The Reason Why Music Can Trigger Forgotten Memories & Nostalgia

Listening to a song can trigger some pretty intense memories – your first kiss, your first car ride, your first heartbreak, or happy moments with the family. In times of hardship, a lot of people turn to the music of their youth for solace. Almost all sensory experiences can trigger nostalgia, most famously Proust’s Madeleine (a type of French sponge cake).

In the book ‘In Search Of Lost Time’, Proust describes how he dips the cake into some tea and it suddenly sends him back to a childhood memory when he ate Madeleines with his Aunt. It has become a famous literary reference used to describe a situation where a gesture or object triggers a long-forgotten memory buried in the subconscious mind. But, Madeleines aside, music can induce nostalgia faster and easier than almost anything else.

According to scientists Schulkind, Hennis, Rubin and Professor Ira Hyman, a song triggers an emotion that matches the emotion felt at the time the event happened. In order to evoke memories, sensations need precise connections. In other words it’s a set of events in your memory waiting for another event or sensation to match the original.  It’s a miracle of memory which highlights the complexity of the brain and its infinite capacity to store information in a box. The music is the key to that box. The ‘madeleine’ is a powerful thing. Which is why no matter how our consumption of music changes, it will never change the impact music can have on us as emotional beings.

Iconic Songs Guaranteed to Make You Feel Nostalgic

The music industry has never had a shortage of new and upcoming talents. But sometimes you come across an old song and it transports you back to a time that now seems so distant. Let’s take a walk down memory lane with music that brings back memories:

Nelly – ‘Just a Dream’

‘Just a Dream,’ which was released in August 2010, remains one of Nelly’s most popular songs. It urges people to live their lives the way they want to or on simpler terms, YOLO.

Justin Bieber – ‘Baby’

Justin Bieber, thanks to his hit ‘Baby,’ found his way into countless teenage girls’ hearts back when the song was first released in January 2010.

Kesha – ‘Tik Tok’

Released in August 2009, ‘Tik Tok’ was the single that catapulted the artist to stardom. More than a decade later, it remains one of Kesha’s most successful hits.

Taylor Swift – ‘You Belong with Me’

“You Belong with Me,” with the banjo twanging away in the intro, was Taylor Swift’s country-to-pop crossover hit. Released in 2009, the song is more than 10 years old, but why does it feel like it was just released yesterday?

Beyoncé – Single Ladies

This song doesn’t even need an introduction. It won three Grammy awards in 2010 and sold over 6.1 million copies worldwide. It seems like a lifetime has passed since its debut, but the record is still easily one of our favorites.

Songs About Nostalgia

Some songs would make you feel nostalgic, others, well … they’re literally about nostalgia. Here are some of them:

The Beatles – ‘Yesterday’

‘Yesterday’ showcases the emotion that comes after being left by someone dear to you. It makes you contemplate the ‘could have beens’ of life, making you wonder: what if things didn’t turn out the way they did?

David Bowie – ‘Heroes’

‘Heroes’ was featured in Stephen Chbosky’s film adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower for a good reason. It makes listeners feel young, invincible, and ready to take on the world.

Otis Redding – ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay

The concept for this song came to Otis while he was looking at the ocean in California. The indie-rock anthem touches on finding the beauty in life despite hopelessness and despair.

The Beach Boys – ‘Caroline, No’

The final track to their album Pet Sounds, ‘Caroline No’ is a song about growth and maturity. It talks about a disillusioned man mourning the loss of his lover’s innocence.

We reached out to a few friends, who told us about  songs that had recently triggered forgotten memories and nostalgia.

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Damien

Earth Wind and Fire – ‘In The Stone’

When we were kids, there was a program on French TV called ‘Cine Dimanche’. When the theme song came on, it meant that a film was about to start. But the music also meant it was time for bed and we would feel an utter sense of frustration. Whenever I hear it I get nostalgic for my youth.

Chet

Jeanette – ‘Porque Te Vas’

It was the first time I encountered sexual fantasy.

Nicolas

Alain Souchon – ‘Les Cadors

I used to go skiing with my little brother and parents. He and I would go home for lunch and lie on the carpet together staring at the ceiling of our chalet. I felt a sort of inner peace. I had a happy childhood and this song reminds me of that.

Arthur

Cranberries – ‘Ode To My Family

I would read a book on the top of my bunk bed listening to that song.

Victor

Madonna – ‘Papa Don’t Preach

This song used to be on every time I played at the fairground opposite my grandparents’ house in Buenos Aires.

Remi

Eagles – ‘Hotel California

This was a short time before my parents’ divorce. My dad would try and play it on the guitar. It was so out of tune but I loved it.

Henri

Mike Oldfield – ‘Tubular Bells

My dad loves Mike Oldfield and it was the only album he kept in his car. When I realized it was the soundtrack to the Exorcist, I suddenly found him really awesome and badass. I was 8 years old.

Nabila

Harry Belafonte – ‘Angelina

My brother and I used to try and imitate David Copperfield’s magic tricks. We used to do it on Harry Belafonte’s ‘Angelina’ for some reason. I still love Belafonte, it represents the innocence of my youth.

Brice

Stevie Wonder – ‘Isn’t She Lovely?

‘Isn’t She Lovely’ reminds me of my dad driving me around in his crappy Renault 5 car. Whenever I hear it I get this sad but fuzzy feeling of nostalgia.

Nash

Ray Charles – ‘Georgia On My Mind

I used to write love letters to my childhood sweetheart listening to that song. I was 13 years old and whenever I met up with her in summer we would listen to it together.

Baptiste

Indochîne – Salômbo

It was 1988. I used to shut myself up I my tiny London bedroom. We lived not far from Holland Park. It was winter and already dark by 6pm. I used to listen to that song whilst secretly flicking through my parent’s erotic comic books. Whenever I hear that song, it transports me back to that room in a flash.

Charlotte

Serge Gainsbourg – ‘La Chanson de Prévert

This song reminds me of my granddad. When I need to go back to somewhere safe in my mind, I go there. I sing it to my children now and sometimes thinking about it makes me cry.

Audrey

Janis Jopelin – ‘Piece of My Heart

Every Saturday my brothers and I used to practice gym routines with my mum in the living room. I lived for that moment.

Lionel

Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody

My dad would play it on repeat while we played with lego bricks together.  Whenever I hear it my heart tightens and I wish I could go back and play lego with him again.

Audrey P

Leonard Cohen – ‘The Future

My mum used to play it on a weekend and she would carry me so we could dance to it together.

Anne-Sophie

Julie Andrews – The Lonely Gothard (The Sound Of Music)

I remember dancing around my grandma’s carpeted living room with my dad, with my itchy white wool tights slipping down. My gran would slap on the record every time I came to visit. I was 4 years old, best childhood memory ever.

Tell us yours, we’re dying to know!