# Songs that mention the title of other songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901 "2008-07-27T03:21:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2008, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/1 "2008-07-27T03:21:40Z")
Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” mentions “Sweet Home Alabama” in the lyrics. Another example is “Summer Rain” by Johnny Rivers: “All summer long we spent dancing in the sand/And the jukebox kept on playing ‘Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.’” (Note that the “all summer long” theme is common to both songs.) The one other example I can think of is “American Pie,” which mentions several song titles. Are there any other songs that explicitly mention the titles of other songs? I’m not talking about remakes or sampling. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/2 "2008-07-27T03:25:16Z")
Jimmy Buffett’s Bama Breeze mentions Freebird. "Saturday night the bouncer Grady lets the ladies in free, with a fake ID and a short enough skirt - yeah, figures what the hell could it hurt Second set, the owner Lulu gets up with the band, a beer in her hand, and sings Free Bird slow, then she raises a toast - “here’s to Ronny and the boys - now everybody make some noise” ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/3 "2008-07-27T03:40:32Z")
[And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda](http://www.pogues.com/Releases/Lyrics/LPs/RumSodomy/Waltzing.html). ---
**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:** [July 28, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/4 "2008-07-28T15:10:03Z")
Lynyrd Skynyrd - “Sweet Home Alabama” sends Neil Young a message about “Southern Man.” Tom Petty - Is singing “Little Runaway” in the car with Del on the radio. In “How Do You Sleep?” John Lennon says about Paul “The only thing you did was ‘Yesterday’.” He also says “So ‘Sgt. Pepper’ took you by surprise.” The Beatles (well Lennon again actually) reference a lot of songs in “Glass Onion.” I told you about **strawberry fields** , **Lady Madonna** trying to make ends meet-yeah. I told you about the **fool on the hill** , **Fixing a hole** in the ocean ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/5 "2008-07-28T15:23:51Z")
Travis on ‘Writing to Meet You’ mention Oasis: _The radio is playing all the usual, And what’s a Wonderwall anyway?_ ---
**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:** [July 28, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/6 "2008-07-28T15:24:29Z")
The Mamas and the Papas “Creque Alley” And _California Dreaming_ is becoming a reality. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/7 "2008-07-28T15:39:01Z")
**Kenny Chesney** - “I Go Back” mentions MellenCamp’s “Jack and Diane” **Yes** - “I’ve Seen All good People” mentions Lennon with "Send an Instant Karma to me. **Hootie and the Blowfish** - " I only Wanna Be with You " mentions Bob Dylan’s Tangled up in Blue **Golden Earring** - “Radar Love” mentions artist and song - "The radio plays a forgotten song. Brenda Lee’s ‘Coming on Strong’ " ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/8 "2008-07-28T15:43:00Z")
OTTOMH: “Weather With You” - "Walking round the room singing ‘Stormy Weather’ " “Amarillo” - "If someone hadn’t played ‘The Window Up Above’ " ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/9 "2008-07-28T15:48:06Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] Lynyrd Skynyrd - “Sweet Home Alabama” sends Neil Young a message about “Southern Man.” [/QUOTE] And it was mentioned in turn in Warren Zevon’s “Play It All Night Long”: “Sweet Home Alabama/Play that dead band’s song” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/10 "2008-07-28T15:56:42Z")
A Praise Chorus by Jimmy Eat World. Crimson and Clover Our House Kickstart my Heart Rock n Roll Fantasy Don’t Let’s Start “Why did we ever meet?” by the Promise Ring, whose singer (“Davey”)is actually singing that part of the song. Did I miss any? ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/11 "2008-07-28T16:10:38Z")
“The Party Broke Up” by _Was (not Was)_ has the line “The singer kept singing ‘Beat It’” ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/12 "2008-07-28T16:26:49Z")
“Put It Off” by the Tragically Hip has this line: _I played “Love Tara” by Eric’s Trip on the day that you were born_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/13 "2008-07-28T16:43:52Z")
“Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” by Waylon Jennings and featuring Willie Nelson, cites a Willie Nelson song, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” “An Acceptable Level of Ecstasy (The Wedding Song)” by Lyle Lovett describes a hacky opera singer, hired for a wedding, trying to sing “Moon River.” ---
**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:** [July 28, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/14 "2008-07-28T16:49:08Z")
American Pie names “Helter Skelter,” & “Eight Miles High,” along with references to a bunch of others. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/15 "2008-07-28T16:58:27Z")
_The Tennessee Waltz._ _The Maui Waltz._ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/16 "2008-07-28T17:23:57Z")
\*\*Jaime Brockett’s \*\*“The Ballad of the U.S.S. Titanic” mentions “Nearer My God to Thee.” **Sly and the Family Stone’s** “Thank You (for Lettinme Be Mice Elf Again)” lists several of the group’s earlier songs in one verse: **Dance to the music** All nite long **Everyday people** **Sing a simple song** Mama’s so happy Mama start to cry Papa still singin’ **You can make it if you try** ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/17 "2008-07-28T17:46:43Z")
\*\*Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters \*\* by Elton John references **There is a Rose in Spanish Harlem**. I believe it was itself referenced in another song, but I’m drawing a blank at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/18 "2008-07-29T01:15:46Z")
The Sweet’s Wig Wam Bam has a verse about Running Bear (and Little White Dove). ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/19 "2008-07-29T01:52:39Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] \*\*Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters \*\* by Elton John references **There is a Rose in Spanish Harlem**. [/QUOTE] Um, are you sure? The line is “And now I know Spanish Harlem are not just pretty words to say / I thought I knew but now I know that rose trees never grow in New York City” I’m pretty sure he’s not referencing that song, but rather the neighborhood of Spanish Harlem in Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901/20 "2008-07-29T02:19:02Z")
I thought of two more: “Rock & Roll Heaven” by the Righteous Brothers mentions several, such as “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay.” “Night Shift” by the Commodores (post-Lionel Richie era) mentions several Marvin Gaye & Jackie Wilson titles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-mention-the-title-of-other-songs/457901.md?page=2)