The Classic Song That Best Fits Your Personality Type

Last week while I was working I was listening to an Oldies playlist that always tends to put me in a good mood. The song You Don’t Own Me came on, and as I was enjoying it, I suddenly realized that the song would be an ideal anthem for the EFP or IFP personality types! I started wondering what other songs would inspire or be relatable to the other personality types in the Myers-Briggs system. This turned into a week-long project that was more daunting than I originally anticipated. Most classic rock or oldies songs revolve around love or very subjective experiences, so finding messages that seemed to fit each type proved harder than I imagined it would be! But I hope you’ll enjoy this (and find a new song to add to your playlist!)

Disclaimer: Some articles I write are meant to be taken seriously – articles about cognitive functions or science, for example. This article is more along the lines of “just for fun.” Some songs were easier to pick for certain types than others – I had the hardest time of all finding a song for the STJ personality types! Be sure to let me know what you think in the comments after you’ve had a chance to read the article!

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The Classic Song That Best Fits Your Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

 The ENFP – Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

“Strangers waiting.
Up and down the boulevard
Their shadows searching in the night
Streetlights, people
Living just to find emotion
Hiding somewhere in the night”

Freedom, exploration, dreaming. These are the things that make life worth living for ENFPs. Don’t Stop Believin’ captures the restless, wandering soul of the ENFP personality type and their desire for adventure and emotionally profound experiences.

Also: Dream On by Aerosmith or Imagine by John Lennon

The ENTP – White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane

“When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen’s off with her head
Remember what the Doormouse said
Feed your head, Feed your head”

Although often touted as a “drug song,” White Rabbit was also meant as an anthem for feeding your mind. It was intended to be a call for liberating the brain as much as the senses. Grace Slick, the vocalist for Jefferson Airplane, has stated that White Rabbit was meant to point a finger at hypocritical parents and their habit of reading drug-heavy stories to children at an early age (particularly “Alice in Wonderland”). It was also meant to be an ode to the importance of education. The randomness, intensity, and symbolism in the song definitely made me think of ENTPs. As intellectual explorers and theorists, I thought the whole message to “Feed Your Head” would be appealing.

Come find out what 12 fictional characters are also ENTPs!

The INFP – Over the Rainbow

 “Someday I’ll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me”

Imaginative and romantic, INFPs often yearn for a world that is kinder and more emotionally rich than the one we currently live in. They often find comfort in the stories that fill their minds or in books that reveal new fantasy worlds to them. Over the Rainbow captures the imagination and wistful longing of the INFP personality type well.

Also: In My Room by The Beach Boys, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2, Return to Innocence by Enigma, I Made It Through the Rain by Barry Manilow.

Check out these 12 other songs you’ll relate to as an INFP!

The INTP – Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas

“Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high
Though my eyes could see, I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think, I still was a mad man
I hear the voices when I’m dreaming
I can hear them say

Carry on my wayward son
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more”

According to Kerry Livgren, songwriter for Kansas, Carry On Wayward Son is about a search for truth and meaning. It’s about feeling overwhelmed by a search for truth in a world full of distractions and trivialities. INTPs will connect with this longing for truth, this hunger for understanding, and the ceaseless search for meaning and understanding.

Come see the top 21 hobbies INTPs enjoy!

The ENFJ – What’s Goin’ On by Marvin Gaye

“Mother, mother
There’s too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
You know we’ve got to find a way
To bring some lovin’ here today”

ENFJs have incredible skill at bringing unity and cohesion to large groups of people. They easily understand many perspectives and long for a more just, unified, and compassionate world. “What’s Goin’ On” was written in an effort to encourage more understanding, peace, and love in a world embittered by violence and police brutality. ENFJs will relate to the passion and yearning for social justice that Marvin Gaye infused into the song.

Also: Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson, People Get Ready by The Impressions, and Imagine by John Lennon.

Do you relate to this song as an ENFJ? Check out these other 10 things you’ll also relate to!

The ENTJ – We Are the Champions by Queen

“We are the champions, my friend
And we’ll keep on fighting ‘til the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
‘Cause we are the champions
Of the world”

Determined and visionary, ENTJs will relate to this anthem of steely grit and ambition. While many people see the successes and accomplishments of ENTJs (they’re one of the highest-earning Myers-Briggs personality types), they fail to see how much hard work and willpower it took to achieve such things. We Are the Champions puts words to the strategic vision and strength that ENTJs wield to accomplish their goals.

As driven as ENTJs are to succeed there are things along the way that annoy them.  Come check out the top five ways ENTJs get annoyed.

The INFJ – Blowin’ In The Wind by Bob Dylan

“Yes ‘n’ how many times can a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ‘n’ how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind”

Blowin’ In the Wind has been an anthem of equality, civil rights, and justice ever since its creation in 1962. This song asks hard, thought-provoking questions that many people distract themselves from in their search for material success or entertainment. INFJs in particular are transfixed by these questions, they want to know the meaning of life, why there’s inequality, when there will be justice, and when the pieces of life will connect into a meaningful map or direction. “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind” will be relatable to INFJs who often have to wait for epiphanies or insights that seem to appear out of nowhere.

Also: The Times They Are a Changing by Bob Dylan, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.

Check out these other songs INFJs will relate to here!

The INTJ – The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel

“Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence”

While a lot of content written about INTJs focuses on their strategic, logical abilities, less seems to be focused on their powers of perception. As intuitive-dominant personality types, INTJs are often guided by a distinct vision of the future. They are fixated on achieving their visions, goals, or groundbreaking ideas. However, many INTJs feel frustrated by the seemingly meaningless, futile distractions of the people around them. The Sound of Silence captures the visionary nature of the INTJ as well as the frustration they feel when communicating their insights to others in a perpetually distracted world.

Check out this article about how INTJs relate to the 5 love languages!

The ESFP – Born Free by Andy Williams

“Stay free where no walls divide you
You’re free as the roaring tide
So there’s no need to hide

Born free and life is worth living
But only worth living
‘Cause you’re born free”

Restless and adventurous, ESFPs will connect with this anthem of freedom and exploration. More than anything, ESFPs want to feel a sense that anything is possible. They want to seize the day, follow their hearts, and travel the road of life without feeling tied to any particular destination. Born Free captures their passionate longing for freedom and beauty.

The ESTP – Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf

“I like smoke and lightnin’
Heavy metal thunder
Racin’ with the wind
And the feelin’ that I’m under

Yeah, darlin’, go and make it happen
Take the world in a love embrace
Fire all of your guns at once and
Explode into space”

Adventurous and daring, ESTPs want to be free to explore all the experiences and thrills that life has to offer. Born to Be Wild captures their restless, impulsive spirit and their need for action and sensory experience. It’s the perfect anthem for taking off on a road trip without a destination or paving the way for a new business venture.

The ISFP – You Don’t Own Me by Lesley Gore

“I’m young and I love to be young
I’m free and I love to be free
To live my life the way I want
To say and do whatever I please”

Free-spirited and authentic, ISFPs will relate to this iconic song about freedom and individuality. More than anything, ISFPs don’t want to feel held down by other people’s expectations and demands. They don’t want to be like everyone else, live up to an “expected” role, or sacrifice their true values for rules imposed by others. They will feel a strong connection to this bold anthem of freedom and authenticity.

The ISTP – Bad Reputation by Joan Jett

“I don’t give a damn
‘Bout my bad reputation
I’ve never been afraid of any deviation
An’ I don’t really care
If ya think I’m strange
I ain’t gonna change
An’ I’m never gonna care
‘Bout my bad reputation”

I have to admit, it took me four hours to find a song that could work for ISTPs. And this one is per the suggestion of an ISTP friend who was helping me brainstorm. ISTPs are highly independent types who care less about social expectations than they care about having their freedom and autonomy. ISTPs will do what they think is best for them, and most logical and rational in the long run. If that rubs people the wrong way or makes them seem “improper” they’re not nearly as irritated by that as most other types. They live according to an internal set of standards and principles rather than an externally enforced set of social rules.

The ESFJ – What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong

Wonderful World evokes images of harmony, nature, and human connection. ESFJs crave emotional and aesthetic harmony in the world around them. The details of their lives have special meaning to them. Things aren’t just things – they are memories and messages. The roses aren’t just blooming, they’re blooming “for me and you.” People aren’t just shaking hands, they’re really communicating a message of love to the people around them. For ESFJs, the world holds special meaning – each thing in it can be a token of love and harmony or the reverse. This song captures the connection-seeking nature of ESFJs and the delight they find in the beauty of nature and the people around them.

The ESTJ – It’s Like That by Run D.M.C.

“You should’ve gone to school, you could’ve learned a trade
But you laid in bed where the bums have laid
Now all the time you’re crying that you’re underpaid
It’s like that (what?) and that’s the way it is”

ESTJs are grounded, hard-working types who try to make the most of the hand life has dealt them. Rather than romanticizing life or spending time lost in fantasies about the future, they roll up their sleeves and try to make the most of what they have. They tend to be productive, grounded, and practical. It’s Like That will be relatable because of the overarching theme of hard work, overcoming adversity, and learning and growing as a person.

The ISFJ – You’ve Got a Friend by Carole King

“If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together
And call my name out loud
Soon you’ll hear me knocking at your door”

Often called “The Protectors,” ISFJs are naturally concerned with other people’s physical and emotional needs. Grounded and compassionate, they want to help people in hands-on, immediate ways. Mother Teresa, a famous ISFJ, didn’t just talk about helping people, she put her life on the line to help people in real, tangible ways. ISFJs want to be there for the friends, no matter how dark the world might seem around them. They want people to know that they can count on them and feel safe to express themselves.

The ISTJ – Lean On Me by Bill Withers

“Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on”

It took me several days to find a good song for ISTJs. So much written about this type focuses on their detail-oriented, disciplined nature. There aren’t a lot of songs about that type of thing. In the end, I had to recall many of the important ISTJs I’ve had in my life. They aren’t just detail-oriented and disciplined. They are also dedicated, down-to-earth, and helpful. Lean On Me captures their very practical, grounded, loyal mindset. We all need each other. We need to be wise and realize the problems we have are temporary and ask for help when needed. ISTJs want to be there to help carry the burdens of the people they love. They may not be effusive with words or affirmations, but they’ll be there with practical support when you need it.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Did you enjoy this article? Do you have any thoughts or alternate suggestions to share? Let us know in the comments!

Find out more about your personality type in our eBooks, Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type,  The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic,  The INFP – Understanding the Dreamer, and The INTJ – Understanding the Strategist. You can also connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!