Whether you like the way you sound, or you just happen to know all the words, or it makes people laugh…for whatever reason.
In my heart of hearts…I sing Heard it Through the Grapevine, wishing I got a fraction of the rawness that Marvin got into it. I can’t come close.
As a singer in a band…I can kick into **The Romantics’ What I Like About You **and get pretty much anyone moving.
Right now I am working on trying to deliver two -
-
Use Me by Bill Withers- I can play some cool guitar underneath this one. No - I can’t approach Mr. Withers’ vocals - but I don’t embarrass myself the way I do with Grapevine.
-
Chris Isaak, It Must Be Wrong to Love You- again, no one can come close to his liquid, smooth delivery - but I am doing okay with it…well except for the big climax around 2:10 in…
WordMan, I guess we’re the only ones who feel like making joyful noises today! Or at least thinking about it.
I’m just a car singer, but I can do a mean Delta Dawn. 
I’ve got more, but before embarrassing myself any further, I’ll wait to see if this thread is going to live.
Bump it Monday - I think on Fridays like today (gorgeous in the Northeast) most folks are actually outside singing their songs.
(or - I just killed the thread with my post; I do that sometimes)
I think you may have set the threshold a little high by asking for ten favourites.
I’m not sure I’ll be able to name ten, but forgive me for a demi-reply:
I like to sing What a Wonderful World in my best Satchmo voice. (Doesn’t take long before it starts to hurt, though.) Very fun.
A couple Holy Modal Rounders tunes are always fun to sing, particularly Glue’s in the Bottle and Hot Corn/Cold Corn.
Rocky Horror: Over at the Frankenstein Place and A Wild and an Untamed Thing.
Summertime, from Porgy and Bess. (This serves as the default lullaby for my daughter, so it’s getting a lot of play lately. Last night she heard Ella’s version for the first time and the look on her face when she recognized it was priceless.)
Nina Simone - In the Dark.
Finally, Canadian comedy duo Maclean and Maclean’s I’ve Seen Pubic Hair, which is a parody of I’ve Been Everywhere. Indelibly burned into my memory from 1984 onwards. I discovered recently that something about the required nasal voice distresses my toddler daughter. (I assume it’s the voice, because she starts to cry before I get to ‘I was eatin’ it with relish…') I find this hilarious, which may make me a bad daddy, even if serenading a toddler with I’ve Seen Public Hair doesn’t on its own, which I suppose it very likely does.
After reading that, I’m crying too! That’s beautiful, man.
Whatever Beatles song just finished playing.
About the only song I regularly sing all the way through, start to finish, is Still Alive, by Jonathan Coulton. Otherwise it’s just little snippets of lyrics that are appropriate for the situation.
Ceremony -** New Order**
Atmosphere - Joy Division
Xavier - Dead Can Dance
Black Sun -** Dead Can Dance**
Severance -** Dead Can Dance**
Taste of Cindy - Jesus and Mary Chain
The Homosexual -** Momus**
All We Ever Wanted - Bauhaus
*God Damn The Sun *- Swans
Elderly Lady Behind The Counter… Pearl Jam
Most of those are ones I enjoy singing, even if I’m not great at it. I know all those lyrics by heart
Hmm, these aren’t carved in stone or anything, but if I’m waiting for a bus, I might start singing any of these:
1 **Me and Bobby McGee **- I sung this at a kareoki joint, and got people to hold up their lighters. It was one of the coolest moments of my life.
2 **Sunday Morning Coming Down **- This song always rips out my heart.
3 **Loving Her **(or by me, Him) **was Easier than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again **- And the lyrics to all three of these were written by Kris Kristofferson. The man is a genius.
4 Lorena - Beautiful Civil War song, although actually written in the 1840’s, I believe.
5 Desperado - Yeah, this was the song Elaine’s boyfriend dropped everything for on Seinfeld. The guy had good taste.
6 **The Rose of Alabamy **- Terribly politically incorrect song, but not offensively so. Plus it’s bouncy and makes me happy.
7 Greensleeves - The whole thing, including “Kerchers for thy head…” whatever those are.
8 **Look on and Cry **- The final verse is a popular tombstone epitaph from the 1800’s. Keen!
9 **I’ll Remember You, Love, in My Prayers **- A parlor piano song from the old days.
10 **The Vacant Chair **- Another Civil War favorite about death.
There’s plenty of others.
Hey Jude
Jack Straw
Brokedown Palace
Box of Rain
Ave Marie (only when alone in the car)
She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Walk This Way
Stairway To Heaven
With A Little Help From My Friends
Background doo-wops on the Marcels’ “Blue Moon.”
Novelty numbers like “Beep Beep,” “They’re Coming to Take Me Away,” Arthur Brown’s “Fire,” “Surfin’ Bird,” (what’s the fun if it isn’t a challenge?) and “Too Much Monkey Business.”
Meaningful songs like “Chimes of Freedom,” “Simple Song of Freedom,” or a role-reversal of “Society’s Child.”
That’s nine, so I’ll add “When the Music’s Over,” if the karaoke bar isn’t too crowded and I"m among friends.
- “Lust for LIfe” by Iggy Pop
- “I Know It’s Over” by The Smiths
- “Don’t Get Me Wrong” by The Pretenders
- “Dress” by PJ Harvey
- “Anarchy in the UK” by the Sex Pistols
- “Add it Up” by Violent Femmes
- “Ball and Chain” by Janis Joplin
- “Forever for Her is Over for Me” by the White Stripes
- “Message of Love” by the Pretenders
- (of all time) “Atomic” by Blondie.
The list is in constant flux, but currently, in no particular order:
When You’re Evil–Voltaire
The Dark Lady–Bernadette Gillece, but I learned it from the Shantyman
It’s a Quiet Town–Danny Kaye
A Kiss to Build a Dream On–Satchmo, but I usually can’t do the voice.
House of Bamboo–Southern Culture on the Skids
Zoot Suit Riot–Cherry Poppin’ Daddies
Play that Funky Music–Wild Cherry
Hotel California–The Eagles
Swing a Cat–Meg Davis, I think. I learned it from the Corsairs
Sailor’s Prayer–The serious one, also learned from the Corsairs.
I like the way I sound on I’ve Got You Under My Skin, and The Wonder of You. Also The Music of the Night and Love Changes Everything (from The Phantom of the Opera and Aspects of Love, respectively, even though I’ve not seen either of those shows).
For making a crowd laugh at a party, I like to do Lehrer’s Irish Ballad, and Paxton’s Forest Lawn. I also sing The Dewey Dumpster Song (a love song I wrote for my wife back when I was courting her).
For fun, when I’m by myself I’ll run through a couple of versions of Shubert’s Erlkönig, first straight, then in voices of Family Guy characters, then in a hillbilly accent I like to call “Grand Old Opera”-style.
At a karaoke night, I’ll break out Billy Joel’s The Entertainer (both because I like the song, and because it’s really long :D), Paul Simon’s You Can Call Me Al, and if I feel I’m losing the audience, Neil Diamond’s America reels 'em back in.
I think that’s ten. On preview, I see it’s eleven, but it’s not like this is the Game Room. Tough list to make, anyway.
Ones I like, and/or know the words to…
[ul]
[li]Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner[/li][li]South Coast[/li][li]Sloop John B[/li][li]Bonny Portmore[/li][li]Road Goes Ever On[/li][li]Love Song for a Vampire[/li][li]So Long Mom (I’m Off to Drop the Bomb)[/li][li]All for the Love of Sunshine[/li][li]Blood from a Stone[/li][li]Ghost Riders in the Sky[/li][/ul]
If anyone can figure out a common theme to all of those, I’d like to hear it more than anyone. 
-
Whatever’s playing on the radio right now.
-
Whatever just got done playing on the radio.
-
Current earworm. Probably something annoying I heard on the radio three hours ago.
4-10. Claude McLin’s Jambo. It’s sort of a personal theme song for me.
Well, like Balance my list is in constant flux too, but currently (If singing in my head, or by myself, counts):
“What you know” by Two Door Cinema Club
“Say You’ll Haunt Me” by Stone Sour
“Rolling in the Deep” by Adele
“Halfway Gone” by Lifehouse
“Rope” by the Foo Fighers
“Paralyzer” by Finger Eleven
“6 Underground” by Sneaker Pimps
“Paris (Ohh la la)” by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
“Kick in the Teeth” by Papa Roach
And actually, it’s hard to think of a 10th song, but “Barton Hollow” by The Civil Wars is growing on me. Although it’s hard for me to understand the lyrics. (Yeah, I know, I can Google them)
In no particular order:
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down by The Band (though I’ve only heard the Joan Baez version)
The Battle Hymn of the Republic/John Brown’s Body
Amazing Grace to the tune of House Of The Rising Sun with verses from both songs mixed together
My Heart’s Tonight in Texas by the Carter Family
God Gave Noah The Rainbow Sign by The Carter Family
Take Me Home Country Roads by John Denver
Delta Dawn by Tanya Tucker
The Trapeze Swinger by Iron & Wine
The Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle
Mariner’s Revenge Song by The Decemberists
My current funny song is A Horse Named Bill.
The two that sound best with my voice are Lavender’s Blue and Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms.
Otherwise it changes a lot. I know about a zillion songs.