# Songs/poems that recite lists (e.g. Tom Lehrer's "The Elements" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [October 9, 2021, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203 "2021-10-09T11:22:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/22 "2021-10-09T19:03:06Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > So not sure why it was included. > > He’s Rick-rolling us. And actually, it does recite a list: Never gonna give you up Never gonna let you down Never gonna run around and desert you Never gonna make you cry Never gonna say goodbye Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you mmm ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/23 "2021-10-09T19:52:59Z")
I remember hearing a song listing the books of the Bible. Googling gives a bunch of results, but none of the ones I clicked on rhymed. One of my favourite novelty songs is “If I Had Johnny’s Cash and Charlie’s Pride”: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_QIJ1tFMTmA/maxresdefault.jpg "Mac Wiseman - Johnny's Cash and Charley's Pride") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QIJ1tFMTmA) ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/24 "2021-10-09T19:55:56Z")
It’s Grim Up North by KLF: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/20XLWEjN9eI/maxresdefault.jpg "The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu - It's Grim Up North (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20XLWEjN9eI) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/25 "2021-10-09T21:07:40Z")
[Life is a Rock](https://youtu.be/zcRe6DO-sE8) (but the Radio Rolled Me). ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/26 "2021-10-09T21:19:04Z")
Fishbone’s “? (Modern Industry)” is mostly if not all radio call letters. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QjAVxoqSEY4/maxresdefault.jpg "Modern Industry") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjAVxoqSEY4) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/27 "2021-10-09T21:43:27Z")
This is one of my favorite list songs, and one of my favorite songs in the world. **Antonio Carlos Jobim & Elis Regina - Águas De Março (Waters Of March) in an exquisite 1974 video** [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E1tOV7y94DY/hqdefault.jpg "Elis Regina & Tom Jobim - "Aguas de Março" - 1974") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1tOV7y94DY) Originally in Portuguese, here are the first few verses of the lyrics in English: > A stick, a stone, it’s the end of the road > It’s the rest of a stump, it’s a little alone > It’s a sliver of glass, it is life, it’s the sun > It is night, it is death, it’s a trap, it’s a gun > > The oak when it blooms, a fox in the brush > A knot in the wood, the song of a thrush > The wood of the wind, a cliff, a fall > A scratch, a lump, it is nothing at all > > It’s the wind blowing free, it’s the end of the slope > It’s a beam, it’s a void, it’s a hunch, it’s a hope > And the river bank talks of the waters of March > It’s the end of the strain, it’s the joy in your heart. > … It goes on much longer, hypnotically… ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/28 "2021-10-09T23:29:25Z")
The theme from [Are You Being Served](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz6wvKUsP6M) lists items for sale in a department store broken down by floor. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/29 "2021-10-09T23:38:19Z")
“Add it Up” by Violent Femmes “People Who Died” by Jim Carroll ---
**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:** [October 10, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/30 "2021-10-10T00:58:47Z")
_Histeria!_ had its share of list songs, including this one summarizing all of Shakespeare’s plays: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/S9pyNbtwImQ/hqdefault.jpg "Histeria's Shakespeare") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9pyNbtwImQ) ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/31 "2021-10-10T03:55:21Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/aKdV5FvXLuI/maxresdefault.jpg "Daniel Radcliffe Raps Blackalicious' "Alphabet Aerobics"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKdV5FvXLuI) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/32 "2021-10-10T03:58:11Z")
“88 Lines about 44 Women,” by The Nails. Some of the lyrics are NSFW, so I put the YouTube link in spoiler brackets, just to be sure. [88 Lines about 44 Women - The Nails - Lyrics - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwUotTbF2aw) ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/33 "2021-10-10T04:12:24Z")
Weird Al’s “Hardware Store” has a long list of what the store carries. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DFI6cV9slfI/maxresdefault.jpg "Hardware Store") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFI6cV9slfI) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/34 "2021-10-10T05:16:49Z")
This was around in my childhood, and is a sort of list of some US states: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NztfOSyCCFM/hqdefault.jpg "Delaware - Perry Como.") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NztfOSyCCFM) ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/35 "2021-10-10T08:01:42Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > “88 Lines about 44 Women,” by The Nails. Forever since I heard that. A sort of hybrid of that and Paul Simon’s ‘[50 ways to leave your lover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABXtWqmArUU)’ [which counts in its own right] would be Flight of the Conchords ‘[Carol Brown].([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cGoDns8wTA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cGoDns8wTA))’. Also the original of ‘[I’ve been everywhere man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAh7ogwAYQ)’ by Lucky Starr has lots of Aboriginal placenames which I think are much harder to nail at high speed than the Johnny Cash version. ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/36 "2021-10-10T12:29:20Z")
An oldie but goodie … Danny Kaye listing Russian composers, the [stage version showing the lyrics](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuZvLArXU5s) (apparently he didn’t do the movie version), and an [interview showing him saying them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCCaMqxi8U4). ---
**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:** [October 10, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/37 "2021-10-10T12:53:37Z")
Parts of the brain: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/snO68aJTOpM/hqdefault.jpg "pinky and the brain-brainstem") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snO68aJTOpM) ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/38 "2021-10-10T15:24:02Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Also the original of ‘[I’ve been everywhere man](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UAh7ogwAYQ)’ by Lucky Starr has lots of Aboriginal placenames which I think are much harder to nail at high speed than the Johnny Cash version. I once saw Beverly D’Angelo doing a cabaret act in which she covered this song in a rewritten version that was all about fashion, renamed “I’ve Worn Everything.” She was brilliant onstage. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/39 "2021-10-10T16:01:56Z")
Ian Dury is a repeat offender. The obvious one is Reasons To Be Cheerful Part 3: > The juice of a carrot, the smile of a parrot > A little drop of claret, anything that rocks > > Elvis and Scotty, the days when I ain’t spotty > Sitting on a potty, curing smallpox [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/CIMNXogXnvE/hqdefault.jpg "Ian Dury and The Blockheads – Reasons To Be Cheerful, Pt. 3 (Official HD Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIMNXogXnvE) - but the better song is England’s Glory > Billy Bunter, Jane Austen > Reg Hampton, George Formby > Billy Fury, Little Titch… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NJdR1H5nfks/hqdefault.jpg "Ian Dury - England's Glory") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJdR1H5nfks) (Aside: Little Titch was a music hall performer, diminutive in size, from whom we get the word titchy.) And better yet - though the lists are a minor part - Sweet Gene Vincent. > White face, black shirt > White socks, black shoes > Black hair, white strat [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fOHuNsd3fhU/hqdefault.jpg "IAN DURY Sweet Gene Vincent") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOHuNsd3fhU) j ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/40 "2021-10-10T16:03:13Z")
> [@Mark\_Finn](#): > > I’ve seen poems with the UK monarchs (in sequence) - but not put to music. The Kings and Queens song from Horrible Histories has a list of English monarcrhs which repeats over time until the list is complete (since William the Conqueror anyway). [![](https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/504738230-d8e436d470ea925d217db4e1a67233c244e385ad4913330e196ebf3d12390853-d?f=webp "Horrible Histories Kings and Queens Song sing along") ](https://vimeo.com/117881372) ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203/41 "2021-10-11T03:28:38Z")
The great Emmerich Kálmán’s final operetta, _Arizona Lady_ (that’s the title in both English and German) had an entrance song for the soubrette, who runs a traveling general store, in which she and the chorus list all the things she has on sale. _Was ich bringe? Tausend Dinge!_ Unfortunately, I don’t have an English copy or even a German copy, but it’s really cute. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-poems-that-recite-lists-e-g-tom-lehrers-the-elements/952203.md?page=3)