# Songs that "steal" from other songs (not sampled) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 22, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727 "2012-05-22T15:55:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [May 22, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/21 "2012-05-22T18:48:52Z")
A couple of Robert Plant’s solo songs from the 90s fade out with lines from Zeppelin songs. “Tall Cool One” has a couple “hey hey mama!”'s and a guitar riff from The Ocean. I think he had another solo song that did something similar. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/22 "2012-05-22T19:03:41Z")
Billy Bragg’s “A New England” borrows Paul Simon’s lyrics, “I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song/I’m twenty-two now, but I won’t be for long” from “Leaves That Are Green.” ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/23 "2012-05-22T19:12:15Z")
Noel Gallagher is the Crown Prince of Quotation - Oasis’s live versions of “Whatever” frequently ended with the Brothers G. singing the “all the young dudes” refrain written by David Bowie for Mott the Hoople. There’s also the melody for “Shakermaker” that was lifted almost entirely from the “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” Coke ads from the '70s, “Cigarettes and Alcohol” lifts the riff from T. Rex’s “Bang A Gong” almost note for note… they even went as far as to quote themselves (cf. “come on, come on, yeah yeah yeah” from “Columbia” reappearing a scant three years later in “Be Here Now”). blink-182 quotes a Screeching Weasel lyric in “Wasting Time” (“in my town you can’t drive naked”) as well. A particularly egregious (not to mention insulting) example can be found in American Hi-Fi’s “The Art of Losing,” when Stacey quotes the “hey ho let’s go” refrain from “Blitzkrieg Bop” and then the chorus to Kim Wilde’s “Kids In America” is brought in inexplicably in the coda. I’ve never felt so patronized by pop music… ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/24 "2012-05-22T19:44:55Z")
I am assuming the OP excludes blatant ripoffs like “Ice, Ice Baby”? > [@runner pat](#): > > Weird Al’s _[Amish Paradise](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg)_ > [At 1:42](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lOfZLb33uCg#t=102s) > > “There’s no phone, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luxury > Like Robonson Crusoe, it’s as primitive as can be.” For a second there, I was thinking, “Gangsta’s Paradise? Weird Al makes songs that sound like other songs? You’re on to something!” 🙂 But I see where you’re going. > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > My favourite band, The Gaslight Anthem, is strongly influenced by Bruce Springsteen. Their song “High Lonesome” has the line “…at night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet”, same line as in Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.” I don’t listen to Springsteen much, but I’m told that references to his music crop up a lot, such as in “Cowgirls…”. _Titus Andronicus_ sometimes riff off of Springsteen, but not nearly as much as Gaslight. They do Billy Bragg, too, and I curse you, **garygnu**. That earworm was almost out of my head, now it’s back with a vengeance. * * * _Bad Religion_: “21st Century (Digital Boy)” borrows title and a few lyrics from _King Crimson_’s “21st Century Schizoid Man.” Their song “Bored & Extremely Dangerous” sounds subtly in part like “A Day in the Life” with the transition, but maybe it’s just me. Trollish metal bad _Stormtroopers of Death_ have many songs (“The Ballad of …”), where they play a riff and vocal stylings of a deceased musician, ending the song with “You’re dead!” ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/25 "2012-05-22T19:48:10Z")
Almost forgot! Dead Can Dance’s “The Carnival Is Over” (one of the most beautiful songs ever written, by the way) quotes a Joy Division lyric that goes “the procession moves on, the shouting is over.” Not sure which JD song that’s from… anyone? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/26 "2012-05-22T20:07:45Z")
The Eternal. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/27 "2012-05-22T20:12:43Z")
Dazed and confused by Led zeppelin and Paranoid by Black Sabbath share a riff. Indus by Dead Can Dance uses Within You, Without You by the Beatles. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/28 "2012-05-22T20:26:40Z")
> [@sco3tt](#): > > That was actually from [_You Can’t Catch Me_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyhkoi4I4Q8&feature=player_detailpage#t=50s). Lennon [later covered it in full](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8g70Pzfcq0) and gave it an overall “Come Together” treatment. Dang it! Can’t believe I got that wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/29 "2012-05-22T20:35:24Z")
Hmm. The online [lyrics](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/j/jimmy+buffett/door+number+three_20071813.html) to “My Whole World Lies Waiting Behind Door Number Three” by Jimmy Buffett and Steve Goodman don’t have it, but when I heard Goodman do it in concert he included the lines about “do you want to make a deal” from “Like a Rolling Stone.” Jamie Brockett’s Titanic song quotes Dylan also “Like all tough sailors do, when they’re far away at sea” from “Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream” from Bringing it All Back Home. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/30 "2012-05-22T20:38:42Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > It’s not a line, but “Can’t Touch This” has parts that are exactly the same as “Supperfreak”. I believe there was a lawsuit? They settled their differences over dinner. > [@cjepson](#): > > There seem to be a lot of Chuck Berry homages out there… there’s also John Lennon’s paraphrase of “Here come old flat top” from Berry’s “Thirty Days”. > [@sco3tt](#): > > That was actually from [_You Can’t Catch Me_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyhkoi4I4Q8&feature=player_detailpage#t=50s). Lennon [later covered it in full](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8g70Pzfcq0) and gave it an overall “Come Together” treatment. Lennon was sued over that “paraphrase” and agreed to cover You Can’t Catch Me and a few other songs as part of the settlement. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/31 "2012-05-22T21:23:00Z")
The Beatles’ “Run For Your Life” starts with a line from Elvis Presley’s early hit, “Baby, Let’s Play House.” _ **I’d rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man.** _ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/32 "2012-05-22T21:28:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Matthew Fisher, organist for Procol Harum, did a solo album which included “[Going for a Song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhJgmb1osm0),” about being sick and tired of playing the same song over and over again. He quotes from “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” Squeeze in their _Loving you tonight (feels good)_ has an organ riff very similar to _Tempted_. The song includes the line “my last temptation was misunderstood” so perhaps Squeeze are trying to better explain that song with the new song. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/33 "2012-05-22T23:28:57Z")
“Hello City” by the Barenaked Ladies directly uses lines from the Housemartins’ “Happy Hour.” The in-joke is BNL was often compared to the Housemartins. [did we have this thread before…??] ---
**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:** [May 23, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/34 "2012-05-23T01:45:52Z")
The old 30s blues song “[Two Old Maids in a Folding Bed](http://archive.org/details/TwoOldMaidsInAFoldingBed)” traditionally quoted from other popular songs of the era (the linked version is one of the cleaner ones\*). The lyrics were Two old maids in a folding bed One turned over to the other and said . . . At which point a song quote would be added. \*“Two old maids” was a euphemism for lesbians. Note one of the quotes is from “Yes, we have no bananas.” ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/35 "2012-05-23T02:33:00Z")
The similarity between George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” and The Chiffon’s “He’s So Fine” prompted a famous lawsuit. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/36 "2012-05-23T03:07:54Z")
Another Beatles one: The Raspberries’ “Please Go All the Way” uses the “come on, come on, come on, come on” thing that the Beatles did in “Please Please Me.” ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/37 "2012-05-23T04:23:41Z")
The Veruca Salt song _Number One Blind_ quotes part of _Stormy Weather_ by The Pixies: It is time It is time, oh oh They also reference _Glass Onion_ by The Beatles as well as their own song _Seether_ in the song _Volcano Girls_ with the lines: I told you about the Seether before You know the one that’s neither or nor Well here’s another clue if you please, The Seether’s Louise Not a song, but the title of their album _American Thighs_ is a reference to AC/DC’s _You Shook Me All Night Long_. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/38 "2012-05-23T05:28:25Z")
Jimmy Eat World’s “A Praise Chorus” nicks lyrics from several songs. I came in to bring up “Crimson and Clover,” but after visiting Wikipedia, I now know that it is one of many. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/39 "2012-05-23T10:40:48Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Weird Al’s _[Amish Paradise](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfZLb33uCg)_ > [At 1:42](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lOfZLb33uCg#t=102s) > > “There’s no phone, no lights, no motorcars, not a single luxury > Like Robonson Crusoe, it’s as primitive as can be.” If you’re going to mention him, you need to also mention his [parody](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rAi3ZPAE34) of “[Safety Dance](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7movKfyTBII)” by Men Without Hats, which includes the entire lyrics to the _Brady Bunch_ theme song, and his [parody](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4SDhrTPOiI) of “[Money for Nothing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAD6Obi7Cag)” by by Dire Straits, in which the entire song is a modified version of the lyrics of the _Beverly Hillbillies_ theme. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727/40 "2012-05-23T12:09:09Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > Jimmy Eat World’s “A Praise Chorus” nicks lyrics from several songs. I came in to bring up “Crimson and Clover,” but after visiting Wikipedia, I now know that it is one of many. Plus as you may have found on wiki, one of the songs referenced is “Why Did We Ever Meet” by The Promise Ring, and, that part of the Jimmy Eat World song is sung by a guest vocalist, Davey von Bohlen of The Promise Ring. They tour with Davey’s bands once in awhile, I’d see them just to see him pop up on stage and sing it with them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-steal-from-other-songs-not-sampled/622727.md?page=3)