# Pop song homonyms: same title, different songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 21, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427 "2007-08-21T21:56:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/1 "2007-08-21T21:56:23Z")
There are a lot of songs called **“I Want You”** out there. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, The Troggs, Savage Garden, Marvin Gaye, Janet Jackson, Roxette, LL Cool J, Paris Hilton, Jody Watley, Cabaret Voltaire, Third Eye Blind, and Faith Hill have all recorded different songs with that name. Another popular title: **“Stay”**. Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Shakespears Sister, Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, Ne-Yo, U2, Lisa Loeb, Dave Matthews Band, Oingo Boingo, and Alison Krauss. What other common titles are out there? And which has produced the most good songs (I’d give “I Want You” the edge between these two titles, with the Costello and Dylan versions in there). (As you can tell from The Beatles and U2, elements of the title (in parentheses) don’t count.) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/2 "2007-08-21T21:57:22Z")
“One” has been done, ironically, at least 4 times. 3 Dog Night and Metallica’s songs count as good IMO. ---
**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 21, 2007, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/3 "2007-08-21T22:49:46Z")
**Don’t Stop** - Fleetwood Mac and The Rolling Stones Fleetwood Mac’s tune is classic, even being used by Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. The Stones’ song was their best in recent years. **Hey You** - Pink Floyd, Madonna, and B.T.O. Pink Floyd has the classic one here. I liked B.T.O.'s song of the same name. It was a good fun tune. I have not heard Madonna’s. **Feel Like Makin’ Love** - Roberta Flack and Bad Company Roberta Flack’s song is a soul classic. Bad Co.'s is a classic tune in the rock genre. Both good songs. ---
**Author:** ![Khadro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Khadro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/4 "2007-08-21T23:40:18Z")
**Lazy Eye** - The Goo Goo Dolls and The Silversun Pickups. **Vogue** - Madonna and KMFDM ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/5 "2007-08-21T23:53:34Z")
I think I remember Casey Kasem saying once that 6 different songs titled **“Lady”** have been in the Top 40 in the ‘rock era’. This memory comes from the early 80s, so I suppose he was introducing either Kenny Rogers’ or Lionel Richie’s songs. There have probably been others since then with that same title. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/6 "2007-08-22T00:27:36Z")
“Hold On.” [Wiki link.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold_On) I thought there were about a dozen, but it looks like many more…and they didn’t even mention the Donny Osmond one! ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/7 "2007-08-22T00:43:20Z")
I just had this conversation with my brother. “Learning To Fly” - **Pink Floyd** and **Tom Petty** Also “Turn To Stone” - **Electric Light Orchestra** and **Joe Walsh** “American Girl” - **Tom Petty** and **Melissa Ethridge** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/8 "2007-08-22T00:57:23Z")
“Crazy” – Patsy Cline and Pylon. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/9 "2007-08-22T02:05:04Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] **Hey You** - Pink Floyd, Madonna, and B.T.O. [/QUOTE] Also No Doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/10 "2007-08-22T02:42:00Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] “Crazy” – Patsy Cline and Pylon. [/QUOTE] Don’t forget Seal. I like a song by Crazy Town (kind of a Limp Bizkit wannabe band) called “Butterfly”. When I looked for the video on YouTube, I found out there are at least 2 or 3 other songs called “Butterfly”. One is an “inspiring” ballad by Mariah Carey. Another is one of the most popular songs on the original Dance Dance Revolution game. I think there is even a Malcolm McLaren “Butterfly.” (Did I get the producer’s name right? Because in my mind I keep mixing up his name with the guy who was in _A Clockwork Orange._ ) Different songs called “Girlfriend” have been recorded by Avril Lavigne, Bobby Brown, Pebbles and Matthew Sweet. Hey, didn’t we have a thread like this a few weeks ago? ---
**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 22, 2007, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/11 "2007-08-22T02:44:36Z")
[QUOTE=Saltire] I think I remember Casey Kasem saying once that 6 different songs titled **“Lady”** have been in the Top 40 in the ‘rock era’. This memory comes from the early 80s, so I suppose he was introducing either Kenny Rogers’ or Lionel Richie’s songs. There have probably been others since then with that same title. [/QUOTE] Kenny Rogers’ song **Lady** was written by Lionel Richie. Some others I can think of off the top of my head are songs by the Little River Band and Styx, all with the same name. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/12 "2007-08-22T02:49:38Z")
If we just stick to songs that reached #1 on the Billboard charts… 1. John Denver & Brenda Lee both had #1 hits called “I’m Sorry” 2. Van Halen & Kriss Kross both had #1 hits called “Jump” 3. “My Love” was the name of a #1 hit by Petula Clark as well as one by Paul McCartney & Wings 4. Both Celine Dion and Huey Lewis & the News had #1 hits called “The Power of Love” 5. Bobby Goldsboro & Mariah Carey had #1 singles called “Honey” ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/13 "2007-08-22T02:51:53Z")
Have to search for a cite, but I seem to recall Kasem mentioning that _I Love You_ was the most common song title. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/14 "2007-08-22T09:38:52Z")
“Let it rain” is definitely an oft-repeated title. I’m aware of completely different songs to that title done by three different artists (Amanda Marshall, Megan Metcalf, and Shirley Myers,) and a search on [allmusic.com](http://allmusic.com) turns up many others, including Jon Bon Jovi, Tracy Chapman, Mark Chestnutt, Eric Clapton, Cypress Hill, JoJo, and Michael W Smith. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/15 "2007-08-22T10:32:42Z")
[The Power of Love](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Love) wins by a nose. ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/16 "2007-08-22T15:52:00Z")
**Patches** , by Clarence Carter is radically different from \*\*Patches \*\*by Dickie Lee. Gordon Lightfoot and Carole King recorded songs titled **Beautiful** , although these were both album cuts and may not have charted. ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/17 "2007-08-22T16:00:40Z")
Found another one (and missed the edit window) \*\*[Reuben James](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reuben_James) \*\*. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > There are also two songs with the title Reuben James, neither of which are about the man in question. The first is a Woody Guthrie-written folk song about the first USS Reuben James and its sinking. It later became a hit by the Kingston Trio. The second was a major hit for Kenny Rogers in 1969, that deals with the issue of racism and friendship. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/18 "2007-08-22T16:10:14Z")
**"Shout"** - Tears for Fears **"Shout"** - The Isley Brothers (or Otis Day and the Knights, if you’re a fan of _Animal House_) ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/19 "2007-08-22T16:19:41Z")
“Stairway To Heaven” by Neil Sedaka and Led Zeppelin. ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427/20 "2007-08-22T16:41:28Z")
[QUOTE=Lucky 13] Don’t forget Seal. [/quote] And Gnarls Barkley. Lots of "Crazy"s out there. [QUOTE=Lucky 13] Hey, didn’t we have a thread like this a few weeks ago? [/QUOTE] I hope not – I couldn’t find one. But I’m sure the idea isn’t unique. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-song-homonyms-same-title-different-songs/416427.md?page=2)