# That dang XKCD video...what is THIS song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 10, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398 "2010-02-10T06:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/1 "2010-02-10T06:03:48Z")
No, not the one in the video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQAk\_T9SBbw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQAk_T9SBbw) But it’s sparked an earworm that won’t go away! Whatever this song is, it’s typically played on piano, rather choppily, presumably by kids learning how to play tandem for the first time. Maybe. That’s the only association I have with it, yet I’ve heard it innumerable times \ ARRGH! It’s SO close to the XKCD video song, especially the ‘boom de yada, boom de yada’ part, which is exact. Anyone have ANY idea what I’m talking about? It’s not Chopsticks, but it might be Chopsticks’ goofy cousin Larry. 😛 Going crazy here!!! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/2 "2010-02-10T06:21:08Z")
Heart and Soul. Specifically, the bass portion (typically sung as ‘boom de yada’, when the song is done _a capella_, or just being referenced vocally) is referenced in the The World is Just Awesome Discovery ads, thus the XKCD strip and video. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/3 "2010-02-10T06:41:21Z")
Thank you!!! That IS it! The earworm is singing but I couldn’t figure out the words. Thanks again 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/4 "2010-02-10T06:46:22Z")
You’re welcome. The Discovery ads used to put Heart and Soul in my head, before the Discovery song became an earworm in itself. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/5 "2010-02-10T11:30:18Z")
Is that the song they “dance-play” in _Big_? Or was that Chopsticks? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/6 "2010-02-10T11:35:34Z")
[Both!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KosJK_ZMMu0) ---
**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:** [February 10, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/7 "2010-02-10T14:27:11Z")
_Heart and soul, I fell in love with you, lost contol…_ I was surprised there were lyrics when I heard Livingston Taylor (James’s quirkier brother) do a version. Also surprised that it made a nice light jazzy folk song. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/8 "2010-02-10T17:34:40Z")
The song they’re referencing in those ads is actually the old campfire song “I Love the World” (_I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills…_). There’s some debate about whether it actually shares a tune with “Heart and Soul” or just comes close with the same boom-di-adda chorus. The way I learned it, way back when, they really don’t sound quite the same. Anybody else know the camping song I’m talking about and want to weigh in? ---
**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 10, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dang-xkcd-video-what-is-this-song/528398/9 "2010-02-10T17:46:24Z")
> [@filling\_pages](#): > > The song they’re referencing in those ads is actually the old campfire song “I Love the World” (_I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills…_). There’s some debate about whether it actually shares a tune with “Heart and Soul” or just comes close with the same boom-di-adda chorus. The way I learned it, way back when, they really don’t sound quite the same. > > Anybody else know the camping song I’m talking about and want to weigh in? Don’t know about the song, but the “boom-di-adda” chorus is among the most popular chord progressions in Western pop music (I-iv-ii [or IV]-V7), most associated with the 50s (think “Silhouettes on the Shade,” “Blue Moon,” “Heart and Soul,” etc.) [Here’s a Youtube medley](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kivFpDFC8Zk) showing just how ubiquitous the progression was in from 1957-1963.