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Proposed new category: songs that refer to other songs


Udo

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For instance:

Authority Song by Jimmy Eat World refers to John Cougar's Authority song

I Ain't Even Done with the Night by John Cougar refers to Sam Cooke on the radio

Runnin' Down a Dream (Tom Petty) mentions singing "Little Runaway" with Del (Shannon)

Golden Earring's Radar Love mentions Peggy Lee

True by Spandau Ballet mentions listening to Marvin (Gaye)

Journey's Castles Burning talks describes a hollywood romance as "crimson and clover"

That's not to mention "montage songs" like We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel, Rocket by Def Leppard, Raised on Radio by Journey, etc.

Hmm... after writing this, I notice that Songfacts has a Group for songs that mention other artists, and Rocket's not included. But Songfacts doesn't seem to have a group for songs that mention other songs (which Rocket also should be in).

So this post has evolved.

What it Takes by Aerosmith also mentions other Aerosmith songs.

Fat Bottomed Girls and Bicycle Race by Queen refer to each other. :)

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"These Days" by Rascal Flatts says, "'Norma Jean,' ain't that the song we'd sing in the car," referring to the song "Norma Jean Riley" by Diamond Rio.

Kid Rock's new one is a combination of "Werewolves If London" and "Sweet Home Alabama" and in it he sings about singing "Sweet Home Alabama all night long."

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Too many to come up with at once, so I'll have to do a few at a time.

"American Pie"-Don McLean refers to:

"Book of Love"-the Monotones

"The Bible Tells Me So"-Don Cornell

"A White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation"-Marty Robbins

"Helter Skelter"-Beatles

"Eight Miles High"-the Byrds

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"-Beatles

"Jumping Jack Flash"-Rolling Stones

"Sympathy for the Devil"-Rolling Stones

"Black Velvet"-Alannah Myles refers to:

"Love Me Tender"-Elvis Presley

"Make Me Lose Control"-Eric Carmen refers to:

"Stand By Me"-Ben E. King

"Nightshift"-Commodores refers to:

"What's Going On"-Marvin Gaye

"Baby Workout" and "Higher and Higher"-Jackie Wilson

"Take Me Home Tonight"-Eddie Money refers to:

"Be My Baby"-Ronettes (the line is sung in the Eddie Money song by Ronnie Spector)

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Hands Open by Snow Patrol gives a shout out to Sufjan Stevens.

Put Sufjan Stevens on

And we'll play your favourite song

D'you Know What I Mean by Oasis references - Fool On The Hill, I Feel Fine and possibly Dylan's Blood on the Tracks.

Blood on the tracks and it must be mine

The fool on the hill and I feel fine

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We live in a wheel where everyone steals,

but when we rise it's like strawberry fields

...forever ;)

Glycerine ~ Bush

Oh yes! :D

And... thanks to RG mentioning this:

Every day I wake up and it's Sunday

Whatever's in my head won't go away

The radio is playing all the usual

What's a Wonderwall anyway?

Writing To Reach You - Travis

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And... thanks to RG mentioning this:

Writing To Reach You - Travis

Thank's to Radhi for mentioning I mentioned this song, and thank you to Fran Healy for being cute.

Hootie and the Blowfish mentions two Dylan songs, one I can't remember, and Tangled Up in Blue.

The Beatles' Yer Blues mentions this~

I feel so suicidal

Just like Dylan's Mr. Jones

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That just reminded me, Counting Crowes Mr Jones.

I'm not sure but Janes Addiction's Jane Says might be a nod to The Velvet Underground's Lisa Says.

I know there's one that refers to a Led Zeppelin song that's on the tip of my tongue but I can't remember what it is!

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Rock and Roll Heaven ~ Righteous Brothers

Jimmy gave us rainbows,

And Janis took a piece of our hearts.

Otis took us all to the dock of the bay.

Sing a song to light my fire,

Remember Jim that way.

Remember bad, bad Leroy Brown,

Hey Jimmy touched us with that song.

Bobby gave us Mack the Knife,

Well look out, he's back in town.

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More Beatles (who else?)

At the end of "All You Need Is Love", Paul sings "yesterday" and "she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah"

Paul sings "Yesterday"? :P I never heard it, cyber... I´ll listen to it... but I know that song since 1967... And it´s Ringo who sings the "she loves you yeah..." line. :)

If I'm not very wrong, the Mr. Jones in the Counting Crows song is not the Mr. Jones from the Bob Dylan song. Bob Dylan just gets a mention but it's not because of his song.

I don´t know about the Counting Crows, but the line in "Helter Skelter" (Beatles) "Feel so suicidal just like Dylan´s Mr. Jones" is, obviously, about Dylan´s Mr Jones... :grin:

In any case, if the CC talk about Dylan and Mr.Jones in the same song, it must be him... :cool: Mr Jones is a classic, like the Subgenius... :bow:

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If SF says so, it must be true :cool:

This was written by lead singer Adam Duritz and guitarist David Bryson. On an episode of VH1's Storytellers, Adam explained:

"It's really a song about my friend Marty and I. We went out one night to watch his dad play, his dad was a Flamenco guitar player who lived in Spain, and he was in San Francisco in the mission playing with his old Flamenco troupe. And after the gig we all went to this bar called the New Amsterdam in San Francisco on Columbus and we got completely drunk. And Marty and I sat at the bar staring at these two girls, wishing there was some way we could go talk to them, but we were too shy. We kept joking with each other that if we were big rock stars instead of such loser, low-budget musicians, this would be easy. I went home that night and I wrote a song about it. I joke about what it's about, that story. But it's really a song about all the dreams and all the things that make you want to go into doing whatever it is that seizes your heart, whether it's being a rock star or being a doctor or whatever. Those things run from 'all this stuff I have pent up inside of me' to 'I want to meet girls because I'm tired of not being able to.' It is a lot of those things, it's about all those dreams, but it's also kind of cautionary because it's about how misguided you may be about some of those things and how hollow they may be too. Like the character in the song keeps saying, 'When everybody loves me I will never be lonely,' and you're supposed to know that that's not the way it's gonna be. I knew that even then. And this is a song about my dreams."

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Also:

Being that I'm the duke of my domain

My hat goes off to Mark Twain

Singing a song about what true men don't do

Killing another creature that's kind of blue

Writing about the world of the wild coyote

Goodman Truman Capote

"Mellowship Slinky In B Major" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers - referencing "True Men Don't Kill Coyotes" from their first album

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