You drink a whiskey drink. You drink a vodka drink. You drink a lager drink. You drink a cider drink. You sing the songs that remind you of the good times. You sing the songs that remind you of the better times.

You can bet that sometime at some bar on State Street tonight, the disc jockey will blast Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer.’ Barhoppers will sing, not just with their out-of-tune voices, but with their entire bodies. Their air-punching, beer-spilling, friend-hugging bodies. Passionately declaring how much they love this song, they improvise the lyrics, throw in some air guitar and then moan when the lights come up and the bar backs start stacking the empty glasses.

Of course we’ve all found ourselves doing this at bars at home or here at Binghamton, but this drunken barfly behavior is not limited to the dowtown Binghamton bar strip. It’s a worldwide phenomenon ‘ almost inherent to human nature ‘ and something we will do time and again.

The truth is that ‘Sweet Child O’Mine,’ ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ and basically anything by Bon Jovi are most appealing at the end of an inebriated night; exactly why is not as easy to determine.

According to 27-year-old Hong Kong lawyer Helen Ng, it’s all about knowing your abilities and punching within your

weight division.

‘There’s an inverse correlation between how drunk you are and remembering the words to songs,’ Ng says ‘ which is why songs that have been thrashed by DJs and the radio for the past 20-odd years are a surefire hit. ‘You know the words so it’s not much of a brain strain at the end of the night ‘ I know what I’m doing with these songs.’

Or maybe the answer is more academic. These songs have been studied by pop culture professors, and it seems their popularity is at least in part based on our age when we first heard them.

‘They all represent music of the time that struck a chord with an audiences and came at a period when this style of music ‘ rock ‘ was hugely popular with ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ in 1981, ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ in 1986 and ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ in 1987,’ said Matt Donahue, a pop culture professor at Bowling Green University in Ohio. ‘The lyrics in all of these songs really touch base with the ‘myth of romantic love’ which is easily identifiable for an audience.’

And that’s close to most everyone’s thoughts at the end of the night.

Donahue and music professor Terrance Cox agree that these songs’ primitive beat and use in various arenas of pop culture give them appeal and longevity.

‘A seamless hook, fusing words and instruments, brief, accessible, endlessly repeated ‘ vapid simplicity and vigorous repetition’ is the recipe for a late-night classic according to Cox, based at Brock University in California.

And to account for the number of beers swilled by the time the song is played?

‘Keep it to three chords and a few mumbling lyrics that most folks don’t know,’ advises Donahue. ‘With an easy-to-remember chorus.’