Songs that reference other songs

There have been many songs over the years where the lyrics reference another earlier song by the same artist or in the example of U2, reference another artist, Bruce Cockburn.

U2 - God Part II
"...Heard a singer on the radio late last night
He says he's gonna kick the darkness
'til it bleeds daylight..."

The reference is to Bruce Cockburn - Lovers In A Dangerous Time.
"...When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime --
But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight --
Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight
When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Lovers in a dangerous time..."

There is also another line in God Part II
"...Instant karma's going to get him.."

Bono is possibly referencing the John Lennon song, Instant Karma.
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Songs that reference other songs. There are many. I'll get us started with a few.

Beatles - Glass Onion ----> Strawberry Fields Forever, I Am The Walrus, Lady Madonna, Fool On The Hill, Fixing A Hole.
Beatles - All You Need Is Love ----> She Love You (Yeah Yeah Yeah) and instrumental bits from Greensleeves and In The Mood.
Beatles - Savoy Truffle ----> Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da
John Lennon - How Do You Sleep ----> Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (the line probably references the whole album), Yesterday, Another Day
Sting ---> Love Is The Seveth Wave ----> Every Breath You Take

Gruppo Sportivo - One Way Love ----> Eight Days A Week, No Reply, From Me To You, Yesterday, New Kid In Town, I Should Have Known Better, As Tears Go By

A lot of you may not be familiar with this "new wave" group out of the Netherlands, so here are the lyrics to that song.

Gruppo Sportivo - One Way Love from the 1978 LP Mistakes

I must have been the greatest fool on earth
Eight days a week, I wrote to you
You didn't call me, you gave me no reply
We could have been happy, you and I

Chorus
Baby I'm in love with
Don't tell me that it's true
You met another guy, I'm so blue
Yes baby it's a one way love, from me to you

There must have been a new kid in town
I didn't see you, yesterday
I should have known better, you're like a butterfly
I think of you, as tears go by

Chorus

Middle Eight
Wanna hold you, wanna tell you
That I love you, I'm a Leo baby
A hundred good ways, to start a letter
But my love hurts
Baby it's a one way, baby it's a one way......love

Chorus

 

"Summer Rain" - Johnny Rivers > "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band"
"Creeque Alley" - Mamas & Papas > "California Dreamin'"

 

Johnny Rivers- "Summer Rain" " and the jukebox just kept on playing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts club band"

 

April Wine's I Like To Rock with the ending being Day Tripper.

 

From Elton...

"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters Part II" references "Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters"


"Spanish Harlem still sounds good to me, Mona Lisa's getting older..."

 

Popular Mechanix - Theme From "The Mosquito Men" ----> Ticket To Ride

Local Winnipeg alt rock band from the late 1970s reference Ticket To Ride in their almost instrumental song Theme From "The Mosquito Men". Drummer Greg Gardner in the middle eight, sings off mike in the backgroud, slightly out of key, "...I think I'm gonna be sad, I think it's today..." The song was written for a ficticious 1950s style science fiction b movie.

Popular Mechanix-Theme From 'The Mosquito Men'

Continuing with the instrumental theme:
The Ventures - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer -----> I Feel Fine

 

The Temptations' Ball of Confusion has the line:

Beatles new record's a gas

which refers to The Long And Winding Road US single

 

Recently saw the video for Dire Straits' "Walk of Life" on VH1 Classic:

Here comes Johnny, singing oldies, goldies/"Be-Bop-a-Lula" baby, "What'd I Say?"
Here comes Johnny singing "I Got a Woman"/down in the tunnnel, trying to make it pay...

"Radar Love": Radio plays that forgotten song/Brenda Lee's "Coming on Strong"...

 

How about the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd (sp?) Southern Man rejoinder to Neil Young's Alabama.
And speaking of Mr. Young, there's a line on a Sonic Youth album that says with almost disgust, 'last night I dreamed I kissed Neil Young, followed up by a more sympathetic ref by Lucinda Williams. Jeff

 

Bobby Darin's "Splish Splash" references the Chordettes' "Lollipop", Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue", and Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly".

Neil Young's "Long May You Run" has a line about "the Beach Boys singing Caroline".

Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music" includes the tagline from Otis Redding's "Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa".

 

Steve Miller's "The Joker" makes reference to "the pompitus of love" from and older song line that just eludes me at the moment. I have an occasional blonde moment from time to time... forgive?

 

I can't answer that one, but I know that song also references two earlier Miller songs: "Space Cowboy" and "Gangster of Love".

 

Here's one:

My favorite example of this was on Neil Young's landmark '75 album Tonight's The Night . There's a song on that record called Borrowed Tune where he flat out rips off the melody from The Stones Lady Jane then admits it in the song. Classic!

Peace
Norm

 

"Having a Party" by Sam Cooke: Play that song called "Soul Twist" / Play that song called "I Know" / Don't forget the Mashed Potatoes / No other songs will do

"Radar Love" by Golden Earring: Radio plays a forgotten song / Brenda Lee's "Coming On Strong"

"Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen: Roy Orbison singin' for the lonely...

"American Pie" by Don McLean mentions "Book of Love," "The Bible Tells Me So," "Eight Miles High" and almost mentions "Jumpin' Jack Flash"

"Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits -- Sting's vocals on "I want my, I want my, I want my MTV" are to the tune of the verse of "Don't Stand So Close to Me," which is why Sting's publisher demanded a cut on the songwriting (though it wasn't an issue to Sting)

"Take Me Home Tonight" by Eddie Money: -- Just like Ronnie said / "Be my little baby"

"Make Me Lose Control" by Eric Carmen: Jennifer's singin' "Stand By Me," she knows every single word by heart... "Be My Baby" comes on and we're moving in time ... (and then they play) "Back in My Arms Again"

 

It was Steve Miller's misheard version of a lyric from "The Letter" by the Medallions. "Pompitous of love" showed up again in "Clap for the Wolfman" by the Guess Who in the Wolfman's patter.

 

"Stronger" by Britney Spears contains the line "..my loneliness ain't killin' me no more", a reference to "My loneliness/is killin' me" in the chorus of "Baby One More Time".

"She's Still Talking Baby Talk To Me" by Jan and Dean is a continuation of the song "Baby Talk".

In "Like A Summer Rain", Dean Torrence sings the theme from "A Summer Place" over the backing track at the end of the song.

"Helen Wheels": "Sailor Sam came from Birmingham/but they never will be found", a reference to "Band on the Run" on that same album, as is the reprise of "BOTR" at the end of "1985".

 

In the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There", Michael references the old Four Tops hit, "I'll Be There" with the line "Just look over your shoulder!".

 

Barclay James Harvest - Titles


Titles

The long and winding road that leads to your door
Here comes the sun it's alright people shout for more
But were you trying to deceive telling me
All you need is love to succeed
Across the universe one after nine 'o' nine
I got a feeling for you blue and I feel fine
I tried so hard to make believe that I'd see
All you need is love to succeed

CHORUS:

Lady Madonna let it be
Something in the way you moved me yesterday
All you need is love so they say

 

Bob Dylan in "Sara" references "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands".

 

The Statler Brothers' first #1 country hit, which used the song title and phrase in both senses:

"Do You Know You Are My Sunshine"

 

Another

Springsteen's Racing In The Streets salutes Dancing In The Streets

"Summer's here and the time is right
For Racing in the streets"

Peace
Norm
He's passed 950 now and bearing down on the thousand post mark...

 

Bob Weir - Ashes and Glass references Throwing Stones.

 

Also the line, "Some people call me Maurice."
That is in reference to an early Steve Miller song called "Enter Maurice". Enter Maurice is the song that has the pompitous of love line.
"...My dearest darling, come closer to Maurice so I can whisper sweet words of epismetology in your ear and speak to you of the pompitous of love."

Steve Miller used some artistic license with "The Joker" specifically in the line "I really love your peaches, wanna shake your tree. Lovey dovey..."
There was a hit song by The Clovers in 1953 called "Lovey Dovey" containing the very same line, ""I really love your peaches wanna shake your tree / Lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time."

But then, that isn't the only time Miller has used artistic license in a song. He has that song "The Stake" which heavily borrowed from the riff in Joe Walsh - "Rocky Mountain Way".