# Songs That Reference Other Songs (Not Sampling) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 30, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234 "2020-01-30T18:14:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/1 "2020-01-30T18:14:47Z")
What are some songs where the lyrics specifically mention another song? Note that I’m not talking about sampling (like so many Hip Hop songs), nor am I talking about melodic or lyrical homages to other songs. I’m talking about songs where the lyrics actually mention (or not-entirely-obliquely reference) another song. Examples: Kid Rock’s “[All Summer Long](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSkFygPCTwE),” which includes the lyric "singing _Sweet Home Alabama_ all summer long. Lynryd Skynyrd’s “[Sweet Home Alabama](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye5BuYf8q4o),” which includes the lyric “I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern man don’t need him around,” presumably a reference to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s _Southern Man_. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/2 "2020-01-30T18:37:51Z")
A couple from Cowboy Junkies (who I just mentioned in another thread; guess it’s that kind of day): _There’s a jukebox in the corner, playing “Crazy” all night long…_ - “Where Were You Tonight?” _Old Lady Rose, lookin’ down her nose Lonely Miss Lily, hiding in the hall Lily’s praying for the trial to be over Lady Rose’s just waiting for the axe to fall_ - “Cowboy Junkies Lament” I’m assuming this is a reference to Bob Dylan’s “Lily, Rosemary & the Jack of Hearts” where Rosemary is executed for murder. And, a non-Cowboy Junkies one: _Play me something like Here Comes the Sun_ - “Gimme Sympathy”, Metric ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/3 "2020-01-30T18:47:46Z")
“[The Band Played Waltzing Matilda](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqN1glz4JY)” (Pogues version) Van Morrison - [Cleaning Windows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc9J96f4cDk) _I heard Leadbelly and Blind Lemon On the street where I was born Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Muddy Waters singin’ “I’m A Rolling Stone”_ ETA: one more from the Pogues, “Fairytale Of New York”: _And then he sang a song The Rare Old Mountain Dew_ […] _The boys of the NYPD choir Were singing “Galway Bay”_ ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/4 "2020-01-30T18:56:27Z")
Too late to edit, but also one more from Van Morrison, “[Jackie Wilson Said](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffCaPkqE6m8)”: _Jackie Wilson said It was Reet Petite Kinda love you got Knock me off my feet_ ---
**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:** [January 30, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/5 "2020-01-30T18:59:58Z")
The Beatles Glass Onion references Strawberry Fields, I Am The Walrus, Lady Madonna, and The Fool on The Hill ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/6 "2020-01-30T19:03:44Z")
Spike Jones and his City Slickers, “Pal-Yat-Chee” in which a redneck goes to see _Pagliacci._ ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/7 "2020-01-30T19:08:09Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The Beatles Glass Onion references Strawberry Fields, I Am The Walrus, Lady Madonna, and The Fool on The Hill And “All You Need Is Love” reprises “She Loves You” in the outro. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/8 "2020-01-30T19:10:46Z")
Harry Chapin, “Danceband on the _Titanic_”. > [@](#): > > Danceband on the _Titanic_, > Playing “Nearer my God to Thee”, > The iceberg’s off the starboard bow, > Won’t you dance with me? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/9 "2020-01-30T19:44:51Z")
Hootie and the Blowfish, _Only Wanna Be With You_: > [@](#): > > Put on a little Dylan sitting on a fence > I say that line is great, you ask me what I meant by > Said, I shot a man named Gray, took his wife to Italy > She inherited a million bucks and when she died it came to me > I can’t help it if I’m lucky > I only wanna be with you > Ain’t Bobby so cool > I only wanna be with you > > Yeah I’m tangled up and blue > I only wanna be with you > You can call me your fool > Only wanna be with you Underlined lines are a quote from Dylan’s _Idiot Wind_. The phrase “tangled up and blue” is a slight modification to _Tangled up in Blue_. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/10 "2020-01-30T19:48:28Z")
In one of the earliest music feuds I’m aware of ('78), David Allan Coe references several Jimmy Buffett songs in a song called “Jimmy Buffett”. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/11 "2020-01-30T19:49:35Z")
Warren Zevon - **Play it All Night Long** > [@](#): > > “Sweet Home Alabama” > Play that dead band’s song > Turn those speakers up full blast > Play it all night long ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/12 "2020-01-30T20:17:20Z")
The first thing I thought of was the guitar lick from the Beatles’ “I Feel Fine” in Sugarloaf’s “Don’t Call Us - We’ll Call You,” but then I re-read the OP, so that doesn’t fit. So I’ll go with one of Mrs. Wheelz’s current favorites, “Gimme Sympathy” by Metric. The title is itelf a mashup of two Rolling Stones titles, and the lyrics bring another British band into it: _Who would you rather be The Beatles or the Rolling Stones … Come on baby play me something like Here Comes The Sun_ And I’ll add one of _my_ favorites, Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down A Dream”: _Trees went by Me and Del were singin’ Little Runaway I was flyin’_ ---
**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:** [January 30, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/13 "2020-01-30T20:56:52Z")
“[Going to Graceland](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77qLxCKkz8s)” by The Dead Milkmen references “Love Me Tender” and “Heartbreak Hotel” and the album _Moody Blue_. Their song “Punk Rock Girl” references “California Dreamin’” (mis-attributed to The Beach Boys, because they’re too cool to know). ---
**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:** [January 30, 2020, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/14 "2020-01-30T21:06:02Z")
I believe the OP is looking for songs in which the lyrics specifically mention the title of another song, not just references to lyrics within other songs. For example, Glass Onion references: Lady Madonna The Fool on the Hill, and Fixing a Hole. Strawberry Fields doesn’t count because the song title is “Strawberry Fields Forever.” The same applies to the references to, but not the mention of “I Am the Walrus.” As for the OP, “Southern Man” is a Neil Young song, not a CSNY song. In John Lennon’s “How Do You Sleep” he says “the only thing you done was _yesterday_” in a not-too-subtle jab at McCartney. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/15 "2020-01-30T21:13:21Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > What are some songs where the lyrics specifically mention another song? > > Note that I’m not talking about sampling (like so many Hip Hop songs), nor am I talking about melodic or lyrical homages to other songs. I’m talking about songs where the lyrics actually mention (or not-entirely-obliquely reference) another song. > > Examples: > > Kid Rock’s “[All Summer Long](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSkFygPCTwE),” which includes the lyric "singing _Sweet Home Alabama_ all summer long. > > Lynryd Skynyrd’s “[Sweet Home Alabama](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye5BuYf8q4o),” which includes the lyric “I hope Neil Young will remember, a Southern man don’t need him around,” presumably a reference to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s _Southern Man_. All Summer Long doesn’t qualify, because it samples both Werewolves of London and Sweet Home Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/16 "2020-01-30T22:03:33Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > All Summer Long doesn’t qualify, because it samples both Werewolves of London and Sweet Home Alabama. And he also mentions singing the song in the lyrics. So yes, it samples, but it also lyrically mentions another song. So it qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/17 "2020-01-31T00:26:28Z")
Bruce Springsteen’s “Highway Patrolman” mentions the band playing “Night of the Johnstown Flood”. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/18 "2020-01-31T00:29:47Z")
Dylan’s song “Sara” has the line “writing Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands for you.” ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/19 "2020-01-31T00:41:05Z")
Veruca Salt’s first popular song was “Seether” which describes a peculiar woman. Later their song “Volcano Girls” contains the line “Seether’s Louise,” meaning band member Louise Post. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2020, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234/20 "2020-01-31T01:16:10Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Veruca Salt’s first popular song was “Seether” which describes a peculiar woman. Later their song “Volcano Girls” contains the line “Seether’s Louise,” meaning band member Louise Post. Which is also a cute reference to the Beatles’ ‘The Walrus Is Paul’. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-reference-other-songs-not-sampling/847234.md?page=2)