# Juxtaposing song lyrics to a different tune **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 22, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146 "2006-01-22T20:49:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/1 "2006-01-22T20:49:50Z")
I was reading a magazine article recently in which a famous actress mentioned a party trick she does–singing “Amazing Grace” to the theme songs of _Gilligan’s Island_ and _Dallas_ . It actually works and it’s pretty funny. I was recently watching **Jesus Christ Superstar** and during the third or so repeat of the Apostles song _(Look at all my trials and tribulations, sinking in a gentle pool of wine, etc.)_ I found myself singing _Everything’s up to date in Kansas City, they’ve gone about as far as they can go…_ from **Oklahoma**. What other lyrics fit different melodies? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/2 "2006-01-22T20:55:36Z")
Along similar lines, there was a gal at work who could sing _Take Me Out To The Ballgame_ by starting out on “me” and having the last word be “take.” Follow the melody note-for-note but be one syllable off. It’s hard to do but she had it down. I haven’t tried that with other songs but it might be fun. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/3 "2006-01-22T21:13:07Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Along similar lines, there was a gal at work who could sing _Take Me Out To The Ballgame_ by starting out on “me” and having the last word be “take.” Follow the melody note-for-note but be one syllable off. It’s hard to do but she had it down. I haven’t tried that with other songs but it might be fun. I know a version that’s similar to that, where the first two beats are the words “take me”, “out” occurs on the third beat, and everthing is kind of pushed up a beat. It’s hard to explain, but it works, and the ending is rather abrupt. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/4 "2006-01-22T21:30:01Z")
> [@](#): > > …singing “Amazing Grace” to the theme songs of Gilligan’s Island… There was very humorous version of the _“Gilligan”_ theme sung to the tune of \*“Stairway to Heaven” \*. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/5 "2006-01-22T23:30:51Z")
a previous thread (there are others): [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269946](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269946) Here’s a list I’ve accumulated from the SDMB and other sources. Stairway to Heaven Gilligan’s Island Amazing Grace House of the Rising Sun O Little Town of Bethlehem God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen Australian National Anthem (Advance, Australia Fair) Rime of the Ancient Mariner any Emily Dickinson poem Yellow Rose of Texas America the Beautiful The Marine Corps song “From the halls of Montezuma” My Darling Clementine Beethoven’s Ode to Joy On top of Old Smokey/spaghetti Chariots of Fire The Itsy-Bitsy Spider Stan Rogers’ “Mary Ellen Carter” Rubber Duckie Surfer Girl Devil Went Down To Georgia The Thing (Phil Harris) A Day in the Life Green Acres William Blake’s Tyger, Tyger: to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Jabberwocky Greensleeves First part of “Stairway to Heaven” “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” Camp Granada (“Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah”) (with minor alterations) Smells Like Teen Spirit (loud section) ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/6 "2006-01-23T01:30:25Z")
I guess I sorta figured someone had done this before–still, anyone got any new ones? BTW, The “On Top of Spaghetti/Chariots of Fire” one is priceless! I also like “Stairway/Edmund Fitzgerald”. Not sure about “Day in the Life/Green Acres”, tho. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/7 "2006-01-23T02:07:36Z")
The first handful of lines of “The Star Spangled Banner” work quite well to the tune of “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”. I quite often sing The “Gilligan’s Island” theme song to the tune of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. Don’t ask why. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/8 "2006-01-23T02:14:29Z")
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One\_Song\_To\_The\_Tune\_Of\_Another](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Song_To_The_Tune_Of_Another) ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/9 "2006-01-23T02:45:09Z")
The band Orbital used to do a great mix of Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven is a Place on Earth” back in the day. The two choruses blended together beautifully. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/10 "2006-01-23T03:16:27Z")
I’ve had decent results singing the lyrics of “King of Pain” by The Police to the tune of “Ana Ng” by They Might Be Giants. I call it “Ng of Pain”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/11 "2006-01-23T03:42:23Z")
I’ve posted this one before, but it’s one of my favourites. **Spiderman** to the tune of **Particle Man**. ---
**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:** [January 23, 2006, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/12 "2006-01-23T05:01:51Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > There was very humorous version of the _“Gilligan”_ theme sung to the tune of \*“Stairway to Heaven” \*. Actually, the beauty of this record is that it _wasn’t_ simply the words of “Gilligan’s Island” sung to a different tune. It was the words _and_ melody of “Gilligan’s Island” juxtaposed against the instrumental accompaniment of “Stairway to Heaven,” a much more subtle and clever concept. It did spawn a rash of imitations (such as the “Day in the Life”/“Green Acres” combination mentioned by **rowrrbazzle** and **want2know** ) by folks who didn’t seem to get the joke, and _were_ simply singing the words of one song the the tune of another. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/13 "2006-01-23T06:05:32Z")
Though not a perfect fit, Amazing Grace also works with the Mickey Mouse song: _Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, A-M-A, Z-I-N, G-R-A-C-E. I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see, A-M-A, Z-I-N, G-R-A-C-E. Amazing grace, amazing grace amazing grace, amazing grace_ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![want2know](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@want2know](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2know)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/14 "2006-01-23T21:59:19Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Though not a perfect fit, Amazing Grace also works with the Mickey Mouse song: > > _Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, > A-M-A, Z-I-N, G-R-A-C-E. > I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see, > A-M-A, Z-I-N, G-R-A-C-E. > Amazing grace, amazing grace > amazing grace, amazing grace_ 😛 **LMAO BIG TIME** Now _that’s_ what I’m talkin’ about!!! ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/15 "2006-01-24T15:50:04Z")
I once discovered that the ABC song (a b c d e f g, h i j k, lmnop, etc. . .) fit quite well with Tom Petty’s “Last Dance with Mary Jane” with the alphabet itself comprising the verse, followed by the chorus: Now I’ve said my ABC’s tell me what you think of me-e -e. I can do my numbers too, Listen to how good I do-oo-oo. ---
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/16 "2006-01-24T16:58:27Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Along similar lines, there was a gal at work who could sing _Take Me Out To The Ballgame_ by starting out on “me” and having the last word be “take.” Question 1: Where the hell does this come from? I can sing this as well (I prefer to end on “game” with the melody unresolved because it’s weird), but have no idea where I first heard it. Semi-relevant aside B: I read once (sorry, loked for a cite and failed) that the songwriting team behind Squeeze worked like this: Chris Difford wrote new lyrics to an existing song by someone else, then Glen Tilbrook gets the words without knowing the melody and he writes a new melody. So in theory every Difford-Tillbrook song can be sung to whatever the original melody was. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/17 "2006-01-24T17:26:25Z")
> [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > Question 1: Where the hell does this come from? I can sing this as well (I prefer to end on “game” with the melody unresolved because it’s weird), but have no idea where I first heard it. > > Semi-relevant aside B: I read once (sorry, loked for a cite and failed) that the songwriting team behind Squeeze worked like this: Chris Difford wrote new lyrics to an existing song by someone else, then Glen Tilbrook gets the words without knowing the melody and he writes a new melody. So in theory every Difford-Tillbrook song can be sung to whatever the original melody was. Damned if that isn’t some fine deductive reasoning! Wonder what it must be. As for the origin of the off-beat TMOTTBG, not a clue beyond the fact that I first heard this gal’s version in 1968 or so. Must be older than that because this gal never exhibited an original thought. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/18 "2006-01-24T22:00:16Z")
**danceswithcats** : LOL! Maybe in the spelling part replace the first pause with the ''z" - “A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, G-R-A-C-E”? > [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > > [@Zeldar](#): > > > > Along similar lines, there was a gal at work who could sing Take Me Out To The Ballgame by starting out on “me” and having the last word be “take.” > > Question 1: Where the hell does this come from? I can sing this as well (I prefer to end on “game” with the melody unresolved because it’s weird), but have no idea where I first heard it. Dunno, but there’s a similar bit of choir humor. In the carol “The First Noel”, the second verse begins, “They lookéd up and saw a star”. If you’re not paying attention, there’s a tendency to sing “look-” and “-éd” on just one note each rather than two each. Then you’re out of synch. Intentionally doing this while on a break is the choir humor :). ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/19 "2006-01-25T02:15:38Z")
I heard the Emily Dickinson poems/“Yellow Rose of Texas” item several years ago. My mother was appalled when I told her. She likes Dickinson. The Labour Party anthem “The Red Flag” was originally sung to a jaunty Scots Jacobite tune, “The White Cockade”; the writer was supposedly furious when it was reset to the more dirge-like “Tannenbaum”. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146/20 "2006-01-25T06:43:36Z")
I’ve heard _Light My Fire_ done as a madrigal, and _Green Acres_ works to the tune of _Purple Haze_. Okay, now, try to remember how _The Ballad of the Green Berets_ goes. Got the melody in your head? Good. _It’s the story of a lovely lady who was bringing up three lovely girls. All of them had hair of gold; the youngest one in curls._ Let try another one. Get _The Wall_ running through your head. _Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la la la la la la. 'tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la la la._ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/juxtaposing-song-lyrics-to-a-different-tune/341146.md?page=2)