From tear-jerkers to mic-drops, NPR's music critics share the 2025 lyrics that made them laugh, cry and hit replay.

Which song lyrics from 2025 most moved our NPR Music critics?

The practice of songwriting underwent a significant change by the 1960s. Prior to the decade, the majority of songs used lyrics that were digestible, clear, light-hearted, and easily intelligible.

Wordplay, lyrically trickery, and just straight-up confusion are three, more or less, tools that songwriters use from time to time. Why do they use them? That answer resides either within them or on ...