Songs that reference other songs

Van Morrison - "Jackie Wilson Said" refers directly to the soul singer's "Reet Petite."

 

Re: Another

The time is also right for fighting in the street, as the Stones assure us on "Street Fighting Man".

Stagger Lee makes an appearance in "Wrong 'Em Boyo", by the Clash.

"It's all right, ma, everybody must get stoned," Paul Simon declares in S&G's "A Simple Desultory Philippic".

 

Neil Young's "Lotta Love." The little "Na na, na na, na-na, na-na-na" hook is from the Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together." Very apt, but he's talking about a much longer, heavier night that they've got to get through.

L.

 

Re: Re: Another

Good catch!

Here's another:
"Here come old flat top..."
Beatles.... Come Together
Chuck Berry.... You Can't Catch Me

Peace
Norm

 

Ya think?

You missed the biggest song reference in "God Part II" - the one to Lennon's "God"!

Sting did this other times. In "We'll Be Together", he references "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" with lines like "If you wanna keep something precious". I could swear he did this on "Synchronicity" and "Ghost In the Machine" as well, but the specifics escape me right now...

And I just noticed an example of this today:

The Beatles' "It's All Too Much" references the Merseys' "Sorrow":

"With your long blonde hair and your eyes of blue..."

 

Too bad Chuck wasn't too happy with that one!

 

Another one??

Well, on that note I guess we may as well drag out My Sweet Lord and He's So Fine
Peace
Norm

Hey, What's that up ahead?
Why that's a thousand posts there son.
You dont' say! Wow! How long til we get there?
Anyday now son...anyday.

 

Re: Another one??

 

Bad Company's "Shooting Star" mentions the Beatles:

Johnny was a schoolboy when he heard his first Beatles song
'Love Me Do' I think it was, from there it didn't take him long


The Beatles "Something" came from a James Taylor song, didn't it?

Something in the way she moves...


Tone Loc's "Funky Cold Medina" contains the line:

Like Mick Jagger said, 'I can't get no satisfaction'


Ringo Starr's "I'm the Greatest" says:

And I wanna do is boogaloo, a reference to "Back Off Boogalo"


I'm not sure if this was anything intentional. In "Mrs. Robinson", Simon & Garfunkel put in a goo-goo-g'joob which may have been a reference to the Beatles "I Am the Walrus".

 

David Bowie's "Ashes To Ashes" lyrically references his "Space Oddity"
("We know Major Tom's a junkie . . .").

 

Actually, the S&G line is Coo coo ca-choo, Mrs. Robinson. What I suspect happened is that Paul Simon misheard the lyric from "Walrus" and then misquoted it in his own song.

 

Sly Stone references himself several times in "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin":

"Dance to the music, all night long/everyday people, sing a simple song..."

 

U2-Angel of Harlem: "John Coltrane and A Love Supreme"

 

Bob Dylan references Robert Johnson's "Come into my Kitchen" in his "Pledging My Time". Both songs have a similar structure and melody. As well Dylan has some quite intricate lyrical twists on Johnson:

Robert Johnson: "Ah, the woman I love took from my best friend
Some joker got lucky stole her back again"

Bob Dylan: "Well a hobo got too high (?) It (he?) came to me naturally
He stole my baby and he wanted to steal me"

and

" They called for an ambulance and one was sent
Somebody got lucky but it was an accident"

 

Can't believe nobody's yet mentioned "Life is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" by Reunion. That song is FULL of references to songs... it may not necessarily take lyrics from songs, but it sure does list a bunch of them. Par exemple....

It mentions in title "Good Vibrations," "Help Me Rhonda" and "The Locomotion", just to name a few...

The backup vocals at the end of the song (right at the "Listen, they're playing are song" spoken word part) are taken DIRECTLY (even the same key) from "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" by the Four Tops, and not to forget that the backup vocals even sing "I Want to Take You Higher" and "Celebrate, celebrate, dance to the music" repeatedly.

Yeah, that song is full of 'em.

 

And, another one that suddenly came to me...

The live at Woodstock version of "I'm Going Home" by Ten Years After launches into several impromptu versions of songs. Doesn't exactly "reference" them--unless you consider performing snippets of them to indeed be referencing--but, for instance, during the jam, Alvin Lee launches into "Blue Suede Shoes". I know he does some other ones too, but that just happened to be the one I most clearly remember.

 

Just thought of another one-ABC's "When Smokey Sings" uses the bass part of "Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles in the chorus of their song. And let's not forget Bill Cosby's takeoff on "Uptight", which I think was called "Little Old Man" ("Little ol'man, sittin' on a porch, lookin' as sad as he could be/I said 'Little ol' man, why you lookin' so sad?'/and he said 'the train!'/And I said 'what train?'/'the train that just ran over me!'/So, reach out!/and take my hand!/and you will understand!)

 

Robert Lamm (I think), on South California Purples (from Chicago Transit Authority) breaks into this line after the guitar solo:

"I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together..."

Which just happens to be the opening line to I Am The Walrus by, who else, The Beatles.

 

Finally made it to this thread...gad, what a looooooooooooong day it's been...hope I'm not repeating anything already posted:

RIFF RIPS:

John Mayall's Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, "What'd I Say": near the end, Clapton cops the great riff from "Day Tripper" and it's so obvious you have to laugh at the audacity. Not a lyrical reference, but then this next one isn't either:

Jerry Corbetta/Sugarloaf, "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" Beatle reference, guitar riff to "I Feel Fine"...which leads to the worst offender:

Steve Miller Band, "Rock'N Me". Miller steals from Paul Kossoff's "All Right Now" riffs; shoulda been sued....and that leads to:

Velvet Underground, "There She Goes Again". Riff stolen from Marvin Gaye's Motown classic "Hitch Hike."

NOW.....lyrics:

John Lennon, "How Do You Sleep?". Too many references to list: "So Sgt. Pepper took you by surprise," "Another Day,".....what a grump!

Neil Young's AFTER THE GOLD RUSH. Song titles themselves reference the Beatles("Tell Me Why")and Gene Pitney("Only Love Can Break Your[A]Heart").

Beatles, "I Want You(She's So Heavy)". Dylan reference: "I Want you so bad..."

ED

 

The Day Tripper riff is also quoted in Buffalo Springfield's "Baby Don't Scold Me."

 

Another Neil Young reference - Doesn't "Mr. Soul," by Buffalo Springfield, feature a "Satisfaction" riff?

Also, I've always wondered, if anyone knows, if Jagger/Richards received royalties for "Borrowed Tune?" I really started to wonder it after that Verve "Bittersweet Symphony" royalty battle several years back.

 

If not, it's very, very close.

Not that I know of; anyone else? Seems unlikely....depends on how you 'pinch,' as the Brits would say. Not only that, but he directly states that it's a borrowed tune, taken from the Rolling Stones....if/when they found out, might have been flattered enough to let it slide...or bleed, keeping with the spirit of Neil's very dark(and Reprise black label)Lp.

ED

 

The Ventures also swiped the "I Feel Fine" riff for "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer" on their Christmas album.

 

...interpolated with "Satisfaction".

And along the same lines, Blood, Sweat & Tears' "Blues - Part II" incorporating "Sunshine of Your Love".