"Oh, that's what it's called!"

[Bored Of Education]

Songs that you didn't tie up with their actual titles for decades.

Barbara O'Reilly - The Who (obviously, I thought it was called "Teenage Wasteland")
The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel (I think I just thought it was called "Lie la lie" song or something).
Song For Guy - Elton John (the largely instrumental nature of this didn't help but I did think "Your Song" was "Song For Guy" for a while)

[Amor de Cosmos]

Barbara O'Reilly - The Who (obviously, I thought it was called "Teenage Wasteland")

Actually Baba O' Riley.

[San Bernardhinault]

For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield - for the longest time it was "There's Something Happening Here" to me.

[ad hoc]

Dragostea Din Tei - O-Zone (that "numa numa yay" song)

[Bored Of Education]

Oh, another one “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell which I thought was called “Paved paradise (and put up a parking lot).

[Amor de Cosmos]

Dragostea Din Tei - O-Zone (that "numa numa yay" song)

Wasn't that Joey Ramone with a bad head cold?

[jwdd27]

The Beatles - "The Ballad of John and Yoko", a.k.a "you know it ain't easy/they're gonna crucify me"

Also Bob Dylan "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", a.k.a "Everybody must get Stooooonned"

[Bored Of Education]

Actually Baba O' Riley.

Ha, thank you. Conflating it with “Barbara Ann”, I think

[Sporting]

Grocer Jack...

[G-Man]

"Grocer Jack" certainly makes a lot more sense than A Bit Of An Excerpt Though You Could Really Call It A Song From A Teenage Opera.

Many people think Elvis had a hit called "Wise Man Say".

[jwdd27]

The only 4 Non Blondes song you know is called "What's Up?", not "What's Going On?". They presumably didn't want people to think it was a Marvin Gaye cover.


A couple of "thanks for the brackets" entries:

I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) by The Proclaimers

and Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) by Green Day

Plus of course Escape (The Pina Colada song)

[ursus arctos]

This conundrum is as old as popular song and is the reason why songbooks and fake books have two indexes: one by title and one by first line.

[Ray de Galles]

People often seem to get confused about 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', calling it "You're Just Too Good to be True" or similar.

[Ray de Galles]

Oh, another one “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell which I thought was called “Paved paradise (and put up a parking lot).

I was going to correct you that the lyric was "The day paradise put up a parking lot..." until I checked and realised I've misheard it for decades (a thread we've surely done many times before).

[Jon]

I was watching Lovers Rock from the Small Axe anthology the other day and The Greatest Dancer was featured. I still can't get over the fact that, as revealed by the Chart Music podcast some years ago, 'I wonder why, he's the greatest dancer' is actually 'Oh, what, wow, he's the greatest dancer.'

[willie1foot]

I was watching Lovers Rock from the Small Axe anthology the other day and The Greatest Dancer was featured. I still can't get over the fact that, as revealed by the Chart Music podcast some years ago, 'I wonder why, he's the greatest dancer' is actually 'Oh, what, wow, he's the greatest dancer.'

You what? That's news to me!

[tee rex]

We should reject the devil's music and stick with hymns, where the first line is always the title*. Makes it much easier.

(*except for that old favourite, "And did those feet").

[Sporting]

Oh, another one “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell which I thought was called “Paved paradise (and put up a parking lot).

The lyrics of the song are pretty intriguing. Why did the yellow taxi take her old man away?

[Jah Womble]

One acquaintance of mine wouldn't have it that Chumbawamba's unavoidable-at-the-time hit wasn't called I Get Knocked Down. (It's Tubthumping, for anyone remaining in doubt.)

I was watching Lovers Rock from the Small Axe anthology the other day and The Greatest Dancer was featured. I still can't get over the fact that, as revealed by the Chart Music podcast some years ago, 'I wonder why, he's the greatest dancer' is actually 'Oh, what, wow, he's the greatest dancer.'

Yep. I thought similarly until working on the Next Lines round of NMTB.

I thought the opening line of A Forest by The Cure was 'across the Red Sea...' until a dozen or so years ago.

[Sits]

(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear - hugely underplayed Blondie hit.

[3 Colours Red]

One acquaintance of mine wouldn't have it that Chumbawamba's unavoidable-at-the-time hit wasn't called I Get Knocked Down. (It's Tubthumping, for anyone remaining in doubt.)

I knew someone who called it Pissing The Night Away.

[Satchmo Distel]

Unchained Melody.

[Bored Of Education]

We should reject the devil's music and stick with hymns, where the first line is always the title*. Makes it much easier.

(*except for that old favourite, "And did those feet").

The one for me like that is “Bread Of Heaven”. Even as a regular church goer, I was surprised when the tune came in for “Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah” came in

[Bored Of Education]

I was watching Lovers Rock from the Small Axe anthology the other day and The Greatest Dancer was featured. I still can't get over the fact that, as revealed by the Chart Music podcast some years ago, 'I wonder why, he's the greatest dancer' is actually 'Oh, what, wow, he's the greatest dancer.'

Sorry, I'm not having that.

[DPDPDPDP]

The one for me like that is “Bread Of Heaven”. Even as a regular church goer, I was surprised when the tune came in for “Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah” came in

I think that’s because hymns tend to follow the name of the first line of the first verse rather than the chorus.