and half the songs of the classic era were devoted to the subject of love and relationships.

I find that - interesting.