Why do some song lyrics stick with us? What process determines which ones run over and over at the threshold of consciousness? Is this a process governed by the subconscious? It could be that the lyrics that stick are the ones we need. We find them aggravating, not because they persist, but because they bring a message we're trying to avoid.

The words to "It's a Small World" often haunt (and annoy) people, but is that because that's the message those people ought to heed? Perhaps so many of us share that experience (with exactly that song) because our collective unconscious is trying to tell us something.

So we needn't react with exasperation when we "can't get it out of our head" (whatever the song). Instead, we can pause, consider and learn: "What's the message for me? Why these words now?"

Text and image © 2010 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.