# Different songs, same melody **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981 "2011-04-11T18:27:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/141 "2018-10-30T16:10:56Z")
Beck’s “Strange Invitation” and Insane Clown Posse’s “Another Love Song.” Don’t believe me? Check it: This is possibly the weirdest instance I've ever encountered. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/142 "2018-10-30T16:36:03Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Clearly the Pretenders enjoyed an ongoing musical dialogue with Latina female pop stars. Yep. That song _Don’t Get Me Wrong_ (or whatever) is pretty much the same as some Gloria Estefan (or whoever) song. Hate them both. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/143 "2018-10-30T17:26:57Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > I’ve been keeping a list ever since sci–fi fans tried finding a melody for “The Green Hills of Earth”: > > SONGS THAT CAN BE SUNG TO THE TUNE OF “THE BALLAD OF GILLIGAN’S ISLAND” > > Mickey Mouse Club Theme Song > Stairway to Heaven > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG2lTB-UVvs](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG2lTB-UVvs) > House of the Rising Sun > Yankee Doodle > Pop Goes the Weasel We’re talking here about what’s known as “Ballad Meter” or “Common Meter.” In traditional-style hymnals, the hymns in this meter will have an ‘8.6.8.6’ at the top of the page, the number of beats in each line. One addition, one correction, and one modification: The addition: the theme music to “Leave It To Beaver” The correction: you can sing any song in ballad meter to the tune of “Stairway to Heaven,” but you can’t sing “Stairway to Heaven” in ballad meter. (E.g. the Gilligan’s Island theme can be sung to the “Stairway” tune, but not the reverse.) The modification: the lines of “Tangled Up In Blue” that end in the title phrase don’t really fit into ballad meter. You can shoehorn them in if you try hard enough, but it’s a shoehorning, not a natural fit. I want “Amazing Grace” to be sung at my funeral - a verse or two each to the tunes of “Gilligan’s Island,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” and “Leave It to Beaver.” ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/144 "2018-10-30T17:47:36Z")
There’s a beautiful Christmas song “Christ is Born” by Steve Amerson that uses Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma” as the melody. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVcF\_buD0NI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVcF_buD0NI) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/145 "2018-10-30T17:50:45Z")
_Puttin’ On The Ritz_ and _Istanbul (Not Constantinople)_. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2018, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/146 "2018-10-30T22:57:01Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I want “Amazing Grace” to be sung at my funeral - a verse or two each to the tunes of “Gilligan’s Island,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” and “Leave It to Beaver.” How about a verse to the music of _I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kellychristoffersen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kellychristoffersen/32/20443_2.png) [@kellychristoffersen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellychristoffersen)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/147 "2018-12-12T22:53:01Z")
One more (pair): I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 & I Just Can’t Wait to Be King by Elton John for The Lion King ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/148 "2018-12-12T23:04:10Z")
I always thought that this one was strangely reminiscent of Dust In The Wind - [Link](https://youtu.be/LaNoiKuJFQg?t=1130) ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/149 "2018-12-13T00:26:24Z")
So a few months back, I ended up on hold with a vet clinic at work. This happened a lot and especially with this particular vet clinic, which was not well-staffed. They had this truly horrible MIDI-style tune that served as their hold music. It was so bad and they left me on hold for so long that I ended up putting it on speakerphone so that I a) wouldn’t have to suffer alone and b) didn’t have to have it directly in my ear. After a few iterations of the tune, I was humming it and it was stuck in my head. At some point, I realized it was SUPER familiar, but I couldn’t for the life of me place it. I went to my night job, which is in a not-that-busy kitchen, so there’s a lot of idle chatter, so I mentioned that I had this tune stuck in my head and couldn’t place it and hummed the tune. My co-workers also said it sounded familiar, like something from a movie. This was on-and-off the subject of conversation for a good part of the night. I was pretty sure I had heard it in a sort of bombastic, movie-like orchestral version, but it also sounded like something I had heard from a classical singer of some sort. The boys were naming famous movie soundtracks, but no dice. It hit me pretty suddenly out of nowhere- basically, it was SO familiar that I was pretty sure it was something I had listened to on purpose, like on walks or in my car, rather than just something I heard once in a movie. So narrowing down the bombastic, orchestral, movie-like things that I listen to on purpose… I was in the middle of making a sandwich and I was like “IT’S THE PLANETS!” In fact, it was from [Jupiter: Bringer of Jollity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz0b4STz1lo). Cool, mystery solved, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I had heard it _sung_. Fast forward a couple months and on… I don’t remember, probably something about England, I heard [I Vow to Thee, MY Country](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6ZvylOSy5A). BINGO. Anyway, they have the same tune. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/150 "2018-12-13T15:53:21Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Only partially. The ‘Spongebob Squarepants’ response doesn’t scan to the ‘way hey, blow the man down’ or ‘give me some time to blow the man down’ lines. > > But the pirate’s questions do scan to the first and third line of each verse. I don’t know how close it is really, but the pirate’s lines always remind me of the intro lines of “Ballroom Blitz.” ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/151 "2018-12-16T16:11:27Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > I’ve been keeping a list ever since sci–fi fans tried finding a melody for “The Green Hills of Earth”: > > SONGS THAT CAN BE SUNG TO THE TUNE OF “THE BALLAD OF GILLIGAN’S ISLAND” > > [snip] > > Poems that apply: > > Jabberwocky > > [snip] > [@RTFirefly](#): > > We’re talking here about what’s known as “Ballad Meter” or “Common Meter.” > > In traditional-style hymnals, the hymns in this meter will have an ‘8.6.8.6’ at the top of the page, the number of beats in each line. Thanks, **RT** , for that useful info. However, **Sam** , Jabberwocky certainly does not fit ballad meter: it is 8.8.8.7. But many other Lewis Carroll poems do. Off the top of my head: The Walrus and the Carpenter Haddocks’ Eyes (aka A-Sitting on the Gate) How Doth the Little Crocodile All in the Golden Afternoon She’s All My Fancy Painted Him ETA: Just noticed **Sam A. Robrin** hasn’t been around for three and a half years. But in the spirit of fighting ignorance, I let this post stand. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/152 "2018-12-16T21:38:02Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The correction: you can sing any song in ballad meter to the tune of “Stairway to Heaven,” but you can’t sing “Stairway to Heaven” in ballad meter. (E.g. the Gilligan’s Island theme can be sung to the “Stairway” tune, but not the reverse.) [Stairway to Gilligan’s Island](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTCYLbFxTpI&app=desktop) ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/153 "2018-12-18T07:27:08Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > John Lennon’s copied the melody for “Happy Christmas/War Is Over” from “Stewball,”… (Note: Editing mine.) The melody from “Happy Christmas/War Is Over” was also used in [Jamaica tourism](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pokFsD1VHew) promotion commercials in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/154 "2018-12-18T15:36:45Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Beck’s “Strange Invitation” and Insane Clown Posse’s “Another Love Song.” Don’t believe me? Check it: > > This is possibly the weirdest instance I've ever encountered. These songs are just using samples from It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue by Them (which was a cover tune from Dylan). The first song that did it was Jackass by Beck and I believe the ICP is sampling from Beck. Or, something like that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/155 "2018-12-18T18:53:31Z")
[The Flintstones “Rise and Shine”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoQYeT8om5E&app=desktop) (Original 1960 theme.) [“Overture, Curtain, Lights”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-t8PngHgWY) (Theme from the Bugs Bunny Show.) ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/156 "2018-12-21T14:26:49Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > I was going to make a joke about the band Train playing “Heart and Soul” during their beginner’s piano lesson and changing the words to make [Play That Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5qWnG5RQTk), but when I looked it up I see that they gave Hoagy Carmichael writing credits so it probably sorta happened that way. I believe this is the worst song ever released. I can’t even begin to explain how terrible it is, so I won’t. Somehow I avoided hearing it until recently. I thought “Meet Virginia” and “Free” were pretty alright songs and even “Drops of Jupiter” has its moments but sometime around the soulless “Soul Sister” Train became the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/157 "2018-12-21T15:22:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **SurrenderDorothy** : > > It hit me pretty suddenly out of nowhere- basically, it was SO familiar that I was pretty sure it was something I had listened to on purpose, like on walks or in my car, rather than just something I heard once in a movie. So narrowing down the bombastic, orchestral, movie-like things that I listen to on purpose… I was in the middle of making a sandwich and I was like “IT’S THE PLANETS!” In fact, it was from Jupiter: Bringer of Jollity. > > Cool, mystery solved, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I had heard it sung. Fast forward a couple months and on… I don’t remember, probably something about England, I heard I Vow to Thee, MY Country. BINGO. When it’s used as the melody for a hymn, it’s usually referred to as “Thaxted”. You’ll find a lot of hymns using traditional folk tunes, or re-using folk tunes that were also used in other hymns. Perhaps the biggest example: A lot of folks are referring to the tune of “Amazing Grace”, but that tune was originally a song called “New Britain”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/158 "2018-12-21T15:32:10Z")
The beginning of **Yankee Doodle** is similar to that of **Good King Wenceslas**. ---
**Author:** ![Wincharm99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@Wincharm99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wincharm99)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/159 "2024-02-28T02:55:58Z")
The Barney and Friend theme “I Love You, You Love me” is the melody of “This Ole Man.” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2024, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981/160 "2024-02-28T21:28:46Z")
Welcome to our community. You must have overlooked the first first line in this thread, from 2011. > [quote=“tdn, post:1, topic:577981”] > I realized many years ago that Barney the Dinosaur’s _I Love You_ song is the same melody as _This Old Man_. > [quote=“Wincharm99, post:159, topic:577981, full:true”] > The Barney and Friend theme “I Love You, You Love me” is the melody of “This Ole Man.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-songs-same-melody/577981.md?page=9)