Comments on: Songs with whistling in them?

Question: Songs with whistling in them?

Effigy2000 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:11:29 -0800

Please recommend to me some songs that have whistling in them?

My partner and I were listening to Monty Python's 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' song the other day and found ourselves enjoying whistling along to the whistling bit. She then remarked that there weren't enough songs with whistling in them. I had a bit of a think about it and y'know what? I can't think of a single other song that does.

I'm sure there are plenty of songs with whistling in them, so now I'm on a mission; to make and surprise her with a CD that has nothing but songs that have some whistling in it. So can you please recommend any songs that have whistling in them? I'm not looking for some old sea shanty or a wolf-whistle though; I'm talking about mainstream, well known music that has a whistling bit in it, ala 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.'

Thanks in advance!

By: youcancallmeal

youcancallmeal — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:14:07 -0800

They Might Be Giants: Whistling in the Dark

By: turgid dahlia

turgid dahlia — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:17:03 -0800

Oh, there's that one..."doo doo doo...doo doo doo-de-doo...doo doo doo..." ('Wind Of Change' or something?), and I'm pretty sure there're some Guns 'n' Roses songs with whistling in 'em.

By: gimonca

gimonca — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:17:17 -0800

The Richard Cheese cover of Radiohead's 'Creep' has whistling in it.

By: youcancallmeal

youcancallmeal — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:17:59 -0800

Hah. Ignore my suggestion. I just re-listened to it and ironically: no actual whistling to be had.

By: spork

spork — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:18:04 -0800

Peter Bjorn And John - Young Folks

By: vernondalhart

vernondalhart — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:18:34 -0800

Tom Waits - Green Grass
Goldfrapp - a few songs off of their first album

By: thejoshu

thejoshu — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:19:06 -0800

Basically any Andrew Bird song.

By: ROTFL

ROTFL — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:19:26 -0800

"The Stranger" by Billy Joel.

By: BobbyVan

BobbyVan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:20:45 -0800

Paul Simon, "You Can Call Me Al"

By: Ugh

Ugh — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:21:00 -0800

Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding - Best whistling song ever.

By: ThePinkSuperhero

ThePinkSuperhero — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:21:35 -0800

There's a song on the original cast recording of the very short lived Broadway musical Amour called "Whistling Ballet" with a great whistle hook.

By: thejoshu

thejoshu — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:22:28 -0800

Oh, and, Paul Simon's Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard.

By: BobbyVan

BobbyVan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:23:33 -0800

(or maybe not)

By: cosmicbandito

cosmicbandito — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:24:13 -0800

here's an oldie but goody: I was Kaiser Bill's Batman by Whistling Jack Smith

By: peggynature

peggynature — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:24:20 -0800

PATIENCE, Guns N' Roses

Only kind of joking.

By: KateHasQuestions

KateHasQuestions — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:25:10 -0800

The Fratellis - Whistle for the Choir. The bridge part (I guess that's what it is, 2/3 into the song?) has a really nice whistle part.

By: weapons-grade pandemonium

weapons-grade pandemonium — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:28:08 -0800

Colonel Bogey March.

By: lovermont

lovermont — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:30:25 -0800

Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers (SLYT)

By: mistikle

mistikle — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:30:44 -0800

Taj Mahal - Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie (Any Mo')
Guns N' Roses - Patience
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry, Be Happy
Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock of The Bay

and then there's Daryl Hannah whistling 'Twisted Nerve' in Kill Bill.

on preview, a couple have been covered, but..so be it.

By: sergeant sandwich

sergeant sandwich — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:31:48 -0800

way oh way oh, waaaay ohhhhhh waaaaaay ohhhhhhh !

By: bubukaba

bubukaba — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:32:19 -0800

Whistling recordings were apparently hugely popular in the early days of audio recording - check out the results for "whistling" over at the UC Santa Barbara Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project.

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:33:28 -0800

The Whistling Song by The Meat Puppets on Meat Puppets 2.

By: gingembre

gingembre — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:33:48 -0800

Jealous Guy by John Lennon (or the cover by Elliot Smith). The cover by Roxy Music is insipid.

By: greenland

greenland — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:34:50 -0800

Did you mark thejoshu's answer as best? Well you should because ANDREW. BIRD. THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT.

More specifically, you want his albums from the last five years or so. Weather Systems (Take a listen to "First Song". It's a good primer to his whistling madness). Mysterious Production Of Eggs. Armchair Apocrypha. Soldier On. Fingerlings 1 through 3.

By: chairmanroflmao

chairmanroflmao — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:34:51 -0800

Second the Andrew Bird, I recommend Cataracts.
Also, Rilo Kiley - Ripchord
John Lennon - Jealous Guy
The Magnetic Fields - Blue You
Islands - Humans

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:44:42 -0800

It sounds like whistling in The Fall's Shoulder Pads 1 and 2.

By: DevilsAdvocate

DevilsAdvocate — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:44:45 -0800

There's quite a bit from classic Disney movies:

"Whistle While You Work" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Heigh-Ho" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
"Give a Little Whistle" from Pinocchio
"A Spoonful of Sugar" from Mary Poppins

And one non-Disney recommendation: "Right Field" by Peter, Paul and Mary.

By: marsha56

marsha56 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:45:50 -0800

Andy Griffith Theme song.

By: smalls

smalls — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:46:11 -0800

simon & garfunkel - "me and julio (down by the schoolyard)"

By: Seeba

Seeba — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:46:55 -0800

The Andy Griffith Show Theme

By: smalls

smalls — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:46:56 -0800

crap. duplicate. i even searched for it before i posted.?!?

By: anifinder

anifinder — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:47:28 -0800

Don't Be A Stranger by The Shadow Project. Whistling starts about two minutes in.

By: smalls

smalls — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:52:37 -0800

ok, here's one - Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"
and "Me Myself & I" by De la Soul (reminds me of middle school every time)

By: theichibun

theichibun — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:52:46 -0800

Centerfold from J. Geils Band

By: Snerd

Snerd — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:53:22 -0800

Loving Spoonful - Daydream
Harlem Globetrotters' theme: Sweet Georgia Brown

By: knile

knile — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:56:35 -0800

Maybe not what you're looking for, or maybe exactly what you're looking for: DJ Riko - Whistler's Delight is a montage of many, many examples of whistling from popular songs. It includes Walk Like An Egyptian, Centerfold, a few aforementioned, a few I don't know, and a few I'm embarrassed to not recognize. Enjoy.

By: lgandme0717

lgandme0717 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:58:05 -0800

Rats, I was just about to post (What A Day for A) Daydream by the Lovin' Spoonful...

OK, my second (and much inferior) suggestion is the theme song for Garry Shandling's show ("We're almost to the part of where I start to whistle...")

By: luriete

luriete — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:08:09 -0800

Andrew Bird's "Nervous Tic Motion of the Head" is one of the best whistling-inclusive pop songs ever.

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:13:50 -0800

Big Rock Candy Mountain

Whistle-Stop

By: Rhaomi

Rhaomi — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:16:21 -0800

On second read, my suggestions are both pretty old. Then again, the first was part of the best-selling soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou, and the second is the original version of the infamous Hamster Dance. So there's a bit of a pop-cultural tie to both of them, crusty though they may sound.

By: Balonious Assault

Balonious Assault — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:24:29 -0800

Winchester Cathedral is a classic (it starts at 2:53, but the first song has some whistling in it too).

By: Flunkie

Flunkie — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:27:49 -0800

Centerfold (J. Geils Band)
Walk Like an Egyptian (The Bangles)
Games without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel)
Hocus Pocus (Focus)
Goodbye Stranger (Supertramp)
White Christmas (Bing Crosby)
How Soon is Now (The Smiths)
Two of Us (The Beatles)

As a bonus, "Hocus Pocus" also features yodeling.

Preview shows that about half of these have already been noted, but I'm keeping them anyway since (at least) some previous comments mentioning them didn't link to them.

By: jschu

jschu — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:28:49 -0800

Noah and the Whale: 5 Years' Time

By: PueExMachina

PueExMachina — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:29:09 -0800

Seconding Andrew Bird's A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left

By: monocyte

monocyte — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:30:14 -0800

Wilco -- "Red Eyed and Blue"

By: curagea

curagea — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:51:36 -0800

@turgid dahlia: It's "Wind of Change" by Scorpions.

By: bink

bink — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:53:37 -0800

Toots Thielmanns' "Bluesette"

By: peachfuzz

peachfuzz — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:55:28 -0800

Beck - Sissyneck.

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:01:56 -0800

The guys at Sound Opinions talked about whistling songs last year when Peter Bjorn and John came on their show. The folks who populate their message board had a lot to add to the list. My favorites:

XTC - Generals and Majors
De La Soul - Eye Know
Juan Esquival - Jalousie/Sentimental Journey--the clip features a whistling pencil sharpener

Also from the forum, here's a list of samples from DJ Riko's "Whistler's Delight."

By: BrnP84

BrnP84 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:05:33 -0800

John Lennon- Real Love, awesome whistle solo

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:05:46 -0800

Also linked from that forum is this playlist:

Roger Miller / Whistle-Stop (formerly known on this blog as "Robin Hood Theme"
Andrew Bird / Simple X / Armchair Apocrypha
Beck / Sissyneck
Man Man / Van Helsing Boombox / 6 Demon Bag
Theme to Andy Griffith Show
Peter Bjorn and John / Young Folks / Writer's Block
Elvis / A Whistling Tune
John Phillip Sousa / Colonel Bogey's March (Theme from Bridge Over the River Kwai)
Pixies / La La Love You
Bobby McFerrin / Don't Worry Be Happy
Taj Mahal / Ain't Gwine Whistle Dixie (Any Mo) / Best of Taj Mahal
Elliott Smith / Jealous Guy
Paul Simon / Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
Harlem Globetrotters / Sweet Georgia Brown
Dr. John / Big Chief
Bernard Herrman / Twisted Nerve
Supertramp / Goodbye Stranger
Girl Talk / Minute by Minute
Otis Redding / Sittin on the Dock of the Bay
Cat Power / After It All / The Greatest (Emphasis mine. This song is amazing.)
Guns N Roses / Patience / Live Era 87-93
Andrew Bird / Dark Matter / Armchair Apocrypha
Built to Spill / Broken Chairs
Beatles / Two of Us / Let it Be
Lovin Spoonful / Daydream
J. Geils Band / Centerfold
Bangles / Walk Like an Egyptian
Gaslight Guzzlers / Whistlin' Col.
Professor Longhair / Big Chief
John Lennon / Jealous Guy
They Might Be Giants / Whistlin in the Dark
Cansei De Ser Sexy / Music is my Hot Hot Sex / CSS

By: Astro Zombie

Astro Zombie — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:10:03 -0800

It's down right now, but the Online Guide to Whistling Records has an awesome collection.

By: Pater Aletheias

Pater Aletheias — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:18:07 -0800

Marty Robbin's "Ribbon of Darkness."
(Yeah, forty-year old country music is kinda my thing.)

By: decagon

decagon — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:27:36 -0800

"Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft" by the Wedding Present has a few seconds of whistling in there somewhere.

By: ludwig_van

ludwig_van — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:32:00 -0800

The Lucksmiths - I Don't Want to Walk Around Alone No More.

Andrew Bird is great. My favorite whistling of his might be the solo in Masterfade from the album Mysterious Production of Eggs.

By: Bernt Pancreas

Bernt Pancreas — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:33:49 -0800

The Whistle Song by P.J. Olsson. Catchy enough that it caught my attention in the Starburst ad.

By: Mountain Goatse

Mountain Goatse — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:41:07 -0800

Black Stone Heart by Bauhaus. The whistling comes in at 1:32. Catchy!

By: Acari

Acari — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:43:09 -0800

K'naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher
You can hear it in the player down in the corner here.
As a bonus, it doesn't auto play!

The whistle is a really good hook, says I.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:55:17 -0800

A few versions of Real Auld Mountain Dew have a terribly addictive whistling part at the beginning. This is not the best version but gives you the idea.

By: The Shiny Thing

The Shiny Thing — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:59:24 -0800

Nobody's mentioned "Joyride" by Roxette, so...

By: Kimothy

Kimothy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:03:58 -0800

"Love Letters in the Sand" - Pat Boone, whistling by Neil Sedaka

"What do the Simple Folk do?" - From "Camelot" - Whistling (and singing) by Julie Andrews and Richard Burton. - Watch just for the awesome whistling, even if you don't use it!

Extra history alert: Walt Disney saw Ms. Andrews as Guenevere during one of her performances, and was so taken by her skillful whistling, he decided that he must have her to play the part of Mary Poppins, which, as we all know, is a whistling role. /geek

And as a bonus - (Because the song is whistled, rather than whistling being in a song...)

"O Mio Bambino" - From "She's a Good Skate Charlie Brown" as whistled by Woodstock. (Yes, that's whistling, not a saw...)

Seconding:

The Stranger
Me and Julio Down by the School Yard
Winds of Change

And, um, referring to "Call me Al" - that's a pennywhistle, not someone actually whistling - but points for being a great song!

By: Rhomboid

Rhomboid — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:19:45 -0800

I'm entirely surprised that no one has yet mentioned Rammstein - Engel.

By: Gianna

Gianna — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:32:31 -0800

More G&R: "Civil War"

By: Jofus

Jofus — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 02:45:27 -0800

Hoagy Carmichael's version of Stardust (lovely, scratchy 78 version available from this page)

By: whatzit

whatzit — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:01:26 -0800

Kyu Sakamoto, "Sukiyaki." Even if the name doesn't click, it's definitely NOT obscure - #1 hit in 1963. If you like oldies, you probably know it.

By: Nattie

Nattie — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:09:51 -0800

Goldfrapp - Lovely Head

By: Hates_

Hates_ — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 04:43:14 -0800

Guns N' Roses - Civil War

By: BozoBurgerBonanza

BozoBurgerBonanza — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:38:06 -0800

Amanda Marshall >> If I Didn't Have You --- sorry, at work right now so can't provide link to the song. Whistling at the beginning and end.

By: pised

pised — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 05:54:02 -0800

Blackbird - The Beatles

By: otolith

otolith — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:12:44 -0800

Devotchka's The Enemy Guns has a truly epic whistle.

By: collocation

collocation — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:19:24 -0800

OH OH. Ennio Morricone's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. And more than just the opening/theme I believe. It is such a great album in general.

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:33:25 -0800

The theme to Fistful of Dollars for example. Or, even more iconic "For a Few Dollars More".

By: rongorongo

rongorongo — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:41:44 -0800

The story behind the whistling on "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" is particularly poignant if you do not know it.

By: lunasol

lunasol — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:54:40 -0800

I thought the theme from The Great Escape was whistled - it's not, but it sure is fun to whistle along to!

By: bassjump

bassjump — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:04:32 -0800

Guster's "All the Way Up to Heaven" features a great whistling section in the middle.

And "Annie" by the American Princes has a little quiet whistling in it.

By: Andy Harwood

Andy Harwood — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:13:47 -0800

I Like Birds by The Eels

By: isogloss

isogloss — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:32:17 -0800

If Love Is a Red Dress, by Maria McKee. It's also just a gorgeous song.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:34:19 -0800

Happy Mondays - Step On has sleazy whistling throughout.

By: ersatz

ersatz — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:39:25 -0800

A Queensryche song from Rage of Order had whistling, but I don't have my cds at hand.

By: electroboy

electroboy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:52:00 -0800

There It Go (The Whistle Song) by Juelz Santana

By: mu~ha~ha~ha~har

mu~ha~ha~ha~har — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:09:31 -0800

My Kitteh thinks this is a good song. Claud Vonstroke - The Whistler. (It is spelt wrong... but meh, copy/paste and you'll get the right one if this link screws up.)

And I think that this is a good song. Kanye West - Young Folks.

By: kidsleepy

kidsleepy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 09:34:15 -0800

Sweet Georgie Brown (aka the Harlem Globetrotters theme song) has been mentioned, but I just wanted to re-iterate, because it is the Ultimate Whistling Song.

By: amery

amery — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:16:36 -0800

Yes, a thousand times Andrew Bird. When he whistles it almost sounds like a theremin. Sometimes he does it as a central part of a song. Sometimes it's almost a throwaway. But when I think whistling I think Andrew Bird.

First song
A nervous tic motion of the head to the left
Spare-ohs
Plasticities
Weather systems
Masterfade

By: heffalump

heffalump — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:48:36 -0800

Pretty much anything by Roger Whittaker.

By: deejay jaydee

deejay jaydee — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:14:03 -0800

"Maiden's Milk" by the Meat Puppets, from Up on the Sun.
Even BETTER whistling than the aforementioned Whistling Song (which is a great song, mind you) . . .

By: fidelity

fidelity — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:34:56 -0800

Really, no "Magic Moments"? Perry Como at his finest. Take that how you will.

By: wilful

wilful — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:54:48 -0800

There's a Pogues song that i can't think of it's name....

By: chickadee

chickadee — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:31:57 -0800

check out "portobello road" by cat stevens. very very early in his career and a fannnnntastic song.

By: kidsleepy

kidsleepy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:48:28 -0800

Catch 22 - Rising the Fourth Wave

Technically another penny whistle, but still a great song to whistle along with.

By: kidsleepy

kidsleepy — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:48:42 -0800

*rising = Riding

By: shannonm

shannonm — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:50:18 -0800

Waitress (YT) by Live. Whistling starts at 2:04.

By: Jawn

Jawn — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:52:47 -0800

There isn't any actual whistling in the song, but I love whistling along to the melody from PPK's Resurrection.

By: taschenrechner

taschenrechner — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:50:01 -0800

"Yofo" by the Mexican group Molotov has a hook that's whistled.

By: limon

limon — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:38:28 -0800

Björk – Isobel