What Can Two Very Different Songs Teach Us?

Comparing “Speechless” and “Helpless” in Music Therapy

Every once in a while I’ll hear a song and think, “That reminds me of something else.” Recently, I found myself listening to Speechless by Dan + Shay and I knew it reminded me of another song. A few hours later I found myself thinking about Helpless from the Broadway musical Hamilton.

At first glance, these songs couldn’t be more different. One is a country-pop love ballad often played at weddings. The other is an upbeat Broadway number with strong R&B and hip-hop influences. Yet there is something about the choruses that creates a similar emotional feeling.

Both songs build toward a memorable, soaring chorus centered around a single powerful word: speechless and helpless. Each chorus rises emotionally and musically, giving the listener the feeling that the character has reached a moment where words alone are no longer enough. Although the melodies are not the same, they use similar musical techniques to create excitement, anticipation, and emotional release.

As music therapists, these similarities give us wonderful opportunities to help clients explore how music communicates emotion.

Listening for Emotional Expression

One activity is to simply play the choruses back-to-back and ask clients:

• How do these songs make you feel?
• What emotions do you hear in the singers’ voices?
• If you didn’t know the lyrics, what emotion would you guess each song is expressing?
• How are they alike? How are they different?

Many clients are surprised to discover that two songs from completely different genres can evoke similar emotional responses.

Exploring the Power of One Word

Both songs are built around one emotionally charged word.

In Speechless, being speechless is a positive experience. The singer is overwhelmed by love and admiration.

In Helpless, the word reflects being swept away by powerful emotions and falling in love so quickly that it feels almost beyond one’s control.

This can lead to meaningful discussion questions:

• Have you ever been speechless?
• Have you ever felt helpless?
• Were those positive or negative experiences?
• What other single word describes an important feeling in your life?

Clients can then write their own chorus around one meaningful word such as hopeful, grateful, fearless, confused, peaceful, or strong.

Songwriting Activity

Invite clients to write a short chorus using this simple format:

I was ____________________.

Then ______________________.

Now I feel ________________.

Encourage them to repeat their chosen feeling word just as these songs do. Repetition often makes a lyric feel stronger and helps reinforce the emotional message.

Musical Analysis

For clients who enjoy learning about music, these songs also provide an excellent opportunity to discuss songwriting.

Even though they come from different genres, both songs use familiar pop chord progressions and gradually build musical intensity before reaching the emotional high point of the chorus. This illustrates that great songwriting often relies less on originality alone and more on using familiar musical tools to tell a story in a compelling way.

Why This Matters in Music Therapy

One of the beautiful things about music therapy is discovering connections where we don’t expect them. Clients often believe that only people who listen to the same style of music can relate to one another. Comparing songs like these demonstrates that emotional experiences transcend genre.

Whether someone enjoys country music, Broadway, pop, or something entirely different, music has a remarkable ability to express universal human experiences.

Sometimes all it takes is one word, one melody, or one chorus to help someone recognize an emotion they haven’t been able to put into words themselves. And once that happens, meaningful therapeutic work can begin.