Not too much about the actual town in that one, is there?
“La Cumbia del Mole” by Lila Downs teaches the recipe for Mexican mole sauce.
Well there’s a little more in the full lyrics. They tell you it’s in the desert.
yeah.
No.
But Kenny Rogers doesn’t actually teach his listeners when to hold, when to fold, etc. He just says that we need to learn these things.
Some relationship advice from Billy Joel, who sounds like he’s talking to his slightly younger self:
Multi-generational lesson plan:
Which is actually incorrect – the sun is a plasma, not a gas. They Might be Giants actually recorded another song later to correct this error:
“Edgar Allan Poe” from Snoopy the Musical has some facts about the life of Poe (if you only listen to Linus’s part).
More They Might be Giants – they’ve done a lot of these (heck, they recorded two entire albums of educational songs for kids).
The Alphabet of Nations:
One possible exception might be The Dangle.
On that topic, there’s “Little Known Facts” from the musical You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Sung by Lucy to Linus with commentary by Charlie Brown.
The song begins:
“D’you see this tree?/It’s called a fir tree/Because it gives us fur/For coats/It also gives us wool/In the wintertime.”
Well, okay, the facts are little known for a reason. But there’s a very strong teaching component in there, to be sure.
“Oliver Cromwell” by Monty Python actually helped me remember dates in World History class, as I knew he was born in 1599 and died in 1658 (September).
“Jacob and Sons” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is still the catchiest way to learn the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel:
Reuben was the eldest of the children of Israel
With Simeon and Levi, the next in line
Naphtali and Issachar with Asher and Dan
Zebulun and Gad took the total to nineJacob, Jacob and sons
Benjamin and Judah, which leaves only one
Jacob, Jacob and sons
Joseph, Jacob’s favorite son
Let’s not forget “Swingin’ the Alphabet“ by The Three Stooges which was my first exposure to phonics.
One of the saddest songs ever.
Your mother’s eyes from your eyes cry to me
Oh boy. I thought that the ship in The Expanse (scl-fi book & TV series) was named after Don Quixote’s horse. It’s probably a reference to this song.
Then, there’s that insipid song by Harry Nilsson, which I won’t link to. But then… how else would we know to put the lime in the coconut?
“I make 'em up!”
One of my favorite Peanuts strips.
Wanna learn the European capitals? Too bad. you’re gonna anyway…
