# Singing in the shower...WTF?????!!!!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [August 26, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590 "2010-08-26T21:46:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/1 "2010-08-26T21:46:05Z")
I always believe that one should sing in the shower a song that is suitable to the innate acoustics provided by bathroom surfaces–something like “Las mananitas.” My neighbor, however, whose bathroom singing is clearly audible from across the alley, sings the “Barney” song. WTF!!! He’s a grown man!
Isn’t this just clearly wrong in so many ways?
So, fellow Dopers, I have two questions for you:
1. What makes suitable shower singing; and,
2. What do _you_ sing in the shower?
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### Author:  [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)
#### Post date: [August 26, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/2 "2010-08-26T23:24:58Z")
When my brother was little, he made up his own song to sing in the bathtub. It went “The old western cowboy is washing his arm/The old western cowboy is washing his arm” and proceeded through all of the various parts of his body, to the amusement of the rest of the family, who could clearly hear him throughout the house.
I was actually thinking about this the other morning, as I worked my way through the Irving Berlin songbook. I even considered starting a poll here on best-known Irving Berlin songs, wondering if anyone even knew Irving Berlin anymore.
I personally feel that either a musical with a large number of songs to choose from, or an artist with a large oeuvre are best, as you can then perform an entire concert on a theme. Of course, I’m also a huge fan of SNL’s Sweeney sisters.
I usually start with whatever my earworm is at the moment, and move on from there, but if I’m really stuck for something to sing, I go with either “If I Only Had a Brain” or all four verses of either “America the Beautiful” or “The Star-Spangled Banner”.
The main qualification for shower singing is that it should be loud, joyful, and sung as if no one is listening.
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/3 "2010-08-27T00:15:40Z")
Is this [another](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12845503&postcount=11) thread to see how many responses can be generated?
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### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/4 "2010-08-27T01:32:50Z")
Man, anything can be sung in the shower! The shower is the one place you can sing your heart out and you will sound always sound great, so sing whatever you want, whatever makes you feel good.
I like singing old standards. I’ve been kind of obsessed with the music of Annette Hanshaw lately (she was a popular vocalist in the 1920s and '30s, and her music is adorable) and have added some her songs to my shower medley – some of my favorites are “Lovable and Sweet,” “My Sin,” “What Wouldn’t I Do For That Man,” 6 Feet of Papa" and others.
“Singing in the Rain” is always good when you’re feeling cheerful.
My staple shower song is “King for a Day” by Ted Fio Rito. Daffy Duck sings it in the cartoon “What Makes Daffy Duck?” and Daffy has good taste. 🙂
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### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/5 "2010-08-27T01:42:24Z")
(Oops, missed edit window. And this is so trivial, but I simply must note – Daffy sings it **in the bathtub**. Just so you know. It really is an excellent shower song.)
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### Author:  [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/6 "2010-08-27T01:45:25Z")
I sing my own songs in the shower, because I like the way my voice sounds in the bathroom so I can try out new approaches and have the best “listening experience”.
The other day, for a change, I found myself singing ‘My Island Home’.
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### Author:  [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/7 "2010-08-27T02:25:01Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#):
>
> I like singing old standards. I’ve been kind of obsessed with the music of Annette Hanshaw lately (she was a popular vocalist in the 1920s and '30s, and her music is adorable) and have added some her songs to my shower medley – some of my favorites are “Lovable and Sweet,” “My Sin,” “What Wouldn’t I Do For That Man,” 6 Feet of Papa" and others.
She should’ve been [Indian](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172203/).
---
### Author:  [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/8 "2010-08-27T02:46:31Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#):
>
> > [@gallows\_fodder](#):
> >
> > I like singing old standards. I’ve been kind of obsessed with the music of Annette Hanshaw lately (she was a popular vocalist in the 1920s and '30s, and her music is adorable) and have added some her songs to my shower medley – some of my favorites are “Lovable and Sweet,” “My Sin,” “What Wouldn’t I Do For That Man,” 6 Feet of Papa" and others.
>
> She should’ve been [Indian](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172203/).
That is amazing! I’ll have to track that movie down – thanks for the suggestion.
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### Author:  [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/9 "2010-08-27T04:25:57Z")
The other day, while showering, I decide to start singing “Jolene” by Dolly Parton. It came out so horrible I half expected Ms. Parton herself to show up at my door and beat me senseless for butchering her song.
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### Author:  [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/10 "2010-08-27T04:47:15Z")
In September through June, I sing to my chorus’s rehearsal CDs. Otherwise I sing to anything that’s in my range . . . even if I have to transpose to a lower octave. Show tunes and standards are best.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/11 "2010-08-27T04:50:10Z")
> [@guizot](#):
>
> I always believe that one should sing in the shower a song that is suitable to the innate acoustics provided by bathroom surfaces–something like “Las mananitas.” My neighbor, however, whose bathroom singing is clearly audible from across the alley, sings the “Barney” song. WTF!!! He’s a grown man!
>
> Isn’t this just clearly wrong in so many ways?
Perhaps he’s serenading his penis.
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### Author:  [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/12 "2010-08-27T04:55:29Z")
Generally either whatever earworm I have at the moment (\*Bad Romance \*is particularly pervasive lately) or else The Eurythmics’ _Missionary Man_.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/13 "2010-08-27T04:59:02Z")
I don’t understand question one (define “suitable.” Are you asking for a list of songs or what?) but for #2 “[Freedom Hangs Like Heaven](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGE6g4d0HZs)” by Iron & Wine, “[Mekong](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIftk5M_gbo)” by The Refreshments, and “[The Letter](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD9mCp8SifM)” by The Box Tops, usually. Sometimes “[Heroin Girl](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DjpNgrocKo)” by Everclear and “[Zero](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBm_fuIeQL0)” by The Smashing Pumpkins.
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### Author:  [@History\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/History_Geek)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/14 "2010-08-27T05:09:14Z")
Anything is suitable for singing in the shower, except, maybe, the [Horst Wessel Lied](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horst-Wessel-Lied). 😃
I usually sing whatever is stuck in my head, or maybe the last song I was listening to before I jumped in the shower. But I’ve got such a hopeless singing voice that, in defiance of shower-singing custom, I usually sing under my breath. If I haven’t got an earworm going but feel like making some music to bathe by, I find that TV theme songs are handy. Particularly _Gilligan’s Island_ and _The Brady Bunch_.
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### Author:  [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/15 "2010-08-27T05:14:04Z")
You should sing anything you want, just be careful with the choreography. 😃
Depending upon my mood, some Aretha Franklin numbers (gotta be careful using a razor for a mic though), run through _Oklahoma_, _The Sound of Music_ or _West Side Story_ (if it’s a really long shower) or a rousing rendition of _Rocky Top_ (don’t ask!). But my favorite shower music tends to be my own covers of Patsy Cline music.
I’ll have to admit, I had forgotten what a difference a tiled shower makes with regards to acoustics until my bathroom was redone this summer. Now, if we could just get the rest of the band in there. 😛
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### Author:  [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/16 "2010-08-27T10:38:36Z")
I don’t necessarily have ‘shower songs’ so much as I have ‘shower artists’. Certain artists I like tend to get ‘show time’ in the shower! Bette Midler (_The Rose_, _One True Friend_); Carly Simon (_That’s The Way I Always Heard It Should Be_, _Coming Around Again_, _Legend In His Own Time_), but come November, I break out the Christmas carols. I’m not even Christian, but something about _Adeste Fidelis_ lends itself to the shower!
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### Author:  [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/17 "2010-08-27T13:52:49Z")
“The Street Where You Live” is an old fallback for me.
I am shower-composing a musical based on Pride and Prejudice. Current songs are “A Single Man” and “He Wanted to Dance!” 😃
I also tend to bust out Schoolhouse Rock songs, often with my own lyrics inspired by something in the news or a book I’m reading, like my Gitmo-influenced version of the noun song.
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### Author:  [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/18 "2010-08-27T14:34:43Z")
I like _Les Miz_ and \* Phantom\*
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### Author:  [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)
#### Post date: [August 27, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/19 "2010-08-27T14:58:31Z")
I do not usually sing in the shower. Occasionally, if I’m showering before going out to Karaoke, I might warm up my voice a little, but other than that, I do not sing in the shower. My husband, though, sings ALL THE TIME in the shower. He usually sings classic rock (_Immigrant Song_ is a favorite) or contemporary folk-country-rock like Todd Snider or John Prine. Every now and then, when he knows I’m listening (like trying to watch TV in the bedroom through the wall), he’ll sing stuff that he knows really annoys me… Jimmy Buffet, Hank Williams Sr., or something like the Barney song or some stupid commercial jingle.
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### Author:  [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)
#### Post date: [August 28, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/singing-in-the-shower-wtf/551590/20 "2010-08-28T01:41:27Z")
Christmas carols.
Year round.
I’m Jewish.
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