Different Tune, Same Words
March 8, 2018 6:53 PM Subscribe
The East German national anthem could be sung to the tune of the (then West) German national anthem (and, consequently, vice versa). Are there other examples of lyrics that work with multiple tunes?
Don’t forget Baa Baa Black Sheep, sacrifix!
Also God Save the Queen and My Country, 'Tis of Thee
posted by kittydelsol at 6:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Also God Save the Queen and My Country, 'Tis of Thee
posted by kittydelsol at 6:58 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
Wait, on preview, is this for songs with the same melody or just lyrics that scan the same? I would contend that the songs named above are just different lyrics to the same songs.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah.”
“Theme to Gilligan’s Island” and “House of the Rising Sun.” (And loads of others match this one - they are in common meter.)
posted by mskyle at 7:00 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah.”
“Theme to Gilligan’s Island” and “House of the Rising Sun.” (And loads of others match this one - they are in common meter.)
posted by mskyle at 7:00 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Yes, to be clear, same words, different tunes. So God Save the Queen and My Country Tis of Thee is a non-example.
posted by hoyland at 7:04 PM on March 8, 2018
posted by hoyland at 7:04 PM on March 8, 2018
Amazing Grace and the theme to Gilligan's Island!
posted by Elly Vortex at 7:12 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Elly Vortex at 7:12 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Well, uh. Canonically, the Hogwarts school song from Harry Potter doesn’t have a specific melody that it is sung to, so everyone sings it a bit differently. But that’s, you know, fictional.
posted by Night_owl at 7:14 PM on March 8, 2018
posted by Night_owl at 7:14 PM on March 8, 2018
Amazing Grace can be sung to the tune of, er, Amazing Grace as well as the melody to House of the Rising Sun.
posted by xyzzy at 7:14 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by xyzzy at 7:14 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
There are a few Christmas carols that are sung to different tunes in the US and the UK. I am thinking of Away in a Manger and at least the first part of One Little Town of Bethlehem, I believe.
posted by cpatterson at 7:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by cpatterson at 7:15 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Finnish (Maamme) and Estonian (Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm) national anthems share the same tune.
posted by zeikka at 7:46 PM on March 8, 2018
posted by zeikka at 7:46 PM on March 8, 2018
I came in to talk about the terrible dreary American versions of carols, but sung psalms get all kinds of different settings to reflect the times.
Not exactly tangentially, ISIHAC. (My favourite of which was The Charge of the Light Brigade sung to the tune of 'My Favourite Things'.)
posted by holgate at 7:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
Not exactly tangentially, ISIHAC. (My favourite of which was The Charge of the Light Brigade sung to the tune of 'My Favourite Things'.)
posted by holgate at 7:54 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
I came hear to mention I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue - holgate beat me to it!
I think Rob Brydon is currently the best singer on the show. This Victoria Wood performance is wonderful.
posted by HoraceH at 8:14 PM on March 8, 2018
I think Rob Brydon is currently the best singer on the show. This Victoria Wood performance is wonderful.
posted by HoraceH at 8:14 PM on March 8, 2018
Yes, like zamboni says, common meter means that you can sing Emily Dickinson or the Rime of the Ancient Mariner poems to "Yellow Rose of Texas" or "Amazing Grace" or "House of the Rising Sun" the Gilligan's Island theme song-- or mix and match the lyrics.
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:30 PM on March 8, 2018
posted by athirstforsalt at 8:30 PM on March 8, 2018
I'm not even sure where to begin with citations, but tons of Jewish prayers have multiple tunes.
posted by aws17576 at 8:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by aws17576 at 8:43 PM on March 8, 2018 [3 favorites]
About a million Masses.
tons of Jewish prayers have multiple tunes I can think of 3 hine ma-tov's (sp?) off the top.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:47 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
tons of Jewish prayers have multiple tunes I can think of 3 hine ma-tov's (sp?) off the top.
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:47 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]
Common meter is one of many equivalence classes of meter, and any(? maybe there is fine print) two songs within the same meter are interchangeable.
posted by batter_my_heart at 9:35 PM on March 8, 2018
posted by batter_my_heart at 9:35 PM on March 8, 2018
Related
this broadwayworld thread also has some plausible examples, including this evergreen matchup
posted by one for the books at 1:58 AM on March 9, 2018
this broadwayworld thread also has some plausible examples, including this evergreen matchup
posted by one for the books at 1:58 AM on March 9, 2018
(UK politics) 'The Liberal Democrats' party anthem, "The Land", is of unknown authorship, but is widely considered the most rousing (former Labour leader Michael Foot thought it was better than "The Red Flag"), especially seeing as it's sung to the tune of "Marching Through Georgia'.
posted by plep at 2:14 AM on March 9, 2018
posted by plep at 2:14 AM on March 9, 2018
The Jewish hymn Adon Olam can be song to lots of different tunes. Which, I know, is not your question - but it means that the tunes of all those other songs can also be sung with the words to Adon Olam. I think I remember a web page with a list of them, but that was years ago and I can't find it now so I will link to the wikipedia page, which mentions the fact that its meter makes it very flexible. One I remember from childhood is "Take me out to the ballgame."
There is a list here but it seems to be "novel" versions rather than versions sung to other, known tunes. I can't easily play any of them myself.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 4:06 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
There is a list here but it seems to be "novel" versions rather than versions sung to other, known tunes. I can't easily play any of them myself.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 4:06 AM on March 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Here's Puddles the Clown singing Folsom Prison Blues with the lyrics of Pinball Wizard.
Also Gram Parsons gives That's Alright Mama a turn during his rendition of FPB.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:39 AM on March 9, 2018
Also Gram Parsons gives That's Alright Mama a turn during his rendition of FPB.
posted by bonobothegreat at 4:39 AM on March 9, 2018
There are flat-out plagiarisms. See "Surfin' U.S.A." is a song with lyrics by Brian Wilson set to the music of "Sweet Little Sixteen", written by Chuck Berry.
I heard a story about an American church musician who was working for a time in Belgium, probably in the 50s or 60s. One of his tasks was to play hymns on the bells (which could be heard abroad in the town). On day, he play a hymn, familiar to Americans as Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken. An angry mob entered the church and took him out to the street and were going to kill him until he make a satisfactory explanation. They were angry because the tune was the same as Deutschland Uber Alles. It was too soon after WWII and the Danes were still pretty damn angry. Originally, the music was the hymn "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser", written in 1797 by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn as an anthem for the birthday of Francis II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and later of Austria.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:41 AM on March 9, 2018
I heard a story about an American church musician who was working for a time in Belgium, probably in the 50s or 60s. One of his tasks was to play hymns on the bells (which could be heard abroad in the town). On day, he play a hymn, familiar to Americans as Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken. An angry mob entered the church and took him out to the street and were going to kill him until he make a satisfactory explanation. They were angry because the tune was the same as Deutschland Uber Alles. It was too soon after WWII and the Danes were still pretty damn angry. Originally, the music was the hymn "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser", written in 1797 by the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn as an anthem for the birthday of Francis II, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and later of Austria.
posted by SemiSalt at 5:41 AM on March 9, 2018
Unsurprisingly, the Breton anthem and the Cornish anthem are both sung to the tune of the Welsh national anthem (words by Evan James; music composed by his son James James).
posted by humph at 9:08 AM on March 9, 2018
posted by humph at 9:08 AM on March 9, 2018
a few Christmas carols that are sung to different tunes in the US and the UK. I am thinking of Away in a Manger
That's the one I know, but what are the others?
posted by Rash at 12:36 PM on March 9, 2018
That's the one I know, but what are the others?
posted by Rash at 12:36 PM on March 9, 2018
So many hymns in the Wesleyan Methodist hymnal (Great Britain).
posted by ramix at 9:59 PM on March 9, 2018
posted by ramix at 9:59 PM on March 9, 2018
So many hymns in the Wesleyan Methodist hymnal (Great Britain).
My family moved around a lot when I was growing up, and I went to three different primary schools. All three schools had "All things bright and beautiful" in their roster of hymns for morning assembly. Each school had chosen a different tune to sing it to... Small me was very confused.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:22 AM on March 11, 2018
My family moved around a lot when I was growing up, and I went to three different primary schools. All three schools had "All things bright and beautiful" in their roster of hymns for morning assembly. Each school had chosen a different tune to sing it to... Small me was very confused.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:22 AM on March 11, 2018
There are two different versions of 'Waltzing Matilda'. This is the most common one and this is the alternative version.
posted by h00py at 5:51 AM on March 11, 2018
posted by h00py at 5:51 AM on March 11, 2018
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posted by sacrifix at 6:55 PM on March 8, 2018 [2 favorites]