List of songs which refer to other songs

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This list contains songs which have lyrics referring to another song. See also List of answer songs which contains songs which are direct replies to other songs.

Songs that refer to themselves should be listed at List of self-referential songs.

Contents

0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
This is an incomplete list of songs, which can or may never satisfy any objective standard for completeness. Revisions and additions are welcome.

[edit] 0–9

  • "1,2 Step" by Ciara makes reference to "Supersonic" by J.J. Fad, "We Will Rock You" by Queen, and the title track on the album it is from, Goodies
  • "13 Stitches" by NOFX names the song "John Wayne was a Nazi" by MDC
  • "14 Years in Rowville" by TISM asks 'why shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die?', paraphrasing a line from Johnny Cash's song "Folsom Prison Blues"
  • "5:15" by The Who refers to their earlier recording, "My Generation."
"Quiet stormwaters,
M-m-my generation.
Uppers and downers,
Either way blood flows."

[edit] A

  • During the opening chords of "Acquiesce" by Oasis, the chorus of another Oasis song, "Morning Glory", can be heard being sung in the background.
  • In "Adam's Song" by Blink-182, the line "I took my time, I hurried up, the choice was mine, I didn't think enough" is a reference to the song "Come as You Are" by Nirvana, in which the line is "Take your time, hurry up, the choice is yours, don't be late."
  • "Ain't Love A Bitch" by Rod Stewart makes reference to Stewart's debut single "Maggie May":
Oh I didn't understand till I was seventeen
She took me way upstairs and she wiped me clean
Oh I didn't realize she made a first class fool out of me
Oh Maggie if you're still out there, the rest is history
  • "All in the Family" by Korn and Limp Bizkit references Korn's "Blind" and "No Place to Hide".
  • "Amazing" by Aerosmith refers to an Aerosmith album and perhaps it's title track as well, "Permanent Vacation."
  • "Amsterdam" by Guster contains the lyrics "From your red balloon you were / a super high tech jetfighter," a reference to "99 Luftballoons" by Nena.
  • "The Answer Is Clear" by Peter Murphy is an answer to former Bauhaus bandmate Daniel Ash's song "The Movement of Fear" (recorded by Ash's side project Tones on Tail), which was a song written in second person to Murphy.
  • "Apache Rose Peacock" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers refers to the Peter Paul & Mary song "Puff the Magic Dragon" (written by Leonard Lipton and Peter Yarrow) with the lines "Yes my favorite place to be Is not a land called Honah Lee."
  • "Are We The Waiting" by Green Day refers to the song two tracks before, Jesus of Suburbia, "the rage and love, the story of my life, the jesus of suburbia is a lie".
"We'll dance off both our shoes,
When they play those Jelly Roll Blues"
  • "Ashes To Ashes" by David Bowie makes reference to the character of Major Tom from his earlier "Space Oddity," talking about how connection was reestablished with the wiser-for-the-wear astronaut who exiled himself in space.
  • "Aution saaren irtain" (Movable chattel of uninhabited island) by Absoluuttinen nollapiste makes reference to song "Eksynyt marjastaja" (Lost berry picker) by the same band.
Surullisen laulun lauloin marjastajan löytymisestä (I sang a sad song about finding of lost berry picker)

[edit] B

  • "Back Seat Dog" by the pillows" refers to the song "Here Comes Your Man" by Pixies. As the song fades out Sawao sings a verse of "Here Comes Your Man", as well as the whole structure of the song being based on "Here Comes Your Man"
  • "Back To School (Pink Maggit)" by the Deftones refers to the Kool Keith song "I Don't Play."
  • "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" by Prince includes the line "'Oh, my favorite song,' she said / And it was Joni singing 'Help Me, I Think I'm Falling.'"
  • "The Bastard Son of Dean Friedman" by Half Man Half Biscuit contains the word "Supercalifragilisticborussiamonchengladbach", a reference to a song from Mary Poppins. It also has the line "And you can thank your lucky stars / That you're not the bastard son of Dean Friedman", which refers to Friedman's hit "Lucky Stars".
  • "The Best Song In the World" (aka "Tribute" in the album version) by Tenacious D refers obliquely to "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin; the stage version contains lots of Stairway riffs; the album version, for legal reasons, contains much less
  • "Bicycle Race" by Queen refers to Queen's song, "Fat Bottomed Girls". "Fat Bottomed Girls" refers back to "Bicycle Race". The two songs were both featured on the same album, Jazz.
"Fat bottomed girls they'll be riding today"
  • "Bleed Like Me By Garbage references to I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor. "Getting all nostalgic as he sings I Will Survive".
  • "Body of Water" by Billy Bragg says "Oh, to be come a pearl/In the wordy world of the Cornflake Girl," a Tori Amos song.
  • "Bonnie and Clyde '03"by Jay-Z and uses a lyric from Prince's "If I Was Ur Girlfriend"

If I was your one and only friend would you run to me If somebody hurt you even if that somebody was me? Sometime I trip on how happy we could be

[edit] C

  • "Calm Before The Storm" by Fall Out Boy has a line referencing "Get The Party Started" by P!nk "There's a song on the radio that says Let's Get This Party Started/Let's Get This Party Started."
  • "Can't Stop Loving You" by Van Halen refers to "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles with the lyrics: "Hey Ray, what you said is true; I can't stop loving you."
  • "Caught A Lite Sneeze" by Tori Amos refers to the Nine Inch Nails' song "Closer" with the lines "Right on time you get closer and closer." (It also refers to NIN's album Pretty Hate Machine with the line "Made my own pretty hate machine").
  • "Combat Baby" by Metric has a highly obvious reference to "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones in the line, "Get back in town. I want to paint it black, I want to get around..."
  • "Complete Control" by The Clash begins "They said, release 'Remote Control', but we didn't want it on the label," referring to CBS Records releasing their song "Remote Control" as a single against the band's wishes.
  • "Come And Get Me" by Cleopatra includes the line "Ever since 'Cleopatra's Theme', you wanted 'A Touch Of Love'", referring to two of the band's earlier singles.
  • "The 'Cosh'" by Stiff Little Fingers includes the line "Kids on 5 quid drug deals waiting for their man," referring to The Velvet Underground's "Waiting for the Man."
  • "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" by The Spinners refers to their song "I'll Be Around".
"If you need me, I'll be around."
  • "Cupid's Chokehold" by Gym Class Heroes has a line saying, "I know you heard the last song/about the girls that didn't last long". This is a reference to their song "Make Out Club".

[edit] D

Daddy's home - to stay
I'm not a thousand miles away
  • "Danny Says" by The Ramones refers to their earlier "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker", their only U.S. hit single of the 1970s:
Listening to Sheena on the radio,
oh, oh, oh
  • "Dead Man' Rope" by Sting contains the repeated lines "Walking in his footsteps" sung in the same manner as the similar lines were in The Police's "Walking in Your Footsteps"
  • 'Devil's Sidewalk" by Neil Young refers to "Come Together" by the Beatles "one thing I can tell you, is you've got to be free, John Lennon said that"
  • "Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap)" by AC/DC includes references to their song: "TNT", and album "High Voltage"
  • "Drive" by Blind Melon includes Shannon Hoon telling Jimi Hendrix "Jimi, we need to borrow this for a minute, cause we need to escape," followed by a riff from "Manic Depression."

[edit] E

and just like that ac/dc song
come on baby, shake me all night long
. . .
but just like that barenaked ladies' song
i'm hot like wasabi when i'm next to your body

[edit] F

  • "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen refers to Queen's song "Bicycle Race". "Bicycle Race" refers back to the song, "Fat Bottomed Girls".
"Get on your bikes and ride!"
"Get on your bikes and ride!"
"But like Mick Jagger said, I can't get no satisfaction…"

"Green Onions on the radio..."

[edit] G

  • "Gangsters" by The Specials borrows the lines "Don't call me Scarface" and "Al Capone's guns don't argue" from Prince Buster's "Al Capone".
"Played them all the old songs, thought that's why they came
"No one heard the music, we didn't look the same
"I said hello to "Mary Lou", she belongs to me
"When I sang a song about a honky-tonk, it was time to leave"

The song also references "I Am the Walrus" by the Beatles and "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry.

  • "Gimme Back My Brain" by Therapy? contains the line "I'm sick and tired of going nowhere", a reference to their earlier song "Nowhere".
"I told you about strawberry fields
you know the place where nothing is real"
. . .
"I told you about the walrus and me, man
you know we're as close as can be, man
Well here's another clue for you all,
The walrus was Paul."
. . .
"Standing on a cast iron shore, yeah
Lady Madonna tryin' to make ends meet, yeah."
. . .
"I told you about the fool on the hill
I tell you man he's living there still"
  • "Glycerine" by Bush makes reference to the song "Strawberry Fields Forever" by the Beatles
  • "God" by Lennon contains the line "I was the walrus, but now I'm John" which makes reference to the Beatles's song : "I Am the Walrus"
  • "God Tonight (Beat Me Senseless Mix)" by Real Life contains the line "Couldn't I just send you an angel instead?", which of course refers to their hit, "Send Me An Angel". It could be a reference to the song of the same name by Scorpions.
  • "Gotta Getcha" by Jermaine Dupri, in the chorus refers to "One Way or Another" by Blondie, through the line "gotta getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha", which the word "gotta" was originally "gonna" in the Blondie song.
"Did they beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly,
Did they sound the Death March as they lowered you down?
And did the band play the Last Post and chorus?
And did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?"
"Finish countin' my bread and I was Gettin' some head"

[edit] H

  • "Hands Open" by Snow Patrol makes reference to "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens with the line "Put Sufjan Stevens on, we'll play your favorite song, Chicago bursts to life in your sweet smile."
  • "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" by The Smiths takes its title from a Sandie Shaw song, "Heaven Knows I'm Missing Him Now".
  • "He'll Have to Stay" by Jeannie Black answers "He'll Have To Go" by Jim Reeves.
  • "Hello" by Oasis contains the line "Hello, hello, it's good to be back", which is lifted from the song "Hello Hello I'm Back Again" by Gary Glitter.
  • 'Hello Spaceboy' by David Bowie feat. Pet Shop Boys references Bowie's song 'Space Oddity'. Neil Tennant is quoted as saying the verse is simply a 'cut-up' of the first verse of 'Space Oddity' (though it isn't precisely) in an ironic comment on the cut-up technique.
  • "Helpless Dancer" by The Who features a brief sample from their earlier song "The Kids Are Alright".
  • "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal" by They Might Be Giants refers to their previous songs "The World's Address", "Rabid Child", and "Chess Piece Face", using an "I told you 'bout" construction similar to the inter-song references in the Beatles' "Glass Onion".
  • "Hope" from R.E.M.'s Up uses the same lyrical structure as Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne." Because of this, Cohen is credited as a co-writer of the song.
Nine inch nails'll get knock the fuck out
You wanna fuck me like an animal,
You like to burn me on the inside,
You like to think that I'm a perfect drug,
Just know that nothin you do, will bring you closer to me"

while "Closer"'s lyrics are:

I wanna fuck you like an animal
I wanna feel you from the inside
I wanna fuck you like an animal
My whole existence is flawed
You get me closer to God
  • The title of "How He Wrote Elastica Man" by Elastica, featuring guest Mark E. Smith on vocals, refers to the song "How I Wrote Elastic Man" by Smith's band The Fall. (Note that "Elastic Man" is not actually the title of a song Smith ever wrote.)

[edit] I

  • "I Can't Get (Bouncing Babies By The Teardrop Explodes)" by The Freshies a song which tells the tale of not being able to buy the record "Bouncing Babies" by The Teardrop Explodes
  • "I Can't Help Myself" by Orange Juice borrows its title from The Four Tops' song of that name, a fact acknowledged in the song's chorus: ' Just like the Four Tops, I can't help myself... '
  • "I Know You Got Soul" by Eric B and Rakim takes its title from a Bobby Byrd song, which it also samples for the chorus. Furthermore, many of the lyrics from "I Know You Got Soul" (the Eric B and Rakim version) turn up as samples on other tracks by the duo, including "Follow The Leader" and "Microphone Fiend".
  • "Ian Curtis" by Thursday (band) contains many references to songs by the band Joy Division and their late frontman, Ian Curtis ("Love has torn us apart", "We heard Ian Curtis kill himself again in your bed").
  • "Ideology" by Billy Bragg is based on Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom", with its line "above the sound of ideologies clashing" echoing Dylan's "we gaze upon the chimes of freedom flashing".
  • "If You Want To Sex Me Up" by TCF Crew is an answer song to "I Want To Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd.
  • "I'll Save The Last Dance For You" by Damita Jo is the answer song to "Save The Last Dance For Me" by The Drifters. [1]
  • "I'm As Old As Paul McCartney" by Mike Berry contains the line ' Will he still be 36 / When I'm 64? '
  • "(I'm Not Your) Wild Thing" by Dizzie Dee is a female answer version of Tone Loc's "Wild Thing".
  • "I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)" by Ben Vaughn refers to Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry"
  • "I'm That Type Of Nigga" by Tony MF Rock is a hardcore reply to L.L. Cool J.'s track "I'm That Type Of Guy" which was deemed as too soft and radio friendly by most hardcore rappers and rap aficionados.
  • "Inane" by KMFDM references several of their past albums and songs and is essentially a review of KMFDM up to that point.
  • "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" by Joe Jackson takes its title from the opening line of "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las.
  • "I Want to Live that Way" by the pillows makes a reference to the song "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley. As the song fades out, Sawao sings "Everything's Gonna Be Alright"
  • "I want to wake up" by Pet Shop Boys references "Love is Strange" and "Tainted Love".
  • "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells is an answer song to "The Wild Side of Life" by Hank Thompson.
  • "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi refers to Frank Sinatra's "My Way" in the line "like Frankie said I did it my way". It also contains the line "for Tommy and Gina, who never backed down", referring to the couple in the earlier Bon Jovi song "Living On A Prayer".
  • The title, "I Wrote Holden Caulfield" by Screeching Weasel, is a reference to the title of Green Day's "Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?"

[edit] J

  • "Jane Says" by Jane's Addiction combines element of Lou Reed's multiple "(Somebody) Says" songs with the transgendered character from his "Walk on the Wild Side"
  • "Jaw, Knee, Music" by NOFX has lyrics basically consisting of a compilation of other punk songs' names and lyrics, mainly containing the name Jonny.
  • "Jet Boy, Jet Girl" by Captain Sensible and the Softies inludes the line "We made it on a Ballroom Blitz," referring to the Sweet hit "Ballroom Blitz."
  • "Jet Ski Accidents" by The Blow asks, "Don't you think that we should kiss while Hüsker Dü is playing? Do you like Grant Hart's songs? Do you like Bob Mould's songs? And have you ever sung along to 'New Day Rising'?"
  • "Judy's Turn To Cry" by Lesley Gore refers to "It's My Party" ("It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...") also by Lesley Gore:
"'Cause now it's Judy's turn to cry, Judy's turn to cry, Judy's turn to cry-y-y-y-y-y, 'cause Johnny's come back (Johnny's come back, come back) to me."
  • 'Julian Cope Is Dead' from the 1986 Bill Drummond album 'The Man' is an answer to the song 'Bill Drummond Said' from Julian Cope's 1984 album 'Fried'.

[edit] K

  • "The Kids" by Jamiroquai contains the line "The revolution will be televised," which refers to a Gil Scott-Heron song "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised".

"It's like your favourite Heatmiser song goes,

"It's just like being alone.""

  • "Konstantine" by Something Corporate contains the line, "It's to Jimmy Eat World and those nights in my car/Where the first star you see may not be a star" in reference the opening line from the Jimmy Eat World song, 'For Me This is Heaven': "The first star I see may not be a star."

[edit] L

  • "Last Train" on Travis's album The Invisible Band refers to many of band's earlier songs such as "Why Does it Always Rain on Me?", "Flowers in the Window" and "She's so Strange".
  • "Lau Teilatu" by Itoiz, about a couple that sings Benito Lertxundi's "Maria Solt".
  • "Let Em In" by Paul McCartney's mention of an Uncle Ernie is a possible reference to "Do You Think It's Alright?" and "Fiddle About" by The Who from their album Tommy.
  • "Let It Rock" by Bon Jovi refers to The Doors' "Break on Through (To the Other Side)."

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  • "Like a Pimp" by David Banner refers to Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass" and Sisqo's "Thong Song."
  • "Lines In The Suit" by Spoon refers to an earlier song of theirs called "Mountain To Sound".
  • "Love at the Pier" by Blondie borrows the line '"round, round, get around, I get around"' from The Beach Boys.
  • "Love is the Seventh Wave" by Sting refers to "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.
  • "Love On Your Side" by Thompson Twins makes an indirect reference to their song "In The Name Of Love". Right after the lyrical bit, "I played you all your favorite records," the recognizable synth riff from "In The Name Of Love" is played.
  • "Lulu's Back In Town" by Harry Warren and Al Dubin, references the Cole Porter song "Miss Otis Regrets".

[edit] M

"'Slim Anus', you damn right slim anus. I don't get fucked in mine like you two little flaming faggots."
  • "Mary Jo" by Belle and Sebastian refers to "The State I Am In," an earlier song on their debut Tigermilk, "You're reading a book, 'The State I Am In' / But oh, it doesn't help at all".


"I guess, Michael Jackson was right, "You Are Not Alone""
"Frankie Laine, he was singing 'Jezebel', I pinned an Iron Cross to my lapel"
"So we are dancing close, the band is playing 'Stardust', balloons and paper streamers floating down on us"
  • "Ms. Fat Booty" by Mos Def refers to "The Sweetest Taboo" by Sade
Showin me that tan line and that tattoo
Playin Sade, "Sweetest Taboo"
Burnin' candles, all my other plans got canceled"
she said I've really come to hate my body
and all the things that it requires in this world
I bet you're out there getting drunk with all your friends
and it'll get you in the bathroom of a texaco
Love Me Do
It's You
Right For Me
  • "Mo' Beats" by Weezer references "Keep Fishin'" (another Weezer song) with the line "'Keep Fishin still seems small".
  • "Mouthfulla Caps" by Gravy Train!!!!'s opening line, "Show me, show me, show me how to do that rap. The one that makes me cream, she said" is a reference to the opening line of The Cure's Just Like Heaven, which begins "Show me, show me, show me how to do that trick, the one that makes me scream, she said."
  • "Monster Hospital" written by Metric has the chorus of, "I fought the war but the war won." The song later mentions Bobby Fuller, a clear double-reference to Bobby Fuller's "I Fought the Law, But the War Won"
I'll be on my best behavior
Taking shots for Mother Nature

[edit] N

  • "Never Ask Us to Play This" by Five Iron Frenzy refers to several other Five Iron songs including "These Are Not My Pants," "Kitty-Doggy," "Shut Up," and the "Godzilla Song."
  • The first two lines of "A New England" by Billy Bragg - "I was 21 years when I wrote this song, I'm 22 now but I won't be for long" - are taken from "Leaves That Are Green" by Simon and Garfunkel.
  • The opening line of "New Rose" by The Damned - "Is she really going out with him?" - is taken from "Leader of the Pack" by The Shangri-Las.
"Then he joked 'hey man,
your name isn't Stan, is it?
We should be together!'"
Don't tell anybody about
Please, please me
No-one knows
YO! Will I know
Like Janet Jackson
"That's the way love goes"?

[edit] O

Sailing on the seven seize the day tripper diem's ready
Jack the ripper owens wilson phillips and my supper's ready
Lucy in the sky with diamond dave's not here I come to save the
Day for nightmare cinema show me the way to get back home again
"Oh yeah life goes on
Long after the thrill of livin is gone"
  • "Old Man," by Neil Young, starts "Old man look at my life/I'm a lot like you were" and was released a few years after his "Don't Let It Bring You Down," which starts out "Old man lying by the side of the road/With the lorries rolling by"
"And in the land of Patsy Cline
There's songs you can't avoid
When you're walking after midnight
I fall to pieces too
I'm Crazy back in baby's arms
With sweet dreams of you..."
Irwinkin lauloi, eikä sattumalta (Also Irwin sang and not because of coincidence)
Haistakaa paska, koko valtiovalta! (Sniff shit, all the state authorities!)
  • "O My God" by The Police refers to "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic," also by The Police with the line "Do I have to tell the story of a thousand rainy days since we first met. It's a big enough umbrella, but it's always me that ends up getting wet." Also see Seven Days later on this list.
  • "Only" by Nine Inch Nails contains a minor lyrical reference to their previous song "Down In It".

Down In It:

Just then a tiny little dot caught my eye It was just too small to see But I watched it way too long and that dot was pulling me down

Only:

The tiniest little dot caught my eye and it turned out to be a scab And I had this funny feeling like I just knew it's something bad

  • "One Big Mob" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers refers to the lyrics of "A Boy Named Sue," written by Shel Silverstein and made famous by John R. Cash, with the lines "Do I need repeat That a boy named Sue Rockin' to the beat Of a kangaroo."
  • "Only Wanna Be With You" by Hootie and the Blowfish refers to "Tangled Up in Blue" by Bob Dylan.
"I remember your old guitar
I remember 'I Can't Explain'
I remember the way it looked around your neck
And I remember the day it broke
I remember song you sang
I remember 'The Way You Look Tonight'
And I remember the way it made me feel"

[edit] P

  • "Paint A Vulgar Picture" by The Smiths contains the line 'You just haven't earnt it yet, baby' , which is the title of another Smiths song.
  • "Parental Guidance" by Judas Priest ends with the line "One life and I'm gonna live it up," the first line in their song "You've Got Another Thing Coming."
  • "Peggy Sue Got Married" by Buddy Holly and the Crickets refers to their hit "Peggy Sue." In the later song, Holly relates a rumor that the girl who was once the object of his affections has wed someone else.
  • "Penny & Me" by Hanson includes the line "Singin' along to Feelin' Alright." This refers to "Feelin' Alright" by Dave Mason. The song also includes the line "Makin' it by under pink moonlight" which is a reference to the song "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake.
  • "Piggy Bank" by 50 Cent refers to Fat Joe's song "Lean Back": "That fat nigga thought "Lean Back" was 'In Da Club'/My shit sold eleven mil, his shit was a dud."
  • "Play It All Night Long" by Warren Zevon is about living in the rural South and includes the line "Sweet Home Alabama / Play that dead band's song." This refers to "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd (see below) and the plane crash that killed Ronnie VanZant and two other band members.
  • "The Promise" by Bruce Springsteen mentions Thunder Road towards the end of the song.
  • "The Prophet's Song" by Queen refers to a ficitional song by a prophet about the a storm that gathers upon the world.
  • "ProzaKc Blues" by King Crimson refers to the same band's song "Elephant Talk": "He said, 'Son, you've been reading too much Elephant Talk'".
  • "Pull Over" by Trina refers to, and answers, a number of recent and classic "ass songs," songs that proclaim the beauty of women with large buttocks. Among these are:
    • "Thong Song" by Sisqó: "Dumps in the truck, thighs like what / Ain't nann ho' got more booty in the butt / Sisqó made that song when he seen me in a thong th-thong thong thong"
    • "Whoa" by Black Rob: "Turn on the cameras start the freak show / This ass even make Black Rob say whoa"
    • "Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile: "I got a fat ass playa n***a can't pass up / Juvenile couldn't even back this azz up"
  • "Pump Up The Volume" by MARRS takes its title from the lyrics of Eric B and Rakim's "I Know You Got Soul".
  • "The Punk and the Godfather" by The Who features the lyrics "My, my, my, my, my g-g-g-g-generation", referring to their song "My Generation".
  • "Punky's Dilemma" by Simon and Garfunkel has some whistling at the end that is the melody to the song "When I Was High and Mighty."

[edit] Q

[edit] R

"Radio's playing some forgotten song, Brenda Lee's 'Coming on Strong'"
"But it's cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose / My bum is on your lips, my bum is on your lips / And if I'm lucky you might just give it a little kiss"
"They got the Discovery Channel don't they? / We ain't nothin' but mammals"
  • "The Return of Jackie and Judy" by The Ramones refers to their previous song "Judy Is A Punk"
  • "Rich Girls" by Gwen Stefani featuring Eve contains the line that "Chicks that blow ya mind, ding, it's the second round", referring to Let Me Blow Ya Mind, which is also a Gwen/Eve collaboration.
  • "Ride on shooting star" by the pillows refers to the song "Drive My Car" by the Beatles. Toward the end they say "Beep Beep Beep Beep Yeah"
  • "Rip It Up" by Orange Juice makes reference to "Boredom" by Buzzcocks and also borrows that song's guitar solo.
  • "Ripcord" by Radiohead includes a reference to a popular skit off a Jerky Boys' album (which also provides the name for the Radiohead's first album, Pablo Honey, which it is on.) Toward the end of the song, amid a squeal of guitar distortion, you can hear, "Pablo?" -- from a prank call skit in which the caller asks "Pablo honey, please come to Florida!" to its victim.
  • "Roll With Me, Henry" (also known as "The Wallflower") by Etta James is a reply to "Work With me, Annie" by Hank Ballard; it was covered for the pop market by Georgia Gibbs as "Dance With me, Henry". Ballard also recorded his own answer with "Annie had a Baby".
"Oh, Roxy - You're my Maggie May"
"It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down, I had the radio on, I was drivin'. Trees flew by, me and Del were singin' little 'Runaway', I was flyin'."

[edit] S

  • "Safe From Harm" by Massive Attack refers to "I Looked Back" by Four Jacks and a Jill, which in turn was referring to the song "Looking Back To See" by The Browns.
  • "Sara" by Bob Dylan refers to his own song.
Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel,
Writin' "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" for you.
  • "Scars" by Hannah Fury is an answer to "Scarborough Fair" by Simon & Garfunkel, from the woman's perspective.
  • "Sea and Sand" by The Who from Quadrophenia makes a reference to their earlier song "I'm the Face," which was recorded when they were known as The High Numbers
I'm the face if you want it...
  • "Sequel" by Harry Chapin is a literal sequel to his song "Taxi," continuing the story of the characters from the earlier song.
  • "Seven Days" by Sting refers to "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" and "O My God" by The Police. *see "O My God."
"Johnny was a school boy when he heard his first Beatles song. 'Love Me Do', I think it was and from there it didn't take him long. Got himself a guitar, used to play every night. Now he's in a rock & roll outfit, and everything's all right."
  • "Shout 2000" by Disturbed refers to Vanilla Ice's "Ice, Ice, Baby."
"There is no design for life, there's no devil's haircut in my mind, and there is not a wonderwall to climb or step around."
  • "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", a 1966 hit by The Royal Guardsmen was followed by two sequels: "Return of the Red Baron" and "Snoopy's Christmas".
  • "The Song Is Over" by The Who incorporates the chorus of their earlier song "Pure and Easy".
  • "Son of a Bitch" by Lady Saw is an answer to Shaggy's hit "It Wasn't Me", and is written from the perspective of the woman being cheated on. The same backing music is used, as is the distinctive call-and-response chorus.
"It's like that Phil Collins song, y'know, 'In the Air Tonight', you could've saved me from drowning"
  • Stan also refers to another song by Eminem, "My Name Is"; "Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka dare me to drive?" The line in My Name Is is "I just drank a fifth of Kool-Aid; dare me to drive?"
  • "Stop Beatin' Around the Mulberry Bush" by Bill Haley & His Comets refers to their earlier recording, "Rock the Joint".
  • "Story of the Rockers" by Gene Vincent references "Rock Around the Clock", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (indirectly), "The Fat Man", "At the Hop", "The Stroll", "Rebel Rouser", "The Twist", "Sherry", "Runaway", "Satisfaction".
  • "Stronger" by Britney Spears contains the lyric "my loneliness ain't killing me no more," a reference to her first song "...Baby One More Time," which contains the opposite lyric "my loneliness is killing me."
  • "Stutter Rap" by Morris Minor and the Majors makes oblique reference to Paul Hardcastle's "19": "Well no one's ever seen what I mean, from the age of n-n-n-n-n-n-thirteen....". It also parodies the beginning of Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You", with the line "He was gonna throw a bottle, he was gonna chuck a can, chuck a can, chuck-a-chuck-a-can...."
All summer long we were grooving in the sand
Everybody just kept on playing "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
Well I heard Mr. Young sing about her
Well I heard old Neil put her down
Well I hope Neil Young will remember
A Southern man don't need him around anyhow

[edit] T

Just like Ronnie said, "Be my little baby"
  • "Thrillseeker" by The Divine Comedy includes the line "what was in that woodshed?", a reference to their earlier song "Something For The Weekend".
"Roy Orbison singing for the lonely. Hey that's me and I want you only"
  • "Tonight" by the New Kids On The Block refers to several of their own previous hits - "Please Don't Go Girl", "I'll Be Loving You Forever", "Hangin' Tough", and "The Right Stuff."
  • "That's How The Story Ends" by Five Iron Frenzy refers to several other Five Iron songs including "Blue Comb '78," "The Untimely Death of Brad," "These Are Not My Pants," "Combat Chuck," "Kitty Doggy," and "Kingdom of the Dinosaurs."
  • The main guitar riff of "Top Of The World" by Van Halen sounds like the riff heard at the end of "Jump" by the same band.
  • "Tramp the Dirt Down" by Elvis Costello, a thorough panning of Margaret Thatcher's style of government has the same tune for the verse as 'isn't she lovely?' by Stevie Wonder, which may well be an in-joke for musos.
  • "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" by the Traveling Wilburys refers to several Springsteen songs: "Vietnam" ("Born in the USA"); "Jersey Line" (Springsteen is from Jersey); 99 ("Johnny 99"); "mansion on the hill" (song title); "thunder road" (song title); "state trooper" (song title); "Jersey girl" (song title of a Tom Waits song Springsteen covers); "go to Florida" ("Working on the Highway,"), possibly more.

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[edit] V

  • "Van Halen" by Nerf Herder refers to several different Van Halen albums and songs by name.
"Tomorrow may come, tomorrow many never come again
Can't you hear Janie Crying? She's Running with the Devil, Lord."
"Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn? Remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day. Vera! Vera! what has become of you? Does anybody else in here feel the way I do?"
  • "Version Girl" by Boy Friday contains the line "Take it to the bridge, as James Brown would say", a reference to the lyrics of Brown's "Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine".
  • "Volcano Girls" by Veruca Salt refers to "Seether" by Veruca Salt, and mimics the "Glass Onion" reference to "I am the Walrus":
"I told you 'bout the seether before
You know, the one that's neither or nor
Well here's another clue if you please....
The seether's Louise"

[edit] W

  • "Walkin' to New Orleans" by Fats Domino refers to his earlier hit "Ain't That a Shame".
  • "We Go Together", from the soundtrack of Grease, references a number of classic rock and roll phrases including "a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop-a-lop-bam-boom" (from Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti") and "rama-lama-ding-dong" (from the song of that name by The Edsels).
  • "We'll Be Together" by Sting refers to "If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free," also by Sting.
  • Among the closing lines of Tori Amos' song "Wednesday" is "I started humming 'When Doves Cry'", a reference to the song by Prince and the Revolution.
"And he told Roxanne to put on her red light".
"There's a young man in the corner playing "Crazy" all night long"
  • "Who Shot Sam?" by Roger Miller references the then-recent recording "Skinny Minnie" by Bill Haley & His Comets (the melody of the song is also vaguely similar to the Haley recording).
  • "Why Must I Be Sad?" by They Might Be Giants, apparently a song about an Alice Cooper fan, has the titles of nine Cooper songs and three albums in it (plus one more that was the title of both a song and an album). It also states that the narrator "understand[s] what Alice said".
"I want a song that indelible like Manimal..."
  • "The World's my Oyster Soup Kitchen Floor Wax Museum" by King Crimson refers to the same band's songs "Frame by Frame" ("The world's my oyster soup kitchen door frame by frame") and "Larks' Tongues in Aspic" ("Cannibal dog house plan B happy as a lark's tongue in cheekbone china doll"), and also to "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" by Will Smith ("Get sick get fixed get jiggy with it").
"The radio is playing all the usual
What's a Wonderwall anyway?"

[edit] X

[edit] Y

  • "Yarra Song" by Billy Bragg contains a short section from Jean Kenbrovin and John Kellette's "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles".
  • "You Were Right" by Built to Spill takes canonical lines from rock and roll lyrics and either says you were right or you were wrong. For example, "You were wrong when you said everything's going to be alright. You were right when you said, all that glitters isn't gold. You were right when you said, all we are is dust in the wind." Etc.

[edit] Z

[edit] See also

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