A self-reference song is a song that refers directly to itself. A song must directly refer to itself, rather than just describe a song that could fit the current song. Songs in alphabetical order.

0-9

• "10 - Ten" by As Friends Rust

I think that

You should know

That I forced this song.

• "1999" by Prince

I was dreamin' when I wrote this

Forgive me if it goes astray

. . .

I was dreamin' when I wrote this

So sue me if I go too fast

(which appears also to be a reference to "Deacon Blues" by Steely Dan; see also below)

• "88 Lines About 44 Women" by The Nails

Ronnie was much more my style, she wrote songs just like this.

. . .

Amaranta, here's a kiss, I chose you to end this list.

• "99 Luftballons" by Nena

Hast du etwas zeit für mich

und sing ich ein Lied für dich

von 99 Luftballons

auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont.

Denkst du vielleicht grad' an mich

und sing ich ein Lied für dich

von 99 Luftballons

und daß sowas von sowas kommt"

[translation]

"If you have some time for me

then I'll sing a song for you

of 99 balloons

on their way to the horizon

Perhaps you'll think of me

and I'll sing a song for you

of 99 balloons

and that nothing begets nothing" [literally: "and that something comes of something"]

A

• "A Cappella Choir In The Sky" by The Bobs

"Come on and gather 'round, ye chillin'

To the gospel I'm a-spillin'…"

• "A Case Of You" by Joni Mitchell

"I remember that time when you told me, you said,

'Love is touching souls'

Well surely you touched mine

'Cause part of you pours out of me

in these lines from time to time."

• "A New England" by Billy Bragg

"I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song

I'm twenty-two now, but I won’t be for long."

• "Absolutely (Story Of A Girl)" by Nine Days

"This is the story of a girl…"

• "Add It Up" by The Violent Femmes

"Third verse, same as the first"

• "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie

"This song is called 'Alice's Restaurant'; it's about Alice... and the restaurant... But 'Alice's Restaurant' is not the name of the restaurant, it's just the name of the song... That's why I call the song 'Alice's Restaurant'..."

. . .

"...Remember Alice? This is a song about Alice..."

. . .

"And the only reason I'm singing you this song now is cause you may know somebody in a similar situation, or you may be in a similar situation, and if you're in a situation like that, there's only one thing you can do and that's walk into the shrink wherever you are, just walk in, say 'Shrink... You can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant.' And walk out..."

• "All I Need Is You" by Kevin Ray

"Every time I look into your sparkling eyes

I see it all come true

Now I'm writing you this song

Because I love you so"

• "Ambulance Blues" by Neil Young

"It's hard to know the meaning of this song..."

• "Amerika" by Rammstein

"This is not a love song

This is not a love song

I don't sing my mother tongue

No, this is not a love song"

• "Amphetamines" by Eve6

"This is the last song I'll send your way

I smelled you on my shirt today"

• "The Annoying Cornjob Song" from Mystery Science Theater 3000

"Why must we sing this stupid song?

It's getting really annoying.

We apologize for its length.

We are filled with shame."

• "Another Boring B-Side" by Morris Minor & the Majors

This is another boring b-side

Another load of tat

It has no redeeming features

And we're really proud of that

If the A-side makes a hit we don't care if this is missed

'Cos the sooner we get finished, the sooner we go home

• "Another Song About The Rain" by Cracker

"Another song about the rain

Coming down it burns through me

Another song about the rain"

• "Anthem" by Rush

"Well I know they've always told you

Selfishness was wrong

Yet it was for me, not you

That I came to write this song"

• "Anything" by Sixpence None The Richer

"This is my forty-fifth depressing tune"

• "Anything Can Happen" by Wyclef Jean

"Feel this composition, it's a brand new dub

First thing I did was went to the pub"

"Uh, heh heh, stop, Clef, can I rock, yo?

Get out the bathroom, let me go again from the top

Feel this composition, I wrote it in the tub

First thing I did was went to the pub

Tequila, worm, lemon, salt and no rocks

'Cause when it hits my chest, it gots to be hot

Huh, stop, Clef can I rock?"

B

• "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" by Prince

"This is the ballad of Dorothy Parker"

• "Because I Got High" by Afroman

I'm-a stop singing this song, because I'm high

I'm singing this whole thing wrong, because I'm high

And if I don't sell one copy, I'll know why, yeah yeah

Cause I'm high, cause I'm high, cause I'm high

• "Borrowed Tune" by Neil Young

I'm singing this borrowed tune

I took from the Rolling Stones

Alone in this empty room

Too wasted to write my own

• "Boy Crazy" by New Found Glory

this song goes out to girls

that we haven't met just yet

this song is for stupid girls

who think that every boy is all about them

• "The Brides Have Hit Glass" by Guided By Voices

I wrote a song once about her

Called "The Brides Have Hit Glass"

• "Bullet" by Frank Black and the Catholics

And if you don't like my melody

I'll sing it in a major key

I'll sing it very happily

Now if everybody is on board

I'll take it back to that minor chord

C

• "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft" by Carpenters

"Please close your eyes and concentrate

With every thought you think

Upon the recitation we're about to sing

Calling occupants of interplanetary craft"

• "The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song" by Jeffrey Lewis

"And right about then I should have asked if she knew,

What the Chelsea charged if we got a room for two.

But I didn't and I know I'm a schmuck, don't you doubt it,

The only thing I did was write this stupid song about it.

If I was Leonard Cohen or some other song-writing master,

I'd know to first get the oral sex and then write the song after."

• "Chuck E's in Love" by Rickie Lee Jones

"I know what's wrong--

Chuck E's in love with the little girl who's singing this song

Chuck E's in love with me"

• "Complete Control" by The Clash

"Complete control, even over this song!"

• "Cosmic Rays" by Helium (rock band)

"I don't care if it takes too long,

I don't really care about this song."

• "CSS Descramble (This Function Is Void)" by Joe Wecker

(The lyrics to this song comprise a description of the DeCSS algorithm)

"I hate the DMCA

It makes this song illegal"

• "Cymbaline" by Pink Floyd

"Apprehension creeping like a tube-train up your spine

Will the tightrope reach the end?

Will the final couplet rhyme?"

The final couplet is the only one that does not rhyme:

"And suddenly it strikes you that they're moving into range

And Doctor Strange is always changing size"

D

• "Deacon Blues" by Steely Dan

"This is the night of the expanding man

I take one last drag as I approach the stand

I cried when I wrote this song

Sue me if I play too long

This brother is free

I'll be what I want to be"

• "Dilate" by Ani Difranco

"Every song has a you

a you that the singer sings to

and you're it this time.

Baby, you're it this time."

• "Doin' The Things That We Want To" by Lou Reed

"I wrote this song 'cause I'd like to shake your hand

Doin' the things that we want to

In a way you guys are the best friends I ever had

Doin' the things that we want to ..."

• "Don't Let's Start" by They Might Be Giants

"The words I'm singing now mean nothing more than meow to an animal"

• "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin

"Here is a little song I wrote

You might want to sing it note for note

Don't worry be happy "

• "Driver 8" by R.E.M.

"He piloted this song in a plane like that one"

• "Dust Pneumonia Blues" by Woody Guthrie

"I got that dust pneumony, pneumony in my lung,

I got the dust pneumony, pneumony in my lung,

An' I'm a-gonna sing this dust pneumony song.

...

Now there ought to be some yodelin' in this song;

Yeah, there ought to be some yodelin' in this song;

But I can't yodel for the rattlin' in my lung."

E

• "Eat the Music" by Kate Bush

"What am I singing?

A song of seeds."

• "Eggs For Rib" by Cop Shoot Cop

"I wrote this in a Boston jail"

• "El Scorcho" by Weezer

"How stupid is it

I can't talk about I gotta sing about it and make a record of (my heart)"

• "Especially for You" by The Beautiful South

"Only buy this if you're lonely

Only listen if you're blue

If you are married and you are happy

This song is not to do with you"

• "Everything is Everything" by Lauryn Hill

"I wrote these words

For everyone who struggles in their youth"

F

• "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)" by Otis Redding

"All my life I've been singing them sad songs

trying to get my message to you.

But this is the only song I can sing

and when I get to singing my message will be to you.

It goes: Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa"

• "Facts of Life" by Black Box Recorder

"At this point, the boy who's listening to this song

is probably saying it's easier said than done and it's true"

• "The Fear" by Pulp (nearly all of the song is self-referential)

"This is our music from a bachelor's den

The sound of loneliness turned up to 10

A horror soundtrack from a stagnant waterbed

And it sounds just like this"

• "Fine + 2 Pts" by Minus the Bear

"Dark eyes, dark hair, and looks that need a song."

• "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor

"I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song

I just can't remember who to send it to"

• "Five Years" by David Bowie

"I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlour,

Drinking milk shakes cold and long,

Smiling and waving and looking so fine,

Don’t think you knew you were in this song…"

• "Fodderstompf" by Public Image Ltd

"We only wanted to finish this record with the minimum amount of effort which we are doing very succesfully..."

"This track is dragging on...do you think it’ll ever end?"

• "Forever And Ever Amen" by Randy Travis

"If you wonder how long I'll be faithful,

Well, just listen to how this song ends…"

• "From Despair To Where" by Manic Street Preachers

"I Write This Alone On My Bed"

• "Fuck the World" by "Insane Clown Posse"

"In this song I say fuck 93 times"

• "The Fugitive Alien Song" from Mystery Science Theater 3000

"This is the song starting off our medley!

Our favorite Fugitive Alien song!

Don't try to kill us with a forklift!

Won't take very long;

Relax and sing along.

. . .

And that's our song! We hope that you enjoyed it.

And if you thought that it was stupid and trite,

Come on and kill us with a forklift!

All we wanna do, with love from us to you,

Is sing... the Fugitive Alien song!"

G

• "Gabriel's Mother's Highway Ballad #16 Blues" by Arlo Guthrie

"The sun come up while I wrote this song"

• "Georgia on my Mind" by Stuart Gorrell

"Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through

Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.

Georgia, Georgia, a song of you

Comes as sweet and clear as moonlight through the pines."

• "Gettin' In Tune" by The Who

"I'm singing this note 'cause it fits in well

With the chords I'm playing

I can't pretend there's any meaning here

Or in the things I'm saying"

• "Gina" by Blues Traveler

"In fact, she's probably listenin' to this station right now..."

• • (liner notes read: "In fact she's probably reading these liner notes right now...")

• "Gold Soundz" by Pavement

And they're comin' to the chorus now...

• "Grunge Song" by The Vestibules

This is the part of the song

That's really quiet

We play very soft

It sounds like a ballad

And this is the part

Where we play real hard

It's much louder

Than at the beginning

And we go back

To the quiet part

Again

If the whole song was this way

It would be boring

So we go back to playing loud

It's like the first time

But slightly louder

This is usually the place

Where it would be quiet again

But we don't want it to be

Too predictable

Predictable

Predictable

• "Gump" by Weird Al Yankovic

[last line]

And that's all I have to say about that.

• • (NOTE: The Presidents of the United States of America, whose song "Lump" is parodied here, liked Weird Al's end so much, they began to perform "Lump" with this closing line, making it self-referential in concert.)

H

• "Hailie's Song" by Eminem

[Intro - Spoken]

"Yo, I can't sing.

I feel like singing."

[Verse 3 - Rapped]

"Man, if I could sing, I'd keep singing this song to my daughter."

[Outro - Spoken]

"I told you I can't sing.

Oh well, I tried."

• "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, notably covered by Jeff Buckley and Rufus Wainwright

"Well, it goes like this: the fourth, the fifth

The minor fall and the major lift"

• "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With" by King Crimson

And when I have some words

This is the way I'll sing

Through a distortion box

To make them menacing

Yeah, then I'm gonna have to write a chorus

We're gonna need to have a chorus

And this seems to be as good as any other place to sing it till I'm blue in the face

And for a second verse

Of terse economy

I'll brew another pot

Of ambiguity

Then I'm gonna have to write a chorus

We're gonna need to have a chorus

And this seems to be as good as any other place to sing it till I'm blue in the face

Yes, we're gonna need to have a chorus

I'm gonna have to write a chorus

And this seems to be as good as any other place to sing it till I'm blue in the face

Happy with what you have to be happy with

you have to be happy with what you have ...

Then I guess I'll repeat the chorus!

We're gonna repeat the chorus!

I guess I'll repeat the chorus!

We're gonna repeat the chorus!

Then I guess I'll repeat the chorus!

We're gonna repeat the chorus!

I guess I'll repeat the chorus!

We're gonna repeat the chorus!

• "Hearts of Oak" by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

[Verse 1]

"I was walking along some downtown avenue

I was singing a new song to myself

it went it went something like this one

but I just couldn't get it to end

I was talking about this song to a friend of mine

and she sang me a new song of her own."

[Final Verse]

"I was walking along some downtown avenue

I was sharing the sidewalk with my friend

we were singing this song together (and it sounded so good)

we said we said "let's sing it again!" (and it had no end)..."

• "Heartsong" by Zwan

"but heart songs

are still on my mind

there's never the time

to write down these lines"

• "Heavy Fuel" by Dire Straits

"I love the babes, don't get me wrong.

Hey, that's why I wrote this song!"

• "Hello I Love You" by The Doors

"Her arms are wicked and her legs are long

When she moves my brain screams out this song"

• "Hidden Bonus Track" by The Bobs. The entire song "talks" about itself as a "track", but the specific song self-reference is:

"That was a decent solo.

Too bad it's in this song."

• "The Hippopotamus Song" by Flanders & Swann

"Some people think the title of this song is irrelevant -- but it's not irrelephant, it's a hippopotamus."

. . .

"The hippopotamus was no ignoramus

And sang her this sweet serenade..."

• "Holy Smokes" by Suzzy Roche

"This sad song stays on my mind…"

• "Hook" by Blues Traveler

"There is something amiss, I am being insincere.

In fact I don't mean any of this, still my confession draws you near.

To confuse the issue I'll refer to familiar heroes of long ago;

No matter how much Peter loved her, what made the Pan refuse to grow..."

• "Hot dog" by Limp Bizkit

"Hey, it's on.

Everybody knows this song."

later in the song:

"If I say fuck, two more times,

That's forty-six fucks in this fucked-up rhyme."

I

• "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song On The Radio", written by Eric Idle of Monty Python

"I bet they won't play this song on the radio

I bet you they won't play this new bleep song

It's not that it's buzz or beep beep controversial

Just that the dinging words are awfully strong"

• "I Don't Care if You Disrespect Me (Just So Long as You Love Me)" by The Frogs

"That was a good drum break"

• "I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away the Ending", by New Radicals

"By the way this girl was sexy and she wouldn't touch you. That may not be true but I said it so you'd feel involved with the song"

• "I'll Never Tell", written by Joss Whedon, performed by Nicholas Brendon (Xander) and Emma Caulfield (Anya), from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Once More, With Feeling"

(Xander) "She clings, she's needy

She's also really greedy

She never --"

(Anya) "His eyes are beady!"

(Xander) "This is my verse! Hello?!"

• "I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am" by Herman's Hermits

"Second verse, same as the first"

• "It's Garry Shandling's Theme," opening theme of It's Garry Shandling's Show

"This is the theme to Garry's show,

The theme to Garry's show,

Garry called me up and asked if I would write his theme song.

I'm almost halfway finished,

How do you like it so far?

How do you like the theme to Garry's show?"

• "I'm So Worried", by Monty Python

"I'm so worried about

Whether people like this song."

• "I'm Too Sexy", by Right Said Fred

"I'm too sexy for this song."

• "I'm the Man Who Murdered Love", by XTC

"It's the middle of the song..."

• "In the Car", by Barenaked Ladies

A secret all along, unless I've got this wrong

unless she hears this song

unless she hears it

on a tape inside her car

with her new husband and she

turns to him and says "I think that's me"

• "In The Springtime of His Voodoo" by Tori Amos

"Standin' on a corner in Winslow, Arizona

And I'm quite sure I'm in the wrong song"

• "Independent Love Song" by Scarlet

"You could say this was an independent love song [...]

You might say this another boring love song"

• "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi

"This ain’t a song for the broken-hearted"

• "I think I need a new heart" by Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields album 69 Love Songs, volume 1

"so the radio plays

'I Think I Need a New Heart'

just for you"

J

• "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp

"Little ditty, about Jack and Diane."

• "Jesus is the Answer" by Wesley Willis

"This is the song that I'm going to be singing to you which is called 'Jesus is the answer'"

• "Judy and the Dream of Horses" by Belle & Sebastian

"Judy, you're just trying to find and keep the dream of horses

And the song she wrote was 'Judy and the Dream of Horses'"

...

"If you're ever feeling blue

Then write another song about your dream of horses

Write a song about your dream of horses

Call it 'Judy and the Dream of Horses'"

• "Judy is a Punk" by The Ramones

"Second verse, same as the first.

. . .

Third verse, different from the first."

• "Justice is Might" by Sonic Youth

"This song ... is called Justice Is Might

okay it's about ... sonic life ... that's right

...

this song is called Justice is Might"

K

• "Know your Rights" by The Clash

"This is a public service announcement...

...with guitar!"

• "Konstantine" by Something Corporate

"Isn't that what you said?

what you thought this song meant?"

• "Kyle Quit the Band" by Tenacious D

"This is our song of exultant joy"

L

• "Last Gay Song I'll Ever Write" by Mindless Self Indulgence

"This is the last gay song that I will ever write

Oh it's the last gay song that I will ever

It's the last gay song that I will ever write

Oh it's a good thing

It's almost over

But when the chorus is in

Oh when the chorus is in

You know, you know, you know, you know I'm gonna fuck it up

And when the chorus is in

Oh when the chorus is in

Ha ha ha ha"

• "Last Song" by Edward Bear

"It's the last song I'll ever write for you

It's the last time that I'll tell you

Just how much I really care

This is the last song I'll ever sing for you

You'll come looking for the light

And it won't be there"

. . .

"So I'll write you one more song

But it's the last time that I'll ever try"

• "The Last Song" by The Smashing Pumpkins

"this is the last song

this is the last song i'll sing for you

this is the last song

this is the last song i can give you"

• "Leaves That Are Green" by Simon & Garfunkel

"I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song.

I'm twenty-two now but I won't be for long.

Time hurries on.

And the leaves that are green turn to brown..."

• "Let It All Fall Down" by James Taylor

"Sing a song for the wrong

and the wicked and the strong

and the sick as thick as thieves..."

• "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" by Spin Doctors

"Little miss, little miss, little miss can’t be wrong

what’cha gonna do to get into another one of these

rock ’n’ roll songs?"

• "Lonely People" by America

"This is for all the lonely people

Thinking that life has passed them by

Don’t give up until you drink from the silver cup

And ride that highway in the sky"

• "Lord it's hard to be happy (When you're not using the Metric system)" by Atom and his Package

"Our time has come

And we must overcome at last...

As we symbolically stick their fucking foot

up their fucking ass... GUITAR!"

• "Losing Our Job" by The Roches

"I don't believe these words I'm singing…"

• "Lucky" by Britney Spears

"This is a story about a girl named Lucky…"

M

• "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W" by Wire

"Chorus:" (just before first chorus)

• "Memphis in the Meantime" by John Hiatt

"Until hell freezes over, Maybe you can wait that long

But I don’t think Ronnie Milsap’s gonna ever record this song"

• "Merciful God" by The Roches

"Merciful God, this is a prayer…"

• "Merry Christmas - If That's Okay" from Mystery Science Theater 3000

"If there's one point we'd like to make

With this festive holiday song,

It's that Christmas comes just once a year,

So for a few days, for crying out loud,

Can we all just get along?!"

• "Mexico" by The Refreshments

"Here comes another song about Mexico

I just can't help myself

. . .

Here comes the same old verse about Mexico

We just can't help ourselves"

• "Mixed Tape" (by Brand New)

this is the first song for your mixed tape

and its short just like your temper

• "Mother" from The Wall by Pink Floyd

"Mother, do you think they'll drop the bomb?

Mother, do you think they'll like this song?"

• "Muzzle" from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins

"Have you ever heard the words

I'm singing in these songs?"

• "My Girl" by Chilliwack

"She didn't have to leave me

She didn't have to run

She didn't have to go without a word to anyone

I hope she's doing alright

I got no way to know

Unless she gets to hear this song

Hear it on the radio"

N

• "New England" by Billy Bragg (Same first two lines as "Leaves That Are Green" by Simon & Garfunkel.)

"I was 21 years when I wrote this song

I'm 22 now but I won't be for long"

• "New Song" by Howard Jones

"I've been waiting for so long

To come here now and sing this song

...

This is a song to all my friends"

• "The Nicest Girl I Know" by Vroom

"Your hair is soft, your skin's snow white

Like a clouded day, like the stars at night

Your eyes are blue like the sky in June

My love is true that's why I wrote this song for you

All I ever wanted was to see your face again"

• "None of the Above" by The Weakerthans

I can't listen to the quiet

So I'll hum this mindless tune

I stole from some dumb country rock star

And I don't even know his name

• "Nothin' Song" by Alice In Chains

The nothin' song sticks to your mouth

Like peanut butter on the brain

Nothin' ever stays the same

• "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" by Neil Young

Who should be sleeping

but's writing this song

Wishing and hoping

he weren't so damned wrong

• "No. 1 Song in Heaven" by Sparks: Perhaps the least modest of self-referential songs, "No. 1 Song in Heaven," claims to have been written by God:

This is the Number One Song in Heaven

Written, of course, by the mightiest hand.

• "Number Three" by They Might Be Giants is a song about writer's block, and how the song was written in spite of there only being "two songs in me". It is the third track on their self-titled album

"There's only two songs in me, and I just wrote the third

Don't know where I got the inspiration or how I wrote the words

Spent my whole life just diggin' up my music's shallow grave

For the two songs in me and third one I just made"

• "Nitro Burning Funny Cars" by Dead Milkmen contains a list of things no one will ever do with or about a nitro burning funny car, including have lunch and go camping. But the capper to the list, and last line of the song, is:

"No one will ever write a song called Nitro Burning Funny Cars"

O

• "Oh Yeah" by Roxy Music

"There's a band playing on the radio

with a rhythm of rhyming guitars.

They're playing

Oh Yeah

on the radio.

And so it came to be our song"

• "Old Shoes (and Picture Postcards)" by Tom Waits

"Well I'm singing this song, cause it's time it was sung

I've been putting it off for a while"

• "On a Plain" by Nirvana

I'll start this off without any words

...

One more special message to go

And then I'm done then I can go home

• "One More Chance" by Anastacia

Just one more chance

I know I was wrong

Don't give up so easily

Don't you know it's killing me?

Just one more chance, to sing this song

I'll never let you down, no

Just one more chance

• "One Note Samba (Samba de Um Nota So)" by Jon Hendricks and Antonio Carlos Jobim

"This is just a little samba, built upon a single note"

• "Only a Northern Song" by The Beatles

When you're listening to this song

You might think that the chords are going wrong

But they're not

He just wrote it like that

• "Oogie Boogie's Song" by Danny Elfman

When Mr. Oogie Boogie says

There's trouble close at hand

You'd better pay attention now

'Cause I'm the Boogie Man

And if you aren't shakin'

There's something very wrong

'Cause this may be the last time

You hear the boogie song, ohhh

P

• "Piper" by Cheryl Wheeler

"Early mornin' sunrise come and pull the song from me

So I can turn away and rest my tired eyes

I can't escape the haunting of a lonely melody

It runs around and `round without a compromise

So where you gonna go, what you gonna do

You know I can't say no, can't say good-bye to you

I can't stop the flow 'till you've decided to"

(The entire song is about itself)

(Wheeler couldn't fall asleep until she wrote this song)

• "Please Play This Song on the Radio" by NOFX

"We wrote this song, it's not too short, it's not too long

It's got backup vocals in just the right places

It's got a few oohs and ahhs

And it takes a little pause

Just before I sing the anthem

Please play this song on the radio

Almost every line is sung on time

Almost every verse ends in a rhyme

The only problem we had was writing enough words

But that's okay, because the chorus is

Coming up again now

Please play this song on the radio

Please play this song on the radio [...]"

• "Punk Rock Song" by Bad Religion

"There are so many fuckin' robots out there

and this is just a punk rock song"

Q

R

• "Railroad Bill" by Andy Breckman

"I got the pen in my hand, I can do what I want

I'm a bright new young talent on the rise

So get your ass up that tree or I swear you ain't

Gonna get out of my folksong alive."

• "Reaching One" by Wendy & Lisa

"Here I go again

Seems I'm back to rambling words I know of you again

When I think that I've got something new to say

I remember it's the same thing I said yesterday . . . "

• "Redemption Song" by Bob Marley

"Won't you help me sing, this song of freedom"

• "Reminder, A" by Radiohead

"Whatever happens

If we're still speaking

Pick up the phone

Play me this song."

• "Reuben James" by Kenny Rogers

"Reuben James

In my song you live again

And the phrases that I rhyme

Are just the footsteps out of time

From the time when I knew you

Reuben James

[...]

Just to sing one last refrain for Reuben James"

• "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake

"Better have you naked by the end of this song [...]

Cause I gotta have you naked by the end of this song"

S

• "Sad Songs and Waltzes" by Willie Nelson

"I'm writing a song all about you

A true song as real as my tears

But you've no need to fear it

For no one will hear it

'Cause sad songs and waltzes

Aren't selling this year."

• "Samba de Uma Nota So" or "One-Note Samba" by Antonio Carlos Jobim covered by Stan Getz, Frank Sinatra, and Stereolab

"Eis aqui este sambinha, feito numa nota só"

"This is just a little samba, built upon a single note"

• "Saturday Night Special" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

[Last line]

"and that's the end of the song"

• "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel

"That's all I heard about Brenda and Eddie

Can't tell you more 'cause I told you already"

• "Señorita With a Necklace of Tears" by Paul Simon

If I could play all the memories

In the neck of my guitar

I’d write a song called

“Señorita With a Necklace of Tears”

• "Shortest Song In the World" by Ronny Light & Kenny Price

This is the shortest song in the world

• "Silly Love Songs" by Wings

"You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs.

But I look around me and I see it isn't so.

Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs.

And what's wrong with that?

I'd like to know, 'cause here I go again"

• "Sink to the Beat" by Cursive

I'll try to make this perfectly clear, I'm so transparent I disappear

These words I lyrically defecate upon songs I boldly claim to create

Clint steps in to establish the beat, 4/4 hip-hop and you don't stop

This unique approach to start an EP, intended to shock, create a mystique

A cheap strategy, a marketing scheme, building awareness for the next LP

They've got a good fan base, they've got integrity

They've got a DC sound, Shudder to Think, Fugazi

And Chapel Hill around the early 90s: This is the latest from Saddle Creek

• "Sk8er Boi" by Avril Lavigne

I'll be back stage after the show

I'll be at the studio

Singing the song we wrote

About a girl you used to know

• "Smells Like Nirvana" by "Weird Al" Yankovic, a parody of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and of Kurt Cobain's mumbling, indifferent delivery

"What is this song all about?

Can't figure any lyrics out

How do the words to it go?

I wish you'd tell me, I don't know [...]

It's unintelligible

I just can't get it through my skull [...]

And I forgot the next verse

Oh well, I guess it pays to rehearse

The lyric sheet's so hard to find

What are the words? Oh, nevermind"

• "So Much For The Afterglow" by Everclear

"This is a song about Susan.

This is a song about the way things are.

This is a song about the scary things you see from the corner of your eye."

• "Something Changed" by Pulp

"I wrote this song two hours before we met.

I didn't know your name, or what you looked like yet

How could I write this song on that one day?"

• "Something to Sing About", written by Joss Whedon, performed by Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Once More, With Feeling"

"There was no pain.

No fear, no doubt,

'Til they pulled me out

Of heaven.

So that's my refrain."

• "Something's Wrong" by K's Choice

"When a canary drives a tractor, something's wrong

When your president's an actor, something's wrong

When your jacket's plagued with dandruff, something's wrong

If you think that this song matters, something's wrong."

• "Son of a Gun" by Janet Jackson (line taken from chorus of Carly Simon's "You're So Vain")

"I betcha think this song is about you"

• "Song About" by Wendy & Lisa

"This is just another song about it

This is just another song about."

• "Song About Nuthin'" by Powerman 5000 (the whole entire song is self-referential!:)

"This could have been about a lot of things but it's not

So don't stop and try to look for the message

The world moves and it don't ask why

Your kids will burn red hot like the fourth of July

I could have told about what's in between the head and the hand

But you wouldn't understand

You heard the story of the rise and the fall

But this time I swear it's not about anything at all

This ain't a song about nuthin'

This ain't a song about nuthin' at all

This ain't a song about about anyone or anything

This could have been about so many things but it's not

So don't waste time and look for the meaning

You heard so many things you couldn't recall

But this time I swear it's not about anything at all

This ain't a song about nuthin'

This ain't a song about nuthin' at all

This ain't a song about about anyone or anything"

• "Song for the Asking" by Paul Simon

"Here is my song for the asking

Ask me and I will play

So sweetly, I'll make you smile."

• "Song for the Lonely" by Cher

"This is a song for the lonely, can you hear me tonight?

For the broken hearted, battle scarred

I'll be by your side

And this is a song for the lonely

When your dreams won't come true

Can you hear this prayer

Because someone's there for you"

• "Song for You" by Fuel

"So I sing this song for you

There's nothing left for me to do"

• "Song for You" by Leon Russell, performed by Andy Williams

"I've been so many places in my life and time

I've sung a lot of songs, I've made some bad rhyme

I've acted out my love in stages

With ten thousand people watching

But we're alone now and I'm singin' this song for you"

• "Song for Whoever" by The Beautiful South, about how his beloved inspired the author to write the song and then make a whole deal of money with it.

"Oh Cathy, Oh Alison, Oh Phillipa, Oh Sue

You made me so much money, I wrote this song for you

Jennifer, Alison, Phillipa, Sue, Deborah, Annabel, too

I wrote this song for you"

• "Song to Woody" by Bob Dylan

"Hey, hey Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song

'Bout a funny ol' world that's a-comin' along."

• "Songs to No One" by Jeff Buckley

"Laura . . . know this song for always

Laura . . . show this song to no one."

• "Space" by Hootie & the Blowfish

"So now I go and grab my things, girl, I must be moving on.

I couldn't stand to face you, so I, I guess that's why I wrote this song."

• "Spy Hard" by "Weird Al" Yankovic

"You're watching Spy Hard!

It's the theme from Spy Hard!"

• "Starfuckers" by Nine Inch Nails

"i bet you think this song is about you

don't you?

don't you?

don't you?

don't you?"

• "Stupid Little Love Song" by Fefe Dobson

"Just a stupid little love song

(3 chords and a microphone)

Just a stupid little love song

(hip hop and rock n' roll)

So sit right down I'll sing this song to you"

• "Such Great Heights" by Postal Service

"and when you scan the radio

I hope this song will guide you home.[...]

I tried my best to leave

this all on your machine

but the persistent beat

it sounded thin upon the sending.

and that frankly will not fly

you'll hear the shrillest highs

and lowest lows with the windows down

and this is guiding you home."

• "Sucker" by New Found Glory

"What do I have to do to get through all of this?

I'm writing it down

I bet you thought this song was about you"

• "Super-Sprode" by Freezepop (band)

"To our crazy fans

we wrote this song"

• "Superpowers" by Five Iron Frenzy

"Sometimes we have a deadline

for writing our songs

Five minutes left to wrap this one

la, la la, la la, la la la"

• "Swordfish" by The Dead Milkmen

"We may be doing something wrong

We could be runnin' a little too long

I guess we'd better end this song

I said I believe in swordfish

(He believes in swordfish)"

T

• "Take the Skinheads Bowling" by Camper Van Beethoven

There's not a line that goes here that rhymes with anything

• "Tenterfield Saddler" by Peter Allen

Because in this life that he leads

There's nowhere for George and his library

Or the son with his gun to belong

Except in this song

• "Tennessee Waltz" written by Redd Stewart

I was waltzing with my darlin' to the Tennessee Waltz

When an old friend I happened to see

Introduced him to my loved one and while they were waltzing

My friend stole my sweetheart from me.

I remember the night and the Tennessee Waltz

Now I know just how much I have lost

Yes I lost my little darlin' the night they were playing

The beautiful Tennessee Waltz.

• "The One I Love" by R.E.M.

This one goes out to the one I love

This one goes out to the one I've left behind

A simple prop to occupy my time

This one goes out to the one I love

• "Theme from Flood" by They Might be Giants

"Why is the world in love again?

Why are we marching hand in hand?

Why are the ocean levels rising up?

It's brand new record for 1990.

They Might be Giants' brand new album:

Flood"

• "This Ain't a Love Song" by Bon Jovi

If the love that I got for you is gone

If the river I've cried ain't that long

Then I'm wrong yeah I'm wrong

This ain't a love song

• "This Corrosion" by The Sisters of Mercy

Hey now, hey now now

Sing This Corrosion to me

Hey now, hey now now now

• "This is Just a Modern Rock Song" by Belle & Sebastian

This is just a modern rock song,

This is just a tender affair,

I count 'three, four' and then we start to slow,

Because a son