# Songs that are about other songs, or other artists **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513 "2011-06-06T16:46:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/21 "2011-06-06T18:01:01Z")
“Summer Rain” by Johnny Rivers: All summer long we were dancing in the sand And the jukebox kept on playing “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” Also, “Waylon, Wille and Me” by David Allan Coe: “I’d heard The Burritos out in California could fly higher than The Byrds Roger McQuinn had a 12 string guitar. It was like nothing I’d ever heard And The Eagles flew in from the west coast Like The Byrds they were trying to be free While in Texas the talk turned to Outlaws Like Willie and Waylon and me.” The second verse references the Beatles, the Stones, Janis Joplin and Bob Dylan. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/22 "2011-06-06T19:01:38Z")
My favorite is [Pi Di Di Di](http://www.quedeletras.com/letra-cancion-pi-di-di-di-bajar-57874/disco-calle-13/calle-13-pi-di-di-di.html) by Calle 13, a reggaeton group; it’s basically a throwdown against Puff Daddy for dissing reggaeton artists (and Hispanic people in general). Sorry, it’s in Spanish, and my slang knowledge is not so fabulous that I’d take a stab at translating it. (Also, it’s pretty crude. Funny, but crude.) ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/23 "2011-06-06T19:02:52Z")
I once made a mix of songs about Husker Du and its members: Mold - Bob Mould Hates Me The Posies - Grant Hart Anthemic Pop Wonder - How Great Was Husker Du Splitsville - Husker Du The Replacements - Something To Du Speaking of The Replacements, there’s also “We’re The Replacements” by They Might Be Giants. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/24 "2011-06-06T19:25:29Z")
Although it’s not mentioned in the song, “Judy in Disguise” is John Fred singing his misheard lyrics from “Lucy in the Sky.” Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/25 "2011-06-06T19:28:45Z")
The Beatles’ _Back in the USSR_ is a homage to both Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys, I think. Regina Spektor’s _On the Radio_ has a bunch of lines about listening to Guns’N’Roses’ _November Rain_. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/26 "2011-06-06T19:31:09Z")
“Land of a Thousand Dances” references several Rock and Roll artists, I believe. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/27 "2011-06-06T19:40:58Z")
Tom Paxton’s Crazy John and Elton John’s Empty Garden are both about John Lennon. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/28 "2011-06-06T19:42:05Z")
The song “Hey hey (into the black)” by Neil Young has got to be a sort of record for this. From wiki: > [@](#): > > The song is about the alternatives of continuing to produce similar music (“to rust” or — in “My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)” — “to fade away”) or to burn out, as John Lydon of the Sex Pistols might be considered to have done by abandoning his Johnny Rotten persona. > > A part of a lyric from the song, “it’s better to burn out than to fade away,” became infamous in modern rock after being quoted in Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain’s suicide note. Young later said that he was so shaken that he dedicated his 1994 album Sleeps with Angels to Cobain. Because of Cobain’s suicide, in live concerts he now emphasizes the line “once you’re gone you can’t come back”. > **[Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hey_Hey,_My_My_(Into_the_Black))** > > "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" is a song written by Canadian-American musician Neil Young. Combined with its acoustic counterpart "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)", it bookends Young's 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. The song was influenced by the punk rock zeitgeist of the late 1970s, in particular by Young's collaborations with the American art punk band Devo, and what he viewed as his own growing irrelevance. > The song "Hey Hey, My My...", as well as the titular phrase of the album on which ... So a song about Johnny Rotten is quoted in Kurt Cobain’s suicide note, leading to another album … ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/29 "2011-06-06T19:48:05Z")
“Sweet Soul Music” by Arthur Conley (Lou Rawls, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, James Brown) “Monterey” by Eric Burdon and the Animals (Byrds, Airplane, Ravi Shankar, Who, Hugh Masekela, Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones) “The Fat Angel” by Donovan (Jefferson Airplane, Love) “Weed With Willie” by Toby Keith (who d’ya think?) On a somewhat different note, there’s “Don Henley Must Die” and “Debbie Gibson is Pregnant With My Two-Headed Love Child” by Mojo Nixon. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/30 "2011-06-06T19:49:16Z")
What about songs that reference themselves? One version of “The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie-o” contains the line “And the band played ‘The Bonnie Lass of Fyvie-o’”. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/31 "2011-06-06T19:55:19Z")
Kind of obscure, but I recall a song from the early eighties called “Sit On My Face, Stevie Nix” by Phester Swollen and the Rotters. No, I am not making this up. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/32 "2011-06-06T19:56:27Z")
“Tribute,” by Tenacious D, about the time they were challenged by a demon to write the best song in the world, which they immediately did by playing the first song that came into their heads. “Tribute” is not that song, but is merely a tribute to it. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/33 "2011-06-06T19:58:30Z")
_Alex Chilton_ by The Replacements ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/34 "2011-06-06T20:06:26Z")
Google the lyrics to Simon and Garfunkle’s “A Simple Desultory Philippic.” It references well over a dozen people/bands. And is quite a good humourous song too. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/35 "2011-06-06T20:07:08Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > I once made a mix of songs about Husker Du and its members: > > Mold - Bob Mould Hates Me > The Posies - Grant Hart > Anthemic Pop Wonder - How Great Was Husker Du > Splitsville - Husker Du > The Replacements - Something To Du > > Speaking of The Replacements, there’s also “We’re The Replacements” by They Might Be Giants. As long as it’s a formal mix, you could start it off with “Make Me a Mixtape” by the Promise Ring, which mentions Husker Du as the most prominent of a couple of bands they want to include in their mixtape. So while not entirely about Husker Du, it is about a mixtape 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/36 "2011-06-06T20:13:23Z")
P.J. Harvey’s _Memphis_ and Rufus Wainwright’s _Memphis Skyline_ are both about Jeff Buckley and his death. They’re just two of about a [dozen known tribute songs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Buckley#Tributes) to Buckley. Duran Duran’s _Michael You’ve Got a Lot to Answer For_ is about Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of INXS, and the woes he was facing right before he ended his life. _So Long Suicide_ from the same album is about Kurt Cobain. The Mamas and The Papas talk about themselves as well as members of The New Christy Minstrels, The Byrds and Lovin’ Spoonful (Roger McGwinn, Barry McGuire, John Sebastian & Zal Yanovsky) and their early beginnings and inspirations in\* Creeque Alley\*. Diana Ross’s _Missing You_ and _Night Shift_ by The Commodores were both homages to Marvin Gaye, the latter also eulogized Jackie Wilson. ---
**Author:** ![Gilles\_de\_Rais](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@Gilles\_de\_Rais](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilles_de_Rais)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/37 "2011-06-06T20:39:30Z")
In Frank Sinatra’s version of\* Mack The Knife\*, he clearly states that Bobby Darrin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Satchmo all do a better version than he does… ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/38 "2011-06-06T20:52:01Z")
Garth Brooks’ references his “worn out tape of Chris LeDoux” in his song “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” That reference actually brought Chris LeDoux from sputtering along on an independent label, to selling over 5 1/2 million copies of his music on his new label. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/39 "2011-06-06T20:55:23Z")
> [@tumbleddown](#): > > P.J. Harvey’s _Memphis_ and Rufus Wainwright’s _Memphis Skyline_ are both about Jeff Buckley and his death. Speaking of which – P.J. Harvey’s album _Exile in Guyville_ is, according to her, a song-by-song reply to the Rolling Stones’ _Exile on Main St._ (“Reply songs” are a whole subcategory of “songs about other songs” and I’m pretty sure this has been done at least once on this MB.) ---
**Author:** ![melodyharmonius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/melodyharmonius/32/21310_2.png) [@melodyharmonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melodyharmonius)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513/40 "2011-06-06T20:59:02Z")
There’s also the songs from Eamon & Frankee (F_ck it/F_ck you right back). Not necessarily meant for small ears - the one song is a direct reply to the other. Or how about Usher’s “Confession” and “Confession: Part II” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-about-other-songs-or-other-artists/584513.md?page=3)