# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/101 "2019-07-19T20:32:42Z")
And here’s from the disco era, [The Sylvers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErU8Lo2WcO4) with _Hot Line_. I had this thing on a 45. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/102 "2019-07-19T23:43:21Z")
No Reply- The Beatles I tried to telephone They said you were not home That’s a lie ---
**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 20, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/103 "2019-07-20T01:11:52Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Mentioned by **Peter Morris** in post #62. Although to be fair, post no 24 beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/104 "2019-07-20T04:29:19Z")
Stevie Wonder’s song Part Time Lover includes these phone-related lyrics: Call up, ring once, hang up the phone To let me know you made it home * * * I’ve got something that I must tell Last night someone rang our doorbell And it was not you, my part-time lover And then a man called our exchange But didn’t want to leave his name I guess that two can play the game Of part-time lovers Even in 1984, “called our exchange” seemed like a rather outdated reference done solely for a rhyme—and not a particularly good rhyme. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/105 "2019-07-20T06:34:56Z")
The Queers - _I Just Called to Say Fuck You_ ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/106 "2019-07-20T07:06:24Z")
_ **Callin’ Baton Rouge** _ - originally recorded by The Oak Ridge Boys, but the Garth Brooks cover may be more well-known. _“Operator won’t you put me on through I gotta’ send my love down to Baton Rouge Hurry up won’t you put her on the line I gotta’ talk to the girl just one more time”_ _ **Why Don’t That Telephone Ring** _ - by Tracy Byrd \*"I had the operator call me back She said my phone is working fine I hear in Louisville it’s almost dawn But it’s 2 a.m. Pacific time. I thought sure she would’ve called by now To tell me all about that wild and crazy LA scene Well, I know my number’s in her book Why don’t that telephone ring?"\* ---
**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:** [July 20, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/107 "2019-07-20T12:35:24Z")
Chris Montez: [Call Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf4bXRMu3R4) So cute. Hard to believe we were ever that innocent. Tom Waits: [The Heart of Saturday Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7UHd7NVegE) _Is it the crack of the pool balls Neon buzzin’ Telephone’s ringin’ It’s your second cousin_ ---
**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 20, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/108 "2019-07-20T13:26:51Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I’m seriously the first one to mention [ABBA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL0EoXdpOqg)? Woot! I’m seriously the first one to mention [ABBA](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/abba/ringringbaraduslogensignal.html) “Ring, Ring (Bara du slog en signal)” ETA: [English translation](https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&ei=qhYzXbDBE-Wh_QalvbNw&q=swedish+to+english+translation&oq=swedish+to+engish&gs_l=psy-ab.1.1.0i10l10.2895.5549..8722...0.0..0.151.1248.15j2......0....1..gws-wiz.....0..0j0i131.Hfc4U8YgcTo) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/109 "2019-07-21T07:14:59Z")
Maxwell Edison, Majoring in medicine, Calls her on the phone… The Beatles ---
**Author:** ![2Bits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e95f7d/32.png) [@2Bits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2Bits)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/110 "2019-07-21T11:57:06Z")
“At My Most Beautiful” R.E.M. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro ---
**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 21, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/111 "2019-07-21T12:25:46Z")
Smooth Operator - Sade. (d+r) ---
**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 21, 2019, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/112 "2019-07-21T16:38:38Z")
A phone call runs through the verses of Don McClean’s [Three Flights Up](https://genius.com/Don-mclean-three-flights-up-lyrics) [Tell Me On A sunday](https://www.lyricsfreak.com/m/marti+webb/capped+teeth+and+caesar+salad_21072518.html) If you don’t mean a thing You’ll find your phone won’t ring I’ll call you back and have a nice day ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/113 "2019-07-21T19:09:42Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Lou Reed - [New York Telephone Conversation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7gBPBBZHw4) Good one! That was going to be mine. I will offer: \*\*Elvis Costello - Toledo \*\* > [@](#): > > All through the night you telephoned > I saw the light blinking red > Beside the cradle mmm ---
**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 21, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/114 "2019-07-21T19:14:50Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Good one! That was going to be mine. > > I will offer: > > \*\*Elvis Costello - Toledo > \*\* > > mmm Also, from “No Action”, a classic Costello pun: _Every time I phone you I just want to put you down_ ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/115 "2019-07-21T21:26:27Z")
Wings’ [Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DupyAkOZLYA) has a phone call, while Lennon’s [I’m Losing You"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXJZgwAWvnA) (maybe the only half-decent song off that “DF” dreck of an album) has the lyrics: _Somehow the wires have crossed Communication’s lost Can’t even get you on the telephone_ 10CC mention “And just because/I call you up/Don’t get me wrong, don’t think you’ve got it made” in “Not in Love”. Can’t remember if that insipid “Jenny (867-5309)” number’s been mentioned yet. In Janis Ian’s “At 17” she mentions: _Inventing lovers on the phone Who called to say “Come dance with me” And murmured vague obscenities_ ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/116 "2019-07-21T22:01:44Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > ..Can’t remember if that insipid “Jenny (867-5309)” number’s been mentioned yet… It was mentioned right there in the OP. And there’s nothing insipid about that great song! ---
**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 22, 2019, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/117 "2019-07-22T13:11:36Z")
Well, I’m the first one to mention ABBA’s Super Trouper I was sick and tired of everything When I called you last night from Glasgow All I do is eat and sleep and sing Wishing every show was the last show (wishing every show was the last show) So imagine I was glad to hear you’re coming (glad to hear you’re coming) Suddenly I feel all right (And suddenly it’s gonna be) And it’s gonna be so different When I’m on the stage tonight When Gerard Alessandrini realized he’d parodied every character from Les Mis but Eponine, he wrote “On My Phone” to the tune of “On My Own” Rotating upstage where it’s dark there isn’t anyone to talk to I say my lines, I hit my mark, but I keep looking at the clock, too Until I enter next there’s lots of time to send… A text. Oh my phone I check up on my voicemail On my phone behind the Les Mis rubble Without lights the murky shadows hide me In case I’m feeling bored I keep my iPhone close beside me On my phone, while Jean Valjean is weeping I can call the jerk with whom I’m sleeping In the darkness I still can text a message And gossip with my girlfriend while I’m singing “On My Own” (CELL PHONE RINGS) (Speaking) Just a second. Hello? Oh hi, where are you guys? Oh, Act Two? We’re still in Act One. Okay, no, no, I’ll call you later after I die. (Singing) Rotate me…and shoot me. (BANG!) I’m dying to call you on my phone. ---
**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 22, 2019, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/118 "2019-07-22T13:35:26Z")
Two very, very sad ones (be warned): Leonard Cohen’s “It Seems So Long Ago Nancy” about a woman who commits suicide It seems so long ago, Nancy was alone, A forty five beside her head, An open telephone. Tom Paxton’s “Phil,” about the suicide of Phil Ochs The phone started ringing, had I heard about it? I shook every time I heard it ring What was my reaction? I put the phone down That was the only news that was fit to sing They ask about Dylan, about MacDougal Street and Third Question piled on question and each question more absurd ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/119 "2019-07-22T13:37:00Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > It was mentioned right there in the OP. And there’s nothing insipid about that great song! All good - [I got it](https://youtu.be/8ou6DDG5e7I?t=120) 😉 From Dave Edmunds’ _I’m Ready_: Talkin’ on the phone is not my speed Don’t send me no letter 'cause I can’t read In _Promised Land_ Chuck Berry mentions: Cut your engines, an cool your wings, And let me make it to the telephone. ---
**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 22, 2019, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263/120 "2019-07-22T13:52:28Z")
Rod Stewart’s If You Think I’m Sexy has the lyric “Give me a dime so I can call my mother.” Pay phones are no longer a dime, and who needs them in this age of cell phones? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-songs-about-phones-phone-calls/837263.md?page=7)