When artists feel curious about their life or the world, they often write about this curiosity in songs! Below, we have a list of 20 great songs all about curiosity.
These songs are about being curious about different aspects of your life. So, whether you’re looking for a song about curiosity in life or in love, this list has you covered!
1. “I Am Curious” by Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield’s 1982 song “I Am Curious” is a great song about curiosity in a romantic relationship.
In this song, Springfield sings about being curious about love and wanting to know her potential partner’s motives. Does he truly like her, as she likes him? She’ll have to find out — and her curiosity makes her extremely interested in him!
2. “Curiosity” by Carly Rae Jepsen
Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit 2012 song “Curiosity” also discusses feeling curious about love. Jepsen sings about a romantic relationship that has seemingly had some issues. She loves this person, but it appears that this person doesn’t necessarily love Jepsen as much. However, they do know how Jepsen feels — and that alone may be the issue, as she continues to return to them.
Why does she do this? Well, she sings this line in the chorus, “Curiosity will never let me go”.
3. “Do Me a Favour” by Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkey’s song “Do Me a Favour”, off the band’s 2007 album Favourite Worst Nightmare, details a breakup. A relationship has come to an end, and the narrator of the song seems to have been the one in the relationship to do something wrong.
The band sings, “Curiosity becomes a heavy load / Too heavy to hold, will force you to be cold”. This could mean that the narrator’s partner was curious about what he was doing, perhaps questioning his fidelity. If trust is broken in the relationship, then it’s hard to stay together. Therefore, it was “too heavy to hold”.
4. “It’s Not That Serious” by Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez released her song “It’s Not That Serious” on her 1999 album On the 6. This song opens with the lyrics, “It’s not that serious / I never put that much thought into us / It wasn’t that I loved you, I was curious”.
In this song, Lopez details how her relationship is coming to an end, as her boyfriend thought he would play around and cheat on her. However, she tells him that she won’t stick around for that — especially considering she never thought the relationship was very serious or worthwhile, to begin with! She was just curious!
5. “Vision of Nowness” by The Go-Go’s
The Go-Go’s song “Vision of Nowness” opens with the band discussing that there are some things they will never reveal. As a result, they sing that they are like a picture on a wall, as their appearance is always calm.
Because of this calm presence, others often want to know more about them. They’re curious. The band sings, “I’m your curiosity / Notorious, you’ll never get what you see”.
6. “Guilt” by Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull’s 1979 song “Guilt”, which appears on her album Broken English, discusses curiosity amongst her guilt. In this song, Faithfull sings about how guilty she feels in her life, even though she’s never done anything wrong.
She’s never cheated or lied to her love. Also, she’s never stolen from a store. However, the guilt remains. In connection to this guilt, she mentions her curiosity, singing “I’m like a curious child / Give me more”.
7. “Dust In the Wind” by Kansas
Kansas’ 1977 iconic hit song “Dust In the Wind” also discusses feeling curious! Overall, this song talks about mortality, life, and how we’re all a part of a bigger picture and therefore all connected in some way.
Through this message, the band sings about curiosity. They open with the verse, “I close my eyes / Only for a moment and the moment’s gone / All my dreams / Pass before my eyes, a curiosity”.
8. “Upside Down” by Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson recorded his song “Upside Down” for the 2006 animated movie Curious George! However, after its release, the song became a huge hit, even for those who didn’t see the movie. Overall, this song’s message is about looking at life from a different perspective — or from “Upside Down”.
By discussing this message, Johnson also talks about being curious. He sings the lyrics, “And as my mind begins to spread its wings / There’s no stopping curiosity”.
So, now that his mind is opening up to other parts of life, he’s ready for an adventure!
9. “Break My Heart” by Hey Violet
Hey Violet released their song “Break My Heart” on their 2017 album From The Outside. In this song, the band sings about wanting to experience heartbreak in their stable relationship. They want to see what the other side of a romantic relationship looks like, as they’ve already experienced the good side.
Through this longing, they talk about their curiosity about this other experience. They sing, “It’s like a test, it’s like a game / To see how much I can take / I’m curious to live and learn / So light me up and let me burn”.
10. “Wonderful Life” by Zendaya
The Disney song “Wonderful Life” by Zendaya, which was recorded for the animated film Smallfoot, also talks about curiosity and wonder. In this song, Zendaya sings about all the beauty and wonder in the world.
The lyrics say, “All these questions / That we always have / All we are is curious / There’s nothing wrong with that”.
The song encourages people to go exploring and discover all the wonders of the world!
11. “Aquarium” by Mac Miller
Mac Miller’s 2013 song “Aquarium” discusses how so many people are obsessed with celebrities and pop culture. As a result, they miss out on life, as well as on real issues around the world that they could be paying attention to instead.
He also mentions feeling curious about life, in regard to this message. He says, “We become celebrities, distract from the hysteria / Confessions that I have, the curiosity about life and death / Most of us will never understand it, we just like the quest”.
12. “Mama Yo Can’t Go” by Gloria Estefan
In Gloria Estefan’s 1991 song “Mama Yo Can’t Go”, Estefan discusses her curiosity about her past and possibly her family and where she grew up. However, she realizes that she can never return to this place or state of mind again. She’s become someone else entirely and can no longer return.
In relation to this, she sings, “I’m sadly curious what’s going down that way”. She’ll always be curious, and her heart will always belong there, but she’ll never return.
13. “Similar Features” by Melissa Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge released her 1988 song “Similar Features” on her self-titled album. In this song, Etheridge sings to her ex who has moved on — with a woman who looks very similar to Etheridge. So, she sings to go ahead and move on with this girl, as she knows that her ex can’t get over her.
She mentions his curiosity, perhaps alleging his infidelity as well. She sings, “Curiosity kills / If you can’t read the signs”.
14. “Paprika Plains” by Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell’s 1977 song “Paprika Plains”, which appears on her album Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter, also mentions feeling curious! Mitchell discusses quite a lot of topics in this song. She discusses her own past, as well as the history of Native Americans and Indigenous people of Canada. She also talks about modernity and ancient cultures clashing.
Mitchell sings, “I remember perforated blinds / Over the crib of my birth / And just as Eve succumbed / To reckless curiosity / I take my sharpest fingernail / And slash the globe to see / Below me / Vast Paprika plains”.
15. “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News
Curiosity is also discussed, in regards to love, in “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & The News. The song opens with the lyrics, “The power of love is a curious thing / Make a one man weep, make another man sing”.
Throughout the rest of the song, the band sings about how powerful and heartbreaking love can be. However, even if you’ve faced the bad side of love, the band sings that it’s still more powerful than anything else — and that’s why love is so curious!
16. “You’re an Original” by Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow talks about a girl who thinks she’s something special in “You’re an Original” — when Crow sarcastically sings that she’s just like every other girl. As Crow sings about this girl, she also talks about curiosity, singing, “Pretty little girl / Expensive little world / Curiosity is piquing”.
17. “All That I Can Say” by Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige’s hit song “All That I Can Say”, which appears on her 1999 album Mary, is a romantic song that talks about finding a person you can truly be yourself with. Blige sings about how much she loves her partner, and how much she trusts him.
She sings, “I’ve always been curious / Meeting someone serious / Looking for someone who loves like me”. She then goes on to explain that when she stopped searching for someone to be in a relationship with, she then discovered her partner!
18. “New” by No Doubt
No Doubt’s 2000 song “New” discusses a new relationship and the interest and happiness that can come from meeting someone new. Gwen Stefani sings about how happy she is to meet this person. However, she eventually does her reservations.
For example, she sings the lyrics, “Why am I so curious? / This territory is dangerous”. Here, she’s explaining that she has reservations about herself in this relationship. She feels that she might get her heart broken, just as she has in the past. So, she feels she shouldn’t get as worked up and excited about this relationship, just in case.
19. “Wonderland” by Taylor Swift
In Taylor Swift’s hit 2014 song “Wonderland”, Swift sings about a relationship that has issues from the get-go. She compares this relationship to “Wonderland”, from the story Alice in Wonderland, to help get the point across.
Through this storytelling, she also references curiosity. She sings, “Haven’t you heard what becomes of curious minds?”.
20. “Soulless Creatures” by Aurora
Finally, we have Aurora’s 2019 song “Soulless Creatures”, which appears on her album A Different Kind of Human (Step II). In this song, Aurora sings about being hurt by an incredibly cold person who she was in a relationship with.
However, the song isn’t completely sad! She goes on to say that, as a result of this heartbreak, she began to discover herself. She sings that she, “Never knew this curious head of mine / Never knew what is love if kept inside”.