The singer outshone her modern rivals in a survey of the vocabulary of lyrics
A recent study by the online search tool Wordtips assessed the number of unique words used in the lyrics of 100 music “legends” and 100 modern pop stars. (Rappers were excluded as they had their own survey a few years ago and the result showed that they are, to use the scientific term, extremely wordy.)
It found that Patti Smith has the largest vocabulary, clocking up 217 unique words per 1,000, more than her closest rivals in lyrical complexity, Joni Mitchell and Björk. Smith was a writer and a poet before she was a rock star, so it is perhaps unsurprising that she has an interest in the more curious corners of language.