“My favorite song by Taylor Swift is Right Where You Left Me, it shows a feeling that is hard to describe, it’s like being stuck and denying sadness while being in the backseat of your own life. It tells a story of someone watching everyone else move on while you’re stuck in the same place,”  says senior Ashlee Vargas.  To Ashlee, Taylor Swift’s music isn’t just catchy songs about breakups, they have a deeper meaning that she says she can relate to her own life. 

What does music mean to you? It seems many students at VHS are looking for something deeper than just a catchy tune. 

After talking to multiple seniors at the high school, I found that there were a lot of variations in musical taste. But, there was one constant for everyone — music uplifts our moods.

“Anytime I am driving around with friends or family having some good music playing will always make the experience feel even better,” said senior Renee Schwartz. 

When asked about the kinds of music people listened to the answers ranged from known artists like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles to some less well-known artists like The Smiths.

  “My favorite song by The Smiths is Shoplifters of the World Unite, senior Jude Ford said, “because it represents a time period where people were becoming more expressive and more comfortable with going past boundaries during a time when society was still very rigid.” Music to Jude is a lot more than just the sound. To him songs tell a story about each of the band members and what their motivations were for making their music. He also described how The Smiths’ music inspires him to learn new songs to play on guitar which has become his favorite hobby. 

“My favorite song by Harry Styles is Two Ghosts. I love it so much because it is about how people change and grow apart from others as time goes on but they still have to ground themselves and remember how to keep going even when it gets hard,” said senior Olivia Egan.  Olivia expresses that this song is relatable to her because she is constantly reminding herself to keep pushing forward even when she feels overwhelmed or unmotivated by personal incidents. 

People’s favorite songs say a lot more about them than you would think. Prior to speaking to these students about music, it would have been an easy assumption to say that they just enjoyed the songs because they were catchy, but these opinions reveal that people are drawn to music for much deeper reasons than what is obvious.