# Songs that creeped you out when you were a kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135 "2002-10-13T21:07:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [October 15, 2002, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/41 "2002-10-15T23:36:36Z")
We had a tape of old songs that had “My Grandfather’s Clock”: > [@](#): > > It rang an alarm in the dead of the night > An alarm that for years had been dumb > And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight > That his hour of departure had come > Still the clock kept the time, with a soft and muffled chime > As we silently stood by its side. > > But it stopped - short, > Never to go again, > When the old man died. > Ninety years without slumbering, tick, tock, tick, tock, > His life seconds numbering, tick, tock, tick, tock, > It stopped - short > Never to go again, > When the old man died. Here’s a similar thread, apparently lost in the Winter of Our Missed Content, but BoardReader still has it. [http://www.boardreader.com/scripts/texis.exe/viewthread?query=grandfather’s%20clock%20straightdope&ttype=&postid=3da0e25c190](http://www.boardreader.com/scripts/texis.exe/viewthread?query=grandfather%27s%20clock%20straightdope&ttype=&postid=3da0e25c190) ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/42 "2002-10-16T00:21:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*That would be, > > "My name is Michael, > I’ve got a nickel,… > > Or something like that. I haven’t heard that song for at least 20 years, but it’s one of those songs that just sticks in your brain like a mutant form of musical peanut butter. > > I -Think- it might have been B.J. Thomas that sang it… \*\* Nope. Even though B.J. sang for _Lovers and Other Losers_, it was Clint Holmes who recorded it. [Don’t click here if you don’t want to re-live all the maudlin lyrics.](http://www.superseventies.com/sl_playgroundinmymind.html) Would someone please explain the “cowbell” joke being bandied about, where is it from, why is it funny? I have no idea what y’all are talking about. ---
**Author:** ![dinahmoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dinahmoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dinahmoe)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/43 "2002-10-16T02:32:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jsc1953 \* > About 30 seconds of furious brain-searching came up with the title: **Timothy**. Or as Dave Barry calls it, “Yummy Yummy Yummy I’ve Got Tim in My Tummy” ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/44 "2002-10-16T06:02:30Z")
> [@](#): > > Would someone please explain the “cowbell” joke being bandied about, where is it from, why is it funny? I have no idea what y’all are talking about. It’s from a “Saturday Night Live” sketch (that, I believe, was spoofing VH1’s “Behind the Music”) where Christopher Walken plays the producer of BOC’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” His constant advice to the band is to add “more cowbell” to the song. Will Ferrell was the band member who was playing the cowbell. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/45 "2002-10-16T06:06:04Z")
Having been taken to **The Exorcist** when I was 13, I’d have flashbacks whenever I heard the first notes of _Tubular Bells_, which became a Top 10 hit. ---
**Author:** ![Nurobath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a88e57/32.png) [@Nurobath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurobath)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/46 "2002-10-16T06:25:42Z")
**The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia** and **The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald** both kind of creeped me out as a kid. Not sure why with Georgia but The Wreck I always found really depressing. The long titles may have had something to do with that as well. 😉 There are also a couple of Klaus Schulz pieces that still freak me out a bit. The end of **Bayreuth Returns** on the Timewind album has this explosion sort of thing that’s really creepy and never fails to scare the hell out me. At about the 21 minute mark of **P.T.O** the music changes very abruptly and freaks me out all the time. Anyone ever hear either of these? ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/47 "2002-10-16T06:41:34Z")
When I was a kid “Man Eater” and “Somebody’s Watching Me” gave me the willies. (I don’t know if those are in fact the real name of those songs… they were 80’s tunes) ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/48 "2002-10-16T11:04:19Z")
Sparky’s Magic Piano – that piano’s voice gave me the shivers ---
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/49 "2002-10-16T15:01:01Z")
**Convoy** - C.W. McCall - the CB portions were weird, and that androgynous voice that sang the chorus!!! **Calling Occupants (of Interplanetary Craft)** - The Carpenters. Just weird. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/50 "2002-10-16T18:31:07Z")
**Big John** by Jimmy “I love sausage” Dean I didn’t mind the fact that Big John dies down in the mine but I really hated that chorus: Biiiiiig Joooohn Biiiiiig Joooohn Big Bad John ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/51 "2002-10-16T18:41:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rowrrbazzle \* > \*\*We had a tape of old songs that had “My Grandfather’s Clock”: > \*\* One of my favorite songs as a kid! But I never learned that verse; might not have been quite so beloved if I had. ---
**Author:** ![andymurph64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@andymurph64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andymurph64)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/52 "2002-10-16T18:54:23Z")
I third the “In the year 2525”. It was the one I thought of before I clicked on the thread. Neat that others thought of it also. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/53 "2002-10-16T20:56:08Z")
The Theme song for \* Mystery\* on PBS. My parents used to watch it after I went to bed, but I could hear it from my room and I would put my pillow over my head. I _hated_ that woman sighing, or moaning, or whatever the hell she was doing. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/54 "2002-10-16T23:03:15Z")
Thanks to another thread, I now know the title of mine: _Baker Street_ by Gerry Rafferty. Gives me the heebie jeebies even now; can’t really explain why. And to the person who said _Ironman_ was creepy: it’s not as bad if you confuse the lyrics with “The Gingerbread Man” song, as my friend always does: “I am Ironman, you can try to catch me if you can.” ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/55 "2002-10-17T03:01:55Z")
The “In Search Of” theme music. It still gives me the creeps. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/56 "2002-10-17T03:22:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Velma \* > \*_The Theme song for \* Mystery_ on PBS. My parents used to watch it after I went to bed, but I could hear it from my room and I would put my pillow over my head. I _hated_ that woman sighing, or moaning, or whatever the hell she was doing. \*\* You mean your mom? ---
**Author:** ![Degrassi\_High\_Dropout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Degrassi\_High\_Dropout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Degrassi_High_Dropout)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/57 "2002-10-17T04:07:53Z")
i used to be terrified of the theme music to “Dr Who”. I would jump up to change it in a cold sweat ---
**Author:** ![Winnie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e480ec/32.png) [@Winnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winnie)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/58 "2002-10-17T14:52:19Z")
That song _“Wildfire”_ (can’t remember the artist but goes “she ran calling wiiiiiiildfire”). I was a very, very sensitive child and the though of some poor horse getting lost in the wilderness and the girl sobbing because she lost him was too much for me to bear. I couldn’t even listen to it. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/59 "2002-10-17T15:19:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > \*\* > > You mean your mom? \*\* GAH! Thanks. Now I have that image to repress for the rest of the day. my mom doesn’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2002, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135/60 "2002-10-17T15:32:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Degrassi High Dropout \* > \*\*i used to be terrified of the theme music to “Dr Who”. I would jump up to change it in a cold sweat \*\* My younger brother as well. But he didn’t have the option of switching it off, since I was watching it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-creeped-you-out-when-you-were-a-kid/132135.md?page=4)