# Actual Names of Some Well-Known 'Cliché' Songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2014, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178 "2014-04-02T16:31:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/61 "2014-04-03T02:45:35Z")
Shall we dance… [the](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ-3xGjEKR8) [Tango](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0LosvoEEy8)? ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/62 "2014-04-03T02:49:47Z")
> [@bleach](#): > > The classic snake charmer song is called “[The Streets of Cairo, or the Poor Little Country Maid](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Streets_of_Cairo,_or_the_Poor_Little_Country_Maid)”. Young boys may know it as “There’s a place in France…”. FWIW, reference note #3 for that Wikipedia page is [this Straight Dope column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2695/what-is-the-origin-of-the-song-theres-a-place-in-france-where-the-naked-ladies-dance). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/63 "2014-04-03T02:55:34Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Not certain if this has become “cliche” as of yet but this _ **Miserlou** _ from Pulp Fiction:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5OHrQYwRac](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5OHrQYwRac) > > Is actually a variation of this Greek song:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW6qGy3RtwY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LW6qGy3RtwY) My go-to tune for all things Greek: https://www.youtube.com/embed/zJmnpcotbfc?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=RDzJmnpcotbfc ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/64 "2014-04-03T02:59:41Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1088E6E2fY) is certainly cliche at weddings, and I would think heraldry movies (and **Masterpiece Theatre** ), as well. Uhm, you’re confusing Clarke with Mouret: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iZ8QVKOWbPU/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHUBoAC4AOKAgwIABABGH8gEyhGMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAlUIKnfiJiODEFRBMK-U_uzIJing "Steel Reserve® Presents Rondeau by Jean-Joseph Mouret (Masterpiece Theatre Theme) (NOW IN 3D)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ8QVKOWbPU) ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/65 "2014-04-03T03:01:09Z")
It’s just not an awkwardly-trying-to-carry-a-big-bulky-object scene without Henry Mancini’s [Baby Elephant Walk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1z4JfxFb6c). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/66 "2014-04-03T03:05:43Z")
If I were getting married, I’d insist on **this piece** (actually, just about anything by Haendel): :o [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-TGKJ9MgCOQ/hqdefault.jpg "George Frideric Handel - The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TGKJ9MgCOQ) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/67 "2014-04-03T03:07:52Z")
My go-to music for all things Russian: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DM_jGFFhWBU/hqdefault.jpg "World of Dance "Russian Sailors Dance" from The Red Poppy") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM_jGFFhWBU) ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/68 "2014-04-03T03:13:19Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Snip] Also listen for the familiar tear-inducing “Hearts and Flowers”…[snip] [Based](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearts_and_Flowers) on Alphons Czibulka’s [_Wintermärchen_](http://media.slated.org/displayimage.php?pid=172). ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/69 "2014-04-03T03:21:37Z")
Even though the composers of the music we’ve referenced are long [dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ido55uT5U0k), their music [lives on](http://books.google.com/books?id=Rz2WJ_-NxsAC&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=Winterm%C3%A4rchen+Alphons+Czibulka&source=bl&ots=r6ENG16U5C&sig=cuW-bKH_vWOIDZ5V9QQjlmki_jo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fNI8U9qtLrewsAThr4CQBw&ved=0CHMQ6AEwDg#v=onepage&q=Winterm%C3%A4rchen%20Alphons%20Czibulka&f=false). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/70 "2014-04-03T03:30:13Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:64, topic:685178”] Uhm, you’re confusing Clarke with Mouret: [/QUOTE] You got me dead to rights on MT, but MAN, those are similar. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/71 "2014-04-03T03:43:30Z")
There’s one fanfare I remember from kids’ TV, and then from a sound effects record in the school AV library: _Dada Da Dada Da Dada Da Dada Da, Dada Da Da Da DAAAAAA! Da Da Da DA Da Da Da, Da Dada Da Da DAAAAA! Da Da Da DA Da Da Da, Da Dada Dada DAAAAA! Da Dada DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!_ Is this a legitimate piece of music, or what? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/72 "2014-04-03T03:46:37Z")
Also, is there a name for the piece starting at 1:05 in\*\* this clip\*\*? I know it was used in at least one action-adventure flick back in the '50s (_ **Prince Valiant** _): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pxAvtVhmI7Y/hqdefault.jpg "The Mighty Hercules - The Deadly Ring - 1964") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxAvtVhmI7Y) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/73 "2014-04-03T04:09:05Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Is “[Sabre Dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqg3l3r_DRI)” still a cliche, or has it been retired to Cliche Parnassus? For some reason I always confuse this one with [Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimsky-Korsakov)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYAJopwEYv8); probably because it’s been done to death in everything from [piano arias](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SscLwofQJHo) to [heavy metal solos.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uzpTyivXMI) ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/74 "2014-04-03T04:14:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > You mean “The Ed Sullivan Show’s Plate-Spinner’s Theme”?\* 😃 > > \*Yes, I see it's been dubbed, but it proves I'm not the only guy who thinks this way! Me too. I’ll bet all three of us are about 60. ---
**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:** [April 3, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/75 "2014-04-03T04:36:11Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Me too. I’ll bet all three of us are about 60. :: raising my hand :: Lordy, I’m enjoying this thread. Another 50ish song you might have heard in a movie is [Sleepwalk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1st_9KudWB0). If it was a surf movie, [Pipeline](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omG-hZfN6zk) was popular. Of course, some of us like our opera from more traditional sources. [Habanera](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXKUb5A1auM) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/76 "2014-04-03T05:43:35Z")
When I think of “Sleepwalk” and “Pipeline,” I automatically think of these two pieces:\* \*I turned 59 in January. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/77 "2014-04-03T05:50:38Z")
My go-to song for all things Jewish: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFtv5qe5o3c) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/78 "2014-04-03T06:04:35Z")
The villain has tied the heroine to the train tracks and the train is approaching: Schubert’s _Der Erlkönig_ [Schubert - Der Erlkönig [魔王] (complete version.) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XP5RP6OEJI) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/79 "2014-04-03T06:09:07Z")
The music that recalls images of [The Spirit of 76](http://www.wpclipart.com/American_History/revolution/soldiers/Spirit_of_76.jpg.html) is [The Girl I Left Behind Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw5ZVhpriK0). The cliche music used in old cartoons when someone is shown sitting in a jail cell is [The Prisoner’s Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR9V7pZEY60). There’s one called _Please Go 'Way and Let Me Sleep_ that often accompanies cartoon and movie scenes of someone sleeping or trying to sleep. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video of it on line. The Benny Hill theme is Boots Randolph’s [Yakety Sax](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ). [Silver Threads Among the Gold](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twkgyMtA_fo) is cliched “old folks” music. [The Song of the Volga Boatmen](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNb54rwDQJM) is used to invoke plodding toil. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/80 "2014-04-03T06:32:18Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > There’s one called _Please Go 'Way and Let Me Sleep_ that often accompanies cartoon and movie scenes of someone sleeping or trying to sleep. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video of it on line. You mean **this piece**? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t894eGoymio/hqdefault.jpg "Johannes Brahms - Lullaby") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t894eGoymio) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178.md?page=5)