# What Songs Can Be Sung To Other Tunes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 30, 2004, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822 "2004-09-30T12:11:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/21 "2004-09-30T17:38:14Z")
Apparently _Beasts of England_ is somewhere between _My Darling Clementine_ and _La Cucaracha_ … 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/22 "2004-09-30T18:02:04Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > _Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star_ and_The ABC Song_. And _Baa, Baa, Black Sheep_, too. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/23 "2004-09-30T18:18:31Z")
We talked about this in another thread a few weeks ago. I think I mentioned then that I like to sing _Stairway to Heaven_ to the tune of Gordon Lightfoot’s _Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_. _There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold, And she’s buyin’ the stairway ta heaven. When she gets there she knows if the stores are all closed, With a word she can get what she came for._ Works really well if you maintain the upper midwest pronunciation of Gordon Lightfoot. ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/24 "2004-09-30T18:18:35Z")
The theme from Green Acres to the tune of Purple Haze, or Gilligan’s Island to Stairway To Heaven (heard that on Dr. Demento once). ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/25 "2004-09-30T18:45:04Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > _Happy Birthday To You_ fits well with _The William Tell Overture_, but you need two people to sing it. > > Happy birthday to-o you! > Happy birthday to-o you! > Happy birthday to-o you! > Haaaaapy birthday to you! > Happy happy happy happy happy birthday to you! > Happy happy happy happy happy birthday to you! (To you! To you! To you!) > Happy happy birthday, birthday to you! > Happy happy birthday, birthday to you! > [and so on] Not strictly on-topic, but when I read this, I had to share something. There is a tradition among my immediate family – I’m not sure who started it, but I suspect it was my grandfather – that upon being telephoned for any special occasion (birthday, anniversary, New Year’s, etc.), the callee will receive a Special Song to the tune of the William Tell overture. For example, let’s say it’s my grandparents’ anniversary. My mom will dial their number while I stand close to the phone. Grandpa: Hello? Us (as loud as we can manage) : Happy anniversary! Happy anniversary! Happy anniversary! HAAAAAAAAAAAAPY anniver-sa-ry! Happy happy happy happy happy… and so on and so forth until we run out of breath, or are laughing too hard to continue. For birthdays, it becomes “happy happy bi-irthday”, etc. When my own birthday rolls around, I know I can count on getting at least two of these calls. It’s corny, but it’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![DogMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@DogMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogMom)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/26 "2004-09-30T18:54:28Z")
_O Little Town Of Bethlehem_ works to the tune for _House of the Rising Sun_, too. You can hear that on _Bob Rivers’ Twisted Christmas_. Sounds great. A lot of these _can_ easily be sung to other tunes, because they share the same meter. _Amazing Grace_, _Gilligan’s Island_, _Yellow Rose of Texas_ - all of these have the meter of 8-6-8-6 (an eight-syllable line, then a six-syllable line, an eight, then a six), which for obvious reasons is called “COMMON METER”. So there you have it. Along the same lines - using the same tune, but different pacing and emphasis, are two radically different songs from _The Music Man_: **Seventy-Six Trombones** and **Goodnight, My Someone**. ---
**Author:** ![waits](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df788c/32.png) [@waits](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waits)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/27 "2004-09-30T19:08:50Z")
In a [similar thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269946&highlight=clementine) a month ago, I learned that “My Darling Clementine” can be sung to “Ode to Joy”. I’ve been driving my wife crazy with that one ever since. ---
**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 30, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/28 "2004-09-30T19:10:26Z")
For your perusal: [a previous thread on the subject](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269946&highlight=scan+songs). ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/29 "2004-09-30T20:16:13Z")
John Fogarty’s “Wrote a Song for Everyone” is practically the same song as The Band’s “The Weight.” For good, clean fun, there’s nothing like singing the names of organic compounds to the tune of “The Irish Washerwoman:” Methyl-ethyl-propanediol Dibenzo anthracene, etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/30 "2004-09-30T20:27:04Z")
Every song with the Bo Diddley rhythm can be sung to every other song with the Bo Diddley rhythm. Hey Bo Diddley, Not Fade Away, Willie And The Hand Jive, you name it. You can go on for half an hour doing it. I know, I’ve been in jam sessions at bars and it’s entirely possible to keep at it until your arms fall off from playing the E string. ---
**Author:** ![Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/77aa72/32.png) [@Heart\_On\_My\_Sleeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heart_On_My_Sleeve)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/31 "2004-09-30T22:43:15Z")
I noticed “Stormy Weather” goes well over the end of Fiona Apple’s “Shadowboxer”. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/32 "2004-10-01T02:29:27Z")
> [@Middlecase](#): > > Lawrence Block avers that nearly all of Emily Dickinson’s poems can be sung to The Yellow Rose Of Texas. > [@Homebrew](#): > > Amazing Grace can be sung to the tune of House of the Rising Sun. > [@Tangent](#): > > Amazing Grace can also be sung to the tune of the Gilligan’s Island theme. You just have to repeat the last line of each verse, like they do in the Gilligan song. > [@Scumpup](#): > > Amazing Grace can also be sung to the tune of The Mickey Mouse Club theme. And putting it all together, we notice that Emily Dickinson is compatible with most of these. As **DogMom** points out, it’s because they’re all in common meter. Try it: > [@Emily Dickinson](#): > > Although I could not stop for Death, > He kindly stopped for me; > The carriage held just but ourselves > and Immortality When I used to recite these poems in English class in HS, it took all of my effort _not_ to sing it as _Amazing Grace_ or _Gilligan’s Island_. I figured that it wouldn’t go over too well with the instructor. He was kinda a hardass. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/33 "2004-10-01T03:40:17Z")
My favorite is “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” to the tune of the Stan Rogers song “Mary Ellen Carter”. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/34 "2004-10-01T04:34:42Z")
There’s a local band in St Louis that does _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ to the melody of _Free Bird_. ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/35 "2004-10-01T04:46:43Z")
Ok- a little more contemporary set of songs… The Best of My Love-the disco song with Emotions - Mariah Carey ---
**Author:** ![Flipstrip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f6c823/32.png) [@Flipstrip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipstrip)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/36 "2004-10-01T04:46:53Z")
“Rock a Bye Baby” can be sung to the chorus of “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/37 "2004-10-01T04:57:49Z")
\*I Want to Be Seduced \*and _I Want to Be Sedated_. ---
**Author:** ![Live\_Better\_Electrically](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@Live\_Better\_Electrically](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Live_Better_Electrically)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/38 "2004-10-01T05:21:56Z")
**Sandler & Young** made a career out of this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/39 "2004-10-01T05:32:27Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > We talked about this in another thread a few weeks ago. I think I mentioned then that I like to sing _Stairway to Heaven_ to the tune of Gordon Lightfoot’s _Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_. The _Star Spangled Banner_ also works to the tune of _Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald_. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2004, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822/40 "2004-10-01T05:37:50Z")
I read in a Sharyn McCrumb novel that it’s suprising how many Emily Dickinson poems can be sung to the tune of “The Yellow Rose of Texas.” It works much better with copious amounts of beer but damned if she isn’t right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-songs-can-be-sung-to-other-tunes/266822.md?page=3)