# A vague song identification question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vague-song-identification-question/667433 "2013-08-28T19:58:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vague-song-identification-question/667433/1 "2013-08-28T19:58:13Z")
We should have a sticky for this… I’ve got this song in my head. It’s, _I think_, some kind of soul/funk song from the seventies. The main identifying characteristic is that it has a chorus which doesn’t actually contain the words “muffin man” in them, but which, in my head, is sung as though it does. “Duh duh duh, du-duh duh duh, The Muffin Man!” It repeats that. And that is all I know. Any idea anyone? I’m a little hazy on the tune, and I am not aware of any clear way to convey tunes in text on internet fora, but (explanation of notation below) FWIW the tune is something like: ```auto (C-C/D/E\C-C\A\G/D/D:0:)*2 4-3/1/2\2-3\1\2/2/4:8: ``` Explanation of notation: Each letter is directly over a number. The letter stands for a pitch. The number stands for a length. In this case I’d say a length of one would be an eighth note, and the song is at a speed of around 120 I think. A little faster actually. Between the letters (and their corresponding numbers) there is either a slash, a dash, or a colon. A forward slash means the pitch goes up. (In this case never more than an octave, or else I’d have to complicate the notation even more.) A backslash means the pitch goes down. A dash means pitch stays the same. A colon has no specific meaning but is there to fill in where punctuation belongs but is not needed. In the top line, the number zero stands for a rest. The parens and the \*2 denote a repitition of everythinig in the parens. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vague-song-identification-question/667433/2 "2013-08-28T20:02:57Z")
Rubber Band Man by the Spinners? edited to add link: [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKbADFJOCkU) ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vague-song-identification-question/667433/3 "2013-08-28T20:18:04Z")
Yes! Now I get to show my wife I’m not crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vague-song-identification-question/667433/4 "2013-08-28T20:21:54Z")
(Out of curiosity, did the initial description suffice, or did you have to piece together the music notation to figure out what I was talking about?) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vague-song-identification-question/667433/5 "2013-08-28T20:26:58Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > (Out of curiosity, did the initial description suffice, or did you have to piece together the music notation to figure out what I was talking about?) A little of each. It may have helped that, just a few minutes ago, I heard a cover of “Working My Way Back to You,” a song that was also covered by the Spinners. Four minutes…but it still doesn’t beat my record of three minutes to identify “Want U Back” by Cher Lloyd: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16419394](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16419394) ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vague-song-identification-question/667433/6 "2013-08-28T20:58:03Z")
[unreasonably proud of myself] I can identify “A Hard Day’s Night” by just hearing one chord in less than 2 seconds! [/upom]