# 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:** 5
**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 4, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/81 "2008-03-04T22:17:05Z")
[QUOTE=fachverwirrt] Beethoven’s _Moonlight Sonata_ is actually _Sonata number 14 in c-sharp minor “Quasi una fantasia”, opus 27, no 2, first movement_. Beethoven had nothing to do with the _Moonlight_ stuff. [/QUOTE] Yeah, the nickname was given in 1832 by Ludwig Rellstab. That kind of thing seems to happen a lot with Beethoven. Piano Sonata No. 17, the “Tempest”, was never really called that. The name, and the association with Shakespeare, was cooked up later by Beethoven’s associate Anton Schindler. Similarly, you know the famous “Fate” motive from the fifth symphony, representing fate knocking at the composer’s door? Nah. The whole fate thing was also made up by Schindler. I could go on… so I will! The Piano Concerto No. 5 is dubbed the “Emperor” - that wasn’t Beethoven’s name either. The String Quartet No. 10 is nicknamed “Harp” - his publisher came up with that one. Same story for sonata No. 15, the “Pastoral”. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/82 "2008-03-04T22:30:46Z")
_The Weight_ by The Band is sometimes called “Take A Load Off Fanny” or some variation on the theme. ---
**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, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/83 "2008-03-04T22:30:59Z")
[QUOTE=Phase42] I’ve never been a big Zeppelin fan, and hence own none of their records. Consequently, I’ve heard the _title_ **D’yer Mak’er** hundreds of times, but never connected it to the song you’ve quoted, which I’ve also heard hundreds of times. [/QUOTE] Nor have I been a big Zep fan. I’ve always been surprised that they (or other musical acts) would pick a name that wouldn’t connect easily to the song b/c that could mean lower record sales. The band may be artistes, but the record company wants to sell sell sell. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/84 "2008-03-05T00:14:24Z")
“Lady Marmalade” is frequently referred to as “Voulez-Vous Couchez avec Moi Ce Soir?”. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/85 "2008-03-05T00:29:51Z")
I used to call Midnight Oil’s “The Dead Heart” by the repeated phrase “True Country.” Of course, since only Oils fans want to listen to that one repeatedly, there is no “Everybody calls it.” (It’s the single from _Diesel & Dust_, circa 1987, with all the “doo-doo doo-doo doo-doodoo.”) ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/86 "2008-03-05T00:30:01Z")
[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] I went home with a girl from the Caribbean last night. Jamaica? No, her old man caught us. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/87 "2008-03-05T00:33:43Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] The correct name is “Scarborough Fair/Canticle,” Canticle being the antiwar counterpoint that Paul Simon wrote and sings under Artie’s version of the folk song. I don’t think I’ve ever heard even a dj give the full name. [/QUOTE] To be fair, the folk song is “Scarborough Fair”, & there are lots of versions of it that aren’t by Simon & Garfunkel. The common mistakes are thinking that Simon & Garfunkel wrote it, or that the counterpoint is supposed to be there. ---
**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 5, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/88 "2008-03-05T00:47:08Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] “Lady Marmalade” is frequently referred to as “Voulez-Vous Couchez avec Moi Ce Soir?”. [/QUOTE] Makes you want to say, “Oui, s’il vous plaît,” doesn’t it? A French teacher told me if you have to use “vous,” then you shouldn’t be asking. I replied, “But ‘vous’ is also plural, right?” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/89 "2008-03-05T00:47:33Z")
The theme from the movie _Ice Castles_, is often called “Ice Castles.” The real title is “Through the Eyes of Love.” ---
**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 5, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/90 "2008-03-05T03:08:20Z")
In their coverage of McCain’s speech, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer just referred to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” as “Go, Johnny, Go”. Oh, well. Nobody ever accused Wolf Blitzer of being Wolfman Jack. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/91 "2008-03-05T05:30:52Z")
There is no such song as “Ground Control to Major Tom”. The tune you’re thinking of is “Space Oddity”. ---
**Author:** ![Intelligently\_Designed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intelligently_designed/32/20957_2.png) [@Intelligently\_Designed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intelligently_Designed)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/92 "2008-03-05T05:58:59Z")
“Woman” by Shawn Phillips is in fact titled **She Was Waiting For Her Mother At The Station in Torino And You Know I Love You Baby But It’s Getting Too Heavy To Laugh (Woman)**. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/93 "2008-03-05T08:34:27Z")
lobotomyboy63 writes: \> A French teacher told me if you have to use “vous,” then you shouldn’t be \> asking. I replied, “But ‘vous’ is also plural, right?” This is much argued about: > **[Lady Marmalade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voulez-vous_coucher_avec_moi%3F)** > > "Lady Marmalade" is a song written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, originally for Nolan's disco group. The song is famous for the repeated refrain of "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" in French as part of the chorus, a sexually suggestive line that translates into English as: "Do you want to sleep with me?" The song first became a popular hit when it was recorded in 1974 by the American funk rock group Labelle and held the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week, and also topped... The claim is made that since the song’s about a high-class prostitute asking her client (who she never met before) a question, she would say “vous.” ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/94 "2008-03-05T08:46:33Z")
The Duke Ellington song that most people call _Don’t Get Around Much Any More_ is actually named _Never No Lament_. There’s a traditional jazz standard that many trad jazz fans know as _Shake It and Break It_, but the real title is _Weary Blues_. There’s another tune that’s correctly called _Shake It and Break It_, but it isn’t performed nearly as often. ---
**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 5, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/95 "2008-03-05T12:43:26Z")
[QUOTE=Jeff Lichtman] The Duke Ellington song that most people call _Don’t Get Around Much Any More_ is actually named _Never No Lament_. [/QUOTE] It appears as “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” on my Duke Ellington _Columbia Years_ box set, and on the sheet music in the Hal Leonard _Real Book_. ---
**Author:** ![RedRosesForMe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RedRosesForMe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedRosesForMe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/96 "2008-03-05T13:25:24Z")
The Ramones have a song called **Bonzo goes to Bitburg (My brain is hanging upside down)** but everyone calls it Pick up the Pieces. All 3 phrases are sung in the song. Pick up the pieces is apparently the most memorable to everyone but me, although my brain is hanging upside down is what would actually be considered the chorus. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/97 "2008-03-05T14:33:05Z")
Bon Jovi **You Give Love a Bad Name** is mistakenly called **Shot Through the Heart**. This is especially a problem because they have another song called **Shot Through the Heart**. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/98 "2008-03-05T15:34:17Z")
**RedRosesForMe** : I saw your user name and began humming the chorus to “Roses” by Outkast for some reason. Then I realized that everyone thinks the song is called “Caroline”. That was kinda cool. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/99 "2008-03-05T20:33:24Z")
An oldie from the \*\*Cowsills \*\* which I always thought was “ **I Love the Flower Girl** ”, was in fact “ **The Rain, The park, and Other Things** ”. ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949/100 "2008-03-05T21:51:15Z")
Here’s one that sometimes plays on classic rock radio stations. The Greg Kihn Band had a song with a chorus of “They don’t write 'em like that anymore”. That is the title that I have heard people give to it. It’s actually called “Breakup Song (They Don’t Write 'Em)” according to Amazon’s track list from his Rockihnroll album. I thought it was “The Breakup Song” but checked before I posted (out of fear of being nitpicked). 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everybody-knows-the-song-as-title-x-but-its-really-called-title-y/439949.md?page=6)