# Songs about unusual topics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952 "2011-11-05T13:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/21 "2011-11-05T23:41:19Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I suppose I should have included [I Don’t Like Mondays](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yteMugRAc0) by the Boomtown Rats (based on a schoolyard shooting in 1979) Well, it’s technically still about a girl. Sort of. ---
**Author:** ![coffinjumper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@coffinjumper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffinjumper)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/22 "2011-11-05T23:41:43Z")
The large majority of songs by [Jonathan Coulton](http://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/downloads/). Love songs from Charon to Pluto, suicidal vampires, the secret rave life of Soterios Johnson, fractals… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/23 "2011-11-05T23:42:42Z")
> [@](#): > > '39 by Queen is about time dilation and relativistic effects. Maybe, but suspended animation is more plausible. For it to be time dilation, the ship would have to be pulling 800 gees. Yes, I actually worked it out once. Either way, though, it’s a kick-ass song by Queen. But I repeat myself. ---
**Author:** ![Postariti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Postariti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Postariti)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/24 "2011-11-05T23:53:51Z")
I love songs about unusual things. A couple that spring to mind - “Pi” by Kate Bush - She sings about someone who loves numbers, then she just starts singing the digits of Pi. More people should sing Pi, I think. “The Rich are All Perverted” by Diorama - Half of this song seems to be about drug use, but I’m including it anyway, because the other half is the title repeated over and over again. “The Man Who Stole a Leopard” by Duran Duran - based on a news story they heard about a man who illegally trapped and kept a leopard. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/25 "2011-11-06T00:54:21Z")
> [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > I only can think of the one: [The Barenaked Ladies - You Can Be My Yoko Ono](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5YIJ1pZEBc). If you tell me t’other two, I’ll know 3. Also _Be My Yoko_ by The Bobs, and _I Won’t Be Your Yoko Ono_ by Dar Williams. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, or if the writers of the latter two songs were aware of the previous. I believe the order was Bobs, BNL, Williams. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/26 "2011-11-06T01:12:03Z")
I have a wild desire to write a song about being Yoko Ono. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/27 "2011-11-06T01:13:31Z")
Another nominee for this thread, [God Monkey Robot](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53VpNgpt3QA) by The Apparitions. It’s about, well, I’m not sure really; a repeating cycle of man’s place in the drudgery of society to be freed or replaced by mechanization, or something. (The sound quality of that link is somewhat lacking, some of the melody is lost in the fuzz.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/28 "2011-11-06T01:25:04Z")
Billie Holiday’s \*Strange Fruit \*was about lynching. So was Irving Berlin’s _Supper Time._ ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/29 "2011-11-06T01:32:14Z")
Arlo Guthrie…1913 Massacre and his Hobo’s Lullaby. Also…Something Tells Me it’s All Happening at the Zoo—Simon & Garfunkel. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/30 "2011-11-06T01:35:47Z")
_“Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict”_ by Pink Floyd ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/31 "2011-11-06T02:08:10Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > ‘Run for the Roses’ is about a Thoroughbred horse and the Kentucky Derby. I had heard the song several times before I _listened_ to the lyrics, and the moment the lightbulb went off for me (“The sun on your withers, the wind in your mane”) I was like… 'a _horse_! He’s singing about a _horse_! I remember waaay back when I first hear Michael Jackson sing the title song to the movie “Ben” I thought it was a nice song about friendship. Then I realized he was singing to a rat! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/32 "2011-11-06T02:23:59Z")
Yes, We Have No Bananas! [Roaring Twenties: Sam Lanin - Yes! We Have No Bananas, 1923 - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTTrXAE7OPU) Did I Get Stinkin’ at the Club Savoy [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQLXjYRjg0o) Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancin’ in a Hurry [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar_r60oIyiM) I’ve Never Seen a Straight Banana [Billy Jones & Ernest Hare (The Happiness Boys) - I've Never Seen a Straight Banana (1927) - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpV5Vnq5SPY) and my favorite, Fido Is a Hot Dog Now [- YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjr1gr_X-RI) ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/33 "2011-11-06T02:24:15Z")
Tom Russell’s _[Gallo Del Cielo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMJkMA7EW9E)_. Yeah, it’s a cockfighting anthem. And actually a pretty good song. SS ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/34 "2011-11-06T02:35:51Z")
[The Martian Boogie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU8EqkQKfw0), Brownsville Station. It’s about grabbing a burger at a local diner. _Hey partner, how about passing the ketchup over?_ I have it on 45, and my friend and I used to call the local radio station and get them to play it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/35 "2011-11-06T02:39:17Z")
> [@](#): > > Yes, We Have No Bananas! [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTTrXAE7OPU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTTrXAE7OPU) > > Did I Get Stinkin’ at the Club Savoy [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQLXjYRjg0o](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQLXjYRjg0o) > > Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancin’ in a Hurry [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar\_r60oIyiM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar_r60oIyiM) > > I’ve Never Seen a Straight Banana [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpV5Vnq5SPY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpV5Vnq5SPY) > > and my favorite, Fido Is a Hot Dog Now [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjr1gr\_X-RI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjr1gr_X-RI) Well, if we’re going to go bananas, here, how about “Come, Mr. Tally Man, and Tally Me Bananas”. Wait, that’s it! The reason the shopowner yes, had no bananas is because the tally man was so slow doing his job on the banana boat that he held up the shipment! ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/36 "2011-11-06T03:01:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, that’s it! The reason the shopowner yes, had no bananas is because the tally man was so slow doing his job on the banana boat that he held up the shipment! Or perhaps the [Bananaman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEEmUdkTyJ0) has already distributed them all. (Video to “Bananaman” by Tally Hall.) ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/37 "2011-11-06T03:19:23Z")
> [@PapSett](#): > > Two of my all-time favorite songs are about non-conventional subjects by most standards, but the subjects are WHY I love them. > > ‘Shannon’ by Harry (Henry?) Gross is about an Irish Setter that drowned. Love it but can’t listen to it without tearing up. > > ‘Run for the Roses’ is about a Thoroughbred horse and the Kentucky Derby. I had heard the song several times before I _listened_ to the lyrics, and the moment the lightbulb went off for me (“The sun on your withers, the wind in your mane”) I was like… 'a _horse_! He’s singing about a _horse_! > > They used that song in a tribute to Secretariat when he died, and now it brings me to tears as well. > > Maybe I’m just a weepy bitch… **PapSett** , it is in Spanish, but this [link to Laika](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ark2O_SjnsE), a song by Spanish pop group Mecano, is about Laika, the Russian cosmonaut dog. It has the translation of the lyrics underneath the video. Just thought about it when you mentioned the animal songs. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/38 "2011-11-06T06:39:57Z")
> [@Postariti](#): > > I love songs about unusual things. A couple that spring to mind - > > “Pi” by Kate Bush - She sings about someone who loves numbers, then she just starts singing the digits of Pi. More people should sing Pi, I think. I always thought it was Kate’s answer to all those people who claimed they would listen to her sing the phone book. My nominee for her strangest topic is the Guy Fawkes Day appropriate _[Rocket’s Tale](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EhmUghu7tI)_, which she says was inspired by her cat Rocket, but the lyrics are about a person strapping rockets onto their body and launching off Waterloo bridge. > [@](#): > > I put on my pointed hat and my black and silver suit > And I, I check my gunpowder pack > And I strap the stick on my back > And dressed as a rocket on Waterloo Bridge ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/39 "2011-11-06T06:58:21Z")
Neil Young’s _Long May You Run_ is about his first vehicle, a hearse. Half Man Half Biscuit have a surfeit of songs on bizarre topics, here’s [Dickie Davies Eyes](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCvs2w_Mjeg). > [@](#): > > Mention the Lord of the Rings just once more, > And I’ll more than likely kill you. > “Moorcock, Moorcock, Michael Moorcock” > you fervently moan. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952/40 "2011-11-06T07:03:53Z")
> [@Postariti](#): > > “The Man Who Stole a Leopard” by Duran Duran - based on a news story they heard about a man who illegally trapped and kept a leopard. Here I thought I was probably the only person or DD fan on this board who had even heard of this song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-about-unusual-topics/601952.md?page=3)