Empathy:

Research has shown that music can connect with the empathy within its listeners.
Music and empathy can connect people through feeling and social bonding no matter their age, culture, language, or any other barrier. In the article Music, Empathy and Cultural Understanding,listed in the recommended readings section, “empathetic interaction with other human beings is facilitated by musical engagement,” (Clark, Eric, et al., 2015). You can enjoy music alone, with friends, family, or even with strangers. You could go to a concert alone and end up bonding with the people around you at the concert because you all have a common interest and are feeling some of the same emotions while enjoying the music and the atmosphere of the concert.

Listening to music can leave you with feelings of nostalgia, happiness, sadness and much more. Referring to the same article, it was stated that “...concentrated music listening often evokes visual or narrative imagery that can intensify the emotional effects of music” (Clark, Eric, et al., 2015). When you actually take the time to listen to the lyrics of a song and try to understand it, you tend to actively imagine what the lyrics are describing and you become more invested in the song. In this way, music can evoke empathy within the listener and create a connection with the song.
The same article states, “previous studies have documented increased levels of another hormone – oxytocin – in association with music listening...the prosocial neuropeptide oxytocin plays an important role in social bonding and social cognition, and it has been found to facilitate emotional empathy” (Clark, Eric, et al., 2015). This further proves that music can create chemical changes in the brain that evoke empathy within the listeners.
Next time you're listening to music take a moment to think about how you feel and whether the song has any influence.