# Popular songs that are waltzes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 25, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449 "2007-09-25T17:47:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/21 "2007-09-25T20:26:18Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] I love this place. Where else could I get twenty-odd answers to that question in under two hours? “Manic Depression” seems suspect. I mean, it’s the right time, but that’s a fast waltz. [/QUOTE] Just go Viennese. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/22 "2007-09-25T20:37:00Z")
[QUOTE=JKellyMap] I guess more 6/8 stuff like Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” wouldn’t count, huh? [/QUOTE] Well, you could waltz to it, right? (I’ve never waltzed but I can imagine it happening.) I don’t think you could say that about all 6/8 songs? ---
**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:** [September 25, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/23 "2007-09-25T20:37:04Z")
_The Rainbow Connection_ Does the original _Popeye The Sailor Man_ as used in the old b/w cartoons qualify as “popular”? The theme was modified to 4/4 for the intro of the color cartoons, but when the can of spinach was opened, the music was played by brass in a fast 3/4 in a kind of fanfare. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/24 "2007-09-25T20:37:17Z")
Is any music in 3/4 time a waltz by definition, or does the term imply other specifics of style, arrangement, tempo, and so on? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/25 "2007-09-25T20:38:49Z")
[QUOTE=rowrrbazzle] _The Rainbow Connection_ [/QUOTE] Good call. That’s a beautiful song. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/26 "2007-09-25T20:39:29Z")
Love Has No Pride (Bonnie Raitt). ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/27 "2007-09-25T20:42:25Z")
House of the Rising Sun is 6/8, but it might work. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/28 "2007-09-25T22:26:03Z")
“I Put A Spell On You” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. [hijack] Without seeing it in printed sheet music, how do you differentiate 3/4 from 6/8 time signatures? Is it the tempo? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/29 "2007-09-25T22:37:13Z")
[QUOTE=dwc1970] “I Put A Spell On You” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. [/QUOTE] I have no problem with CCR, but for this song I would put covers by Nina Simone, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Bonnie Tyler, and maybe Marilyn Manson ahead. 😉 ---
**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 25, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/30 "2007-09-25T22:38:25Z")
[hijack] Without seeing it in printed sheet music, how do you differentiate 3/4 from 6/8 time signatures? Is it the tempo? [/hijack] [/QUOTE] In 6/8, you definitely feel two groups of three. It swings back and forth, which is why it works so well for sea shanties. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/31 "2007-09-26T00:06:05Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] Is any music in 3/4 time a waltz by definition, or does the term imply other specifics of style, arrangement, tempo, and so on? [/QUOTE] I think (though my knowledge of music is meager) that all 3/4 time songs are technically waltzes, though some are more difficult than others. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/32 "2007-09-26T00:21:02Z")
Enya’s China Roses, Flora’s Secret, Caribbean Blue, and Marble Halls are all waltzes. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/33 "2007-09-26T00:56:09Z")
[QUOTE=Kid\_A] Elliott Smith has Waltz #1 and Waltz #2 off of his XO album. The latter is one of my favourite songs. [/QUOTE] Also Miss Misery (from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack) and Between the Bars (from Either/Or). They’d be fairly sad music to waltz to, but hey, some days you might swing that way. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/34 "2007-09-26T03:16:01Z")
_“Did you know its actually from the Polovetsian Dance number two, by Borodin?”_ Sorry. Late 70s infomercial humor… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/35 "2007-09-26T03:31:44Z")
“Morning Has Broken”? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/36 "2007-09-26T03:51:03Z")
_I Will Always Love You_. Oh, wait, that’s schmaltz. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/37 "2007-09-26T05:46:03Z")
_Silent Night_ _The Christmas Waltz_ Leonard Cohen, _Sisters of Mercy_ The Beatles, _Good Night_ Oliver, _Jean_ The Sandpipers, _Come Saturday Morning_ Leo Sayer, _When I Need You_ **Show tunes:** _Falling in Love With Love_ (Pal Joey) _Oh What a Beautiful Morning_ (Oklahoma!) _A Wonderful Guy_ (South Pacific) _I Feel Pretty_ (West Side Story) ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/38 "2007-09-26T06:13:33Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] I have no problem with CCR, but for this song I would put covers by Nina Simone, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Bonnie Tyler, and maybe Marilyn Manson ahead. 😉 [/QUOTE] Screamin’ Jay Hawkins wrote and first recorded this song in 1956, the cover was by CCR. ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/39 "2007-09-26T06:15:17Z")
Filtering for “waltz” in iTunes… “Tennessee Waltz” by Hem (popularized by Patti Page) “Sad Songs and Waltzes” by Cake (originally by Willie Nelson) “Waltz” by Fiona Apple (AKA “Better Than Fine”) “Waltzing Back” by The Cranberries “Take This Waltz” by Leonard Cohen ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2007, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449/40 "2007-09-26T06:57:36Z")
Oh, and “The Rainbow Connection” is about the clearest, easiest waltz I’ve ever tried to dance to- each guitar note is a single step. Good call! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/popular-songs-that-are-waltzes/420449.md?page=3)