# Songs That Can Be Sung To (or to which you can sing) "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775 "2012-12-12T00:20:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/1 "2012-12-12T00:20:57Z")
As far as I know, this parlor game began in the 1960s, when science-fiction fans began scouting around for a melody to fit “The Green Hills of Earth” from a short story of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein. Here’s the list I have so far–any others? Amazing Grace Mickey Mouse Club Theme Song Stairway to Heaven [GILLIGANS ISLAND - STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG2lTB-UVvs) House of the Rising Sun Yankee Doodle Pop Goes the Weasel Peaceful Easy Feeling I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing Yellow Rose of Texas Ghost Riders of the Sky Rocky Top Lion Sleeps Tonight Tangled Up in Blue Whiter Shade of Pale Light My Fire O Little Town of Bethlehem Jingle Bells God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen Greensleeves Jolly Old St. Nicholas The First Noel O Tannenbaum It Came Upon a Midnight Clear I’ll Be Home for Christmas Take Me Out to the Ball Game In-a-Gadda-da-Vida Marines’ Hymn Wabash Cannonball America the Beautiful The Internationale Onward Christian Soldiers Ode to Joy Mack the Knife A Hundred Bottles of Beer Clementine La Cucaracha Semper Paratus The Wearing of the Green (The Rising of the Moon) The Itsy-Bitsy Spider I’ve Been Working on the Railroad Sympathy for the Devil Rollin’ Down to Old Maui Acres of Clams Bread and Roses Sink the Bismarck Forest Green (UK “Little Town of Bethlehem”) Tomorrow Belongs to Me The Girl I Left Behind Me The Wabash Cannonball MacNamara’s Band Poems that apply: Jabberwocky Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening Rime of the Ancient Mariner Little Miss Muffet Jack and Jill Doctor Foster went to Gloucester Little Jack Horner Itsy Bitsy Spider Mary Mary Quite Contrary Anything by Emily Dickinson ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/2 "2012-12-12T00:32:29Z")
Okay, I’m set for caroling this season then! It also gives me great variety for singing the Gilligan theme song to the tune of all those other songs! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/3 "2012-12-12T01:46:39Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Anything by Emily Dickinson Nitpick: A lot of, but not anything, by Emily Dickinson. She worked in other meters, not just common meter. And it could vary within a poem, too. For example, see the fourth stanza of “Because I could not stop for Death.” ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/4 "2012-12-12T01:50:04Z")
I was looking at this last night, and also found Amazing Grace sung to The House of the Rising Sun. It worked quite well, actually. But seeing this list, I wonder: is there… what, a commutative property of Gilligan? That is, can I take any one of those songs and sing it to the tune of any other of those songs? If “Take Me Out to The Ball Game” = Gilligan, and “House of the Rising Sun” = Gilligan, does House = Ball Game? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/5 "2012-12-12T01:53:06Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > I was looking at this last night, and also found Amazing Grace sung to The House of the Rising Sun. It worked quite well, actually. > > But seeing this list, I wonder: is there… what, a commutative property of Gilligan? That is, can I take any one of those songs and sing it to the tune of any other of those songs? If “Take Me Out to The Ball Game” = Gilligan, and “House of the Rising Sun” = Gilligan, does House = Ball Game? Well, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” strays a bit meter-wise but, in general, yes. Anything in common/ballad meter (alternating 8 syllables 6 syllables, usually iambic tetrameter followed by trimeter) should be able to be sung to any other song in that meter. It’s a very, very, very common meter. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/6 "2012-12-12T02:33:00Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > I was looking at this last night, and also found Amazing Grace sung to The House of the Rising Sun. It worked quite well, actually. > > But seeing this list, I wonder: is there… what, a commutative property of Gilligan? That is, can I take any one of those songs and sing it to the tune of any other of those songs? If “Take Me Out to The Ball Game” = Gilligan, and “House of the Rising Sun” = Gilligan, does House = Ball Game? It certainly will be fun testing that out, won’t it? Yes, there’s some tucking and tweaking involved occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/7 "2012-12-12T04:04:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Amazing Grace > > … > > House of the Rising Sun When I played in a band, we were hosting an open mic one night when a guy came up and said he wanted to sing Amazing Grace but to the tune of House of The Rising Sun. It worked great. ETA - which seconds LawMonkey, now that I’ve read his post ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/8 "2012-12-12T06:22:45Z")
The Blind Boys of Alabama do that. [Blind Boys of Alabama - Amazing Grace - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDSZrB0vEKQ) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/9 "2012-12-12T06:36:52Z")
I’ve sung “Amazing Grace” to “Pop Goes the Weasel” when I wanted to annoy pushy evangelical types … ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/10 "2012-12-12T13:28:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” strays a bit meter-wise but, in general, yes. Anything in common/ballad meter (alternating 8 syllables 6 syllables, usually iambic tetrameter followed by trimeter) should be able to be sung to any other song in that meter. It’s a very, very, very common meter. From a mathematician’s perspective, it’s one big, happy equivalence class. 🙂 And thanks, **Sam** , for greatly expanding my list of ballad meter songs! This is fodder for many more years of annoying my wife with my occasional habit of interchanging ballad meter songs’ lyrics and tunes. Since “Stairway to Heaven” is on the list, I should note that “Stairway” is NOT in ballad meter. So while it’s true that any song in ballad/common meter can be sung to the tune of “Stairway to Heaven,” the lyrics of “Stairway” can’t be sung (at least not in an unforced manner) to the tune of a song in ballad meter. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/11 "2012-12-12T14:43:14Z")
Interesting list, but Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening doesn’t work. It has an 8.8.8.8 meter. The others are 8.6.8.6. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/12 "2012-12-13T18:25:12Z")
The wife-annoying project is a success already - if “Amazing Grace” lyrics to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club theme song didn’t push her over the edge, doing them to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel” did. Though she kinda liked “Tangled Up In Blue” to the tune of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/13 "2012-12-13T18:36:45Z")
FWIW, the melodies of “British Grenadiers,” the US “Marines’ Hymn,” and “Wabash Cannonball” are all mutually interchangeable. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/14 "2012-12-14T03:09:38Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Interesting list, but Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening doesn’t work. It has an 8.8.8.8 meter. The others are 8.6.8.6. Sing “house is in” and “watch his woods” real fast! ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/15 "2012-12-14T14:43:21Z")
That video of Stairway To Heaven being sung to Gilligans Island sounds to me like he’s just saying the words while the theme from G. I. runs in the background. I think this whole thing is a hoax. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/16 "2012-12-14T23:00:46Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Interesting list, but Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening doesn’t work. It has an 8.8.8.8 meter. The others are 8.6.8.6. However, “Stopping By Woods” works to the tune of [_Hernando’s Hideaway_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLuwyTzAQH8). ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/17 "2012-12-15T02:38:13Z")
The Holly and the Ivy. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/18 "2013-01-07T18:04:26Z")
Here’s one I just found: the theme music to “Leave It To Beaver.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/19 "2013-01-07T19:22:06Z")
Wow! All those songs are in the OP, and yet the Australian national anthem isn’t. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775/20 "2013-01-07T19:27:54Z")
Here in Texas, we sing Emily Dickinson to the tune of “Yellow Rose of Texas”. Definitely puts a new spin on “Because I Could Not Stop for Death”, that’s for sure. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-can-be-sung-to-or-to-which-you-can-sing-the-ballad-of-gilligans-island/643775.md?page=2)