Songs for The Investigator

This week's post in our Enneagram Series dives into Type 5's. As usual, I want to go ahead and throw out my disclaimer: educating myself about the enneagram and reading about my personality type has genuinely helped me be more conscious about making healthier choices as well as paying closer attention to how I interact with other people based off their type as well if I happen to know it. The enneagram is not how I dictate every single moment of my life, but it is a handy and interesting tool to use.

Type Fives are referred to as Investigators or Thinkers. A few key personality traits that they tend to share include being intense, cerebral, perceptive, secretive, innovative, and isolated. A Five's basic fear is that of being useless, helpless, or incapable, and their basic desire is that of being capable and competent of anything they try to do. A happy, healthy Five can be seen as a visionary pioneer who is able to see the world in a different way, while a miserable, unhealthy Five can be deranged and explosively self-destructive. They're motivated by possessing knowledge and having everything figured out as a defense mechanism against environmental threats. They're usually very alert and curious. Fives can tend to become so preoccupied with their thoughts and imaginary constructs that they become detached, high-strung, and intense which, according to the Enneagram Institute, can cause issues with eccentricity and nihilism. A Five with a Four wing, or 5w4, is usually referred to as an Iconoclast or a Philosopher and maintains the core feelings of a Five while leaning on Four traits like a desire to feel helpful and able to those around them. A Five with a Six wing, or 5w6, is usually referred to as a Problem Solver or a Troubleshooter and maintains that core Fiveness while leaning on Six traits like seeking out new skills or knowledge that can be beneficial to their environment, securing the loyalty of those around them. A healthy Five can exhibit traits of a Type Eight due to their Growth Path causing them to act more self-confident and decisive, while a super stressed Five can exhibit traits of a Type Seven due to their Stress Path causing them to act more hyperactive and scatter-brained.

Here are some more pop culture examples of Type Five that I've "typed" over the last year. DISCLAIMER #2: I obviously don't own/didn't create any of these characters and secondly, it's again impossible to truly type another person, especially when they aren't real, but this its a lot of fun and I've enjoyed doing it. These are just my personal opinion, so please don't @ me.

-Albus Dumbledore (5w4) & Severus Snape (5w6) from Harry Potter

-Azriel from A Court of Thorns and Roses

-Belle (5w4) from Beauty and the Beast

-Ben Wyatt from Parks & Recreation

-Bobby Singer (5w4), Castiel (5w6) & Kevin Tran (5w4) from Supernatural

-Bruce Banner/The Hulk & Clint Barton/Hawkeye from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

-Cady Heron from Mean Girls

-Dwight Schrute from The Office

-Elide Lochan (5w6) & King Havilliard (5w4) from Throne of Glass

-Eloise Bridgerton & Simon Basset from Bridgerton

-Five Hargreeves/The Boy from The Umbrella Academy

-Garnet & Sapphire from Steven Universe

-Isaiah Tiberion (5w6) from Crescent City

-Mace Windu & Rose Tico from Star Wars

-Mai (5w6) & Toph Beifong (5w4) from Avatar: The Last Airbender

-Patrick Brewer from Schitt's Creek

-Captain Raymond Holt (5w6) from Brooklyn Nine-Nine

-Ross Geller from Friends

-Wayne from Letterkenny

Here is a small sample of my Investigator playlist - as always, the full playlist can be found by following me on Apple Music @audioaesthetics. Let's get to it!

Rumour Has It by Adele (written by A. Adkins, R. Tedder)

Featured on her 2011 album 21, Adele never shies away from being intense. These lyrics are perceptive in calling out the subject of the song, and the entire theme of the song is (an attempt at) secrecy.

She, she ain’t real, she ain’t gon’ be able to love you like I will/She is a stranger, you and I have history or don’t you remember/Sure, she’s got it all, but baby, is that really what you want/Bless your soul, you’ve got your head in the clouds/She made a fool out of you and boy, she’s bringing you down/She made your heart melt but you’re cold to the core/Now rumor has it she ain’t got your love anymore

all the good girls go to hell by Billie Eilish (written by F. O'Connell, B. O'Connell)

Featured on her 2019 album WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?, Eilish is another artist to not shy away from lyrics with a lot of intensity. You could make an argument that this is from the point of view of an unhealthy Five getting lost in their overactive imagination and coming up with a worst-case scenario.

Standing there killing time, can’t commit to anything but a crime/Peter’s on vacation, an open invitation/Animals, evidence, pearly gates look more like a picket fence/Once you get inside ‘em, got friends, but can’t invite them/Hills burn in California, my turn to ignore ya/Don’t say I didn’t warn ya/All the good girls go to hell/‘Cause even god herself has enemies/And once the water starts to rise/And heaven’s out of sight, she’ll want the devil on her team/My Lucifer is lonely

Something Entirely New by Charlyne Yi & Erica Luttrell (written by A. Tran, R. Sugar, S. Velema)

Sapphire isn't a Steven Universe character we get to see a lot of on her own in the series, but she definitely makes an impact when she does show up. A classic Five, Sapphire is intense, cerebral, perceptive, and alert, and I think the show does a good job of showing her at both healthy and unhealthy levels throughout the series. Something Entirely New is a duet by Sapphire (Erica Luttrell) and Ruby (Charlyne Yi) after their first meeting featured in S2E22 The Answer.

Where did we go, what did we do/I think we made something entirely new/And it wasn’t quite me and it wan’t quite you/I think it was someone entirely new/Oh, um, well, I just can’t stop thinking/So, um, did you say I was different/And you hadn’t before, of course not/When would I have ever/I’m so sorry, no, no, don’t be/And now you’re here forever

Stronger Than You by Estelle (written by J. Liu, R. Sugar, A. Tran, S. Velema)

Garnet ended up being one of my favorite characters on Steven Universe, and a lot of Five characteristics from the Sapphire part of her are why that is. Garnet is very intense, cerebral, perceptive, and innovative but does have to work on her habits of isolation and secrecy throughout the series, and like with Sapphire it's awesome to watch her grow as a character. Stronger Than You, performed by Garnet's voice actor Estelle, is featured on S1E52 Jail Break.

This is Garnet, back together/And I’m never going down and the hands of the likes of you/Because I’m so much better/And every part of me is saying, "Go get her"/The two of us ain’t gonna follow your rules/Come at me without any of your fancy tools/Let’s go, just me and you/Let’s go, just one on two/Go ahead and try to hit me if you’re able/Can’t you see that my relationship is stable/I can see you hate the way we intermingle/But I think you’re just mad ‘cause you’re single/You’re not gonna stop what we’ve made together/We are gonna stay like this forever/If you break us apart, we’ll just come back newer/And we’ll always be twice the gem that you are/I am made of love, oh/Love, love, love

Year 3000 by Jonas Brothers (written by C. Simpson, M. Sergeant, S. Robson, T. Fletcher, J. Bourne)

While the original version of this song was written and performed by the band Busted on their 2002 self-titled album, the most well-known version of Year 3000 was covered by the Jonas Brothers and featured on both their 2006 album It's About Time and their 2008 self-titled album. The main theme of the song is curiosity which fits right in with a Five, along with innovation and visionary ideas.

One day, when I came home at lunchtime, I heard a funny noise/Went out to the backyard to find out if it was one of those rowdy boys/Stood there with a neighbor called Peter and a flux capacitor/He told me he built a time machine like one in a film I’ve seen, yeah/He said, "I’ve been to the year 3000/Not much has changed, but they lived underwater/And your great-great-great-granddaughter/Is doing fine, doing fine"

Back on the Map by Kacey Musgraves (written by K. Musgraves, L. Laird)

Featured on her 2013 album Same Trailer Different Park, Musgraves sings about coming back from an emotional or mental rough patch, lining up with Fives' tendencies to sometimes go off the deep end unintentionally when they get caught up in an idea. She admits to some high-strung behavior in her season of detachment and is ready to accept help with getting herself in a good headspace again.

Gotten too far off the map, not so sure I can get back/Was I the one who drifted off, did I take advantage of good love/‘Cause I swear I did everything I could’ve done/But what good is love without the trust/Does anybody wanna put me back, put me back on the map/I’d be all about it, I’d do anything, anything that you asked/‘Cause honestly I’ve been out of touch and out of reach, just looking for someone, anything that’s finally gonna/Put me back, put me back on the map

Look Up Child by Lauren Daigle (written by J.Ingram, L. Daigle, P. Mabury)

Inspired again by Instagram account @mirabellecreations and her graphic pairing up the Enneagram with the Fruits of the Spirit, I really loved the idea of Self-Control being the primary fruit for a Five. Keeping yourself calm when things are out of your control and relying on the Hoy Spirit to guide you through it is a much more difficult discipline than we give it credit for, and for Fives who do like to have control over their minds it's even more so. Featured on Daigle's 2018 album Look Up Child, this song is a great reminder that all we need to do when we feel overwhelmed is look up to heaven for tthe help we're seeking.

Where are You now when darkness seems to win/Where are You now when the world is crumbling/Oh I, I/I hear You say, I hear You say/Look up child/Hey, look up, child, hey

II Corinthians 6:8 NLT We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us imposters.

The Louvre by Lorde (written by E. Yelich-O'Connor, J. Antonoff)

Featured on her 2017 album Melodrama, Lorde touches on multiple Five traits in the lyrics to this song. She sings about getting lost in this relationship she's in, letting it totally occupy every thought she has and understanding that it's a problem but not really caring because she loves the feeling so much.

Well, summer slipped us underneath her tongue/Our days and nights are perfumed with obsession/Half of my wardrobe is on your bedroom floor/Use our eyes, throw our hands overboard/I am your sweetheart, psychopathic crush/Drink up your movements, still I can’t get enough/I overthink your punctuation use/Not my fault, just a thing that my mind do/A rush at the beginning, I get caught up for just a minute/But lover, you’re the one to blame, all that you’re doing, can’t you hear the violence/Megaphone to my chest, broadcast the boom, boom, boom, and make ‘em all dance to it

happier by Olivia Rodrigo (written by O. Rodrigo)

Featured on her 2021 album SOUR, Rodrigo writes about the struggles of a breakup that she's not 100% over. This is something many people can relate to, but there are some telltale Five characteristics in here like detachment, intensity, and fears of uselessness and incapability.

We broke up a month ago/Your friends are mine, you know I know/You’ve moved on, found someone new/One more girl who brings out the better in you/And I thought my heart was detached/From all the sunlight of our past/But she’s so sweet, she’s so pretty/Does she mean you forgot about me/Oh, I hope you’re happy, but not like how you were with me/I’m selfish, I know, I can’t let you go/So find someone great, but don’t find no one better/I hope you’re happy, but don’t be happier

Belle by Paige O'Hara, Richard White, Jessi Corti, & Cast (written by A. Menken, H. Ashman)

Belle, voiced by the talented Paige O'Hara in the 1991 film, is a perfect example of a Five amongst the Disney Princesses. She's cerebral, perceptive, alert, curious, and innovative, which causes involuntary isolation on her part as all the rest of her village deem her to be too intense or "eccentric" for them. Seeing how she's treated during Belle, at the very beginning of the film, makes her story of finding acceptance, love, and happiness with The Beast that much sweeter.

Little town, it’s a quiet village/Every day like the one before/Little town full of little people/Waking up to say/Bonjour, bonjour/Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour/There goes the baker with his tray like always/The same old bread and rolls to sell/Every morning just the same since the morning that we came/To this poor provincial town

Five by Sleeping at Last (written by R. O'Neal)

Featured on his 2019 album Atlas: Enneagram, this is Ryan O'Neal's ode to the Investigator and, like all the other installments on this album, is beautiful and introspective. He dips into the intensity, isolation, and perception of a Five throughout the lyrics and captures their yearning to understand something bigger than themselves.

I want to watch the universe expand/I want to break it into pieces small enough to understand/And put it all back together again/In the quiet of my private collection/It feels like an out of body experience/But something gets lost from a safe distance/Now I can’t put my mind to rest/And I can’t help but second guess/Living behind this one-way mirror

I Wish You Would by Taylor Swift (written by J. Antonoff, T. Swift)

Featured on her 2014 album 1989, Swift has given us an anthem to overthinking in the form of I Wish You Would. The relationship she sings about, thought by many to be based on her own relationship with Harry Styles, is intense in and of itself, and she talks about regretting both of their actions when they seemingly got carried away on their imaginary constructs and wishes they could fix what got broken in the aftermath.

It’s 2 AM, in your car/Windows down, you pass my street, the memories start/You say, "It’s in the past," you drive straight ahead/You’re thinking that I hate you now ‘cause you still don’t know what I never said/I wish you would come back, wish I never hung up the phone like I did/And I wish you knew that I’ll never forget you as long as I live/And I wish you were right here, right now, it’s all good/I wish you would

As always, I hope this post gives you some great music to enjoy whether you're a Type Five or not. Happy listening, and see ya'll next week!