# Best song ever: The Yip Song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398 "2019-09-17T20:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/1 "2019-09-17T20:23:56Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LxH2lyw65JY/hqdefault.jpg "Robyn Hitchcock - The Yip Song") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxH2lyw65JY) Yes? No? Why not? (Just an excuse to start a Robyn Hitchcock admiration thread.) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/2 "2019-09-17T20:37:34Z")
No. The best song ever is _Louie Louie_, followed closely by _Ace of Spades_. ETA: _The Yip Song_ isn’t even Robyn Hitchcock’s best song, IMO. For that, I’d prolly pick [_Sleeping With Your Devil Mask_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBswVQiDfYo). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/3 "2019-09-17T21:15:01Z")
[These](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTPDbN82ZLA) superfans agree. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2019, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/4 "2019-09-17T22:48:24Z")
Huge Robyn Hitchcock fan here. He’s the artist I’ve seen the most live. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen him at this point, but it’s definitely 40+ times. I do really like The Yip Song quite a bit, but I think my favorite song by him is [My Wife And My Dead Wife](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBrX__d-bf4). That said, The Yip Song is probably a catchier song. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/5 "2019-09-18T10:07:22Z")
It doesn’t appear to be available for streaming yet but I understand he’s been recording music with Andy Partridge (XTC) lately. The potential for wonderfulness is high! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/6 "2019-09-18T12:13:35Z")
[_Planet England_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZErRsTnW5E) was released 6 September. [Burning Shed](https://burningshed.com/store/ape/artists-ape/andy-partridge?utm_source=Newsletter+01+08+2019&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter+01+08+2019) is where you can purchase a copy. And yeah, it’s pretty wonderful. 😃 I mean, it’s exactly what _I_ expected from them. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/7 "2019-09-18T13:40:13Z")
An early solo Robyn favourite from me [Do Policemen Sing?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvreV805SYI) see also “Brenda’s Iron Sledge” (which you can find for yourselves). I’d put in a link to “Uncorrected Personality Traits” but the example I found on youtube was pretty crap. I kind of lost touch with Robyn when he went a bit too folk-y, I mean there is good stuff on _I Often Dream of Trains_ and later releases, but for me it started to trend a bit too “normal”. I think _top Robyn_ was back with the Soft Boys, but the best of his solo stuff keeps up. > [@Anamorphic](#): > > Huge Robyn Hitchcock fan here. He’s the artist I’ve seen the most live. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen him at this point, but it’s definitely 40+ times. You’re in Los Angeles, so where have you seen him? I used to go to his gigs a lot when I use to live in London (long ago, before his hair went grey). The “acoustic” gigs were the most fun, where he’d go off on some spiel between numbers. One time at Ronnie Scots he continued a single rambling, improvised, non-sequitur filled (you might say _Hitchcock-esque_) story between every number. Does he still do that sort of thing? He occasionally turns up live on Radio 4’s _Loose Ends_, but he seems to save his latest not-so-good songs for this. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2019, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/8 "2019-09-18T15:21:09Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > You’re in Los Angeles, so where have you seen him? I used to go to his gigs a lot when I use to live in London (long ago, before his hair went grey). The “acoustic” gigs were the most fun, where he’d go off on some spiel between numbers. One time at Ronnie Scots he continued a single rambling, improvised, non-sequitur filled (you might say _Hitchcock-esque_) story between every number. Does he still do that sort of thing? These days when he passes through town, he usually plays Largo in West Hollywood, so I’ve seen him there a whole bunch of times (they have a bigger and a smaller room there, and he plays both, depending on what type of show/band he’s with). I’ve also seen him play the Troubadour, The El Rey, The Palace on Vine in Hollywood (called something else these days), an old theater downtown I forget the name of, McCabe’s Guitar Store, a few free shows at Amoeba Records and (believe it or not) the Starbucks on Melrose Ave., plus I’m sure other places I’m forgetting. I’ve also seen him in other cities; Boston was the first time I saw him (I forget the name of the venue, but we’re talking somewhere around 30 years ago), Vancouver (during the Soft Boys reunion tour), Seattle, and Baltimore. Yes, he still does the in-between song stream-of-consciousness banter, which I love! ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/9 "2019-09-20T15:32:09Z")
And does his first song always include a harmonica? (I’ve only seen him live once + the documentary “Storefront Hitchcock.” Both sets opened with harmonica accompaniment.) ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/10 "2019-09-20T16:13:29Z")
I really think he’s the Lou Gehrig of rock. He has had great stuff in 5 decades. Stacks of great songs. And he has never needed critical inflation, or sentimentality, like most legacy acts do, to keep the string going. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/11 "2019-09-20T16:43:13Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I really think he’s the Lou Gehrig of rock. He has had great stuff in 5 decades. Stacks of great songs. And he has never needed critical inflation, or sentimentality, like most legacy acts do, to keep the string going. Exactly! It’s been a great joy to have “discovered” him after all these years. Maybe _this_ is the best song ever: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGBv3T25FSQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGBv3T25FSQ) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/12 "2019-09-20T16:53:19Z")
The Best Song Ever is a tie between (I can’t get no)\* Satisfaction\* and _Brown Sugar_, with _Roll Over Beethoven_ in 3rd, and Handel’s\* Messiah\* in 4th. I commend Robyn Hitchcock for a great effort. ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-song-ever-the-yip-song/840398/13 "2019-09-20T19:44:58Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > The Best Song Ever is a tie between (I can’t get no)\* Satisfaction\* and _Brown Sugar_, with _Roll Over Beethoven_ in 3rd, and Handel’s\* Messiah\* in 4th. > > I commend Robyn Hitchcock for a great effort. Nope. Still “The Yip! Song.” (I left off that important exclamation point in my OP)