# Songs with fun or interesting count-offs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 23, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292 "2021-01-23T16:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/61 "2021-01-25T16:27:15Z")
Elton John – **[Bennie and the Jets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5rQHoaQpTw&ab_channel=RewindMusicGroup)** Crowd noise, then piano chord on Beat 1, bass guitar glissando on Beat 2, kick drum on Beat 3, Beats 4 and 5 are silent, song starts. (Yeah, it’s a bit of a stretch.) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/62 "2021-01-25T17:03:18Z")
On N.W.A.'s EP, MC Ren goes, “It goes one for the treble, two for the bass / She’s got nut all over her face” 😲 ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/63 "2021-01-25T19:47:44Z")
Beat you to it. Post 13 or 14. > [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > There’s a Beatles song (not sure which one) where John starts by mumbling “Sugarplum fairy, Sugarplum fairy” before the band comes in. It’s on the Anthology version but you don’t hear it on the radio. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/64 "2021-01-25T21:23:07Z")
Ed King counts to only 3 and a pause for _Sweet Home Alabama_ ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/65 "2021-01-25T21:23:26Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > On N.W.A.'s EP, MC Ren goes, “It goes one for the treble, two for the bass / She’s got nut all over her face” 😲 Which might be a tribute to this: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Bm5HKlQ6nGM/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGGUgRyhCMA8=&rs=AOn4CLB3eMYyrtliu7UQjEI1o4MgYWDxng "Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes 1956 (COLOR and STEREO)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm5HKlQ6nGM) ---
**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 25, 2021, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/66 "2021-01-25T22:04:48Z")
I’m just listening to X-Ray Spex’ wonderful album “Germ Free Adolescents”, and in “Genetic Engineering”, Poly Styrene also counts in in German. It was seemingly a thing for punk bands. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zSCgVbDMs-E/hqdefault.jpg "X-Ray Spex - Genetic Engineering") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSCgVbDMs-E) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/67 "2021-01-25T23:32:08Z")
That’s what I get for surfing at 2 a.m. I miss things. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/68 "2021-01-25T23:38:50Z")
Lemmy, Slim Jim, and Danny B performing Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” “2,3,4…(musical miscue, laugh…) 2,4,5…” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Hiz-T3UeMO8/maxresdefault.jpg "Not Fade Away") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hiz-T3UeMO8) ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/69 "2021-01-25T23:53:21Z")
OutKast’s “Hey Ya!” starts off “1, 2, 3, huh!” (u as in put) – but the actual beats counted off are 2, 3, 4, and 1. (Or, if you believe Andre 3000 when he says the song’s written in 11/2, the beats are 10.5, 11, 11.5, and 1.) Aimee Mann’s “Long Shot” starts with “5… 6… 7 . . . . 50,” which is unrelated in tempo and start time to the song. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/70 "2021-01-26T03:12:16Z")
None of the cute girls at Tom and Donovan’s Reggae Aestheticians’ Ball Annual Potfest believed me when I claimed that I wrote those immortal rock ‘n’ roll lyrics “one, two, a-one two three four!” That’s okay. Though if they had, I would’ve told them about getting 1/10th cent each time a band used that (and bought a keg with some of my royalties)… ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/71 "2021-01-26T12:10:05Z")
I remember seeing the Professor live in concert, when he entered the Hall climbing down off the balcony, but never did see him playing the Hardart. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/72 "2021-01-26T12:31:16Z")
I saw him a few times, including climbing down from the balcony. I even came in late once so I’d get called out by his assistant. But alas, no Hardart. And to add to this thread, there’s _Do It Yourself_ by Bill Sutton, in which he describes the process of building his own mainframe computer. Fast forward to 3:30 to hear the count-off, but it will make even less sense out of context. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3R4sBnbp33U/hqdefault.jpg "(Funny Song) You Can Build A Mainframe From The Things You Find At Home, by Bill Sutton") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R4sBnbp33U) ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/73 "2021-01-26T15:31:12Z")
“Love for Sale” by Talking Heads begins with David Byrne hoarsely counting “One! Two!” then laughing and counting “One, two, three!” before the band comes in. Speaking of “A Day in the Life,” when the Beatles recorded the basic track, they left some room in the arrangement for the orchestral buildups that would come later. To keep time through these sections, their roadie Mal Evans counted off the bar numbers as they passed, which you can hear on the finished master. The best mid-song count-in is, of course, [“Cold Sweat” by James Brown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B615TiDdjUc&ab_channel=JamesBrown-Topic) (count starts around 5:12). ---
**Author:** ![GreaterZamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GreaterZamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreaterZamboni)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/74 "2021-01-26T15:35:45Z")
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” where it’s “One, two, three strikes you’re out!” ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/75 "2021-01-26T16:08:55Z")
Two very normal, straight ahead count-ins 😴 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/0WNNB16x2pw/maxresdefault.jpg "Stripping for Cash") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WNNB16x2pw) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Hs3qInd2a5s/maxresdefault.jpg "Smile Away (Remastered 2012)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs3qInd2a5s) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/76 "2021-01-26T16:26:20Z")
Count-in with cowbell: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/a4xjr9v5ehk/hqdefault.jpg "Slip Kid - The Who") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4xjr9v5ehk) ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/77 "2021-01-26T17:16:40Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > "… From the top! Five, Six, Seven, Eight.” I’d really like to try the count in to some unsuspecting dance crew, off hours, getting them up and dancing. “Wait – what?!?” Mal Evans counting out the 24-bar bridge in “A Day in the Life”. More of bookmarking than a start-off. The EMI engineer getting stuck at “Number 9”. Somebody did all the Beatles count-ins: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrSG1mgAYNo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrSG1mgAYNo) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/78 "2021-01-26T23:23:50Z")
A good wretched screamy 1-2-3-4 from old Vancouver punk band Kreviss (seven girls, one guy) On 8-track! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FGceKENIoHA/maxresdefault.jpg "Kreviss - 8-Track Stereo Tape") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGceKENIoHA) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/79 "2021-01-27T03:53:35Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > The best mid-song count-in is, of course, [“Cold Sweat” by James Brown](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B615TiDdjUc&ab_channel=JamesBrown-Topic) (count starts around 5:12). Brown also did a good count in on _Sex Machine_, which was covered in a very non-Brownian fashion by The Flying Lizards. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JOD-M7WZkZQ/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGD4gWyhyMA8=&rs=AOn4CLD0loFMNJSt-MIOXmjg_jvsxiKOQg "james brown - sex machine") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOD-M7WZkZQ) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qHeno2iXlBc/hqdefault.jpg "The Flying Lizards - Sex Machine") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHeno2iXlBc) ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2021, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292/80 "2021-01-27T12:10:43Z")
Here’s a _Uno, dos_ _Uno, dos, tres, quatro_ In the sample heavy Acid House groover **Theme from S’Express** by **S’Express** [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IpeRShWMdYM/maxresdefault.jpg "S'Express - Theme from S'Express") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpeRShWMdYM) TCMF-2L [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-fun-or-interesting-count-offs/931292.md?page=5)