# Any other songs like "One Night in Bangkok" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290 "2007-04-01T13:14:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/1 "2007-04-01T13:14:32Z")
… Not so fast there, I mean, are there other songs that talk about a game, but don’t come out and spell it out? And by game I mean a ‘classic’ board game. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/2 "2007-04-01T13:22:39Z")
Well, One Night in Bangkok does spell it out, doesn’t it? “The creme de la creme of the chess world” Now, Yes’s “I’ve Seen All Good People” at least doesn’t mention the word chess. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/3 "2007-04-01T13:38:43Z")
:smack: Ok. Any other songs that talk one game in the same depth as One Night in Bangkok? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/4 "2007-04-01T15:48:15Z")
Well, “One Night in Bangkok” is from the musical CHESS and is about the singer’s inability to really pay attention to anything other than the game. Chutes & Ladders doesn’t tend to inspire that type of obsession among it’s players. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/5 "2007-04-01T16:26:23Z")
[QUOTE=amarinth] Chutes & Ladders doesn’t tend to inspire that type of obsession among it’s players. [/QUOTE] Apparently you’ve never heard my song, “One Night in Tulsa”. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/6 "2007-04-01T16:52:32Z")
[QUOTE=Meeko] :smack: Ok. Any other songs that talk one game in the same depth as One Night in Bangkok? [/QUOTE] A few of the other songs from CHESS are about the game (at least as much as One Night in Bangkok is). Notably, “The Story of Chess,” and “Quartet (A Model of Decorum and Tranquility).” If Buckner & Garcia put out a whole album of songs about [80s video games](http://www.bucknergarcia.com/), I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other board game songs. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/7 "2007-04-01T17:06:21Z")
If you count game shows, there’s “I Lost on Jeopardy” by Weird Al Yankovick. And, well, I guess from your OP that you don’t count game shows. But hey, there are home game versions of Jeopardy so I claim half credit. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/8 "2007-04-01T17:11:04Z")
Hope this isn’t too much of a hijack, but I only recently found out that Murray Head, best known for the 1984 release of “One Night In Bangkok”, is the brother of Anthony Stewart Head who played Giles on ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/9 "2007-04-01T17:22:28Z")
There are a few about card games. Kenny Rogers’s _The Gambler_ and Jonathan Coulton’s [Gambler’s Prayer](http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/Gambler's%20Prayer%20(Demo)) come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/10 "2007-04-01T18:02:21Z")
Murray Head also had the leading role of Judas on the original 1971 recording of _Jesus Christ Superstar_, which went to #1 on the album charts in the U.S. I’d nominate “One Night in Bangkok” as the #1 kitsch classic of the '80s. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/11 "2007-04-01T18:15:59Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] I’d nominate “One Night in Bangkok” as the #1 kitsch classic of the '80s. [/QUOTE] Oh no. Not so long as Divine was recording music. Murray Head’s recording isn’t even the number one kitsch version of the song, that honor going to the cover by Robey (best known as the hot chick from the Friday the 13th TV series). ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/12 "2007-04-01T18:19:37Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Oh no. Not so long as Divine was recording music. Murray Head’s recording isn’t even the number one kitsch version of the song, that honor going to the cover by Robey (best known as the hot chick from the Friday the 13th TV series). [/QUOTE] BTW, the original video of _One Night in Bangkok_ is no longer at Youtube, but here is the song with a nice up to date photo slide of current day Bangkok: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Z-leMWG-Vvs/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z-leMWG-Vvs?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque And for treat, here is the Robey cover: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xqiVxB315Cw/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/xqiVxB315Cw?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/13 "2007-04-01T18:47:35Z")
I love that song 🙂 Never heard the Robey cover… but man… she’s got some BIG ASS HAIR!!! And she also either has no rhythm or the video editing isn’t synched up with the music (especially the part where she’s doing the head slides…) Interesting video though, and a good cover of the song, musically. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/14 "2007-04-01T19:20:58Z")
That’s a tough one. I guess games don’t interest musicians so much. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/15 "2007-04-01T19:28:32Z")
Ok, thought of one. Kaizers Orchestra - Rullett. Its about Russian Roulette. (And it’s in Norwegian. Pretty obscure.) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/16 "2007-04-01T19:29:27Z")
[QUOTE=Meeko] Ok. Any other songs that talk one game in the same depth as One Night in Bangkok? [/QUOTE] “One Night in Bangkok” doesn’t talk about chess, directly or indirectly. It’s from the musical _Chess_, about a chess tournament takes place in Bangkok. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/17 "2007-04-01T19:39:13Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] “One Night in Bangkok” doesn’t talk about chess, directly or indirectly. It’s from the musical _Chess_, about a chess tournament takes place in Bangkok. [/QUOTE] Sure it does. "One town’s very like another When your head’s down over your pieces, brother It’s a drag, it’s a bore, it’s really such a pity To be looking at the board, not looking at the city" and "Siam’s gonna be the witness To the ultimate test of cerebral fitness This grips me more than would a Muddy old river or reclining Buddha And thank God I’m only watching the game – controlling it – I don’t see you guys rating The kind of mate I’m contemplating I’d let you watch, I would invite you But the queens we use would not excite you" Unless I misunderstand you. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2007, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/18 "2007-04-01T20:49:36Z")
I don’t know if this is in the same league (heh, heh) but John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” does not mention the game of baseball. \*EDIT- Never mind, on rereading, I see the OP is asking for a board game. My goof. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/19 "2007-04-02T03:03:44Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] I don’t know if this is in the same league (heh, heh) but John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” does not mention the game of baseball. \*EDIT- Never mind, on rereading, I see the OP is asking for a board game. My goof. [/QUOTE] Well, there are some baseball board games. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290/20 "2007-04-02T06:50:41Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Never heard the Robey cover… but man… she’s got some BIG ASS HAIR!!! And she also either has no rhythm or the video editing isn’t synched up with the music [/QUOTE] That might be a Youtube artifact. I don’t know if it’s a bandwidth thing but more and more I’ve been seeing the visuals falling behind the audio on a variety of clips. I do concur about the giant frakking hair, though. Re the OP, I assume Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Roborally” wouldn’t count because the name of the game is right there in the title. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-songs-like-one-night-in-bangkok/398290.md?page=2)