# Same Melody, Different Song **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896 "2012-08-08T19:51:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/1 "2012-08-08T19:51:39Z")
In this thread we (I hope) will come up with instances where essentially the same melody was popular in different times (centuries, decades, etc.) under different titles. For the most part let’s avoid disputed derivative works (e.g., “He’s So Fine”/“My Sweet Lord”) to focus on a popular melody put to new lyrics with renewed popularity. Other than popular classical tunes used in early Disney animations (which should be a fertile source), I can think of three: 1. Pete Seeger’s “Wimoweh” became “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (which was itself popular twice over 30 years apart). (A part of the theme to Wimoweh derives in turn from Solomon Linda’s “Mbube.”) 2. Kurt Weill’s “Moritat” became “Mack the Knife.” 3. The Civil War-era ballad “Aura Lee”, later recorded by Jim Reeves and others, gave rise to Elvis’s “Love Me Tender.” Who has other examples? ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/2 "2012-08-08T19:58:59Z")
“O Sole Mio” / “It’s Now or Never” / the mysterious third song I keep forgetting and in the Olympic spirit, “God Save The Queen” / “My Country 'Tis of Thee” ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/3 "2012-08-08T21:26:25Z")
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the ABC song. “What Child is This?” and “Greensleeves” Also, there was a similar thread not too long ago, with lots of examples. ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/4 "2012-08-08T22:41:40Z")
Obligatory [Axis of Awesome link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHBVnMf2t7w) ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/5 "2012-08-08T23:23:34Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > “O Sole Mio” / “It’s Now or Never” / the mysterious third song I keep forgetting “There’s No Tomorrow” by Tony Martin “Dance of the Hours”/“Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah” ---
**Author:** ![HenryGale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@HenryGale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryGale)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/6 "2012-08-08T23:33:11Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > and in the Olympic spirit, “God Save The Queen” / “My Country 'Tis of Thee” I always thought this one was funny. My Country predates The Star Spangled Banner, of course. So, we’re a new nation, no national anthem of our own.. Well, let’s just borrow God Save the Queen and change the words, nobody will notice. ---
**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 9, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/7 "2012-08-09T02:09:43Z")
“All by Myself” by Eric Carmen/Piano Concerto Number 2, second movement, by Sergei Rachmaninoff ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/8 "2012-08-09T02:33:52Z")
Meredith Wilson changed a march into a waltz and got “Good Night My Someone” from “76 Trombones.” Of course, they weren’t separated by years or decades. More like Act I and later in Act I. ---
**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 9, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/9 "2012-08-09T02:46:04Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the ABC song. > “What Child is This?” and “Greensleeves” > > Also, there was a similar thread not too long ago, with lots of examples. [Here, actually.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=604234) Started in April, 2011, but still active until two months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/10 "2012-08-09T07:05:59Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > 1. Kurt Weill’s “Moritat” became “Mack the Knife.” No it didn’t. The correct German title is “Moritat von Mackie Messer”. “[The Ballad of] Mack the Knife” is just a translation into English. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/11 "2012-08-09T11:04:11Z")
Chuck Berry’s “The Promised Land” is basically a rock and roll version of “The Wabash Cannonball”. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/12 "2012-08-09T13:35:19Z")
Bobby Darin’s 1958 Top 40 hit “Plain Jane” is the same song as the 1844 “Buffalo Gals,” which was originally titled “Lubly Fan,” a blackface minstrel song. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/13 "2012-08-09T13:39:40Z")
There is a hymn with the same tune as “Aura Lee”/“Love Me Tender” but I can’t recall the title. ---
**Author:** ![Nom\_de\_Plume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85f322/32.png) [@Nom\_de\_Plume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nom_de_Plume)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/14 "2012-08-09T13:42:04Z")
Red Hot Chili Pepper’s ‘Dani California’ is Tom Petty’s ‘Last Dance with Maryjane.’ ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/15 "2012-08-09T14:30:50Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Chuck Berry’s “The Promised Land” is basically a rock and roll version of “The Wabash Cannonball”. Speaking of Chuck Berry, his song “Sweet Little Sixteen” is the same music as The Beach Boys’ "Surfin’ USA. And he took his 1957 song “School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)” and revamped it in 1964 to that ode to blue balls, “No particular Place to Go” Paul Simon stole a melody from Bach’s _St. Matthew Passion_ for “American Tune.” ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/16 "2012-08-09T14:33:41Z")
_What’s Up?_ from 4 Non Blondes is a slightly slower Bobby McFerrin’s _Don’t Worry, Be Happy_. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/17 "2012-08-09T14:55:27Z")
One of Haydn’s sting quartets gave us the melody that’s been used as both the German anthem “Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles” AND the official school song of Columbia University (my alma mater; given how many Jewish students and faculty Columbia always has, I’m amazed the song wasn’t changed quietly ages ago). There are NUMEROUS Irish folk songs that re-use and recycle the same melodies. Of the top of my head, I can think of several songs that use the melody commonly known as “The Wearing of the Green.” And numerous Irish songs have re-used the melody of “Young Roddy McCorley” (like “Sean South of Garryowen”). John Lennon’s “Christmas/War Is Over” is set to a very old folk tune that’s been used countless times. Check out, say, Peter, Paul & Mary’s version of “Stewball” (an old song about a race horse), and you’ll see that the melody is exactly the same as Lennon’s Christmas song. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/18 "2012-08-09T15:27:21Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > There are NUMEROUS Irish folk songs that re-use and recycle the same melodies. Of the top of my head, I can think of several songs that use the melody commonly known as “The Wearing of the Green.” And numerous Irish songs have re-used the melody of “Young Roddy McCorley” (like “Sean South of Garryowen”). Bob Dylan used the melodies of Irish and British folk songs for many of his early songs, and often based the lyrics on them as well. For example, “Restless Farewell” is a rewrite of “The Parting Glass”, “Farewell” is “The Leaving of Liverpool”, and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” obviously based on “Lord Randall”, although not as closely as the first two. The reason for this, I seem to remember, is that The Clancy Brothers were extremely popular in New York when Dylan moved there in the early 60s, and introduced him to the Irish folk songs. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/19 "2012-08-09T15:29:30Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > There are NUMEROUS Irish folk songs that re-use and recycle the same melodies. Of the top of my head, I can think of several songs that use the melody commonly known as “The Wearing of the Green.” And numerous Irish songs have re-used the melody of “Young Roddy McCorley” (like “Sean South of Garryowen”). Yes, this is almost the nature of folk songs – to reuse melodies. Dylan has done a lot of this… like, “Restless Farewell” is based on “The Parting Glass”, and “Girl from the North Country” is based on “Scarborough Fair”. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896/20 "2012-08-09T15:40:36Z")
> [@HenryGale](#): > > I always thought this one was funny. My Country predates The Star Spangled Banner, of course. So, we’re a new nation, no national anthem of our own.. Well, let’s just borrow God Save the Queen and change the words, nobody will notice. Star Spangled Banner was itself copied from [To Anacreon in Heaven](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven), another English song. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-melody-different-song/630896.md?page=2)