Every Friday I set my music player to shuffle and list off lyrics from the first ten songs that pop up — then it’s up you you, dear reader, to get into the comments and identify the artists and song titles.
Last week, John walked away with two songs and eight went unidentified. The answers are posted, or you can listen to the playlist of all ten tracks over at YouTube! Among the batch was Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut,” and while the version that came up on my player was, in fact, Harry Nilsson’s version, the only cover version of it you’ll find on my music player is Fred Schneider’s absolutely balls-to-the-wall freak-out.
Some ground rules before we get into the lyrics:
- No searchin’ (Asking ChatGPT/Grok/Whoever counts as searchin’)
- I’ll give credit for covers, but only if I can find the cover
- If you get close and nobody gets closer, you get the point
And now, the lyrics for this week’s 10!
- Am I left to burn, and burn eternally?
Roy Orbison, “She’s a Mystery to Me” 📺
Unidentified - I know Jesus loves me — maybe just a little bit more
Tom Waits, “Chocolate Jesus” 📺
Unidentified - The Reverend Smith, he recognized me — he punched me in the nose
Alice Cooper, “No More Mr. Nice Guy” 📺
Unidentified - Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill” 📺
Unidentified - You marry me, your father will disown you
The Spin Doctors, “Two Princes” 📺
Identified by John - Not even God takes this long to get back
Poe, “Hello” 📺
Unidentified - And I’m a bad boy ’cause I don’t even miss her
Tom Petty, “Free Fallin'” 📺
Identified by John - And it’s breakin’ my heart you’re leavin’ — baby, I’m grievin’
Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf), “Wild World” 📺
Unidentified - The more you know, the less you gotta guess on
3rd Bass, “Derelicts of Dialect” 📺
Unidentified - Who said that every wish would be heard and answered?
Willie Nelson, “The Rainbow Connection” (Cover of a song by Paul Williams made famous by The Muppets) 📺
Identified by John - The Title of this blog is the super secret bonus point, “The Turkish Song of the Damned,” by The Pogues 📺. It went unidentified.
Now, as I write this, Thudfactor has only three lyrics left to guess if you’re looking for more lyrical fun!
5. Two Princes, the Spin Doctors
7. Free Falling, Tom Petty
10. Rainbow Connection, and I’ve got to go with the big Muppets version at the end of the Muppet Movie
#8 I know the song title, but not the artist.
Nicely done! Although, weirdly enough, it’s not the big Muppets version, but a cover recorded by Willie Nelson.