# Everybody knows the song as "Title X" but it's really called "Title Y" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 3, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949 "2008-03-03T19:22:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/21 "2008-03-03T20:50:36Z")
**White Rabbit** by Jefferson Airplane - most people think it’s called “Go Ask Alice.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/22 "2008-03-03T20:57:36Z")
Contrary to public opinion, there is no song titled “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The title is simply “Superstar.” ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/23 "2008-03-03T21:18:34Z")
[QUOTE=BobLibDem] Simon and Garfunkel’s **59th Street Bridge Song** is known by most as **Feelin’ Groovy.** [/QUOTE] Isn’t that one of those parentheticals as well? _59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy?_ Lee Greenwood’s _God Bless the USA_ is often erroneously referred to by the first line of its chorus, “Proud To Be An American.” ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/24 "2008-03-03T21:23:40Z")
Schubert’s “Ave Maria” is actually [Ellens dritter Gesang](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellens_dritter_Gesang). Bet you didn’t know _that!_ ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/25 "2008-03-03T21:27:41Z")
[QUOTE=MacSpon] “Starry, Starry Night” by **Don McLean** – but the real title is “ **Vincent** ” “So This is Christmas” by **John Lennon** – but the real title is “**Happy Christmas (War is Over)**” [/QUOTE] Nitpick: [“Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Xmas_(War_Is_Over)) ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/26 "2008-03-03T21:34:28Z")
Don’t forget John Cougar Mellencamp’s hit, “Ain’t That America.” ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/27 "2008-03-03T21:40:53Z")
Led Zeppelin: D’yer Mak’er, not “You Don’t Have to Go.” Led Zeppelin: Whatever people call it, not “Black Dog.” They seemed to be especially fond of the WTF? song titles. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/28 "2008-03-03T22:21:06Z")
> [@](#): > > My other question is, why do bands assign non-intuitive names like this to their songs? If it becomes a popular song everyone is going to call it by what they hear in the chorus, which may annoy the band and fans alike. Is it a way to identify who the real fans are? Like, “Most people call it ‘Teenage Wasteland’ but any real Who fan worth his salt knows it’s called ‘Baba O’Riley’.” In this specific case, Pete Townsend, who wrote the song, decided to name it in honor of two people he’d met and admired, spiritual adviser Meher Baba and composer Terry Riley. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/29 "2008-03-03T23:04:23Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] Led Zeppelin: D’yer Mak’er, not “You Don’t Have to Go.” [/QUOTE] Or “Die-er Make-er,” as it was pronounced by listeners who didn’t get the joke…which in America, at least, was almost everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/30 "2008-03-03T23:06:31Z")
Most people call the Eastern European dance song Dragostea Din Tei “The Numa Numa Song”, which I find mysterious. I don’t know the language, but they say the name a lot and it’s not hard to pronounce. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/31 "2008-03-03T23:11:28Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Or “Die-er Make-er,” as it was pronounced by listeners who didn’t get the joke…which in America, at least, was almost everybody. [/QUOTE] That’s how the label is printed on my copy of it. I seem to recall Robert Plant saying it was supposed to be like “Jamaica,” which…still doesn’t make sense. Enlighten me. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/32 "2008-03-03T23:12:33Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Or “Die-er Make-er,” as it was pronounced by listeners who didn’t get the joke…which in America, at least, was almost everybody. [/QUOTE] I would like to thank you for making me curious enough to go find out what “the joke” was[.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyer_Maker) I’ll never mispronounce that title again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/33 "2008-03-03T23:17:47Z")
[QUOTE=Hal Briston] Heh…good timing. My wife and I went out for drinks over the weekend and the band was playing most 80’s & 90’s rock/new wave/punk. When the band launched into The Clash’s _Train In Vain_, one of the guys sharing the dartboard with us turned to his buddy and yelled “Yes! _Stand Behind Your Man_! I love this tune!” [/QUOTE] He must’ve really been tying them on, since the popular misconception of that title is “Stand By Me (or not at all)”. And supposedly, The Clash went with “Train in Vain” just so it wouldn’t be confused with the earlier classic “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King. I don’t know if it ranks as one of the most misunderstood titles, but Wilson Pickett’s “Land of 1000 Dances” is probably known by some as that “Na, Na-Na-Na-Na…” song. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/34 "2008-03-03T23:19:26Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63] That’s how the label is printed on my copy of it. I seem to recall Robert Plant saying it was supposed to be like “Jamaica,” which…still doesn’t make sense. Enlighten me. [/QUOTE] Ancient joke: My wife took a trip to the Caribbean. Jamaica? No, she went of her own accord! [Unbridled merriment holds sway] In Britain, a slurred “did you” could conceivably be spelled “d’yer”; in America that would never occur outside of Andy Capp cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/35 "2008-03-03T23:23:16Z")
[QUOTE=dwc1970] [li] **For What’s It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield-** I’m not sure what everyone calls it. All I know is that it’s a song from the Vietnam War era.[/li] [/QUOTE] That’s what I came in to mention. I think most people call it “What’s That Sound.” Similar to “Danny’s Song,” what many people call “You Fill Up My Senses” is actually “Annie’s Song.” (John Denver, Og rest his soul!) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/36 "2008-03-04T00:09:30Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Ancient joke: My wife took a trip to the Caribbean. Jamaica? No, she went of her own accord! [Unbridled merriment holds sway] In Britain, a slurred “did you” could conceivably be spelled “d’yer”; in America that would never occur outside of Andy Capp cartoons. [/QUOTE] OK (I’ll take your word on the unbridled merriment part). So that’s why… _Oh, oh oh oh oh, you don’t have to go…_ And yet later, he sings: _Baby please…don’t go._ Hmm, ambivalence. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/37 "2008-03-04T00:13:50Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] what many people call “You Fill Up My Senses” is actually “Annie’s Song.” (John Denver, Og rest his soul!) [/QUOTE] I actually know that song best as “You Came on My Pillow,” but that was before Monty Python caved in to their legal counsel. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/38 "2008-03-04T00:23:03Z")
Most people think “December, 1963” by the Four Seasons is called “Oh, What A Night.” I worked at a Country station in 1972 when Loretta Lynn sang a Shel Silverstein song titled “Here in Topika.” But when the radio stations reported to the reps what was being requested Decca records did a turnaround in less than a month and retitled the single (and the album cut) “Ones On The Way.” ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/39 "2008-03-04T00:34:16Z")
I’ve heard “Gimme Little Sign” (Brenton Wood) referred to as (spelling varies) “Gimme Some Kinda Sign”, which is what is actually said in-song. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/40 "2008-03-04T00:40:46Z")
Steve Miller’s “The Joker” is often referred to as “Space Cowboy” by enthusiastic drunks. He does have a song called “Space Cowboy” as well, but people mix them up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949.md?page=3)