# What are your ten favorite songs to sing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 6, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952 "2011-05-06T13:17:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/1 "2011-05-06T13:17:06Z")
Whether you like the way you sound, or you just happen to know all the words, or it makes people laugh…for whatever reason. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/2 "2011-05-06T13:26:03Z")
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](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3hBYTkI-sE)- 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](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jULC9rPQWTU)- 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…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/3 "2011-05-06T17:33:57Z")
**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. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/4 "2011-05-06T18:11:12Z")
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) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/5 "2011-05-06T20:11:52Z")
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_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_m3vU6P68U), 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. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/6 "2011-05-06T20:25:08Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > Finally, Canadian comedy duo Maclean and Maclean’s [_I’ve Seen Pubic Hair_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_m3vU6P68U), 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. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/7 "2011-05-06T20:25:41Z")
Whatever Beatles song just finished playing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/8 "2011-05-06T21:07:49Z")
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. ---
**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:** [May 6, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/9 "2011-05-06T21:56:02Z")
_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 ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/10 "2011-05-07T01:14:10Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/11 "2011-05-07T01:38:35Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/12 "2011-05-07T01:51:40Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/13 "2011-05-07T02:15:44Z")
1. “Lust for LIfe” by Iggy Pop 2. “I Know It’s Over” by The Smiths 3. “Don’t Get Me Wrong” by The Pretenders 4. “Dress” by PJ Harvey 5. “Anarchy in the UK” by the Sex Pistols 6. “Add it Up” by Violent Femmes 7. “Ball and Chain” by Janis Joplin 8. “Forever for Her is Over for Me” by the White Stripes 9. “Message of Love” by the Pretenders 10. (of all time) “Atomic” by Blondie. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/14 "2011-05-07T02:22:37Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/15 "2011-05-07T02:49:05Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/16 "2011-05-07T02:51:47Z")
Ones I like, and/or know the words to… [ul] [li]_[Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dyUzUxE_2w)[/li][li][South Coast](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1psCACHj4as)[/li][li][Sloop John B](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdov2UIjUpY)[/li][li][Bonny Portmore](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpZRpd--liE)[/li][li][Road Goes Ever On](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdQ1E3t3Qq0)[/li][li][Love Song for a Vampire](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhG8zC4npsE)[/li][li][So Long Mom (I’m Off to Drop the Bomb)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pklr0UD9eSo)[/li][li][All for the Love of Sunshine](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0GdtBAQ5DI)[/li][li][Blood from a Stone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m16sJPNXQLc)[/li][li][Ghost Riders in the Sky](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fdCuRKatjs)_[/li][/ul] If anyone can figure out a common theme to all of those, I’d like to hear it more than anyone. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/17 "2011-05-07T14:55:00Z")
1. Whatever’s playing on the radio right now. 2. Whatever just got done playing on the radio. 3. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/18 "2011-05-07T18:33:43Z")
Well, like **Balance** my list is in constant flux too, but currently (If singing in my head, or by myself, counts): “[What you know](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXwYJyrKK5A)” by **Two Door Cinema Club** “[Say You’ll Haunt Me](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEn-nTkbEM0)” by **Stone Sour** “[Rolling in the Deep](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw)” by **Adele** “[Halfway Gone](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xodmwwNV18w)” by **Lifehouse** “[Rope](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbpqZT_56Ns)” by the **Foo Fighers** “[Paralyzer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJk6gZuPKRE)” by **Finger Eleven** “[6 Underground](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrvk1bmTayg)” by **Sneaker Pimps** “[Paris (Ohh la la)](http://www.vh1.com/video/misc/602760/grace-potter-and-the-nocturnals-perform-paris-ooh-la-la.jhtml)” by **Grace Potter and the Nocturnals** “[Kick in the Teeth](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7an-BB4-lLA)” by **Papa Roach** And actually, it’s hard to think of a 10th song, but “[Barton Hollow](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooTyuRd9zSg)” 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) ---
**Author:** ![\_mostly\_Harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/9d8465/32.png) [@\_mostly\_Harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_mostly_Harmless)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/19 "2011-05-07T21:16:11Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952/20 "2011-05-07T22:15:46Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-ten-favorite-songs-to-sing/580952.md?page=2)