# What is this song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 9, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540 "2018-02-09T19:35:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/1 "2018-02-09T19:35:20Z")
I was listening to the Seeburg 1000 service and have heard this catchy tune from time to time, but I don’t know what it is. It’s likely a show tune from the 40’s or 50’s, but that’s all I got. Since Seeburg’s stuff was recorded by a studio orchestra, no Shazam kind of searching works. I wasn’t able to get Musipedia to work either. Sheet music…[Mystery song in Eb](https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-MFfTvdj/0/18821dee/X4/i-MFfTvdj-X4.png). ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/2 "2018-02-13T03:48:56Z")
Ok, maybe it’s a bit much to just post the sheet music. Here’s a video of Finale playing the mystery tune. [Short video of mystery song](https://videos.smugmug.com/photos/i-jJtTN7C/0/SMIL/jJtTN7C.smil/master.m3u8) Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/3 "2018-02-13T04:38:34Z")
Sounds a bit like “It’s A Long Way To Tipperary”. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/4 "2018-02-13T04:59:35Z")
Someone to Watch Over ME? Nvm ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/5 "2018-02-13T14:16:48Z")
**The Other Waldo Pepper** is on to something with “It’s A Long Way To Tipperary”–the song sounds similar and has a bit of a military march feel to it. I just watched Ella Fitzgerald singing “Someone to Watch Over Me” and that is definitely not the song. The one I’m looking for is peppy and has a march feel, while this one sounds like a slow ballad. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/6 "2018-02-13T15:51:21Z")
(I tried using Musipedia, twice, for two different songs. BOTH times, the same ‘answer’: “Baby Got Back” :eek: …uh, no, British music hall tune and an old American torch song) ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/7 "2018-02-13T21:33:25Z")
It looks on the page like the [theme from “The Great Escape”](https://youtu.be/8ieaYqW9FcA?t=30s). ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/8 "2018-02-13T23:01:21Z")
> [@jerseymule](#): > > It looks on the page like the [theme from “The Great Escape”](https://youtu.be/8ieaYqW9FcA?t=30s). Not the same song, but if that theme song were released as a single, it wouldn’t surprise me if the mystery song were on side B–they sound that similar. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2018, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/9 "2018-02-14T06:15:34Z")
Kind of reminds me of “Tennessee Waltz”. Kinda. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/10 "2018-02-15T15:53:03Z")
Ugh, I \*totally \*recognize the melody but can’t place the song, either. It’s definitely nothing that’s been mentioned here so far. It’s going to bug me now, so I’m gonna see if any of my FB friends can identify it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/11 "2018-02-15T17:16:02Z")
What software do I need to play that video? When I click on the link it offers to download an m38u file, which my system doesn’t know how to play. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/12 "2018-02-15T17:27:33Z")
Thanks to FB, I think it might be “[The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe](https://youtu.be/iPcZFDum3uM)”…? ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/13 "2018-02-15T17:48:38Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > What software do I need to play that video? When I click on the link it offers to download an m38u file, which my system doesn’t know how to play. Same here, when using Chrome browser, but it opened in Microsoft Edge. > [@Misnomer](#): > > Thanks to FB, I think it might be “[The Atchison, Topeka and The Santa Fe](https://youtu.be/iPcZFDum3uM)”…? That ain’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/14 "2018-02-15T17:59:11Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > That ain’t it. If that’s not it, the mystery song ripped off its first 8 bars. 🙂 At the very least, I’m 100% sure it’s the song I had in mind when I told the OP that I recognized the melody. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/15 "2018-02-15T19:28:02Z")
Unfortunately that isn’t it. As you said, it seemed to have promise at the beginning, but quickly diverged. One more tip: this song has a run in the middle that I wasn’t able to transcribe. It sounds an awful lot like the first lines of the Brazilian tune “Odeon” [Listen to the first 30 seconds of “Odeon”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWtmW7tejrI&feature=youtu.be&t=9) (by the way, I really like Odeon–my wife plays it along with many other fun Brazilian tunes, and I accompany her on the upright bass). ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-song/808540/16 "2018-02-15T20:40:06Z")
I was able to listen to the clip by plugging the URL into Windows Media Player. It came pretty choppy because it would pause frequently (like once a measure), but I could still hear it. Parts of it sound like [Tennessee Waltz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44B6B1OycgI), but I don’t think that’s it. BTW, if you like Brazilian music you should check out Tom McDermott, who has recorded a lot of choro. [Choro do Norte](https://www.amazon.com/Choro-do-Norte-Tom-McDermott/dp/B0009FUV2I/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1518726944&sr=1-2&keywords=tom+mcdermott&dpID=31dwT7VJmsL&preST=_QL70_&dpSrc=srch) and [Danza](https://www.amazon.com/Danza-Tom-McDermott-Evan-Christopher/dp/B00006RJV0/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1518726944&sr=1-5&keywords=tom+mcdermott&dpID=51mlK-5Zk2L&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch) are good places to start. [Live in Paris](https://www.amazon.com/Live-Paris-Tom-McDermott/dp/B002DPWZ3A/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1518727124&sr=1-1&keywords=tom+mcdermott+live+in+paris) is also very good.