# Help me ID this tune!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-tune/267322>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 3, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-tune/267322 "2004-10-03T14:25:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-tune/267322/1 "2004-10-03T14:25:43Z")

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I’ve had this disgustingly happy melody in my head all day, despite the fact that I last heard it in a techno remix at least a month ago. What I find particularly irritating is that I have no idea where the tune comes from, though I sure it’s often used where cheerful music is needed. I’ve done my best to approximate the notes for the first part, though this is probably off-key and partially wrong:

(With spirit): E C G C C/\ B A G E C

The relative length of the spaces is supposed to give some idea of the timing, and the C/\ is C in the next octave up.

Based on this information, can anyone please end my torture and tell me just what this infernal melody is?

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**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-tune/267322/2 "2004-10-03T14:26:50Z")

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Since the spaces clearly didn’t work:

E\_\_\_C\_G\_\_\_C\_\_C/\_\_B\_\_A\_G\_E\_C

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**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-tune/267322/3 "2004-10-03T18:51:29Z")

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> [@Thirty-Nine](#):
>
> Since the spaces clearly didn’t work:
> 
> E\_\_\_C\_G\_\_\_C\_\_C/\_\_B\_\_A\_G\_E\_C

The timings don’t exactly fit, but the melody seems a little like “Music Box Dancer” until the last couple notes. (Unless that’s maybe the segue into the next phrase, which changes chords).

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**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2004, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-id-this-tune/267322/4 "2004-10-03T22:57:39Z")

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Hmm… a tune can be misremembered like that sometimes, if you’ve only heard it a couple of times.

Music Box Dancer goes like:

C\_\_C\_\_\_\_E\_\_\_E\_G\_\_\_CEGC^\_B\_A\_G / GvCG\_F\_D\_Bv\_Gv\_Bv\_D\_F\_E\_C\_A\_G

Is that it?