# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/101 "2014-04-03T17:21:43Z")
There is also the famous [Hoedown](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsReWx9XdNs) from Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring that evokes stereotypical American farmers. ---
**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, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/102 "2014-04-03T17:35:55Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I know I’ve asked this in other threads, but what’s the title of that cliche Russian dance music? > > "Da da da da da daaaaa, > Da da da da da da. > HEY! > > “Da da da da da daaaaa, > Da da da da da da. > HEY!” > > You’ll hear it in this old Popeye cartoon around 6:45 > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly8jsu\_i0JU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly8jsu_i0JU) It’s called the Hopak (or Gopak), and is actually Ukrainian. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ALzZ69HLXuY/hqdefault.jpg "Virsky - Hopak / Вірський - Гопак (ukrainian dance)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALzZ69HLXuY) ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/103 "2014-04-03T17:37:31Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > The stereotypical “graduation” music in the US is [Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, Op. 39, March 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw-_Ew5bVxs) March 4 is also used: [http://youtu.be/sAU5vD7LC9w?t=1m18s](http://youtu.be/sAU5vD7LC9w?t=4m2s) ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/104 "2014-04-03T17:38:39Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Good one. I always assumed “Mysterious Mose” used the motif because it was appropriate to the context of the song. Never occurred to me that it might be the point of origin. Your first instinct is correct. The tune itself was published back in 1914 as part of a piece called Mysterioso Pizzicato which itself may have been borrowed from an earlier work called Mysterioso Burglar Music 1. Mysterious Mose was not made until 1930. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/105 "2014-04-03T17:51:54Z")
> [@lisiate](#): > > Grieg’s most cliched work has to be [“In The Hall of The Mountain King”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRpzxKsSEZg) > > I count 45 uses in film and television alone on this [wikipedia page.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grieg%27s_music_in_popular_culture) As a huge Grieg fan, I have to say, for as well known as all these clips are, it’s a shame that his name isn’t better known. Or that you don’t hear the _Holberg Suite_ more often. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/106 "2014-04-03T18:00:04Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Does anyone know the origin of the “stealth” theme (dun…dun…dun…dun… duuuhhhhhhhh, dun-dun-dun-dun)? Certainly one of the most widely used examples of the OP’s quest. [Mysterioso Pizzicato (1914)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysterioso_Pizzicato) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/107 "2014-04-03T18:02:28Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:77, topic:685178”] My go-to song for all things Jewish: [/QUOTE] I think everyone knows "Hava Nagila." If anyone is curious, the title means "Let's Be Happy." Anyone who is Jewish can actually sing the whole song. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/108 "2014-04-03T18:06:39Z")
Allan Sherman’s “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah” is actually titled “A Letter from Camp,” and the tune is borrowed from “Dance of the Hours,” from the opera _La Gioconda_ by Amilcare Ponchielli. ---
**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, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/109 "2014-04-03T18:20:09Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > [Pachelbel’s canon in D](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Af372EQLck) [Where are you now, Pachalbel?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdxkVQy7QLM) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/110 "2014-04-03T18:34:34Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > That piece of music that has a typewriter and its bell used as an instrument is called, hold on to your hat, [“The Typewriter.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Typewriter) Another “cliche” song written by Leroy Anderson is [Sleigh Ride](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwHEqx_3BYE). ---
**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, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/111 "2014-04-03T19:00:06Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I think everyone knows “Hava Nagila.” If anyone is curious, the title means “Let’s Be Happy.” Anyone who is Jewish can actually sing the whole song. I learned it as “Come, Brethren, Let Us Rejoice!” I can sing the whole song too, and I’m not even Jewish. 🆒 ---
**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, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/112 "2014-04-03T19:04:12Z")
Another song used to convey the “old folks” motif: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I5GOPPL-z0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I5GOPPL-z0). [QUOTE=astorian] I may have missed it, but Chopin’s “Funeral March”…[snip] [/QUOTE] Psst… Post #69. 😉 ---
**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, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/113 "2014-04-03T19:43:57Z")
ANOTHER “cliche” song written by Leroy Anderson is [The Syncopated Clock](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrpdQngwk2g). ---
**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, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/114 "2014-04-03T21:39:45Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:102, topic:685178”] It’s called the Hopak (or Gopak), and is actually Ukrainian. [/QUOTE] What I think **astorian** is looking for is not in this clip. What he’s looking for starts at about 7:04 of the [Popeye cartoon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly8jsu_i0JU). ---
**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, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/115 "2014-04-03T21:43:31Z")
At a “[Cinco de Mayo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo)” party in the USA, you’re like to hear “[The Mexican](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE6qVVffM1Q) [Hat Dance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarabe_Tapat%C3%ADo)”. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/116 "2014-04-03T22:33:30Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I learned it as “Come, Brethren, Let Us Rejoice!” I can sing the whole song too, and I’m not even Jewish. 🆒 “Hava” is an interjection, not a true verb form, although it comes from a form of “to give.” “Nagila” could be translated as “rejoice,” but it could also be translated as “be in a good mood.” Later in the song, it does say “Brothers, in your hearts, let there be celebration”; all the lines of the song are pretty much along that theme. You probably had an old translation out of a pre-WWII Reform “hymnal,” where everything was translated to sound like Christian hymns that were mostly written in the 17th, 18th & 19th centuries. “Hava Nagila” was actually written only about 100 years ago, and is not quite as old as “Happy Birthday.” ---
**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, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/117 "2014-04-03T22:34:23Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I know I’ve asked this in other threads, but what’s the title of that cliche Russian dance music? [snip] > [@terentii](#): > > It’s called the Hopak (or Gopak), and is actually Ukrainian. [snip] > [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > What I think **astorian** is looking for is not in this clip. What he’s looking for starts at about 7:04 of the [Popeye cartoon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly8jsu_i0JU). @ **astorian** : I have a bunch of CDs with Russian folk music on them and will have to dig them out and see if I can find the song you’re trying to ID. FWIW, I can rule out two biggies, _[Kalinka](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ9q7N5e25c)_ and _[Marusya](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEfvQB2gG2Y)_. Slightly off-topic, the _Popeye_ theme song is based on an old folk song called, _[The Sailor’s Hornpipe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YxKeuURayU%22)_. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/118 "2014-04-03T22:42:26Z")
Original lyrics to the ditty known as “The Star-Spangled Banner”: “Anacreon in Heaven” Lyrics: Ralph Tomlinson Music: John Stafford Smith To Anacreon in Heav’n, where he sat in full glee, A few Sons of Harmony sent a petition; That he their Inspirer and Patron wou’d be; When this answer arrived from the Jolly Old Grecian; “Voice, Fiddle, and Flute, No longer be mute, I’ll lend you my name and inspire you to boot, And besides I’ll instruct you like me, to intwine, The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.” The news through Olympus immediately flew; When Old Thunder pretended to give himself airs. If these Mortals are suffered their scheme to pursue, The Devil, a Goddess, will stay above stairs. “Hark”, Already they cry, “In transports of joy, Away to the Sons of Anacreon we’ll fly. And besides I’ll instruct you like me, to intwine, The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.” “The Yellow-Haired God and his nine lusty Maids, From Helion’s banks will incontinent flee, Idalia will boast but of tenantless Shades, And the bi-forked hill a mere desert will be. My Thunder no fear on’t, Shall soon do it’s errand, And damme I’ll swing the Ringleaders I warrant, I’ll trim the young dogs, for thus daring to twine, The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.” Apollo rose up and said, “Pry’thee ne’er quarrel, Good sing of the Gods with my Vot’ries below: Your Thunder is useless”–then showing his laurel, Cry’d “Sic evitable fulmen’ you know! Then over each head My laurels I’ll spread So my sons from your Crackers no mischief shall dread, While snug in their clubroom, they jovially twine, The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.” Next Momus got up with his risible Phiz And swore with Apollo he’d cheerfully join- “The full tide of Harmony still shall be his, But the Song, and the Catch, and the Laugh, shall be mine. Then Jove be not jealous Of these honest fellows,” Cry’d Jove, “We relent since the truth you now tell us; And swear by Old Styx, that they long shall intwine, The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.” Ye Sons of Anacreon then join hand in hand; Preserve Unanimity, Friendship, and Love! 'Tis yours to support what’s so happily plann’d; You’ve the sanction of Gods, and the Fiat of Jove. While thus we agree, Our toast let it be: “May our Club flourish Happy, United, and Free! And long may the Sons of Anacreon intwine, The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.” ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/119 "2014-04-03T22:50:14Z")
Oh, the real name of what everyone calls “The Pina Colada Song” is “Escape,” and apparently Rupert Holmes has a thing about calling it by its right name. ---
**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, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178/120 "2014-04-03T22:54:34Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > At a “[Cinco de Mayo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo)” party in the USA, you’re like to hear “[The Mexican](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE6qVVffM1Q) [Hat Dance](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarabe_Tapat%C3%ADo)”. Which, according to George Carlin, [took three people to write.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9kGA_HyRLY) 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-names-of-some-well-known-cliche-songs/685178.md?page=7)