# Hello? Songs about phones/phone calls **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263 "2019-07-18T17:14:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/61 "2019-07-18T23:57:23Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Blondie - [Hanging On the Telephone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWhkbDMISl8) It’s a good cover. I also like the original quite a lot. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/emy5mA8Ixtc/hqdefault.jpg "The Nerves - Hanging On The Telephone, Original version 45, Blondie. 1976.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emy5mA8Ixtc) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/62 "2019-07-19T00:03:39Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bkjsN-J27aU/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIACwAOKAgwIABABGHIgYCgRMA8=&rs=AOn4CLCx1YbBNC7k7HQYIQjMv3cvw3edUQ "Hello my Baby... all frog songs") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjsN-J27aU) Hello, my baby! Hello, my honey! Hello, my ragtime gal! Send me a kiss by wire. Baby, my heart’s on fire! If you refuse me, Honey, you lose me. Then you’ll be left alone. Oh baby, telephone And tell me I’m Your own! (believed to be the first mention of a telephone in a popular song) > **[Hello! Ma Baby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello!_Ma_Baby)** > > "Hello! Ma Baby" is a Tin Pan Alley song written in 1899 by the songwriting team of Joseph E. Howard and Ida Emerson, known as "Howard and Emerson". Its subject is a man who has a girlfriend he knows only through the telephone. At the time, telephones were relatively novel, present in fewer than 10% of U.S. households, and this was the first well-known song to refer to the device. Additionally, the word "Hello" itself was primarily associated with telephone use after Edison's utterance—b The song... ---
**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:** [July 19, 2019, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/63 "2019-07-19T02:17:37Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjsN-J27aU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjsN-J27aU) > > Hello, my baby! > Hello, my honey! > Hello, my ragtime gal! > Send me a kiss by wire. > Baby, my heart’s on fire! > > If you refuse me, > Honey, you lose me. > Then you’ll be left alone. > Oh baby, telephone > And tell me I’m > Your own! > > (believed to be the first mention of a telephone in a popular song) > > [Hello! Ma Baby - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello!_Ma_Baby) RlBBIT! 🐸 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/64 "2019-07-19T02:28:18Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Steppenwolf’s [_Earschplittenloudenboomer_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkpLo3FqAWw) isn’t about a phone call _per se_, but it does begin with one. And Pink Floyd’s [Young Lust](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGmIL2gtieU) ends with one. ---
**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:** [July 19, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/65 "2019-07-19T03:16:15Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > You Won’t See Me by the Beatles. Also “You Know My Name” One of the worst songs the Beatles wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/66 "2019-07-19T03:56:38Z")
“Hello Central, Give Me Heaven (Cause My Mama’s There)”—1901 “Farewell My Own” from HMS Pinafore includes the lines “no telephone/ communicates with his cell.” Not bad for 1878. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/67 "2019-07-19T04:03:46Z")
Manhattan Transfer – [Operator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9aKZZJvB0E) (Get me Jesus on the line). I have no idea if this is original or an old spiritual or what. I’ve always loved this version anyway (even as an atheist). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/68 "2019-07-19T04:12:17Z")
Best Coast - [Bratty B](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZWL5WiXb-c) _Pick up the phone, I want to talk About my day, it really sucked […] Pick up the phone, I want to talk About how I miss you, I miss you so much_ ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/69 "2019-07-19T04:28:51Z")
Grateful Dead - [Operator](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id0HUt4eNkU) ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/70 "2019-07-19T13:13:24Z")
The Nutmegs: [Hello.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR_6iW98-gc) Sonic Youth: [Providence.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx0UA0SeHPI) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/71 "2019-07-19T13:38:50Z")
_The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite_ - R.E.M. The ‘sidewinder’ is the metallic cord on a payphone. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/72 "2019-07-19T13:48:53Z")
[Martha](https://youtu.be/y9Mse62NFl4) - Tom Waits _Operator, number, please It’s been so many years Will she remember my old voice While I fight the tears? Hello, hello there, is this Martha? This is old Tom Frost And I am calling long distance Don’t worry 'bout the cost_ ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/73 "2019-07-19T13:50:20Z")
\*Hello baby, Yeah, this is the Big Bopper speakin’ Ha ha ha ha ha, oh you sweet thing Do I what? Will I what? Oh baby you know what I like Chantilly lace and a pretty face And a pony tail a hangin’ down …\* ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/74 "2019-07-19T14:12:56Z")
“Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)” by Sheena Easton: [Telephone (Long long distance love affair) w/ lyrics 1983 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye4EMdAHKLQ) ---
**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:** [July 19, 2019, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/75 "2019-07-19T14:30:30Z")
Though the lyrics never actually mention a telephone, Please Come to Boston by Dave Loggins is obviously about three phone calls (She just said “no”). ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/76 "2019-07-19T14:50:00Z")
Arlo Guthrie- Telephone (circa 1970, complaining about how intrusive the telephone has become into daily life) Joe Satriani-the Phone Call Faster Pussycat-Bathroom Wall (wherein the singer recounts finding someone’s phone # on the bathroom wall and actually calls it) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/77 "2019-07-19T14:56:11Z")
Harry Chapin’s “WOLD”: _Hello, Honey, it’s me, What did you think when you heard me back on the radio? What did the kids say when they heard it was their long-lost daddy-o?_ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/78 "2019-07-19T15:04:03Z")
_Switchboard Susan_ – Nick Lowe ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/79 "2019-07-19T15:20:40Z")
King Diamond’s ‘the phone call’…not sure if it counts as a song; it’s a track I think originally meant for the Them album, and it’s literally just a phone call from Grandma. I think there’s a couple of seconds of music at some point, so I suppose it would count. and there’s a Neil Young song like that, too, where it appears to be just a recording of a phone call he’s making home…can’t remember the title of it though. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/80 "2019-07-19T15:36:43Z")
Jenny a.k.a. 867-5309 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263.md?page=5)