# Are there any songs you can't listen to without thinking of a parody? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 28, 2021, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045 "2021-11-28T05:44:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/21 "2021-11-28T18:49:32Z")
Whereas I hear “Rock Me, Jerry Lewis.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aSzbbTPLUq8/hqdefault.jpg ""ROCK ME JERRY LEWIS" - Mike Elliot and Bud LaTour") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSzbbTPLUq8) ---
**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:** [November 28, 2021, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/22 "2021-11-28T18:54:58Z")
All of the dirty versions of “I’m Popeye the Sailor Man” and “The Streets of Cairo.” The theme to _ **Gilligan’s Island** _ sung to the tune of “Stairway to Heaven.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/K4MKQMTHplI/maxresdefault.jpg "Puddles Pity Party - Stairway To Gilligan's Island - Led Zeppelin - Classic TV Theme") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4MKQMTHplI) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/23 "2021-11-28T20:42:18Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > For me, it’s “Beat It”/“Eat It.” Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/24 "2021-11-28T20:57:28Z")
Here at the bar I feel safest of all, I get drunk as a skunk and throw up on the wall…in bars. ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/25 "2021-11-28T21:04:55Z")
I can never hear the Bridal Chorus from _Lohengrin_ without thinking of the old childhood parody “Here comes the bride / Fair, fat, and wide.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/26 "2021-11-28T21:35:55Z")
On the Weird Al note, I can’t hear Greg Khin’s Jeopardy without expecting to hear Don Pardo introducing Al. On the non-Weird Al note…Guantanamera, I can only hear ‘One ton tomato, I have a one ton tomato’… ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/27 "2021-11-28T22:14:59Z")
The Saga Begins, by Weird Al has basically replaced American Pie. “A long, long time ago/In a galaxy far away/Naboo was under an attack…” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hEcjgJSqSRU/maxresdefault.jpg ""Weird Al" Yankovic - The Saga Begins (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcjgJSqSRU) You can tell that Weird Al is a genuine Star Wars fan from this, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/28 "2021-11-28T22:22:42Z")
There’s that song, which I assume is called “new york state of mind”, not sure who sung it, female vocalist I think, but it is fairly well known. Whenever I catch a snatch of it I automatically sing the “Goldie lookin chain” version, [“Newport state of mind”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx8CZyFM4b4) which I believe to be, in essence, superior. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/29 "2021-11-28T22:23:52Z")
A lot of Weird Al songs do that for me, but none as strongly as [_Another One Rides the Bus_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79QxturUolo). I can’t hear _Another One Bites the Dust_ without singing along using Al’s lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/30 "2021-11-28T22:38:39Z")
I have long since concluded that the Richard Cheese parody (often misattributed to Weird Al Yankovic) of Barry Manilow’s “(At The Copa) Copacabana” surpasses the original [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IX3sI0q5iMI/hqdefault.jpg "Star Wars Cantina By Richard Cheese!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX3sI0q5iMI) And I’ve seen this parody of Joan Osborne’s 1990s hit “(What If God Was) One Of Us” variously (mis)attributed so often, I actually don’t know who created/performed it, LOL. (Half the time it’s flat out attributed to Joan Osborne, which I doubt) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e-P6SQbhgg0/maxresdefault.jpg "What If God Smoked Cannabis") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-P6SQbhgg0) ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/31 "2021-11-28T22:48:28Z")
I can’t hear “Hava Nagila” without singing “Have some tequila”. Or worse, one I came up with myself. A friend was visiting and wanted a snack, but wasn’t in the mood for the usual chips. I had recently purchased a rather large bunch of bananas, so I starting singing (to the tune of “Hava Nagila”), “Have a banana, have a banana, have a banana; why not have two.” ---
**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:** [November 28, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/32 "2021-11-28T23:51:12Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > There’s that song, which I assume is called “new york state of mind”, not sure who sung it, female vocalist I think, but it is fairly well known. Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind.” I heard it on the radio a couple of hours ago and made a note of it. Synchronicity strikes again! I got the LP soundtrack from _ **Mary Poppins** _ for Christmas 1965. The Sherman Brothers must have been writing for ten-year-old boys, because I transformed “I Love to Laugh” into “I Love to Fart” in no time at all. (The parody practically wrote itself.) Another beloved childhood memory desecrated! I know there are at least two parodies of the theme from _ **Daniel Boone** _, neither of which I can post here. I actually wrote one of them when I was in high school and taught it to a guy my age at summer camp in 1972. I was back the next summer and tried teaching it to another guy who stopped me as soon as I started singing. “You didn’t write that!” he said. “A guy at my high school did!” Turned out he and the guy I had taught it to the previous summer were classmates. I’ve always wondered if it spread from there, the way a virus would. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/33 "2021-11-29T00:01:36Z")
actually, I make up my own usually and they end up beyond filthy ---
**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:** [November 29, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/34 "2021-11-29T00:17:33Z")
The _ **Daniel Boone** _ parodies I know aren’t really “filthy,” just incredibly non-PC. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/35 "2021-11-29T00:36:19Z")
the original [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TYApdmp6je8/hqdefault.jpg "Bad Religion - 21st Century Digital Boy (Official Video with lyrics)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYApdmp6je8) the parody [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cmp1gFpAyg0/maxresdefault.jpg "21st Century Vato Loco") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmp1gFpAyg0) ---
**Author:** ![Dinoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@Dinoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/36 "2021-11-29T00:40:59Z")
A real old one called “San Miguel” by the Kingston Trio had a parody but I can’t remember if it’s the original or a parody. Mostly I remember the parody lyrics “she calls me a wetback and threaten to send me away.” The original was about a serious romance between a highborn lady and a servant. The parody she wanted rid of him. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/37 "2021-11-29T00:51:49Z")
There was a British band called the Barron Knights who were famous for their parodies in the 70s. Whenever I hear Boney M’s song _Rivers of Babylon_, I hear their rendition _Dentist In Birmingham_. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/I9SDEKlCCqE/hqdefault.jpg "A Taste Of Aggro - THE BARRON KNIGHTS (1978) (They should update & re-release this)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9SDEKlCCqE) ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/38 "2021-11-29T03:47:12Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > I can’t hear “Rock Me, Amadeus” without thinking Eat me, I’m a danish. The Wiggles sang a cover of [“Six Months in a Leaky Boat”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTSp2w8561w) featuring [Tim Finn of Split Enz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJJedfEufF4), where Captain Feathersword the pirate provides a lot of the entertainment value, but I think they really missed an opportunity to re-record “Hot Potato” to that Falco tune. Ditto what everyone else has said about Weird Al. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/39 "2021-11-29T05:00:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The theme to _ **Gilligan’s Island** _ sung to the tune of “Stairway to Heaven.” Originally done by [Little Roger and the Goosebumps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG6LyqEMUXg). Every time I hear U2’s _One_ I think of [this](https://youtu.be/C2X8zPYhNag?t=63). ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/40 "2021-11-29T05:12:08Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I had recently purchased a rather large bunch of bananas, so I starting singing (to the tune of “Hava Nagila”), “Have a banana, have a banana, have a banana; why not have two.” Whereas I, if faced with the same situation, would have started in with “have a banana / have a whole bunch / it doesn’t matter / what you had for lunch / just eat it”… One of these days I’m going to a karaoke night and sing the entire “Weird Al” parody songbook to the originals until I get booed off the stage (probably halfway through the first song). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045.md?page=3)