• by Gord Hotchkiss , Featured Contributor, September 24, 2024

Last Saturday was a momentous day in the world of media, especially for those of us of a certain age. Saturday was Sept. 21, the exact date mentioned in one of the happiest songs of all time, “September” by Earth Wind and Fire:

Do you remember
The 21st night of September?
Love was changin' the minds of pretenders
While chasin' the clouds away

If you know the song, it is now burrowing its way deep into your brain. You can thank me later.

Of all the things that can instantly change our mood, a song is one of the most potent. Why is that? For me, “September” can instantly take me to my happy place.

And it’s not just me. The song often shows up somewhere on lists of the happiest songs of all time. In 2018, it was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry list of sound recordings that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically important.”

But what is it about this song that makes it an instant mood changer?

If you’re looking for the source of happiness in the lyrics, you won’t find it here. According to Wikipedia, one of the songwriters, Maurice White, said there was no special significance to Sept. 21. He just liked the way it rhymed with “remember.”

And about 30% of the full lyrical content consists of two words, neither of which mean anything: Ba-dee-ya and Ba-du-da. Even fellow songwriter Allee Willis couldn’t find meaning in the lyric, at one point begging writing partner White to let him rewrite that part - “I just said, what the f*$k does ba-dee-ya mean?”

But perhaps the secret can be found in what Willis said in a later interview, after “September” became one of Earth Wind and Fire’s biggest hits ever, “I learned my greatest lesson ever in songwriting … which was never let the lyric get in the way of the groove."

(For those of you not living in the '70s,  “groove” is a good thing. In Gen Z speak, it would be “vibing.")

There's a substantial amount of research showing that our brains have a special affinity for music, which seems to wire directly into the brain’s emotional centers buried deep within the limbic system. Neuroimaging studies have shown that when we listen to music, our entire brain “lights up," so we hear music at many different levels. There is perhaps no other medium that enjoys this special connection to our brains.

In 2015, Dutch neuroscientist Dr. Jacob Jolij narrowed in on the playlists that make us happy. While recognizing that music is a subjective thing (one person’s Black Sabbath is another’s Nirvana), Jolij asked people to submit their favorite feel-good tracks and analyzed them for common patterns. He found that the happiest tunes are slightly faster than your average song (between 140 and 150 beats per minute on average), written in a major key, and either about happy events or complete nonsense.

Earth Wind and Fire’s September ticked almost all of these boxes. It is written in a major key, and -- as we saw -- the lyrics are about a happy event and are largely complete nonsense. It’s a little low on the beat per minute meter, at 126 BPM. But still, it makes me happy.

I was disappointed to see “September” didn’t make Dr. Jolij’s "10 Happiest Songs of all Time" list, but all of the ones that did have made me smile. As reported in an Inc. post, they are, in reverse order:

10. “Walking on Sunshine” – Katrina and the Waves

9. “I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor

8. “Livin’ on a Prayer” – Jon Bon Jovi

7. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” – Cyndi Lauper

6. “I’m a Believer” – The Monkees

5. “Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor

4. “Uptown Girl” – Billie Joel

3. “Good Vibrations” – The Beach Boys

2. “Dancing Queen” – ABBA

And the happiest song of all time? “Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen

You’ll probably notice one other thing in common about these songs: They’re all oldies. The newest song on the list is “Livin’ on a Prayer,” released in 1986. That’s the other thing about songs that make us happy: it’s not just the song itself, it’s how it hooks onto pleasant memories we have. Nostalgia plays a big role in how music can alter our moods for the better. If you did the same experiment with a younger audience, you would probably see songs representative of their youth.

Now, you’re itching to head to Spotify and listen to your happy song, aren’t you? Before you do, share it with us all in the comments section!