# Recommend 8-year-old friendly Weird Al Yankovic songs
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 3, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004 "2019-04-03T21:26:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/1 "2019-04-03T21:26:58Z")
I am working on loading up an old iPod with music for my smart, picky, adorable, almost-but-not-quite autistic 8 year old to wake up to — the iPod gets slotted into an alarm clock. I’m looking for music that will wake him up in a good mood. Right now it’s a highly interactive process — I sit there and scroll through the 100 songs I have on there, start them, and he vetoes most of them, allowing a few, until we’ve heard three full songs (which he listens to intently and comments on) and he’s ready to get up. In the last few weeks we’ve been through all 100 now and there’s about 15 he’ll stand for. His favorites are some silly old Louis Jordan tunes (e.g. “Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens”), the Monty Python stuff I have on there (of course), a couple of They Might Be Giants pieces (“Istanbul Not Constantinople”) and the one he requests every day, “Yoda” by Weird Al. He is, of course, a Star Wars fan. We’ve also listened to a live version of “Lola” but he says he doesn’t like it as much :rolleyes: . He has ZERO patience for anything that talks about lllooooovvvve (OOOGIE!!), which rules out even most of the later Beatles oeuvre ☹ . I have the whole The Who: Tommy album on there because he performed in a local theater’s staging of it last summer and he definitely likes that music, but, it turns out, not so much first thing in the morning.
So among other promising leads, I’m looking for more Weird Al for him. Can anyone help me nail down what’s more likely to be interesting to an eight-year-old? I’m feeling overwhelmed by the bulk of Weird Al’s output, which I don’t know well at all. I lost track of him back in the 80’s (insert grizzled-beard smilie here).
My son is smart enough to be amused by the more abstract humor in “Yoda” (e.g. “The long-term contract I hadda sign/means I’ll be making these movies 'til the end of time”) and I think he appreciates Weird Al’s clear phrasing and diction. A quick look at some Yankovic playlists tells me there’s a lot on there my kid just won’t get — he clearly doesn’t need to understand the piece being parodied, but he does need some frame of reference for the subject being inserted into the parody — for instance, I probably won’t play “Amish Paradise” for him not because he doesn’t know anything about gangster culture, but because he’s never heard of the Amish and probably wouldn’t be interested if he did. And these sings need to catch his interest; they need to be more interesting than falling back asleep. Does that make sense? I hope so.
Anyone? Anyone? Other suggestions aside of Weird Al gladly accepted, but I’m really looking to mine his work first.
TIA!
---
### Author:  [@icantdraw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icantdraw)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/2 "2019-04-03T21:32:41Z")
“Gotta Boogie” and “Another one Rides the Bus” are both catchy and don’t require a deep understanding of anything other than nose picking and public transit.
---
### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/3 "2019-04-03T21:36:42Z")
**White and Nerdy** is pretty benign. Popping bubble wrap is the kinkiest thing there, IMHO.
---
### Author:  [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/4 "2019-04-03T21:44:47Z")
Some ones my 11-year old likes:
Tacky
Word Crimes
Foil
eBay
Virus Alert
White & Nerdy
Some good but simpler ones for slightly younger kids
Fat
Eat It
I love Rocky Road
This Song’s just six words long
---
### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/5 "2019-04-03T21:48:29Z")
If he likes Weird Al, and he like Star Wars, the other obvious suggestion is “The Saga Begins”:
_My, my, this here Anakin guy
may be Vader someday later but now he’s just a small fry
He’s left his home, and kissed his mommy goodby
Sayin’ ‘soon I will be a Jedi’, ‘soon I will be a Jedi’_
---
### Author:  [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/6 "2019-04-03T22:04:48Z")
Seconding “The Saga Begins.”
My other favorite of his, that’s pretty kid-friendly, is “I Lost on Jeopardy.”
---
### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/7 "2019-04-03T22:09:17Z")
Slime creatures from outer space
---
### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/8 "2019-04-03T22:11:56Z")
Ahhh, you guys are great. Thank you!
---
### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/9 "2019-04-03T22:23:06Z")
_Attack Of The Radioactive Hamsters From A Planet Near Mars_?
---
### Author:  [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/10 "2019-04-03T22:25:43Z")
I loved [My Bologna](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMeu3R0RdqI) at that age. The belch at 1:20 never gets old for an 8-year old.
---
### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/11 "2019-04-03T22:25:46Z")
I was going to suggest “Like a Surgeon,” but I just read through the lyrics and wow, that gets kinda dark…
---
### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/12 "2019-04-03T22:37:10Z")
**Qagdop** and **Aspidistra** , I just played “White and Nerdy” for him over leftover pizza and he is very taken with it! “Wow, Weird Al Yankovic is a really good rapper.”
---
### Author:  [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/13 "2019-04-03T22:46:29Z")
**QADGOP**. I meant **QADGOP**.
---
### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/14 "2019-04-03T22:58:59Z")
> [@emmaliminal](#):
>
> **QADGOP**. I meant **QADGOP**.
Of course–Qagdop is just a nonsense word!
---
### Author:  [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/15 "2019-04-03T23:06:29Z")
Do you watch _Jeopardy_ at your house? Because [there is a song for that](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Lost_on_Jeopardy).
Also, not _Melanie_. Definitely not _Melanie_.
---
### Author:  [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)
#### Post date: [April 3, 2019, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/16 "2019-04-03T23:51:02Z")
[The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcw326PJuDw). Makes me giggle every time, and the pickled weiners bits are a big hit with kids.
And if word play is something he enjoys, the fact that “[Bob](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQDzj6R3p4)” is nothing but palindromes is pretty amazing.
---
### Author:  [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/17 "2019-04-04T00:05:11Z")
another **not** to play is “those were the good ol’ days” that song and melanie made 12 year old me realize al goes to some funny but dark as hell places
---
### Author:  [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reindeer_Flotilla)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2019, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/18 "2019-04-04T00:06:38Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> If he likes Weird Al, and he like Star Wars, the other obvious suggestion is “The Saga Begins”:
>
> _My, my, this here Anakin guy
> may be Vader someday later but now he’s just a small fry
> He’s left his home, and kissed his mommy goodby
> Sayin’ ‘soon I will be a Jedi’, ‘soon I will be a Jedi’_
Continuing with the Star Wars theme, the Kinks’ source material may not be all that kid-friendly but Weird Al’s version certainly is:
I met him in a swamp down in Dagoba
Where it bubbles all the time like a giant carbonated soda
S-O-D-A, soda
…
Well, I’m not dumb, but I can’t understand
How he can lift me in the air just by raising his hand
Oh, my Yoda
Yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda yo-yo-yo-yo Yoda
… and so on
---
### Author:  [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/19 "2019-04-04T00:10:42Z")
List not complete without [Harvey the Wonder Hamster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-Rump23NTU). 🙂 Short 'n sweet.
---
### Author:  [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2019, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004/20 "2019-04-04T00:11:15Z")
The CSN&Y pastiche [Mission Statement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4) is mostly corporate-speak which may go over his head, but it’s damn catchy. Fun video too.
Also, seconding “Ball of Twine.”
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-8-year-old-friendly-weird-al-yankovic-songs/832004.md?page=2)