# A Baba O'Reilly Thread or What's the name of that song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261 "2009-06-09T22:33:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/21 "2009-06-10T06:21:24Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > Getting into music in the 90s as I did, the one that springs to mind is “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” which uses exactly zero of those words in the actual song. Even though the actual words aren’t in the song, it is an extremely good and thorough description of what the song is about 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/22 "2009-06-10T09:44:20Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Pretty much all of Joy Division/New Order/Monaco/The Other Two/Revenge’s catalog. I don’t think it’s always the case for Joy Division - some of the biggest hits aren’t (_Love Will Tear Us Apart, She’s Lost Control, Transmission_), but spot-on for New Order (_Blue Monday_ (How Does It Feel), _Bizarre Love Triangle (Everytime I see You Falling), True Faith_(I Used To Think That The Day Would Never Come)) [QUOTE=Argent Towers] “Two Princes” by the Spin Doctors, which everyone I know, including myself until recently, thought was called “Just Go Ahead Now” [/QUOTE] But they use the title throughout the song… The Smith have done this a bit - _Shakespeare’s Sister_(But I am Going To Meet The One I Love), _London_(Do You Think You’ve Made The Right Decision This Time), \*How Soon Is Now(\*I Am The Son And The Heir), _Paint A Vulgar Picture_(At The Record Company Party), _Half a Person_(16, Clumsy & Shy), _Rusholme Ruffians_ (Last Night At The Fair) ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/23 "2009-06-10T09:53:04Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Because my generation was always hopped up on goofballs, we seem to have a monopoly on this phenomenon. Well, my generation had “Good Riddance” (I Hope You Had the Time of Your Life) by **Green Day**. Quite a few **Smashing Pumpkins** titles weren’t used in the chorus, such as “Cherub Rock” (Who Wants Honey?), “Zero” (She’s the One for Me), etc. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/24 "2009-06-10T13:27:03Z")
Another whose title never appears in the song is “Annie’s Song,” by John Denver. No, it is not called, “You Fill Up My Senses.” ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/25 "2009-06-10T13:36:28Z")
Speaking of the Grateful Dead, for years I thought “Touch of Gray” was called I Will Survive. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/26 "2009-06-10T13:39:00Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > Quite a few **Smashing Pumpkins** titles weren’t used in the chorus, such as “Cherub Rock” (Who Wants Honey?), “Zero” (She’s the One for Me), etc. Also, _The End is the Beginning is the End_ and _Bullet With Butterfly Wings_. Everyone knows Metallica’s _Welcome Home (Sanitarium)_ as just _Sanitarium_. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/27 "2009-06-10T13:46:13Z")
About half the songs by MCR, Panic or Fall Out Boy make no mention of the words in the title in the song, and even then usually don’t contain the exact phrase. ---
**Author:** ![mj\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@mj\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mj_2)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/28 "2009-06-10T13:48:48Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Another whose title never appears in the song is “Annie’s Song,” by John Denver. No, it is not called, “You Fill Up My Senses.” Which reminds me of Danny’s Song - Kenny Loggins. “Even though we ain’t got money” song. There are probable several (put name here) song. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/29 "2009-06-10T14:02:42Z")
Even though the title is used in the lyrics, Michael Penn’s _No Myth_ sounds like it should be called _Someone To Dance With_. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/30 "2009-06-10T14:07:33Z")
> [@mj\_2](#): > > Which reminds me of Danny’s Song - Kenny Loggins. “Even though we ain’t got money” song. There are probable several (put name here) song. I always think of it as “Chain of Love” (is that even the lyrics at the end of the chorus?) ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/31 "2009-06-10T14:10:56Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > It was embarrassingly recently that I found out the name of that Doobie Brother’s song is Long Train Running and not Illinois Central. _Illinois Central_? You mean _Without Love_? Also, _She Has Funny Cars_, by Jefferson Airplane turns out to be that _And I Know_ song. ---
**Author:** ![EvilHamsterOnCrack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@EvilHamsterOnCrack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilHamsterOnCrack)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/32 "2009-06-10T14:18:31Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I think the poster child for this phenomenon has to be Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” which is _not_ subtitled “Everybody Must Get Stoned.” > > ETA: …and the correct spelling of “Teenage Wasteland” is “Baba O’ **Riley** ”; the song being dedicated to Meher Baba and Terry Riley. Though 12 x 35 = 420. :-x ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/33 "2009-06-10T14:27:41Z")
> [@EvilHamsterOnCrack](#): > > Though 12 x 35 = 420. Woah. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/34 "2009-06-10T14:37:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Who could forget _Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy_? Is this a whoosh? Otherwise that’s a misheard lyric in _Purple Haze_. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/35 "2009-06-10T14:47:17Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Is this a whoosh? Otherwise that’s a misheard lyric in _Purple Haze_. It was a joke- it’s a double example, since everyone thinks the name of the song is _Excuse Me While I Touch The Sky_, except the people who mishear the lyric, and think the name of the song is _Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy_. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/36 "2009-06-10T14:51:42Z")
Led Zeppelin were notorious for song titles that did not appear, or made only a cameo appearance, in the lyrics… probably the best-known is “The Immigrant Song”. It was only a few years ago that I made the amazing discovery that that Fleetwood Mac mega-hit about seeing your reflection in the snow covered hills is called “Landslide”. (Another, much earlier, Mac example is “Oh Well (Pt. 1 & 2)”.) Then there’s Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke”, which is not titled “You Can Feel It All Over”. Or Santana’s “Everybody’s Everything” … not sure what I might think the title was, maybe “Time for You to All Get Down”… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/37 "2009-06-10T14:54:23Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Led Zeppelin were notorious for song titles that did not appear, or made only a cameo appearance, in the lyrics… probably the best-known is “The Immigrant Song” _Kashmir_, too. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/38 "2009-06-10T15:09:43Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It was a joke- it’s a double example, since everyone thinks the name of the song is _Excuse Me While I Touch The Sky_, except the people who mishear the lyric, and think the name of the song is _Excuse Me While I Kiss This Guy_. I’ve never heard that song called anything other than _Purple Haze_. Prolly why I didn’t get the joke. That and most of my friends are really into music from that era. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/39 "2009-06-10T15:12:24Z")
Good. Now make with the inheritance, grandpa. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261/40 "2009-06-10T15:25:34Z")
I thought of another one. _Bound For The Floor_ by Local H doesn’t have many lyrics, but none of them are the title. You may know it as the “And you just don’t get it, you keep it copacetic” song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-baba-oreilly-thread-or-whats-the-name-of-that-song/499261.md?page=3)