# Great Songs That Refuse To Die **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 2, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934 "2017-06-02T16:14:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/21 "2017-06-05T13:39:02Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > “I Melt With You” by Modern English is not only my favorite song from the eighties, but it never seems to go away, either. I think it will be a classic for a long time. Agreed…I was going to mention this tune in the OP also, but IMHO it’s only a great song when compared to the dearth of great '80s songs in general. I did get a kick out of reading this on the Wiki page for this song: "_According to vocalist Robbie Grey, the song is about a couple having sex as nuclear bombs fall"_. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/22 "2017-06-05T20:37:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Beethoven’s Second Symphony. 😉 I’m rather partial to the Fourth, myself. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/23 "2017-06-05T21:04:52Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Stand By Me - by Mr. Ben E. King. It still tears me up. Who wouldn’t want such loving devotion, no matter if the sky is falling? I usually pass on “Amazing video!” links, but if it involves this song, I’m still a sucker. E.g., a street corner [performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYpsr0wGcHM) from last year. ---
**Author:** ![golffan1963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4af34b/32.png) [@golffan1963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/golffan1963)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/24 "2017-06-07T05:03:44Z")
“Love Will Find A Way” by Pablo Cruise. Ugh. Most overplayed song on the radio…ever. ---
**Author:** ![Marci\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marci\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marci_Al)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/25 "2017-06-07T05:11:29Z")
They still play “Disney Girls” on the radio. Might be the only song about the country living I still hear. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/26 "2017-06-07T12:20:41Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Stand By Me - by Mr. Ben E. King. It still tears me up. Who wouldn’t want such loving devotion, no matter if the sky is falling? Similarly, _Lean On Me_ by Bill Withers. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/27 "2017-06-07T22:08:41Z")
“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. While a hit in the UK, it never reached the top 100 in the US and was pretty much forgotten until it was used in _Good Morning, Vietnam_, when it suddenly became a standard in the US. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/28 "2017-06-08T04:02:38Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I usually pass on “Amazing video!” links, but if it involves this song, I’m still a sucker. E.g., a street corner [performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYpsr0wGcHM) from last year. J’Adore! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/29 "2017-06-08T21:09:02Z")
> [@golffan1963](#): > > “Love Will Find A Way” by Pablo Cruise. Ugh. Most overplayed song on the radio…ever. Are we to assume you still think it’s a great song (see thread title)? Plenty of lousy songs that refuse to die 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/30 "2017-06-08T23:56:18Z")
[“I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” by the Proclaimers (aka “I Would Walk 500 Miles”).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJuyn0WAYNI) As one reviewer noted, “Ted and Marshall were right! This never goes old. I can listen to it for hours.” If you’re going to have one song jammed on your car’s tape deck, this is the one. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/31 "2017-06-09T01:03:37Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > [“I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” by the Proclaimers (aka “I Would Walk 500 Miles”).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJuyn0WAYNI) > > As one reviewer noted, “Ted and Marshall were right! This never goes old. I can listen to it for hours.” > > If you’re going to have one song jammed on your car’s tape deck, this is the one. Absolutely. And as a side note (or a hijack), I saw the Proclaimers once, years (decades) ago. It might be the highest-energy show I’ve ever seen. Those guys were amazing. And one of their encores was the old Roger Miller hit, “King of the Road,” and their version of it was just _astonishing_. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/32 "2017-06-13T15:14:06Z")
I’d say Gene McDaniels’ “[Compared To What](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compared_to_What)” qualifies, too…covered over 270 times, from Roberta Flack to Col. Bruce Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit. Also contains some of the most interesting lyrics of all time - an excerpt: The President, he’s got his war Folks don’t know just what it’s for Nobody gives us rhyme or reason Half of one doubt, they call it treason We’re chicken-feathers, all without one gut. God damn it! Tryin’ to make it real — compared to what? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/33 "2017-06-13T16:40:16Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > Absolutely. And as a side note (or a hijack), I saw the Proclaimers once, years (decades) ago. > > It might be the highest-energy show I’ve ever seen. Those guys were amazing. And one of their encores was the old Roger Miller hit, “King of the Road,” and their version of it was just _astonishing_. I still remember seeing the Proclaimers on Letterman, back in what, '88 or '89? A woman I worked with at the time was also a Letterman fan and we’d start the workday discussing the previous night’s show. We came in the next morning and were both like “OMG did you see that band on Letterman last night? Those guys were awesome!” Great song, fun to see it pop up again from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/34 "2017-06-13T17:28:00Z")
“Life is a Highway” by Tom Cochrane. It’s not pretentious or overproduced, just straight forward pop with a very catchy hook and a lighthearted message. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/35 "2017-06-13T18:36:32Z")
To add a few more: “White Christmas” of course. This song will last as long as Christmas probably “Rhapsody in Blue” is timeless and over 90 years old now. “Stairway to Heaven” will remain. I’ll throw in “Somewhere over the Rainbow”. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/36 "2017-06-13T18:38:25Z")
> [@ioioio](#): > > [“I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” by the Proclaimers (aka “I Would Walk 500 Miles”).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJuyn0WAYNI) > > As one reviewer noted, “Ted and Marshall were right! This never goes old. I can listen to it for hours.” > > If you’re going to have one song jammed on your car’s tape deck, this is the one. If you love this song and like Doctor Who, check out this fun video. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FPKgPB80jNA/maxresdefault.jpg "DWO - Doctor Who Cast & Crew '500 Miles'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPKgPB80jNA) ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2017, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/37 "2017-06-13T22:36:40Z")
I don’t know what this says about anything, but our local _hard rock_ station regularly plays Johnny Cash’s “Walk the Line” and “Ring of Fire.” ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934/38 "2017-06-22T23:16:42Z")
Maybe not as well known by name (since it’s an instrumental) but I hear the Meters’ [“Cissy Strut”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_iC0MyIykM) being covered a lot these days it seems. Either that or I’m just listening to more funk and jamband stuff [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-refuse-to-die/787934.md?page=1)