# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/81 "2021-11-30T05:06:18Z")
My Rutles ‘thing’ is: _Get up and go._ X 2 _Get up and go back home_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/82 "2021-11-30T10:09:23Z")
[Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)[Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Registered) [Nov 29](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/26) **On the non-Weird Al note…Guantanamera, I can only hear ‘One ton tomato, I have a one ton tomato’…** I’ve only heard that parody once, on a Mike Nesmith TV special circa 1986. ---
**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 30, 2021, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/83 "2021-11-30T11:39:45Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I love Spike Jones, but in most cases, I have never heard the originals. > [@mbh](#): > > Is the “Dance of the Hours” segment of _Fantasia_ considered a parody? The music itself was played completely straight, but I don’t think ballet-dancing hippos is quite what Ponchielli had in mind. [Speaking of Spike Jones…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1fSnzmCtGQ) ---
**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 30, 2021, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/84 "2021-11-30T12:56:03Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@Author\_Balk](#): > > > > Another one from my childhood. > > Glory, Glory, Halleluiah. Teacher hit me with a ruler. > > Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school. We have crucified the prinicipal and broken all the rules. Something something something. > > Glory glory Hallelujah. Teacher hit me with a ruler. I bopped her on the bean with a rotten tangerine. The truth goes marching on. I remember portions of a verse that had the teacher getting into a motorcycle wreck and “she was lying in the grass with a muffler up her ass and her tits were playing music on the spokes” ---
**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 30, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/85 "2021-11-30T13:48:16Z")
_Glory, glory, Halleujah!_ _Teacher hit me with a ruler._ _Shot her with a six-shooter._ _Never gonna go to school!_ ---
**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 30, 2021, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/86 "2021-11-30T15:09:17Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > My Rutles ‘thing’ is: Loov life, loov life… Loov is the meaning of life, life is the meaning of loov… ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/87 "2021-11-30T15:24:36Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > “Toreadors” from the opera “Carmen”: > > “Oh Theodora, don’t spit on the floor-a, use the cuspidor-a, that’s what it’s a-for-a”. I immediately turn to Gilligan’s Island’s mashup of Carmen with Hamlet: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be. Don’t you forget - stay out of debt.” > [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember reading an interview with Billy Joel years ago where he mentioned that when he was writing the song “Honesty”, his placeholder lyric was “Sodomy”. So of course that’s what always pops into my head when I hear that song. A friend of mine would always substitute “masturbate” for “Celebrate”. You would then get “Masturbate good times. Come on! It’s a masturbation!” Great for weddings! ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/88 "2021-11-30T15:33:46Z")
I was dining with a woman last night who was mourning Sondheim, and I mentioned that I never heard a song of his. (Turned out I was wrong–I didn’t remember that he’d written GYPSY.) But I said that I did know all of the lyrics to Mad Magazine’s Parody of “West Side Story” which they called “East Side Story,” all about the Cold War. “When you’re a Red, you’re a Red all the way, from your first Party purge to your last power play…” ---
**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 30, 2021, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/89 "2021-11-30T15:42:46Z")
> [@Roger\_That](#): > > But I said that I did know all of the lyrics to Mad Magazine’s Parody of “West Side Story” which they called “East Side Story,” all about the Cold War. “When you’re a Red, you’re a Red all the way, from your first Party purge to your last power play…” Now this reminded me of an anecdote, which still sticks in my head when I hear another song from _West Side Story_. I was in college (University of Wisconsin-Madison), and was walking through campus with a couple of friends one evening. We walked past a group of Asian students, and one of them was singing: “What’s there to do in America? Nothing to do in America!” ---
**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 30, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/90 "2021-11-30T15:44:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > (Side question – why is it that so many parodies, especially in Mad and by Al Yankovich, turn into songs about food?) I think it has something to do with Jewish mothers hovering over their children and saying “Eat, eat! You’re all skin and bones!” ---
**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 30, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/91 "2021-11-30T15:50:59Z")
If we are doing WSS parodies then we have to add John Kiester (Almost Live!) singing [_Clinique Girl_](https://youtu.be/Pon4dhLRLlU?t=83). ---
**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 30, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/92 "2021-11-30T16:07:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I think it has something to do with Jewish mothers hovering over their children and saying “Eat, eat! You’re all skin and bones!” I don’t get the connection. If it’s specifically relating to Weird Al, he’s not Jewish. ---
**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 30, 2021, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/93 "2021-11-30T16:20:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > (Side question – why is it that so many parodies, especially in Mad and by Al Yankovich, turn into songs about food?) It does amuse me for no particular reason that Al’s big MJ parodies are both about food: “Beat It/Eat It” and “Bad/Fat”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/94 "2021-11-30T16:23:23Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > > [@CalMeacham](#): > > > > (Side question – why is it that so many parodies, especially in Mad and by Al Yankovich, turn into songs about food?) > > It does amuse me for no particular reason that Al’s big MJ parodies are both about food: “Beat It/Eat It” and “Bad/Fat”. - Kurt Cobain was worried that Weird Al’s parody of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” would be about food. He was amused about the actual topic. ---
**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 30, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/95 "2021-11-30T16:25:47Z")
To be fair, it _is_ hard to bargle nawdle zouss. ---
**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 30, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/96 "2021-11-30T16:27:10Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I don’t get the connection. If it’s specifically relating to Weird Al, he’s not Jewish. Probably more about Mad Magazine, where many of the writers and artists _were_ Jewish. ---
**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 30, 2021, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/97 "2021-11-30T16:31:44Z")
Correct! 👍 ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/98 "2021-11-30T16:47:56Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > I don’t get the connection. If it’s specifically relating to Weird Al, he’s not Jewish. > > Probably more about Mad Magazine, where many of the writers and artists _were_ Jewish. And which was a huge seminal influence on young Alfred Matthew Yankovic, which he noted on several occasions (including his stint as _Mad_’s first and only guest editor). ---
**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 30, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/99 "2021-11-30T17:03:04Z")
Thanks, never knew Al worked at Mad. ---
**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 30, 2021, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045/100 "2021-11-30T18:33:30Z")
Only for one issue (#533) [MAD Guest Editor | "Weird Al" Yankovic](https://www.weirdal.com/news/mad-guest-editor/#:~:text=MAD%20Magazine%20picked%20Al%20to,the%20Usual%20Gang%20of%20Idiots). > **[MAD #533](https://www.madmagazine.com/issues/mad-533)** > > Featuring our first-ever Guest Editor, the one and only "Weird Al" Yankovic! Pick up a copy today for mandatory fun like "Pages from Weird Al's Notebook," "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions: Special Weird Al Edition," and "MAD's Tom Bunk Visits a... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-songs-you-cant-listen-to-without-thinking-of-a-parody/955045.md?page=6)