# Unforgettable shows and their forgettable songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663 "2016-09-23T18:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/1 "2016-09-23T18:37:29Z")
Can you name a memorable song from West Side Story? Sure you can, there’s ‘America’, ‘Maria’, ‘Tonight’…but what about ‘Gee, Officer Krupke’? (okay, if maybe you _might_ remember it, but not as well as the others) And when people mention ‘The Wizard of Oz’ you no doubt think of ‘Over the Rainbow’, ‘If I only had a Brain’, or maybe ‘Follow the Yellow Brick Road’ but what about ‘It Really Was No Miracle’? Not so much, huh? And musicals like Chorus Line recall hits like ‘One’ or ‘What I Did For Love’, but do you remember the song ‘The Music and the Mirror’ (I just looked it up) What are the least memorable (vocal) songs from the most memorable shows? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/2 "2016-09-23T18:47:49Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Can you name a memorable song from West Side Story? Sure you can, there’s ‘America’, ‘Maria’, ‘Tonight’…but what about ‘Gee, Officer Krupke’? Krup him. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/3 "2016-09-23T19:08:44Z")
Everything composed by Stephen Sondheim (as opposed to having his lyrics) except “Comedy Tonight,” “Everybody Ought to Have a Maid,” “Send in the Clowns,” “A Little Priest” (if you ignore the fact he [stole much of the tune](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-orKDdAjaA)). People remember Sondheim’s (brilliant) lyrics, but very few can remember the tunes. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/4 "2016-09-23T19:11:35Z")
“I Must Have Done Something Good” from _ **The Sound of Music** _, mainly because it wasn’t parodied in _ **MAD Magazine** _’s “The $ound of Money.” ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/5 "2016-09-23T19:39:44Z")
I’ve always liked the song, [“Feed the Birds,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrRxQVUFN4) from _Mary Poppins_, but I don’t think it was ever a hit, at least not on the level of “Spoonful of Sugar” or “Super-cali-fragilistic-expi-alidocius.” ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/6 "2016-09-23T20:05:37Z")
I tend to learn an entire show, rather than individual songs, so I know a lot of the less memorable ones. “Something Good” and “Feed the Birds” are favorites of mine, but I also frequently sing “Confidence” from _The Sound of Music and “Sister Suffragette” from Mary Poppins_. Some other favorites: “Many A New Day” from _Oklahoma_. I was also very disappointed when someone visited Kansas City and I made a joke about everything being up-to-date there, and they had no idea what I was talking about. “Dance: 10, Looks: 3” from _A Chorus Line_. “Reviewing the Situation” from _Oliver_. “Dites-Moi” from _South Pacific_. “Show Me” from _My Fair Lady_. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/7 "2016-09-23T23:33:47Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > I’ve always liked the song, [“Feed the Birds,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrRxQVUFN4) from _Mary Poppins_, but I don’t think it was ever a hit, at least not on the level of “Spoonful of Sugar” or “Super-cali-fragilistic-expi-alidocius.” It was Walt’s favorite, anyway. He liked to ask the Sherman brothers to play it for him. I’ve always wondered why “Chim Chim Cheree”, as much as I like it, got the Oscar nom and win, while “Feed the Birds”, the emotional center of the picture, the _first melody we hear in the overture,_ didn’t even get nominated. (I’ve also always been rather tickled that the Bird Woman chapter from the book, really not much more than a throwaway that had little-to-no bearing on the story–it didn’t even feature Mary Poppins doing any magic–BECAME the emotional center of the picture. A good call on Walt’s part, I think.) ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/8 "2016-09-24T01:19:25Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > I’ve always liked the song, [“Feed the Birds,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHrRxQVUFN4) from _Mary Poppins_, but I don’t think it was ever a hit, at least not on the level of “Spoonful of Sugar” or “Super-cali-fragilistic-expi-alidocius.” Weird, I think of that song a lot now. Every time I see the Trump Pence sign on TV I say “Trumpence a bag, trumpence trumpence trumpence a bag…” All the songs in Mary Poppins were very good. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2016, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unforgettable-shows-and-their-forgettable-songs/766663/9 "2016-09-24T13:28:11Z")
I like “Gee, Officer Krupke”. In fact, I had it as an earworm within the past week. There’s several crappy _WSS_ songs: “Something’s Coming”, “One Hand, One Heart” and of course “Cool”. And if you’re listing off best _WSS_ songs, start with “Jet Song”. For _Hedwig and the Angry Inch_, lots of good songs, esp. “Midnight Radio”. But “Freaks” and “Nailed” suck.