# Help me think of songs similar to "Hey There Delilah" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408 "2007-07-11T19:49:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/1 "2007-07-11T19:49:07Z")
I am very taken with the song “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s. I want to put together a mix of similar songs of the same type of genre, which I think of as alternative-rock ballads, with just an acoustic guitar, maybe some strings, and a vocal. A similar one I thought of was "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Green Day. Can anyone help me out with other suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/2 "2007-07-11T19:55:16Z")
“I Will Follow You into the Dark,” Deathcab for Cutie “Chasing Cars,” Snow Patrol ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/3 "2007-07-11T20:01:09Z")
“Jenny” Mountain Goats i hopped on back of the bike, wrapped my arms around you. and i sank my face into your hair. and then i inhaled as deeply as i possibly could. you were as sweet and delicious as the warm desert air. and you pointed your headlamp toward the horizon, we were the one thing in the galaxy god didn’t have his eyes on. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/4 "2007-07-11T20:16:40Z")
[“All for You”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPKFhq1iRdI) Sister Hazel btw, Hey There Delilah is so overplayed at the moment that I have to change the channel everytime I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/5 "2007-07-11T20:26:00Z")
Great suggestions, everyone, thanks! [QUOTE=John Mace] btw, Hey There Delilah is so overplayed at the moment that I have to change the channel everytime I hear it. [/QUOTE] I suspect you are right. I hardly ever listen to music radio anymore, and I have heard it 3 times in the past week! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/6 "2007-07-11T21:02:43Z")
[Off He Goes](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pearl+jam/off+he+goes_20106344.html) - Pearl Jam or maybe [Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pearl+jam/elderly+woman+behind+the+counter+in+a+small+town_20106415.html) by Pearl Jam ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/7 "2007-07-11T21:23:16Z")
Of course Time Of Your Life was my first thought! I don’t know if you are entertaining 80s hair band rock ballads, but [wind of Change](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_of_Change) by The Scorpions (1990). It’s slightly bombastic because it’s about Big Political Events but it is the acousticky kind of thing you might want. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/8 "2007-07-11T22:34:17Z")
The [Sick Puppies](http://www.myspace.com/sickpuppies) are very good “unplugged”. They just played a couple songs on the local alt-rock station here, and were great. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/9 "2007-07-11T23:03:13Z")
Hey ya (the version by Obadiah Parker, not Outkast). There’s a version of Catch the Wind by Donovan that’s just guitar and doesn’t contain the instrumental section. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/10 "2007-07-11T23:40:13Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] [Off He Goes](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pearl+jam/off+he+goes_20106344.html) - Pearl Jam or maybe [Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pearl+jam/elderly+woman+behind+the+counter+in+a+small+town_20106415.html) by Pearl Jam [/QUOTE] Or [Last Kiss](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBGfoOVn4o4) by Pearl Jam. That’s one is pretty depressing, but still in a similar genre. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/11 "2007-07-11T23:54:46Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] [Off He Goes](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pearl+jam/off+he+goes_20106344.html) - Pearl Jam or maybe [Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/pearl+jam/elderly+woman+behind+the+counter+in+a+small+town_20106415.html) by Pearl Jam [/QUOTE] _Elderly Woman_ isn’t exactly the sound I’m going for, but when I saw you suggested it, I had to comment. I just heard that song on the radio recently, and I hadn’t listened to it in a long time. That is an amazing song…Eddie’s vocal performance is brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Beaucarnea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@Beaucarnea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beaucarnea)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/12 "2007-07-12T00:03:35Z")
**Sarahfeena** , [here is a YouTube home video clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKENRAkYhOo) featuring the song The Only Answer by Mike Doughty, former lead singer of Soul Coughing. (I have no idea who the happy family in the clip is, but there is no proper video for this song, probably because it is only two minutes long and wouldn’t really appeal to the usual media applications.) If you like that song, you may also like [Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSNuqX3EY70), or American Car. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/13 "2007-07-12T00:39:42Z")
How about “O Valencia” by The Decemberists? Great song that tells a great story. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/14 "2007-07-12T02:55:41Z")
Old School: Simon and Garfunkel: Mrs. Robinson. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/15 "2007-07-12T05:49:24Z")
“Mayonnaise” by the Smashing Pumpkins. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/16 "2007-07-12T06:04:48Z")
The first song that popped in my mind was the excellent story song “Rabbit Fur Coat” by Jenny Lewis. Another, more obscure one is “Said Sadly” by the Smashing Pumpkins (first released as the B-Side of “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”). ---
**Author:** ![brendon\_small](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brendon_small/32/17101_2.png) [@brendon\_small](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brendon_small)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/17 "2007-07-12T06:35:51Z")
I don’t know if it would fit in, but how about some acoustic Brand New. I know they have recorded some stuff lighter/acoustic, but it’s not bad. Anyways, I like Plain White T’s, and I like Brand New, figured I could suggest something. Brendon Small ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/18 "2007-07-12T12:27:59Z")
[QUOTE=Omega Glory] There’s a version of Catch the Wind by Donovan that’s just guitar and doesn’t contain the instrumental section. [/QUOTE] Yes, one of these is on [The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball](http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Policemans-Other-Ball-Music/dp/B0000032V3/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3646795-5843914?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1184243113&sr=8-1) soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/19 "2007-07-12T13:02:25Z")
It is a bit folksy perhaps, but my girlfriend turned me on to Brandi Carlile’s The [Story](http://www.musicjesus.com/song_41640_Brandi_Carlile-The_Story.html). ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/20 "2007-07-12T14:36:26Z")
Thanks again for the suggestions, everyone…some of these songs I haven’t heard in a long time, and some I have never heard of! I love being turned on to new bands…this is awesome. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408.md?page=2)