# Songs with lyrics that you first heard and fell in love with as an instumental **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735 "2019-01-31T17:11:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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 31, 2019, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/1 "2019-01-31T17:11:23Z")
Rather than hijack a “lyrical” thread I once heard a street musician playing a tune on his guitar. A tune I had never heard before. I put a dollar bill in his case and asked him to play it again. He did. I asked him what the tune was “Streets of Gold by Sting” he replied. I watched the youtube video. I know very little about Sting, but that is one fine tune, both music and lyrics. Ever hear sn instrument of a song and fall in love with it without the lyrics? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/2 "2019-02-01T00:15:42Z")
I think you mean “Fields of Gold”. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2019, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/3 "2019-02-01T01:35:39Z")
45 years ago I fell deeply and permanently in love with “Body And Soul” the first time I heard Oscar Peterson play it. Several years later I heard someone sing it (Billie Holiday ?) and was struck by how pedestrian the lyrics are. No matter who sings it however well, the words don’t measure up to the music. IMHO etc etc. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/4 "2019-02-01T02:18:08Z")
Lots of jazz standards, like “Willow Weep for Me.” Also, the M_A_S\*H theme song. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/5 "2019-02-01T02:20:20Z")
Easy. Wicked Game by Chris Isaac. First heard it in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart as an instrumental. ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/6 "2019-02-01T02:27:19Z")
“Little Wing.” I heard SRV’s version first. The first version I heard with lyrics was by Skid Row, and my reaction was something along the lines of, “Those SOBs put lyrics to this? What a bunch of losers!” Then I heard Jimi’s version. I still prefer SRV’s. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2019, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/7 "2019-02-01T02:36:17Z")
Mountain Jam by the Allman Brothers. It was a few years later that I heard the Donovan song. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/8 "2019-02-01T03:02:18Z")
“The Ash Grove,” apparently the unofficial national anthem of Wales. I don’t remember when I first heard the melody, but I stumbled upon the lyrics (one version of them, anyway) in a Young Life songbook around 1988, when I was living in Milwaukee. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2019, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/9 "2019-02-01T05:09:19Z")
“Girl From Ipanema” I am so old. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/10 "2019-02-01T05:14:33Z")
Beethoven’s Ode to Joy ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/11 "2019-02-01T05:29:18Z")
Tchaikovsky’s [_1812 overture_](https://youtu.be/ZrsYD46W1U0). ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/12 "2019-02-01T15:55:31Z")
_In the Hall of the Mountain King_. Yes, there are [lyrics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Hall_of_the_Mountain_King). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/13 "2019-02-01T16:28:53Z")
I was conscious of my enjoyment of the song “'Round Midnight” starting from 1986. I don’t think I heard a version of it with lyrics until I got the box set of Linda Rondstadt & Nelson Riddle’s collaborations in the early '90s. I can still take or leave the lyrics, but I still love the song and actively collect cover versions of it. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2019, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/14 "2019-02-01T16:42:01Z")
Herb Alpert and the TJB - “[A Taste of Honey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC38-qqiVgg).” Really, just about any TJB from that era. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/15 "2019-02-01T17:14:05Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Herb Alpert and the TJB - “[A Taste of Honey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC38-qqiVgg).” That’s an interesting one. That’s originally an instrumental written for the Broadway version of Shelagh Delaney’s play “A Taste of Honey.” Looks like the original vocal version came later with [Billy Dee Williams’](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb8um1SHfTg) version, and, I assume, most well known with the Beatles cover on _Please Please Me_. And their version was very much modeled after [Lenny Welch’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4glzb5lVnzA) version. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/16 "2019-02-01T18:51:22Z")
“Love is Blue”. Paul Mauriat’s instrumental version has been a staple of malls and elevators all my life. I think I was 30 before I heard a sung version. It was only recently that I learned that the English version is a very rough (and, some say, very bad) translation of the original French. “Casino Royale” by Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass. Another mall-and-elevator-music staple that I only later learned had words. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/17 "2019-02-01T19:31:35Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > “Love is Blue”. Paul Mauriat’s instrumental version has been a staple of malls and elevators all my life. I think I was 30 before I heard a sung version. It was only recently that I learned that the English version is a very rough (and, some say, very bad) translation of the original French. I heard that one yesterday and thought of this thread. The only reason I know that has lyrics is because some collection of sheet music lead sheets I had (a “fake book” of some sort) had “Love is blue (l’amour est bleu)” in it, with the English lyrics. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any version with lyrics on the radio, but I feel like I looked up the original years back on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/18 "2019-02-01T22:52:03Z")
St. Louis Blues Stars and Stripes Forever ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/19 "2019-02-02T03:40:10Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Lots of jazz standards, like “Willow Weep for Me.” Yep. Many of Duke Ellington’s pieces have lyrics, but they’re usually better as instrumentals. Early in his career Ellington’s manager, Irving Mills, owned a music publishing company. Mills would publish Ellington’s compositions, and would add his own lyrics so that he (Mills) could get royalties. Many of the lyrics were throwaways, in that they weren’t really intended to be performed. Eventually Ellington broke away from Mills, but even after that people would sometimes write lyrics for his music. _Take the A Train_ (which Billy Strayhorn wrote) is better without lyrics. So are _I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart_, _Mood Indigo_ (actually written by Barney Bigard), _Satin Doll_, _Perdido_ and _Caravan_ (actually written by Juan Tizol), _Cotton Tail_, _Sophisticated Lady_, and more. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735/20 "2019-02-02T03:47:06Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Mountain Jam by the Allman Brothers. It was a few years later that I heard the Donovan song. I was aware of both versions yet had never put it together they were the same song. Thanks for that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-lyrics-that-you-first-heard-and-fell-in-love-with-as-an-instumental/828735.md?page=2)