# Songs not named what you thought **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 28, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986 "2021-04-28T21:00:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/81 "2021-05-01T14:18:29Z")
From a Buick 6 Ballad of a Thin Man Motorpsycho Nitemare Rainy Day Women #12&35 Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues Spanish Harlem Incident Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream Ballad in Plain D OK, just found this: > **[List of songs whose lyrics do not mention the song title](https://music.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_songs_whose_lyrics_do_not_mention_the_song_title)** > > This is a list of songs whose title is not referenced in the song lyrics. This list should not include songs where the title is implied in the song. For example "Country House" by Blur does not contain the exact phrase "Country House" but it does... ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/82 "2021-05-01T14:56:38Z")
Just about everything ever recorded by Stereolab. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/83 "2021-05-01T18:59:23Z")
This title, and the band name are kinda kooky: [Ancestors - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbojInbJHkI) Damn catchy little tune, though. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/84 "2021-05-02T20:40:21Z")
The most repeated part is at the end…“We can make it happen.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ofu-CSJ0UN8/hqdefault.jpg "Chicago - Dialogue Parts 1 & 2 (1972)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofu-CSJ0UN8) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/85 "2021-05-02T21:31:12Z")
isnt it ironic that mitchell and dylan dont like and try to avoid other when there in the same place ? ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/86 "2021-05-02T22:47:50Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > This thread actually seems to be more about songs where the title does appear but not prominently, and other words in the song seem more likely to be the title. I will suggest: [_American Pie_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_TFkut1PM) by Don McLean. While the words “American Pie” do appear prominently in the refrain, they tell us nothing about what the song is about. OTOH, every verse ends with the line “The day the music died” which is entirely what the song is about. If it comes to that, “Starry, Starry Night” (also by Don McLean) is actually titled “Vincent.” ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2021, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/87 "2021-05-02T22:53:11Z")
> (Speaking of, would love to hear **SunUp** ’s “different reasons”…) Same reason I wouldn’t allow “Tequila” - one word in the song that is in fact its title. OK, “Wipe out” is two words and technically doesn’t happen in the song but it is on the recording. I’d still disallow it. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/88 "2021-05-03T00:49:22Z")
It wasn’t until very recently that I found out that Golden Earring’s **When the Bullet Hits the Bone** is actually titled **Twilight Zone**. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/89 "2021-05-03T04:57:20Z")
This one just struck me (but don’t worry, I’ll recover): Neither this thread nor that extensive list a few posts above mentions _A Simple Desultory Phillipic_ ([lyrics here](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/paulsimon/asimpledesultoryphilippic.html)) by Paul Simon. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/90 "2021-05-03T05:08:17Z")
Speaking of Paul Simon lyrics, there’s also _El Condor Pasa_ ([lyrics here](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/paulsimon/elcondorpasaificould.html)). ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/91 "2021-05-03T11:22:19Z")
Chicago has a song called I’m a Man. They also have A Song for You, which frequently has I’m a Man. I do know the titles of the two songs but when I hear either it takes a half a second to figure out the name. It’s similar to Dan Seals. Is he the England Dan with John Ford Coley or Seals with Crofts? (he’s England Dan) ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/92 "2021-05-03T14:21:23Z")
It’s “Edge of Seventeen,” not “White Winged Dove.” ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2021, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/93 "2021-05-07T10:50:29Z")
You mean “One Winged Dove”. 😉 ---
**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:** [May 7, 2021, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/94 "2021-05-07T11:02:06Z")
Never mind. I see I was beaten to it. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/95 "2021-05-18T11:27:01Z")
R.E.M. has a song whose most prominent lyrics are “Crazy crazy world…Crazy crazy time…” R.E.M. has a song called “Crazy.” They are different songs! The one that SHOULD be called “Crazy” is actually called “Fireplace.” The one that IS called “Crazy” should be called “Earth is Shaking.” (Not “Shaking Through” — that’s yet a THIRD R.E.M. song.) ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2021, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/96 "2021-05-18T13:35:32Z")
Some of the songs that have been mentioned are: Songs without a title - like the “stop what’s that sound” song Titles without a song - For What it’s Worth Later I get the connection between the two. Yesterday I got a connection. Waterloo Sunset by the Kinks. ---
**Author:** ![biqu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7feea3/32.png) [@biqu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/biqu)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/97 "2021-05-19T12:08:43Z")
“[I’ve Got Rings on My Fingers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XZJuNhDXfo)” is the official name. A parenthetical note in some track listings allows the name “(Mumbo Jumbo) Jittibob J. O’Shea”, which is arguably a more memorable lyric. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/98 "2021-05-19T12:21:57Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Speaking of Paul Simon lyrics, there’s also > _El Condor Pasa_ ([lyrics here](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/paulsimon/elcondorpasaificould.html)). Simon, of course, added his own lyrics to an existing song already called “El Condor Pasa”. Simon’s song is usually listed as “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)”. In fact, Simon thought the original song was a Peruvian folk song; when he later found out that it had been written more recently (by a Peruvian songwriter) and was still in copyright, he paid up without complaint. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/99 "2021-05-19T21:36:24Z")
A current example is the Billie Eilish song where she tells us a zillion times “I’m Not Your Friend”, but the song title is “Therefore I Am”. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986/100 "2021-07-10T22:20:54Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > Black Dog by Led Zeppelin. Doesn’t really have a chorus, but the words “black dog” aren’t anywhere in the song. There was really nowhere exactly right to put this, and … yet … I felt I must: Today, me and the yellow lab went for a drive to a nearby town with a wonderful recreational lake, ringed by a multi-use path, and containing its own off-leash dog (swim) park. While we were in the park, another pair were having no luck chasing their **black** lab after he had retrieved The Ball. Finally, exasperated, “Dad” yelled “Zeppelin, **come**!” I had to inquire … “Zeppelin ? As in ‘Black Dog.’ As in … _Led_ Zeppelin ?” The dog-mom said, “Zeppelin is like five years old, and you’re the first person to _ever_ put it together !” [Never underestimate the persistent upside of being an old hippie] As you were, then … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-not-named-what-you-thought/940986.md?page=6)