The power of this song has saved countless lives.

Researchers have found that American rapper Logic’s 2017 track “1-800-273-8255” was associated with an increase in calls to the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (the number of which is the song’s title) and a reduction in suicides.

Their findings, published in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal, found that the song’s hopeful lyrics about finally wanting to “be alive” and not wanting to “die anymore” had a massively positive impact on suicide prevention.

Study authors used Twitter posts to determine “audience attention” to the song in the 34 days following the song’s release, the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2018 Grammy Awards, as well as the number of National Suicide Prevention Lifeline calls in that period, according to a press release. They found that there were 9,915 calls in those intervals, an increase of 6.9% over the anticipated amount. As well, the suicide rate dropped by 5.5% during that same span, meaning 245 fewer people died by suicide.

The study is observational, meaning it “can’t establish cause,” the release notes. Still, researchers write that they believe their findings “emphasize the potential population health benefits of working creatively and innovatively with other sectors” and that music can “promote new impactful stories of help seeking that resonate with broad audiences, leave a visible footprint on social media, and are safe in terms of not featuring potentially lethal actions but rather coping and mastery of crisis.”

Furthermore, the findings support the established Papageno effect, so named for the character of Papageno who, after a heartbreak, considers suicide before choosing life in Mozart’s 18th-century opera “The Magic Flute.” 

“[The] Papageno effect is the influence that mass media can have by responsibly reporting on suicide and presenting non-suicide alternatives to crises,” an explainer on it by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline states. 

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.