U.S.A AMERICAN TATTOO: Tattoo Ideas: Lyrics about Love

Love. The most powerful drug of all. Who in this world cannot say that at some time or other they've heard a beautiful song with a slow, rolling intensity that builds to a soaring crescendo and contains inspiring lyrics that tout the pain of loss or the joy of love and NOT been moved to tears? It's called Stendhal's Syndrome, and it's the feeling that comes over you when suddenly confronted with immense beauty in the natural world. The right lyrics paired with the right musical accompaniment have the power to incite emotions within us that were previously held below the surface. Music is a major part of our culture and largely dictates our interactions. Music can be a great indicator of compatibility between friends or potential partners: when we meet someone whose musical taste matches ours, we feel as though the planets have aligned in our favor. Later, we master mix tapes to let that person know that our love for him has grown exponentially, way past the level of friends and into the realm of romance. If he's astute, he recognizes the hidden meaning contained in the lyrics of the songs we chose, and if life works out as it should, our feelings are reciprocated. We get together and fall in love, and very quickly we identify “our song”, that one random selection that describes our relationship perfectly. We go on to feature those lyrics in scrapbook pages documenting the story of us, and maybe years later we choose that song to dance to on our wedding day. Full of meaning and memory, the instrumentals move us and the words that accompany the music are timeless.

Whether explicit, implicit, literal or symbolical, lyrics can be about love (think Celine Dion or classic Whitney Houston) or about faith, inspiration, perseverence. They can be a social or political commentary (think Rage Against the Machine or Anti-Flag) or carry a religious message or undertone (think Christian rock bands like Attack Attack! or P.O.D.) There's a song to match any emotion you could ever feel, and any sentiment you could ever want to express. It's no wonder lyrics are such a popular tattoo choice.