Psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis got curious about what happens in our brains while we’re reading.
…the scientists used a brain scanner to see what regions lit up during the reading of a story. They watched as… [volunteers] read four short narrative passages. Each clause in each story was coded for the script it should theoretically trigger: movement in space, sense of time passing, characters’ goals, interaction with physical objects, and so forth. The idea was to see if different parts of the brain lit up as the reader’s imagined situation unfolded.
And they did… For example, a particular area of the brain ramped up when readers were thinking about intent and goal-directed action, but not meaningless motion. Motor neurons flashed when characters were grasping objects, and neurons involved in eye movement activated when characters were navigating their world.
-full source: The Narrative in the Neurons
Readers don’t just read narrative—they experience it. And listeners don’t just hear your lyrics; they live your lyrics.
Write about a kiss—they experience the emotions and sensations of a kiss. Write about straining against ropes—they feel the cords against their bodies. Write about a blue sky—they see it. Write about dancing–and even if they look like they’re sitting still, they’re dancing.
The scientists at St. Louis believe that this response to storytelling may have evolved for survival reasons. If one cave woman eats a poisonous berry and dies, an onlooker can tell the story to the rest of a group to avert further tragedy. Describing the poor woman’s convulsions would give the listeners a little taste of the symptoms—and likely make them lose taste for the berry.
What intellectual, emotional, and sensory pleasures can you give to your listeners? What experience would you like to impart? 
Related Articles, Blogs, and Resources
- Sensory Songwriting: How to Write Lyrics that Capture Your Listener’s Imagination
- Object Writing: Diving Deep for Song Ideas
- How to Write Vividly Descriptive Lyrics
- A Brain Scientist’s Take on Writing
Yes! Yes! What songs are great examples of that? Not every songwriter gets the difference between just talking about something and making it happen for the listener. It’d be interesting to take a bland sentence or two and turn it into something breathing, living because of well-rewritten words.
That’s an awesome idea, Ruth! We could do the reverse, too, by draining a great verse or chorus of all its color.
My gears are turning 😀