# Did you know?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [July 18, 1999, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164 "1999-07-18T16:30:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 21, 1999, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/21 "1999-07-21T16:47:00Z")
and a long-standing favorite is to sing Robert Frost’s poem _Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening_ to the tune of “Hernando’s Hideaway” from PAJAMA GAME.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 22, 1999, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/22 "1999-07-22T05:16:00Z")
Emily Dickinson’s poems also work quite well to “The Yellow Rose Of Texas”:
Because I would not stop for death
He kindly stopped for meeee
The carriage held but just ourselves
And immortalityyyyyyy.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 23, 1999, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/23 "1999-07-23T04:22:00Z")
PLD - the point is if he wasnt a Beatle he would not have been sued - think about it - as evidenced by this thread, how many songs sound alike and no one gets sued…
TennHippie - I own ( a gift ) of bluegrass versions of Beatles songs - great stuff 🙂
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/24 "1999-07-24T05:50:00Z")
Thanks, Howdy…that was my (sarcastic) point.
BTW, did anyone ever hear the Pet Shop Boys version of “Where the Streets have no Name” where they merged it with the song that goes:
“You’re just too good to be true,
can’t keep my eyes off of you…”
(I’m blanking on the name.)
Hilarious, though.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/25 "1999-07-24T05:57:00Z")
TennHippie:
> [@](#):
>
> bluegrass versions of a couple of songs from Ping Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon
IIRC, it was a bluegrass outfit called _Slick Nickel_. I caught them once at a campground in Columbia, MO. They were great!
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 23, 1999, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/26 "1999-07-23T19:08:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> PLD - the point is if he wasnt a Beatle he would not have been sued - think about it - as evidenced by this thread, how many songs sound alike and no one gets sued…
I disagree with that–these songs don’t “sound alike.” They have the same rhythmic cadence to their words, but that’s no surprise–they’re all working within a popular idiom. They don’t have the same melodies, same chord progressions, same harmonies, or anything else.
That’s like saying all poems in iambic pentameter sound alike.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/27 "1999-07-24T00:58:00Z")
PLD
> [@](#):
>
> I disagree with that–these songs don’t “sound alike.” They have the same rhythmic cadence to their words, but that’s no surprise–they’re all working within a popular idiom. They don’t have the same melodies, same chord progressions, same harmonies, or anything else.
>
> That’s like saying all poems in iambic pentameter sound alike.
Do you keep a dictionary by your computer in an attempt to make us all THINK you know what you’re talking about, or are you just tone deaf?
* * *
“Man, the 60’s must have been real good for you!”
George Carlin…“Outrageous Fortune”
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”
Dorothy…“The Wizard of Oz”
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/28 "1999-07-24T04:01:00Z")
Yeah, that whole big story about Phil being a musician and all, that was all planned in order to sound knowledgeable in this thread. Wonder how he knew about it so far in advance…
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/29 "1999-07-24T04:21:00Z")
Does anybody have a clue what anyone is talking about anymore?
I still have my ears on singing “Amazing Grace”
Smile all…
* * *
“Man, the 60’s must have been real good for you!”
George Carlin…“Outrageous Fortune”
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”
Dorothy…“The Wizard of Oz”
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/30 "1999-07-24T09:55:00Z")
Does anyone but me remeber the group **Big Daddy** which does do-wop /50’ish versions of now popular songs?
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/31 "1999-07-24T14:10:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Do you keep a dictionary by your computer in an attempt to make us all THINK you
> know what you’re talking about, or are you just tone deaf?
Yeah, I guess the fact that I play the guitar and the bass, and have recordings issued on a small record label, and have been in bands that opened for national acts . . . well, I guess that precludes me from knowing what I’m talking about musically, here.
OK, let’s try again. Look at the actual rhythmic cadence to “The Mickey Mouse Club” and “Amazing Grace.” In this forum, I can’t use anything more sophisticated than “da” for an unstressed syllable" and “DA” for a stressed syllable.
MMC: DA da DA da DA da DA da DA da DA da DA
“Who’s the lea der of the club that’s made for you and me?”
AG: da DA da DA da DA da DA da DA da DA da DA
“A ma zing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.”
You’ll notice that the rhythmic stresses are exactly opposite, although there are the same number of syllables. (Almost. The “A” an “Amazing” is actually a pickup note; the “maz” syllable falls where “Who’s” does to make the cadence line up correctly.)
They’re also in different time signatures. The first phrase of “MMC” takes 2 quick 4/4 bars; the first phrase of “AG” takes 8 slow 3/4 bars.
The songs have nowhere near the same chord progression. The only thing that makes them sound alike is the fact that they have the same number of syllables, so you can fit one into the other. “Amazing Grace” also can be fit into “House of the Rising Sun.”
“My Sweet Lord” and “He’s So Fine,” on the other hand, have an identical melody and near-identical chord progression, and the phrasing and syllables are the same, too. They sound alike, because they **are** alike, and Harrison admitted he probably unconciously copied the song.
So please, Lew, musical wizard, tell me again how I don’t know what I’m talking about.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/32 "1999-07-24T16:14:00Z")
APB999 wrote:
> [@](#):
>
> Emily Dickenson’s poems also work quite well to the Yellow Rose of Texas.
:::Splort!:::: That should be the way to liven up High School English classes.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/33 "1999-07-24T16:46:00Z")
Shirley -
In my high school English class, we did! Sang all the ones we were required to read. Tacher actually thought it was pretty funny. I think we also tried them to the “Gilligan’s” theme, but it didn’t work as well…
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/34 "1999-07-24T16:58:00Z")
PLD
My original point about your vocabulary was a general one, referencing most every post I have read from you. I have a vast vocab myself, I find most people ( including me) are put off when it’s used unnecessarily.
However: This particular thread seemed to be a fun reference to simple melody, cadence, etc. Not a lesson in music theory. I also, have several years of formal music study, come from a family of musicians and married a man who, in our youth, was in a band, wrote music, has his own claims to fame, etc. (until Viet Nam came along).
Thank you for the music lesson…I am STILL having fun; wearing my Mickey ears and singing Amazing Grace!
* * *
“Man, the 60’s must have been real good for you!”
George Carlin…“Outrageous Fortune”
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”
Dorothy…“The Wizard of Oz”
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/35 "1999-07-24T18:46:00Z")
I have a Big Daddy CD of the entire Sgt. Pepper’s album done in the various rock & roll styles of the 50s and early 60s.
The Sgt Pepper’s theme is doo wop.
“Little Help from from my friends” sounds like a Nat King Cole ballad.
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis.
“Getting Better all the Time” - Doo wop.
“Fixing a Hole” - Sounds like “The Wanderers”
“She’s Leaving Home” - Harry Belafante, I think.
“Mr. Kite” sounds a little like “Pallisades Park”.
“Within you, without you” is rendered as a beat poem.
“When I’m 64” - Fats Domino?
“Lovely Rita” - Rockabilly?
“Good Morning” - Acapela doo wop
“Reprise” - Haven’t got a clue.
“A Day in the Life” - Buddy Holly. This is the best of the bunch: “I saw the Photograph-a-a-a-a-aph”. And of course it ends in a plane crash instead of the big piano chord.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/36 "1999-07-24T20:37:00Z")
Sorry, Lew, but it sounded to me like you were trying to say I am either stupid trying to sound smart, or don’t know anything about music, or both. I think my response to someone saying these songs all “sounded alike but noone get sues” was legitimate–these songs **don’t** sound alike, they coincidentally share meter and number of syllables. Instead of addressing the point, you insulted me. Oh well.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 24, 1999, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/37 "1999-07-24T21:38:00Z")
As far as Pink Floyd done Bluegrass, you’re probably thinking of Leftover Salmon. I’ve heard them do “Brain Damage” (from Dark Side), as well as a great attempt at combining “Free Bird”, “Rocky Top”, and “Hotel California” (I think).
Austin Lounge Lizards may also have done it; it sounds like them. My favorite tune of theirs is “Teenage Immigrant Welfare Mothers on Drugs”.
The Asylum St. Spankers do a great jug-band rendition of Prince’s “1999”, and I’ve heard their singer Christina do a similar take on “Darling Nikki”.
By the way, why is it that I can remember every damn word to the theme from Green Acres theme song, despite having not seen an episode in 15 years, but I can’t remember the Gross Anatomy I studied this morning? Sheesh.
Dr. J
“What nerve innervates the teres minor muscle?” “I don’t know, but Greeeeen Acres is the place to be. . .”
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 26, 1999, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/38 "1999-07-26T05:18:00Z")
PLD
I could continue to beat this to death, but I can’t imagine why…I continue to be sorry that you were insulted…This was supposed to be a mundane, pointless, fun thread, can we move on?
PapaBear and Charlie Tan
Thanks for the tip on Big Daddy…we’re anxious to check them out…sounds like fun stuff.
Shirley
Way back when…My senior year HS teacher taught a large portion of her poetry lessons based on song lyrics of the time…lots of Simon & Garfunkle, Beatles, etc. You’re right! We all loved her class and actually listened!!
Lew
* * *
“Man, the 60’s must have been real good for you!”
George Carlin…“Outrageous Fortune”
“Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”
Dorothy…“The Wizard of Oz”
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [July 26, 1999, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/39 "1999-07-26T21:30:00Z")
The “Amazing Grace” portion of the thread set me off for a whole weekend of seeing what songs would also fit the bill. I came up with three where it goes perfectly:
Doggie in the Window
Old MacDonald
Greensleeves
and several where the cadence and rhythm worked, but the words didn’t fit into the complete melody:
Battle Hymn of the Republic
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
The “Internationale” (a bit of a stretch in the second line)
I had more fun with this than I should probably admit to 🙂
* * *
Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!
---
### Author:  [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)
#### Post date: [August 25, 1999, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164/40 "1999-08-25T02:46:00Z")
> [@](#):
>
> BTW, did anyone ever hear the Pet Shop Boys version of “Where the Streets have no Name” where they merged it with the song that goes:
>
> “You’re just too good to be true,
> can’t keep my eyes off of you…”
That track, entitled “Where The Streets Have No Name/Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”, appears, _entre autres_, on the album _Discography_. It is a mix of “Where the Streets Have No Name” by U2 and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You”, whose artist I can’t find. The lyricist credit is not Tennant/Lowe (the Pet Shop Boys), but rather “Hewson/Evans/Mullen/Clayton/Gaudio/Crewe”. So it’s not of the type in question, since they come right out and _say_ it’s a recasting of an earlier tune (in fact, two earlier tunes).
[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164.md?page=1)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know/7164.md?page=3)