# Poll: Songs with 1 (of very few) word(s) in the lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372 "2003-09-08T20:35:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/21 "2003-09-09T05:48:54Z")
Well, after the first paired couplet in which the singer invites his ladyfriend to inform her parents that he’s relocating her in Bill Clinton’s home state, Mr. Ray Charles’ classic “What’d I say?” features a wonderful economy of lyrics. Who can forget the compelling understated austerity of the chorus?: > [@](#): > > Baby, what’d I say? > Yeah, what’d I say? > Baby, what’d I say? > Baby, what’d I say? > Oh, what’d I say? > Baby, what’d I say? The man could have sung the telephone book backwards and made it hummable. ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/22 "2003-09-09T05:49:43Z")
Santana - Jingo (3: jingo, lo, ba) ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/23 "2003-09-09T06:09:07Z")
Enya’s “Sail Away” features a little mumbling, but it’s mostly just the two words in the title. There’s a huge heap of electronic music which features a single word lyric or a repeated short phrase. Probably not what you’re looking for though. ---
**Author:** ![Sm\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sm\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sm_e)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/24 "2003-09-09T08:17:22Z")
S.O.D.'s “The Ballad of Jimi Hendrix” (Two: “He’s dead”) ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/25 "2003-09-09T09:41:40Z")
I’d nominate the _WKRP_ ending theme, except that I don’t think there’s a single word in that whole mess. ---
**Author:** ![greyseal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@greyseal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greyseal)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/26 "2003-09-09T10:16:24Z")
Elton John’s “Song for Guy”: Life Isn’t everything (repeated about a zillion times) ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/27 "2003-09-09T10:36:30Z")
The Robert Fripp version of “Exposure” from the album of the same name. The lyrics are mostly someone saying the word very slowly repeatedly as someone else spells the word repeatedly. The Peter Gabriel version has some lines about “Space is what I need, It’s what I feel” mixed in with the repetition of “exposure” but no one spelling on that one. The Everclear instrumental song “El Distorto De Melodica” includes an evil sounding laugh and a processed scream but no real words. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/28 "2003-09-09T10:47:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Narrad \* > **Enya’s “Sail Away” features a little mumbling, but it’s mostly just the two words in the title.** The song is properly titled “Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)” and is [anything but a “little mumbling” and the two words](http://www.enya.com/lyrics/song/02/07.asp). Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![thirdshiftgrottoslack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9a28c/32.png) [@thirdshiftgrottoslack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdshiftgrottoslack)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/29 "2003-09-09T15:05:36Z")
dj shadow’s “why hiphop sucks in '96”: 3 words. “it’s the money.” ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/30 "2003-09-09T15:08:27Z")
Daft Punk’s _Around the World_ repeats the title for about seven minutes. That’s only three words. And there was a hardcore techno track out a few years ago by Hocus Pocus called _Here’s Johnny_. It’s only lyrics were the two word Jack Nicholson sample from The Shining. I think Adult.'s _Nausea_ only has the word naws-ya! repeated over and over, but I couldn’t be sure. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/31 "2003-09-09T15:21:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lisa-go-Blind \* > **…1)Why > 2)Don’t > 3)We > 4)Do > 5)It > 6)In > 7)The > 8)Road > 9)No > 10)One > 11)Will > 12)Be > 13)Watching > 14)Us…** Well, even though he was in elementary school at the time - maybe we can point a finger of blame at Bill Gates for this is it _13 or 14 words_ dilemma. In his Word program, noone (as opposed to no one) comes up as acceptable in the grammar check and on the thesaurus as a synonym for ‘nobody’ and ‘not a soul’. I was always taught there wasn’t any such word as noone and Webster’s online confirms that…but who am I to argue with a billionaire? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/32 "2003-09-09T16:01:27Z")
Thank you JohnBckWLD. I put “noone” as one word, too. As for _IWY(SSH)_, I was going by memory and using my fingers to count at the same time–obviously, not a fruitful combination. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/33 "2003-09-09T17:19:51Z")
Gary Moore’s The Loner has the lyrics of Loner. There might be one or two other words in there like The, but that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/34 "2003-09-09T19:56:40Z")
“Sex and Violence” by the Exploited repeats the title over… and over… and over. That’s the whole damn song. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/35 "2003-09-09T20:24:49Z")
There are all the Dwarvish drinking songs from the Discworld : “Gold, gold, gold, gold, Gold, gold, gold, gold, Gold, gold, gold, gold, Gold, gold, gold, gold…” ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/36 "2003-09-09T21:24:26Z")
I may have skipped a post, but I thought someone would have remembered "Rock 'n Roll, Part I by Gary Glitter ---
**Author:** ![gscotb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b77776/32.png) [@gscotb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gscotb)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/37 "2003-09-10T06:33:58Z")
Church Key - The Revels Let’s Go Trippin’ - Dick Dale Ma-na Ma-na (wan’t this song used in a Lipton tea commercial?) ---
**Author:** ![ExpiringMind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ExpiringMind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExpiringMind)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/38 "2003-09-11T14:45:28Z")
O.K. I’m dialed-in… “One Step Beyond” - Madness ---
**Author:** ![NYR407](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@NYR407](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NYR407)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/39 "2003-09-11T15:22:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sm:)e \* > \*\*S.O.D.'s “The Ballad of Jimi Hendrix” (Two: “He’s dead”) \*\* Nit Pick: I thought the lyrics were “You’re dead”. They also have the song “Diamonds and Rust”. I bet you can guess the lyrics. Hint: 3 words in song’s title. These “songs” are only a few seconds long but I guess they are considered songs. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372/40 "2003-09-11T15:38:02Z")
Motley Crue’s “God Bless the Children of the Beast” has these words sung at the end of a short instrumental piece by the same title on _Shout at the Devil_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-songs-with-1-of-very-few-word-s-in-the-lyrics/200372.md?page=3)