# Song Titles that don't Appear in the Lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697 "2006-03-02T00:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/41 "2006-03-02T10:48:18Z")
All these responses and nobody remembers _Unchained Melody?_ ---
**Author:** ![dbuzman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@dbuzman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbuzman)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/42 "2006-03-02T10:53:12Z")
Unchained melody - Hy Zaret ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/43 "2006-03-02T13:15:40Z")
The first song that popped into my head was Leonard Cohen’s “The Partisan.” The 12 Days of Christmas is another one (the lyric is “one the twelfth day of Christmas”) ---
**Author:** ![Tootingkhamen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e36b37/32.png) [@Tootingkhamen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tootingkhamen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/44 "2006-03-02T13:51:58Z")
“Subterranean Homesick Blues” - Bob Dylan “Motorpsycho Nightmare” - Bob Dylan “Several Species Of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together In A Cave And Grooving With A Pict” - Pink Floyd ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/45 "2006-03-02T14:43:25Z")
Several Zeppelin songs, including **Black Dog, Four Sticks** , and **Bron Y Aur Stomp** **Badge** - Cream (although in live versions, Clapton ends the song with “where is my badge?” Sure are a lot of songs on this thread that begin with B. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/46 "2006-03-02T14:56:19Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Corduroy” by Pearl Jam Also: “Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/47 "2006-03-02T15:04:54Z")
“Unfinished Sweet” -Alice Cooper “Revelations” - Iron Maiden “The Awakening” - Alice Cooper “Ballad of Dwight Frye” Alice Cooper “Second Coming” Alice Cooper “Blue Turk” Alice Cooper “The Annoying Song” -butthole surfers “The Wooden Song” butthole surfers “Tenement Funster” Queen “Hodge Podge Strained by a Leslie” Steppenwolf “The Writ” Black Sabbath ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/48 "2006-03-02T15:08:07Z")
Oops… that should be “Hodge Podge Strained THROUGH a Leslie”. I guess we can also add “Foggy Mental Breakdown”, and “Disappointment Number Unknown” by the same band. ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/49 "2006-03-02T15:42:48Z")
“Goodnight, Saigon” – Billy Joel “Squonk” – Genesis “The Christmas Song” – Mel Tormé “Sukiyaki” – Kyu Sakamoto (although that’s probably cheating – the real, Japanese title is the first line of the song – “Ue o muite arukoo”) “Cloudbusting” – Kate Bush ---
**Author:** ![Charger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@Charger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charger)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/50 "2006-03-02T16:12:27Z")
Land of 1,000 Dances America, The Beautiful The National Anthem 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/51 "2006-03-02T16:25:35Z")
Screenwriter’s Blues The Idiot Kings Pensacola all by Soul Coughing ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/52 "2006-03-02T16:29:54Z")
Lots of Radiohead: **Idioteque** **Kid A** **Fake Plastic Trees** (“Fake plastic” is in the song, but no “trees”) **Subterranean Homesick Alien** (much like the original Dylan song, which has already been mentioned) And more by the Smashing Pumpkins: **Cherub Rock Mayonaise** (Yes, they spell it that way, which bugs me, but oh well) **Rhinoceros Rocket** > [@](#): > > “Song for the Dumped” by Ben Folds Five Better known as “Give me my money back, you bitch!” 🙂 > [@](#): > > Lesee - there’s “An elderly lady behind the counter…” by Pearl Jam (“I seem to recognize your face…”) **Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town** …one of my favorites from PJ. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/53 "2006-03-02T16:38:28Z")
> [@RobuSensei](#): > > “Cloudbusting” – Kate Bush Doesn’t she say “Cloudbusting, daddy!” right at the end? ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/54 "2006-03-02T18:15:03Z")
Thank You - Led Zeppelin Pibroch - Jethro Tull ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/55 "2006-03-02T18:29:09Z")
Sir Duke– **Stevie Wonder** ---
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/56 "2006-03-02T19:58:57Z")
> [@Millit the Frail](#): > > Lots of Radiohead: > **Idioteque** > **Kid A** > **Fake Plastic Trees** (“Fake plastic” is in the song, but no “trees”) > **Subterranean Homesick Alien** (much like the original Dylan song, which has already been mentioned). One time when I was bored, I decided to figure out how many songs on Radiohead’s Kid A album actually _do_ have the title mentioned in the song. After a couple of minutes’ thought (I have that album more or less memorized), I worked out that, out of eleven songs, only three fit this criteria: _Everything In Its Right Place_, _Optimistic_, and _Morning Bell_. _Optimistic_ only just scrapes in – the word is mentioned once in a verse. A more “obvious” title would be something like _The Best You Can Is Good Enough_. _Morning Bell_ only mentions its name a couple of times, but they are right at the start of the song so it’s a fairly obvious title (although a more obvious title would be _Release Me_). _Everything In Its Right Place_ is the only song on the album with the most obvious title. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/57 "2006-03-02T20:04:56Z")
Train in Vain by the Clash “Did you stand by me No, not at all Did you stand by me No way…etc.” ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/58 "2006-03-02T20:07:15Z")
> [@Mona Lott](#): > > Sir Duke– **Stevie Wonder** Nope–For there’s Basie Miller Satchomo And the king of all [Sir Duke](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/steviewonder/sirduke.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/59 "2006-03-02T20:18:23Z")
– Speaking of Nephilim: Endemoniada (“We dream of familiar places”) – Most, if not all, songs on In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, by Coheed and Cambria. – Most, if not all, songs on 30º Everywhere by the Promise Ring. – Sunshine Superman ---
**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:** [March 2, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697/60 "2006-03-02T21:15:10Z")
> [@Charger](#): > > The National Anthem > 😉 Isn’t the offical title _The Star-Spangled Banner_, which sort-of does appear in the text (albeit as “O, say does _that_ star-spangled banner…”)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/song-titles-that-dont-appear-in-the-lyrics/346697.md?page=4)