# Help Identifying Two Songs Please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155 "2011-09-13T13:48:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/1 "2011-09-13T13:48:20Z")
I apologize in advance for my complete and utter lack of understanding music, and for my inability to adequately describe it. Please bear with me. Feel free to use [this virtual keyboard](http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm) if it helps. Here we go… The first song I’m trying to identify is soft rock, probably from the late 70’s ~ early 80’s, and I think it might possibly be Steely Dan. All I can remember is three notes, and they sound something like this: 1st Note: E1 2nd Note: E1 3rd Note: A chord with D#, G, D#1. So this: E1-E1-Chord One or more male voices are singing, and it sounds vaguely like “Now I know” or “Now and then.” But I could be totally wrong. * * * The next song is instrumental, and it’s a silly elevator-music-ish tune. It’s played frequently as background music during clips of people doing stupid things. If I were to upload a Youtube video of teh kittehs romping about, I might put it in the background. Imagine short notes from a wind instrument (I think it might be a clarinet or an oboe), something like this: C-E-F#-A [beat] A-G-F#-D [and then a sequence of ten notes that I won’t even begin to try to replicate] * * * Are these ringing bells (heh) for anyone? ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/2 "2011-09-13T22:35:20Z")
Utilizing my one BUMP. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/3 "2011-09-13T23:26:54Z")
OK, I will take a wild assed guess at the first one: How about “Don’t Take Me Alive” by Steely Dan? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/tllhmK9g4G4/hqdefault.jpg "Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive (With Lyrics)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tllhmK9g4G4) If I am completely wrong, please accept my free bump. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/4 "2011-09-14T00:54:25Z")
Steely Dan’s \*\*Peg \*\*has a groove that sort of fits your description. I don’t think it’s an E chord but it follows a Chord 1, Chord 1—Chord 2 progression as the main groove. You’ll have to wait until after the intro. Also the lyrics don’t match what you’re talking about but it’s very easy to misremember these things. [Peg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz8AJh7_mKc) ---
**Author:** ![Sigmundex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sigmundex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmundex)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/5 "2011-09-14T01:34:43Z")
Okay, here’s my wild-ass stab in the dark… not instrumental, but it’s got some of the same elements you’re describing… [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FRymFNTQJj8/hqdefault.jpg "Rolling Stones She's a rainbow with lyrics") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRymFNTQJj8) Edited to say that I’m trying for the second song you mentioned… and that I have no idea why there’d be a connection between this song and video clips of people doing strange things, but… it’s a shot. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/6 "2011-09-14T01:47:45Z")
> [@minlokwat](#): > > Steely Dan’s \*\*Peg \*\*has a groove that sort of fits your description. > > I don’t think it’s an E chord but it follows a Chord 1, Chord 1—Chord 2 progression as the main groove. > > You’ll have to wait until after the intro. Also the lyrics don’t match what you’re talking about but it’s very easy to misremember these things. > > [Peg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz8AJh7_mKc) I tried it on the keyboard and ‘Peg’ was my first thought as well. mmm ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/7 "2011-09-14T02:09:47Z")
Definitely not Peg. and definitely not that Rolling Stones tune. Thanks for the guesses, guys. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/8 "2011-09-14T06:33:01Z")
Here is my guess at the second song, based on your description rather than the actual notes so again, I may be way off. [Merry Ocarina](http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=Pierre+Arvay+-+Merry+Ocarina&tag=lastfmmp3-20&index=digital-music&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325) I saw this song mentioned in another thread here and for some reason after I played the sample it got saved to my music library and it comes up every once in a while when I am in shuffle mode. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/9 "2011-09-14T12:03:36Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > [Merry Ocarina](http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&keywords=Pierre+Arvay+-+Merry+Ocarina&tag=lastfmmp3-20&index=digital-music&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325) Not the song I asked about, but that was fun to listen to! Thanks for that. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/10 "2011-09-14T23:40:45Z")
The second song described in the OP is in this clip, at 26:06 [http://www.trutv.com/tveverywhere/index.html#!/49784/840426](http://www.trutv.com/tveverywhere/index.html#!/49784/840426) ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/11 "2011-09-18T02:22:02Z")
Which video is it? The link is taking me to a whole page of “World’s Dumbest” video links. ---
**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:** [September 18, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/12 "2011-09-18T04:51:28Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The next song is instrumental, and it’s a silly elevator-music-ish tune. It’s played frequently as background music during clips of people doing stupid things. If I were to upload a Youtube video of teh kittehs romping about, I might put it in the background. > > Imagine short notes from a wind instrument (I think it might be a clarinet or an oboe), something like this: > > C-E-F#-A [beat] A-G-F#-D [and then a sequence of ten notes that I won’t even begin to try to replicate] Probably way off, but the classic music for people doing stupid things is [Yakety Sax](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ), AKA the “Benny Hill” music. But, I can’t read music, so there’s that problem. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/13 "2011-09-18T05:04:21Z")
Now I can’t get “Peg” out of my head. Sorry that I don’t know what you are looking for, but thanks for the neat link to the virtual keyboard. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/14 "2011-09-18T14:47:09Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > Which video is it? The link is taking me to a whole page of “World’s Dumbest” video links. Oh Sorry. I thought it went directly to the appropriate video. World’s Dumbest Motorheads 2 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-identifying-two-songs-please/596155/15 "2011-09-30T13:49:05Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > The first song I’m trying to identify is soft rock, probably from the late 70’s ~ early 80’s, and I think it might possibly be Steely Dan. All I can remember is three notes, and they sound something like this: > > 1st Note: E1 > 2nd Note: E1 > 3rd Note: A chord with D#, G, D#1. > > So this: E1-E1-Chord > > One or more male voices are singing, and it sounds vaguely like “Now I know” or “Now and then.” But I could be totally wrong. Confirmed to be [Diamond Girl by Seals & Crofts](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC-oP84mRME), thanks to a friend at church racking his brain last night and then pulling up Youtube on his iPhone. So I had the band wrong, the words wrong, and I was off by a decade. Perhaps a musicologist can confirm for me whether or not I got the notes remotely right?