Song Modality: Chart Songs

How do the word-use patterns in the song modality score relate to the popularity of songs recorded by The Beatles?

Tall lines (left) indicate high song modality score (emphasis on using very common words). Short lines (right) indicate low song modality score (emphasis on using rare words). Blue lines indicate songs written by The Beatles; red lines indicate cover songs.

Analysis

The most popular songs recorded by The Beatles can have word-choice patterns across the song modality score spectrum. However, the half-dozen songs with the highest scores never made the charts at all, indicating that the formula of "take a few very common words and sing them repeatedly" does not guarantee a hit.

Something similar is seen at the bottom end of the scale. The bottom fifteen songs, those with the highest preference for uncommon words, never made the charts; in fact, only two of the bottom 50 songs (out of 251 songs with lyrics) made the charts.

Clearly, the sweet spot for commercial success is somewhere in between.