# 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:** 2
**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, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/21 "2007-07-12T14:52:50Z")
It’s bugging me because I feel like there are a bunch of songs in this style and I can’t think of a darn one of them. :smack: ---
**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, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/22 "2007-07-12T15:00:20Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] It’s bugging me because I feel like there are a bunch of songs in this style and I can’t think of a darn one of them. :smack: [/QUOTE] I know…that’s the thing that’s bugging me, too! I know I could make a huge mix, if I could only think of them! I feel like I need to go through all my old CDs from the 90s & look at the song lists, to jar my memory, but I haven’t had a chance to do it. ---
**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 12, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/23 "2007-07-12T15:14:48Z")
I think it owes a lot to the Beatles. It reminds me of early McCartney contributions like: Blackbird Eleanor Rigby Here, There, and Everywhere I’ve Just Seen a face You Won’t See Me etc. ---
**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 12, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/24 "2007-07-12T15:18:46Z")
Josh Radin has several songs like this too. I think To be with You by Mr. Big might’ve been like that too, but can’t remember off hand. ---
**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, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/25 "2007-07-12T16:27:34Z")
[QUOTE=installLSC] 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”). [/QUOTE] Definitely want to second “Rabbit Fur Coat,” as well as the rest of that Jenny Lewis album. The whole thing is wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![TheMerchandise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b487fb/32.png) [@TheMerchandise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheMerchandise)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/26 "2007-07-12T17:12:11Z")
Bright Eye’s “First Day of My Life.” ---
**Author:** ![Yeeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/96bed5/32.png) [@Yeeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeeter)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/27 "2007-07-12T19:39:41Z")
You might want to try putting “Hey there Delilah” into [Pandora](http://www.pandora.com) to see what they come up with. They will have a WIDE variety of similar songs (US only I think). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/28 "2007-07-12T19:54:07Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] _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. [/QUOTE] Yeah, that’s a powerful song with some powerful vocals. But I get what you’re saying about the sound. Although mostly acoustic, it isn’t stripped-down and bouncy enough. In that case, how about Pearl Jam’s **“Soon Forget”** (which on the CD cut sounds like just Eddie Vedder and a ukelele)? [Here’s a live version with Jack Johnson](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg5kmQ-cals). ---
**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, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/29 "2007-07-12T20:06:21Z")
[QUOTE=Yeeter] You might want to try putting “Hey there Delilah” into [Pandora](http://www.pandora.com) to see what they come up with. They will have a WIDE variety of similar songs (US only I think). [/QUOTE] Great idea! Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/30 "2007-07-12T20:07:38Z")
To go even _more_ old-school, there’s the live performance of [“Swan Swan H”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_QG6tr9mjo) by R.E.M. from the _Athens, Georgia: Inside Out_ album. It’s about as stripped down as R.E.M. gets. Musically, that is. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/31 "2007-07-12T20:09:43Z")
Several songs off of **Nirvana** ’s _MTV Unplugged_, including “About a Girl” and the cover of Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World.” ---
**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, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/32 "2007-07-12T20:22:31Z")
Funny story…I just put the Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) into [Pandora.com](http://Pandora.com), and the first song they played was…Hey There Delilah! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/33 "2007-07-12T20:28:25Z")
_Old School: Simon and Garfunkel: Mrs. Robinson._ –E Sabbath Also Simon and Garfunkel’s _The Boxer_, and _I am a Rock_ ---
**Author:** ![Hugh\_Mongoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8dc957/32.png) [@Hugh\_Mongoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hugh_Mongoose)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/34 "2007-07-12T20:30:12Z")
A few that might hit the spot… “Blue In The Face” by Alkaline Trio “The Lowering (A Sad Day In Greenvilletown)” by The Avett Brothers “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” by Colin Hay “Angeles” by Elliott Smith “Razor” by the Foo Fighters “Always & Never” or “Wake Up” by Coheed & Cambria “The Engine Driver” by The Decemberists “Such Great Heights” by Iron & Wine “The End of an Anchor” or “Dusk and Summer” by Dashboard Confessional - or for that matter, a lot of Dashboard’s earlier work. ---
**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, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/35 "2007-07-12T20:31:02Z")
[QUOTE=Gail] _Old School: Simon and Garfunkel: Mrs. Robinson._ –E Sabbath Also Simon and Garfunkel’s _The Boxer_, and _I am a Rock_ [/QUOTE] I was thinking that the closest S&G song to what I am going for is _Bookends Theme_. But now I am thinking of pulling out my S&G albums! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/36 "2007-07-12T20:31:20Z")
I heard the song for the first time this morning, remembered this thread, and thought I’d suggest “Ramona” by Guster. Of course, I’m always looking for excuses to suggest “Ramona” by Guster. 😃 ---
**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, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/37 "2007-07-12T20:45:23Z")
[QUOTE=Sarahfeena] I was thinking that the closest S&G song to what I am going for is _Bookends Theme_. But now I am thinking of pulling out my S&G albums! 🙂 [/QUOTE] “America” is pretty good for the optimistic “I’m going to make it” vibe. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/38 "2007-07-12T20:46:35Z")
Well, if you’re willing to go _really_ old school, then **Joni Mitchell** fits the bill. For example, her original version of [Big Yellow Taxi](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueVpCfPAog4). ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/39 "2007-07-12T20:58:51Z")
Eva Cassidy: “Fields of Gold”, “Songbird”, “Ain’t No Sunshine”, and “Time After Time”. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408/40 "2007-07-12T21:34:20Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Eva Cassidy: “Fields of Gold” [/QUOTE] That song is a sobfest for me. Beautiful. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-think-of-songs-similar-to-hey-there-delilah/411408.md?page=3)