# I didn't know I knew that song or nondescriptive song titles.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [February 24, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805 "2004-02-24T01:52:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/1 "2004-02-24T01:52:59Z")
I’m listening to an oldies CD. The back says: Doobie Brothers— Long Train Running. I’m thinking that I’ve never heard that Doobie Brothers song before and then it plays. It’s Without Love. Only that’s not the name, is it?
Like Baba O’Reily, which I always thought was called Teenage Wasteland.
Then there’s Sister Christian-- they say the words “Sister Christian” in the song, but I always thought the name of the song was Motoring.
Got any others? Songs that fooled you, I mean?
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### Author:  [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/2 "2004-02-24T02:07:27Z")
“Rainy Day Women 12 & 35” by Bob Dylan
“For What It’s Worth” - Buffalo Springfield
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/3 "2004-02-24T02:16:23Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#):
>
> “Rainy Day Women 12 & 35” by Bob Dylan
>
> “For What It’s Worth” - Buffalo Springfield
What did you _think_ they were called? I may know those songs too, only don’t know I know them.
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### Author:  [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/4 "2004-02-24T02:24:05Z")
> [@](#):
>
> Rainy Day Women 12 & 35" by Bob Dylan
>
> “For What It’s Worth” - Buffalo Springfield
The refrain from “Rainy Day Women 12 & 35” is "Everyone must get Stoned:
“For What It’s Worth”'s chorus is “I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do… I leave it up to you”
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/5 "2004-02-24T02:27:03Z")
See! I know those songs!
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### Author:  [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/6 "2004-02-24T02:30:27Z")
> [@verbenabeast](#):
>
> “For What It’s Worth”'s chorus is “I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do… I leave it up to you”
The chorus for “For What It’s Worth” is actually “It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound, everybody look what’s going down.”
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### Author:  [@Cabbage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cabbage)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/7 "2004-02-24T02:48:09Z")
> [@](#):
>
> “For What It’s Worth”'s chorus is “I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do… I leave it up to you”
**Lisa-go-Blind** posted the correct chorus, I just thought I’d mention that this chorus belongs to _I’d Love to Change the World_ by Ten Years After.
I didn’t realize until a few months ago that I’d ever heard _Hair of the Dog_ by Nazareth; I always knew it by _Now you’re messin’ with a son-of-a-bitch_.
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### Author:  [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/8 "2004-02-24T04:06:44Z")
I hate when I do stupid stuff like that…
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### Author:  [@Dizzy\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dizzy_Fingers)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/9 "2004-02-24T04:52:43Z")
“Gumboots” by Paul Simon (aka “You Don’t Feel You Could Love Me”)
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### Author:  [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/10 "2004-02-24T04:57:11Z")
> [@verbenabeast](#):
>
> The refrain from “Rainy Day Women 12 & 35” is "Everyone must get Stoned:
I always thought the song was “Everybody must get stoned” as I seem to recall seeing it called that on the karaoke screen.
Or I was just drunk and imagined it while my bf at the time sang it.
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### Author:  [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/11 "2004-02-24T07:13:13Z")
“Danny’s Song” (or, “Even though we ain’t got money, I’m so in love with you honey…”)
And for what it’s worth, I’ve forgotten the title of “For What It’s Worth” several times. I think my brain is hardwired to think of that song as “What’s That Sound?”
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### Author:  [@Jeff\_Lodoen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lodoen)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/12 "2004-02-24T11:55:10Z")
“Badge” by Cream (written with George Harrison)… doesn’t have a chorus, but you probably heard it.
“Daisy Jane” by America… it’s in the second line, in the quiet part.
“Ebony Eyes” by Bob Welch, “Sentimental Lady” by Fleetwood Mac and Bob Welch- These both eluded me; the titles are in the songs, maybe I’m just dumb…
“Escape” by Journey- I gotta believe it was originally titled “Breakaway” or somesuch.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/13 "2004-02-24T12:23:25Z")
[QUOTE=SolGrundy]
“Danny’s Song” (or, “Even though we ain’t got money, I’m so in love with you honey…”)
[QUOTE]
“Annie’s Song” (or, “you fill up my senses like a night in the forest. . .”)
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/14 "2004-02-24T12:34:39Z")
Michael Nesmith was never one to write refrains. His song titles often are not mentioned in the lyrics.
There’s a great Monkee’s Era Nes story. The Nesmith-penned song “Auntie’s Municipal Court” had been getting some airplay but no one was buying the single- because no one had any idea what the title of the song was. One of the Suits from Screen Gems decided that Nes needed a lesson in how to write a hit song. He explained that a hit song should be “good clean fun” and that the title should be said over and over again.
The next song that Nes wrote and submitted for the Monkees was a song called, “Good Clean Fun”, in which the title never once appears in the lyrics.
(source: liner notes from _Listen to the Band_ boxed set.)
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### Author:  [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/15 "2004-02-24T13:02:37Z")
The original title was **In Other Words** , but most people know it as **Fly Me To The Moon**. The composer, Bart Howard [died this past weekend](http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=11413&sd=02/24/04).
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### Author:  [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/16 "2004-02-24T13:24:28Z")
I have this problem with a lot of Led Zep songs. I’d give you some examples, but I don’t know any.
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### Author:  [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/17 "2004-02-24T13:24:54Z")
Blur - Song #2 - the chorus is simply “Woo-HOOOOO” as the song goes from kinda grimy strummy stuff to a big grungy rock sound. It was used in 1,000 commercials, so you probably heard it.
Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet with Butterfly Wings - “Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage”
Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock - “Oh - let me out; hey - let me out” (off Siamese Dream - one of their best songs)
The list goes on and on, but that’s a start from the 90’s (oh, everybody knows Nirvana’s “Lithium”, but I don’t think that word is in the lyrics, IIRC)
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### Author:  [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/18 "2004-02-24T13:26:27Z")
Emerson Lake and Palmer’s song that starts out “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends” is titled _Karnevil 9_ .
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### Author:  [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/19 "2004-02-24T14:09:23Z")
Everybody knows Creedence’s “Proud Mary”–but everyone knows it as “…rollin’ on the river”.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [February 24, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-i-knew-that-song-or-nondescriptive-song-titles/230805/20 "2004-02-24T14:09:37Z")
The classic 90s one (to me) is Green Day’s “Good Riddance”. It was later renamed on the CD as ‘Good Riddance (The Time of Your Life)’.
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