# How many songs start out with a number? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672 "2016-08-13T15:47:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/41 "2016-08-13T19:18:40Z")
> [@Vicsage](#): > > Woolly Bully, I think, but I don’t speak Spanish. 🙂 Post number 5. I’m not sure if it’s actually part of the lyric or a count-off, though. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Call_Me.Tim)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/42 "2016-08-13T19:23:44Z")
Manic Monday, the Bangles. I believe that’s the first song beginning with six mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/43 "2016-08-13T19:26:35Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Post number 5. I’m not sure if it’s actually part of the lyric or a count-off, though. It’s lyrics, though probably adapted from the performances. Samudio called it Tex-Mex counting, maybe that was common in count-offs in Texas when he formed the band. But I’ve seen it in every representation of the lyrics. It’s critical to the song, people would start cheering as it started just from recognizing the sequence, and aside from the ‘Wooly Bully’ it’s about the only part of the lyrics people can understand. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/44 "2016-08-13T19:29:19Z")
“One, singular sensation every step she takes.” – “One” from _A Chorus Line_ “Three hits to the heart son, and it’s poetry in motion.” – “Three Hits” The Indigo Girls ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/45 "2016-08-13T20:53:11Z")
“99 bottles of beer on the wall/99 bottles of beer…” (traditional) “26 miles across the sea/Santa Catalina is a-waitin’ for me” (“26 Miles”, Four Preps, 1958) “77 Sunset Strip” (TV show theme song, 1958) “1,000,000 to 1/That’s what our folks think, about this love of ours” (“A Million to One”, Jimmy Charles, 1960) “5-7-0-5!/But there’s no reply!” (“5.7.0.5”, City Boy, 1978) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/46 "2016-08-13T21:14:23Z")
“One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small…” (White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane0 “Two of us riding nowhere, spending someone’s hard earned pay…” (Two of Us - the Beatles) Honorable mention: “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Conner (“It’s been Seven Hours and Fifteen days…”) which is close. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/47 "2016-08-13T21:20:07Z")
Changing of the Guards by Dylan “Sixteen years Sixteen banners united over the field Where the good shepherd grieves…” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/48 "2016-08-13T22:31:54Z")
Roy Orbison, Ride Away: “Two wheels a-turnin’/One girl a-yearnin’” Johnny Cash, Long Black Veil: “Ten years ago on a cold dark night/Someone was killed 'neath the town hall light.” Elvis Presley, One Night: “One night with you/Is what I’m now praying for.” The Beatles, I’ll Follow the Sun: “One day you’ll look/To see I’m gone” ---
**Author:** ![Tread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Tread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tread)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/49 "2016-08-13T23:05:56Z")
Katrina- If Only — 3 AM Text Alert… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/50 "2016-08-13T23:13:38Z")
_Rock Around The Clock_, Bill Haley and His Comets > [@](#): > > One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock rock > Five, six, seven o’clock, eight o’clock rock > Nine, ten, eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock rock > We’re gonna rock around the clock tonight _Ten Little Indians_ > [@](#): > > One little, two little, three little Indians > Four little, five little, six little Indians > Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians > Ten little Indian boys. > > Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians > Seven little, six little, five little Indians > Four little, three little, two little Indians > One little Indian boy.[1] ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/51 "2016-08-13T23:14:20Z")
“ **Sixteen Military Wives** ,” The Decemberists (“16 military wives / 32 softly focused brightly colored eyes”) “ **Texarkana** ,” R.E.M. (“20,000 miles to an oasis / 20,000 years will I burn”) “ **Bull in the Heather** ,” Sonic Youth (“10, 20, 30, 40 / Tell me that you want to hold me”) Surprisingly few “Multiplication Rock” songs, which I still remember almost 40 years later: 2: “ **Elementary, My Dear** ” (“40 days and 40 nights / Didn’t it rain, children?”) 3: “ **Three is a Magic Number** ” (first line = title; also the sample in the aforementioned De La Soul song) 0: “ **My Hero, Zero** ” (“Zero?! / Yeah. Zero is a wonderful thing. In fact, zero is my hero.”) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/52 "2016-08-13T23:16:04Z")
I’m going to fudge a little with Golden Earring’s _Twilight Zone_. “It’s 2 a.m.” Hey, it’s almost the first word. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/53 "2016-08-13T23:18:53Z")
“73 men sailed up from the San Francisco Bay…” - Blues Image, **Ride, Captain, Ride** ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/54 "2016-08-13T23:48:02Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’m going to fudge a little with Golden Earring’s _Twilight Zone_. > > “It’s 2 a.m.” > > Hey, it’s almost the first word. Piano Man : “It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday…” Safety in numbers. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/55 "2016-08-13T23:59:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Do you just want songs where the numbers are part of the lyrics or are you counting songs that start off with somebody counting off the beat? > > “One two three four…We’re Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” If that counts, add the complete oeuvre of the Ramones to the list. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/56 "2016-08-14T00:05:21Z")
Sixteen men on a dead man’s chest With a yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/57 "2016-08-14T00:50:04Z")
Do fractions and ordinal numbers count? The Beatles, Julia: “Half of what I say is meaningless” CCR, Someday Never Comes: “First think I remember was askin’ Papa why/For there were many things I didn’t know” ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/58 "2016-08-14T00:58:28Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Piano Man : “It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday…” > > Safety in numbers. I can’t really claim _Twilight Zone_, though. It starts out with a spoken verse. _Somewhere in a lonely hotel room There’s a guy starting to realize that eternal Fate has turned its back on him. It’s two a.m._ So I’m going to have to withdraw it. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/59 "2016-08-14T00:59:47Z")
U2’s “Vertigo” begins with _“Uno, dos, tres, catorce…”_ – which is Spanish for “one, two, three, fourteen.” Genesis “One for the Vine”: _“Fifty thousand men were send to do the will of one…”_ It’s not shown on lyrics sites, but Scorpions’ “Can’t Live Without You” begins with a standard countdown: _“One, two, one, two, one two three four…”_ > [@cochrane](#): > > I can’t really claim _Twilight Zone_, though. It starts out with a spoken verse. Even if you ignore the spoken verse, the first word actually sung is “it’s.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672/60 "2016-08-14T01:33:35Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Even if you ignore the spoken verse, the first word actually sung is “it’s.” 🙂 Yeah, but I did admit right at the start that I was fudging it, and I would have stood behind it otherwise. In fact, I’ll back **burpo** up on _Piano Man_. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-songs-start-out-with-a-number/762672.md?page=4)