# Multiple-Verse Rock/Pop/Etc. Songs You First Learned All The Lyrics To **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 31, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182 "2017-08-31T17:51:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/1 "2017-08-31T17:51:39Z")
My recollection: American Pie - Don McLean Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel Young enough that I didn’t know what a “levee” was, nor what the line “making love in the afternoon” (Cecilia) meant. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/2 "2017-08-31T19:57:09Z")
It was very likely C.W. McCall’s “Convoy.” _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![stolatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@stolatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolatt)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/3 "2017-08-31T19:59:20Z")
Sugar sugar by the Archies. Followed by anything on a K-Tel record. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/4 "2017-08-31T20:04:07Z")
Probably the entire “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” album. I fixated on that when I first really started listening to music. Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/5 "2017-08-31T20:12:45Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It was very likely C.W. McCall’s “Convoy.” _shudder_ Funny, my kids asked me what was the song I got sick of due to overplay when I was their age, so we found this one on the web…they made me shut it off after about two minutes. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/6 "2017-08-31T20:55:12Z")
“Puttin on the Ritz” by Taco “Coming to America” by Neil Diamond The local radio station came to our local pool and handed out 45s to all the kids. My brother got Taco, I got Neil. We played the heck out of those records, and I memorized each! I was probably 4 years old. I am really fixated on lyrics and would guess that I’ve memorized thousands of songs since 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/7 "2017-08-31T22:28:59Z")
“Heart” from _Damn Yankees_. I sung it as part of a performance. Since I grew up on Broadway show tunes, I picked up on lyrics early on and probably memorized others before that. I definitely memorized “Six Months out of Every Year,” too. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/8 "2017-09-01T03:08:33Z")
Probably the first one I learned was “The Sound of Silence”, because we sang it in elementary school choir. And no, I don’t have any delusions about our quality. Later, I also learned the full lyrics for “Tequila” and They Might Be Giants’ “Minimum Wage”. Oh, and also for “Rock and Roll Part II”. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/9 "2017-09-01T03:17:59Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > My recollection: > > … > > Young enough that I didn’t know what a “levee” was, nor what the line “making love in the afternoon” (Cecilia) meant. Not to mention the part about getting up to wash his face… ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/10 "2017-09-01T03:28:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Later, I also learned the full lyrics for “Tequila” and They Might Be Giants’ “Minimum Wage”. Oh, and also for “Rock and Roll Part II”. Well played, sir. Very well played. 🆒 As for me, my memory is hazy. Probably either “Pleasant Valley Sunday” by the Monkees, or “Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers. ---
**Author:** ![MsJinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@MsJinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsJinx)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/11 "2017-09-01T04:54:00Z")
Mad Magazine often had song parodies, and ‘Ground Round’ was sung to the tune of ‘Downtown’, so this was probably mid-1960s and I was in elementary school. I didn’t know all the words to Downtown, but still remember every verse of Ground Round. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/12 "2017-09-01T11:42:40Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > Not to mention the part about getting up to wash his face… I think I need this one explained to me; what am I missing? My contribution: Camp Granada by Allan Sherman. Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/13 "2017-09-01T12:10:30Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I think I need this one explained to me; what am I missing? > > My contribution: Camp Granada by Allan Sherman. > > Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda. > mmm Because his face was buried somewhere earlier :D. I forgot about another tune…“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/14 "2017-09-01T12:33:35Z")
Wouldn’t It Be Nice (Beach Boys), Good Day Sunshine (Beatles), Ruby Tuesday (Stones) This would have been in 1975, when I was five years old, but for some reason my parents were exposing me to music recorded in the year 1966. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/15 "2017-09-01T14:08:00Z")
The Flying Purple People Eater by Sheb Woolley Little Arrows by Leapy Lee You Can’t Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd by Roger Miller ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/16 "2017-09-01T14:42:02Z")
I was singing along with my mother to Engelbert Humperdinck at the tender age of four(ish). Not that I understood half of it but she played it so often I guess I just learned it by rote (?) Maybe that doesn’t count. I also had a lot of soundtrack albums and the next one that comes to mind is _101 Dalmations_. Especially _Cruella De Ville._ ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2017, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/17 "2017-09-01T16:11:55Z")
It might have been Nervous Norvus’ “Transfusion” (“Put a gallon in me, Allen”). There was also “Susie Q”, with all its rich symbolism and emotional complexity. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/18 "2017-09-02T07:35:12Z")
My earliest memories were through Beatles tunes, so maybe “Lucy…” or the title track. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/19 "2017-09-02T14:46:00Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > Because his face was buried somewhere earlier :D… Huh. Is this the consensus of what he meant? If so, I’ve missed it for 47 years. mmm ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182/20 "2017-09-02T16:16:10Z")
I can still sing every word of every song on Styx _Paradise Theater._ Growing up, I didn’t get to listen to pop much because dad played be-bop jazz whenever he was home. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multiple-verse-rock-pop-etc-songs-you-first-learned-all-the-lyrics-to/795182.md?page=2)