# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/41 "2021-11-29T05:13:45Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > 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’… _What Are You Doing…_ …The Rest of Your Life? Nope _Molesting My Wife_ ---
**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 29, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/42 "2021-11-29T05:16:30Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > On the Weird Al note, I can’t hear Greg Khin’s Jeopardy without expecting to hear Don Pardo introducing Al. This one, for me, too. It’s one of my favorite Weird Al songs. 🙂 ---
**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, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/43 "2021-11-29T05:28:25Z")
O Sole Mio = Just One Cornetto [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/biL6zAMkOQs/hqdefault.jpg "Walls Cornetto Ad") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biL6zAMkOQs) ---
**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, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/44 "2021-11-29T05:32:39Z")
Anvil Chorus = Raguleto Pasta Sauce [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PoJj3ixZqeo/hqdefault.jpg "Raguletto Pasta Ad") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoJj3ixZqeo) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/45 "2021-11-29T06:12:11Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > whenever I hear certain songs of their’s I’m expecting the words from the Weird Al parodies. Hah - yes indeed. In 1985, we did a cross-country driving trip. Whenever we could get radio reception (and there were quite a few places where we could not), it seemed everyone was playing Like A Virgin. On the last few days of the trip, we tuned into a station and heard the last few seconds of it. We were delighted, thinking that it would be a while before we heard it again. To our horror, it began playing again IMMEDIATELY. Fortunately for us, we very quickly realized we were hearing the parody. I’ve been a Weird Al fan ever since. Supposedly Madonna actually suggested the title for the parody. ---
**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, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/46 "2021-11-29T06:45:54Z")
Homer and Jethro’s parody of Johnny Horton’s “The Battle of New Orleans”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/o0mGFjAySTw/hqdefault.jpg "Homer & Jethro - The Battle of Kookamonga") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0mGFjAySTw) ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/47 "2021-11-29T12:22:31Z")
On Top of Old Smoky/On Top of Spaghetti ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/48 "2021-11-29T12:34:41Z")
Almost six minutes of Allan Sherman parodies here (some references are a bit dated)… [Shticks of One and a Half Dozen of the Other - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Cut3XwJxM) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/49 "2021-11-29T14:13:26Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > I can only hear ‘One ton tomato, I have a one ton tomato’… It’s “one ton of metal” for me, like some scrap iron dealer. ---
**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 29, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/50 "2021-11-29T14:19:47Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > On Top of Old Smoky/On Top of Spaghetti I’m actually only barely aware of the original of that one. I had an album of parodies as a kid and On Top of Spaghetti was the best one, or at least the only one I remember. I just looked up the lyrics to the original – I don’t think I ever heard it. ETA: [Here’s](https://www.discogs.com/it/master/745841-Tom-Glazer-And-The-Do-Re-Mi-Childrens-Chorus-On-Top-Of-Spaghetti) the album. Wow! Memories. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/51 "2021-11-29T14:30:11Z")
Oh, Gos, there’s so many of them. It’s not just the Weird Al parodies and Alan Sherman and Peter Schickele/PDQ Back. There are also the parodies in MAD, mostly by Frank Jacobs, who just died a few months ago > **[Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site - UGOI - Frank Jacobs](https://www.madcoversite.com/ugoi-frank_jacobs.html)** I’m not sure if it’s one of his, but this one’s stuck in my mind: > [@](#): > > Hello, Deli > This is Joe, Deli > Would you please send up > Some nice corned beef on rye? > > A box of Ritz, Deli > And some Schlitz, Deli > Some chopped liver > And a sliver of your apple pie > > Turkey legs, Deli > Hard boiled eggs, Deli > Some tomatoes and potatoes you french fry > > Oooohhhh > > Please don’t be late, Deli, > 'Cuz I can’t wait, Deli, > Deli, without breakfast I will die! (Side question – why is it that so many parodies, especially in Mad and by Al Yankovich, turn into songs about food?) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/52 "2021-11-29T14:32:00Z")
I can’t hear Jingle Bells without thinking of the Batman version. ---
**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 29, 2021, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/53 "2021-11-29T14:35:51Z")
One ton of Mayo…? [Michael Nesmith - One Ton Tomato from Television Parts - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-26vQtQZvVk) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/54 "2021-11-29T14:36:47Z")
Self-parodies by the original composers sometimes intrude on my memories of the real thing. John Lennon liked to goof around with Beatles lyrics (lots of examples in the Get Back six-hour film). And when I think of Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday,” I sometimes hear in my head “Scrambled eggs…oh, my baby, how I love your legs” — Paul’s own placeholder lyrics, before he came up with real ones. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/55 "2021-11-29T14:38:28Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit! Oh mg god, so this. ---
**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, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/56 "2021-11-29T14:41:44Z")
If we can include ads, then how about [Murphy’s Oil Soap](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rc81u9jIBM) sung to Turkey in the Straw. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/57 "2021-11-29T14:42:35Z")
I was listening to a radio show in which they were talking about Lorde’s “Royals” a while back and thinking “This sounds really familiar and yet I’m sure I’ve never heard it before”. Finally realized that while I hadn’t heard it, I _had_ already heard Weird’ Al’s version _“You can wrap it in FOY-al…”_ > [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Not strictly parodies, but Rachmaninoff was so schmaltzy in his own right that Eric Carman’s _Never Gonna Fall in Love Again_ and _All By Myself,_ and Billy Wilder’s _Seven Year Itch_ “It shakes me! It quakes me! It makes me feel goose-pimply all over!” put him were he really lives in the popular imagination. On the classical side, there’s an old joke about the opening solo in “The Rite of Spring” that the words to go with it are _“Iiiiii’m not an English horn, Iiii’m not an EEEEENG-lish horn…”_, which is amusing because it’s a bassoon playing in English horn range. I think of that every time. But that’s pretty esoteric. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/58 "2021-11-29T14:46:23Z")
Gonna echo many of the Weird Al posts so far and add that there were several years where I only knew most of the songs in “Polka Your Eyes Out” from Yankovic’s medley, so that’s the version I think of when I hear them. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9DC-sb54mkU/maxresdefault.jpg "Polka Your Eyes Out") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DC-sb54mkU) ---
**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, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/59 "2021-11-29T14:56:25Z")
This one from _ **The Simpsons** _: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NTGvD5e9FHM/maxresdefault.jpg "The Simpsons - Bath Together With Aliens!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTGvD5e9FHM) I can’t listen to Roger Whittaker’s “New World in the Morning” without singing my own creation “Good Dump in the Morning.” About 20 years ago, I was doing some volunteer work at an Anglican church and for some reason started singing “How Do You Make a Movie 'Bout Religion?” from _ **MAD Magazine** _’s satire of _ **The Sound of Music.** _ The Vicar was **not** amused! 😠 ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/60 "2021-11-29T15:10:09Z")
I Am Santa Claus to the tune of Iron Man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045.md?page=4)