# Same song
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 15, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823 "2012-04-15T05:11:03Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2012, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/21 "2012-04-16T20:34:58Z")
Pink Floyd’s ‘Comfortable Numb’ and Queensryche’s "Silent Lucidity’
Also, about a decade ago there was a guy who went from homeless and destitute, playing guitar for change on the streets of Detroit to recording a very popular song that sounded exactly like a slightly slower version of ‘It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over’ by Lenny Kravitz. It’s killing me that I can’t think of his name, want to say Robert something.
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### Author:  [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/22 "2012-04-16T20:45:27Z")
Found it - Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise’s ‘[Baby](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv1Ezz-JJSQ)’ sounds (to me) like Lenny Kravitz’s song.
This song was everywhere in Detroit, never heard it after I moved out of state.
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### Author:  [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)
#### Post date: [April 16, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/23 "2012-04-16T20:49:51Z")
> [@Lamia](#):
>
> …
> While they don’t sound much alike, David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and Elton John’s “Rocketman” are telling basically the same story.
The lineage of forlorn astronaut songs is an interesting one. Pink Floyd’s “Point Me at the Sky” narrowly predates Bowie’s and Elton’s. Harry Nilsson’s “Spaceman” looks to be concurrent with Elton’s.
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### Author:  [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/24 "2012-04-17T03:04:20Z")
Just to keep things going, I always thought that “Jet Airliner” by Steve Miller was a rip off of Free’s “All Right Now,” although now I don’t think it was a direct steal.
I’ve answered this one before, but the intro to “Wish You Were Here,” by Pink Floyd sounds a lot like the hook in the Eagles’ “Duelin Dalton.” I’m not sure which came first.
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### Author:  [@FrigidLizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrigidLizard)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/25 "2012-04-17T20:39:07Z")
I always confuse the Garth Brooks version of “Make You Feel My Love” with “You Belong to Me.”
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/26 "2012-04-17T21:42:39Z")
(Crappy Lineup) **Pretenders** \*Don’t Get Me Wrong \*\* is the same song as some crap from **Miami Sound Machine**. Don’t know the name of it, but its the same song, so who cares?
\*Honeyman-Scott is rolling in his drug-soaked grave
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### Author:  [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)
#### Post date: [April 17, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/27 "2012-04-17T21:59:51Z")
John Fogerty’s “Wrote a Song for Everyone” is pretty much the same song as The Band’s “The Weight.”
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### Author:  [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/28 "2012-04-18T00:18:02Z")
> [@oliversarmy](#):
>
> I also know that “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” is a send up of “More Than a Feeling” by Boston.
Really? I thought that Kurt was inspired by [_Never Gonna Give You Up_ - Rick Astley](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1YABGdai5k) ([youtube.com](http://youtube.com))
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### Author:  [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/29 "2012-04-21T05:43:47Z")
I think we might do well to limit this thing to songs made by different artists – or at least exclude songs that are parodies or those that steal samples (like Vanilla Ice did – to Freddie Mercury’s stated dismay). The former would have us listing everything made by Weird Al Yankovic and his cohort while the latter could keep us going all day because Rap & Hip Hop primarily sample bits and pieces, sometimes laying spoken or slightly sung words over the top.:rolleyes:
Otherwise, there’s the obvious:
_Good Morning Dear Teacher_ was re-written by two teachers as\* Happy Birthday To You\*. Some time in the mid-1980s their descendants successfully pressed a copyright suit, which is why most restaurant chains today have a ridiculous chant that seems more like a cheerleader cheer when they bring out your free sundae with a candle on it.
Going back to Broadway, The Music Man includes two songs: “_Goodnight, My Someone_” is the same tune, in waltz time, as the march-tempo “_Seventy-six Trombones_”. [[The Music Man - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Music_Man)] and the descending lead guitar fade-out on Journey’s “Who’s Cryin’ Now” is the descending chord pattern on “Keep On Runnin’” (both from 1980’s Escape).
Similarly, coming from the same source but on different projects:
Queen’s “It’s a Hard Life” (1984, The Works) sounds a lot like most of “Play The Game” (1980, The Game)
ZZ Top’s “Sleeping Bag” (1985, Afterburner) sounds a lot like “Legs” (1983, Eliminator).
But the OP’s examples were more along the lines of “George Harrison’s problem” of one band/musician using signature musical patterns (or, in George’s case, exactly the same tune and structure) as some other band/musician without giving due credit to the originator.
In that vein, I submit that
[ul]
[li]Def Leppard’s “Gotta Let It Go” (2008, Songs from the Sparkle Lounge) takes its main groove from Bon Jovi’s “Have A Nice Day” (2005, Have a Nice Day)[/li][/ul]
[ul]
[li]Bon Jovi makes no secret that it stole the bass & groove for Keep the Faith (1992, Keep the Faith), from the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil (1968, Beggars Banquet)[/li][/ul]
[ul]
[li]A DJ in San Diego (KGB FM) once noted that ELO’s “Do Ya?” (1976, A New World Record) sounded a lot like Sweet’s “Fox on the Run” (1975 single) probably because of similar influences on the writers, but I can’t see any overlap in the bands’ Wikipedia entries.[/li][/ul]
Whether or not permission is given – the Chiffons vs Harrison for Ronnie Mack’s “He’s So Fine” and CCR Fogerty vs solo Fogerty (Fantasy Records sued because they owned CCR’s material and Fogerty’s new stuff sounded too similar, but the judge said an artist can’t possibly plagiarize him/her-self) is material for a different discussion. Ultimately, I suspect it’s a question of whether a rights-holder feels it’s worthwhile to pursue a lawsuit. Besides, musicians and composers steal from each other all the time.
The undercurrent for Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” (1981, Moving Pictures) is clearly present in Journey’s “Nickel and Dime” (1977, Next) and the time-signature and rhythmic pattern for Kansas’ “Carry on Wayward Son” (1976 Leftoverture) is the foundation of Journey’s “I’m gonna Leave You” (1976, Look Into the Future).
—G!
Mozart: I know your work well, signore. Do you know, I- I actually composed some variations on a melody of yours.
Saliere: Really? Which one?
Mozart: Mia caro Adonde. A –
Saliere: Well! I’m flattered.
Mozart: --a…_funny_ little piece, but it did yield some good things.
1984, Amadeus
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2012, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/30 "2012-04-21T09:54:20Z")
[Stone roses-- Don’t Stop](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDHBA-IV0Ew)
[Stone Roses-- Waterfall](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4d2syk0SZ4&feature=related)
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### Author:  [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2012, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/31 "2012-04-21T16:57:07Z")
The Isley Brothers had a hit song called “It’s Your Thing” in the late 60’s. My friends and I laughed every time their follow-up came on the radio. It was called “Bless Your Heart,” and it was EXACTLY the same song. Not just the melody, the same damn song, the same damn arrangement, with different words.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/32 "2012-04-21T17:44:57Z")
“Unpretty” by TLC is essentially the same song as Hanson’s “MMbop”.
Also, reading this thread’s title always makes me start humming the Four Tops. Not that’s I’m complaining.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/33 "2012-04-21T17:59:01Z")
I’ve been trying for some time to find the audio to the old Triumph TR-7 “shape of things to come” commercials so I can determine once and for all if it is the same as a Pink Floyd (“Sheep,” I think) song or just sounds the same in my memory.
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### Author:  [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)
#### Post date: [April 21, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/34 "2012-04-21T18:21:24Z")
A few years back a chap called Taio Cruz had a hit here in the UK with a song called “[I Can Be](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Ayo7iV6mU)”. It was essentially All Saint’s 2000 chart-topping “[Pure Shores](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_vEJpgRhZQ)” with different lyrics and a beefier production. Listening to them back-to-back it’s obvious that Cruz was trying to write a new lyric to fit Pure Shores’ chorus, but didn’t quite get the meter right.
It just goes to show how thoroughly All Saints have been forgotten that no-one seemed to care. They were the anti-Spice Girls - didn’t sell as many records, started off rubbish, got a bit better, awful film. Never cracked the States.
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2012, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-song/618823/35 "2012-04-24T03:10:09Z")
“Sweet Little Sixteen” begat “Surfin’ USA.” IIRC Chuck Berry successfully sued Brian Wilson for a writing co-credit.
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