And it remains the greatest goad to action our species has invented. They knew it was true when they heard it. If your woman had left you for another man, and you heard the same story sung on stage, you might feel that pain all over again. What they may do is provide some handy tips as to method for a motivation that already exists. That's why the Emergency Rooms of big cities are full of sociopathic little triggerboys with unique facial damage from shell casings ejected into their eyes when they held their precious nines parallel to the ground, Hollywood style, instead of the way the pistols were designed.
Words also validate.
If others feel what you feel, then you're not alone. That's a two-edged sword, people. It doesn't simply memorialize evil, it allows the possessor to see that there are others of his ilk. No, he's a person with certain tastes, shared by others. They too are not alone.