Funny Songs About American History

April 17, 2019 9:02 AM

Looking for funny songs about American history in the vein of Ben Franklin (Decemberists/Lin Manuel Miranda), Heroes by Jill Sobule, and F Delano by Kishi Bashi, which is a lot darker. Feel free to include songs about notable writers/events/crimes as well as politics, but keep them funny.
posted by mermaidcafe to Media & Arts (17 answers total)

Assassins, the Sondheim musical, probably fits this criteria in its entirety.
posted by superfluousm at 9:06 AM on April 17, 2019 [2 favorites]

Tom Lehrer, "Werner von Braun."
posted by praemunire at 9:15 AM on April 17, 2019 [6 favorites]

James K. Polk, by They Might Be Giants
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 9:19 AM on April 17, 2019 [6 favorites]

Brad Neely's George Washington song is classic.
posted by implied_otter at 9:25 AM on April 17, 2019 [4 favorites]

Miss Richfield 1981's "Mrs. Millard Fillmore" is hysterical, although not too heavy on history. It's an irreverent tribute to the first ladies, performed by a drag queen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on0xY2d3y_A
posted by juggler at 9:46 AM on April 17, 2019

You might find some gems in this recent post.
posted by hydra77 at 9:52 AM on April 17, 2019

The album Stan Freberg Presents the United States of America (Volume One: the Early Years). Includes such deathless tunes as Take an Indian to Lunch and Everybody Wants To Be an Art Director.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 9:52 AM on April 17, 2019 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I came in to suggest Stan Freberg. He released a Volume Two decades later, and it's funny enough, but it's not the immortal classic the first one is.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:54 AM on April 17, 2019

The Arrogant Worms' War of 1812 song, though it's told from a Canadian perspective
posted by Jon_Evil at 10:00 AM on April 17, 2019

Expanding on Lin Manuel Miranda, from Hamilton: You'll Be Back, What Comes Next? and I Know Him are pretty funny in the context of the show - not sure how well the humor plays outside of it. Cabinet Battles 1 & 2 are also pretty funny, but again, knowing who is delivering the lines.
posted by neilbert at 11:06 AM on April 17, 2019

America F*ck Yeah from Team America: World Police comes to mind, but it's more funny and satirical, not as historical as some other songs posted here.
posted by cleverevans at 12:13 PM on April 17, 2019

The band Pinataland has songs that're based on historical events, mostly from American history, and offhand I can't think of any that're funny, but they're all on the lighter side and mostly upbeat, even with darker topics such as Ota Benga, the African Pygmy man who was exhibited at a zoo. Each song opens with a historical recording, followed by their song. Here for example, is 1939, which opens with FDR's dedication of the New York World's Fair, in Queens, followed by their optimistic song which has the perspective of an imaginary contemporary to that Fair. The songs aren't about the history, exactly, but are inspired by it.

Here's the more downbeat "Coney Island Funeral," about the execution by electrocution (thanks Edison!) of Topsy the Elephant at Coney Island in 1903, who crushed a man who fed her a lit cigarette.
posted by Sunburnt at 1:13 PM on April 17, 2019

"Button!"
posted by ottereroticist at 6:08 PM on April 17, 2019

Allan Sherman also has "Harvey and Sheila," a comedic (natch) parody, to the tune of "Hava Nagila," featuring an American Jewish couple that falls in loves, gets married, and does upper middle-class 1960s things (aimed squarely at his Borscht-Belt audience), which is all a framework to tie together acronym after acronym in his usual witty fashion.
posted by Sunburnt at 12:02 AM on April 18, 2019

To maybe whet your appetite for the Freberg album, nowhere else will you hear lyrics like

How'd you like a flag that features fleurs-des-lis
On ochre corrugated tin?

or

You're so skittish, who possibly could care if you do?
The Un-British Activities Committee, that's who!

posted by Kirth Gerson at 5:09 AM on April 18, 2019

The Mediocre Presidents song from The Simpsons is a favorite of mine in this genre.
posted by zem at 11:28 AM on April 18, 2019

I do believe this calls for EPIC RAP BATTLES OF HISTORY.
posted by oceano at 1:30 PM on April 18, 2019