• "Song"

In order that this list not be inordinately long and repetitive, certain rules have been applied. For a start, any piece of music mentioned must be an actual song and not merely an instrumental. In addition some titles are descriptive of the song and therefore not expected to appear in the lyrics. Examples of this include:

• "Rain Song"
• "Theme From Flood"
• "The Ballad of John and Yoko"
• "The Grand Finale"
• "Bohemian Rhapsody" - perhaps the most famous example of a song without the title in the lyrics, but nevertheless excluded from the list below.
• "Unchained Melody"

A song whose title includes a version, part or year number in order to identify it is, for the purpose of this list, considered as not including that number.

• "Another Brick in the Wall, Part II"
• "Sofa #2"
• "3 Lions '98"

Songs where the exact song title does not actually appear, but words only a few parts of speech away from the title do, should not be included. Examples "the calendar hanging itself" as opposed to "The Calendar Hung Itself", or "false advertisements" instead of "False Advertising" (two entries deleted from under the Bright Eyes entry). Presumably the utility of this list arises from songs whose titles cannot be deduced from the lyrics, and which a confused listener might hunt down on this list. Please, before posting a song on this list, do a quick search on google of the format: artist lyrics "song title". This list becomes useless if it becomes too crowded with questionable entries. It is also artistically uninteresting if all that has happened is a shift in parts of speech. Contrast with "Bullet with Butterfly Wings" by the Smashing Pumpkins; the question of the possible origins of the title might lend new meaning to the song.

AFI

• "Girl's Not Grey"

Alice In Chains

• "Nutshell" (covered by Adema[?])

Tori Amos

• "All the Girls Hate Her"
• "Bells For Her"
• "The Highlands"
• "Over It"
• "Professional Widow"
• "The Waitress"
• "Cloud On My Tongue"
• "Doughnut Song"
• "Black-Dove (January)"
• "Wampum Prayer"
• "Charlotte Corday"
• "Finn"
• "For Mark"
• "Fresh Mown Grass"
• "Hungarian Wedding Song"
• "Sampler"
• "Let's Do It Again"
• "Me and You"
• "Ode to the Banana King (Part One)"
• "Operation Peter Pan"
• "Paradiso Perduto"
• "The Pool"
• "Purple People (Christmas In Space)"
• "Snow Cherries From France"
• "Til the Chicken"
• "The Waitress"
• "Zero Point"

A Perfect Circle[?]

• "Judith"
• "3 Libras"

Aphrodite's Child

• "∞" (featuring Irene Papas[?]) (entire lyrics: "I am/ I am to come/ I was")

Ash

• "Goldfinger"

At The Drive-In[?]

• "Rascuache"

Audioslave

• "Cochise"

Bad Religion

• "Prove It"

The Band

• "The Weight"

The Bangles

• "Dover Beach"

Ray Barretto[?]

• "El Watusi"

The Beatles

• "A Day in the Life"
• "The Inner Light"
• "Love You To"[1] (http://www.stevesbeatles.com/songs/love_you_to.asp)
• "Revolution 9"
• "Tomorrow Never Knows"

Belle and Sebastian

• "Take your carriage clock and shove it"

Black Sabbath

• "Black Sabbath"
• "Paranoid"

Blackalicious

• "Alphabetic Aerobics"

Mary J. Blige

• "Family Affair"

The Bloodhound Gang

• "The Bad Touch"

David Bowie

• "Cracked Actor"
• "Queen Bitch"
• "Space Oddity"
• "The Width of a Circle"

Easter Bradford

• "Circle's Side of the Story"
• "Akasha's Broken Will"
• "Red Hotel Wall"

Bright Eyes

• "A Line Allows Progress, A Circle Does Not"
• "It's Cool, We Can Still Be Friends"
• "Going for the Gold"

Brothers Johnson

• "Strawberry Letter 23" (the song's lyrics say the words "Strawberry Letter 22, because the song is about this being the 23rd letter in the Strawberry Letter chain and he is answering Strawberry Letter 22.)

Buffalo Springfield

• "For What It's Worth"

Butthole Surfers

• "Pepper"

The Capris[?]

• "Morse Code of Love"

The Cardigans

• "Lovefool"

The Carpenters

• "Superstar"

Rodney Carrington[?]

• "Second Letter to my Penis"

Cibo Matto[?]

• "Le Pain Perdu"

Clutch[?]

• "Binge and Purge"
• "Brazenhead"
• "Sinkemlow"

Cocteau Twins

• "Ivo"

Leonard Cohen

• "Death of a Ladies' Man"
• "Memories" (with Phil Spector)
• "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong"
• "The Partisan"

Coldplay

• "Amsterdam"

Harry Connick, Jr.

• "Blue Light, Red Light (Someone's There)"

Rita Coolidge[?]

• "All Time High"

Counting Crows

• "Murder of One"
• "Shallow dogs"
• "Suffocate"
• "A Mona Lisa"

Country Joe and the Fish

• "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine"

The Cowsills[?]

• "The Rain, the Park and Other Things"

Cream

• "Badge"

David Crosby

• "Triad" (lyrics (http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/songfile/TRIAD.HTM))

Sheryl Crow

• "The Book"

Dead Kennedys

• "Religious Vomit"

Death By Stereo[?]

• "Porno, Sex, Drugs, Lies, Money, And Your Local Government"

Deftones

• "Change (In the House of Flies)"

The Descendants

• "Hope" (most notably performed by Sublime)

Dido

• "Honestly Ok"

Dinosaur Jr.

• "Start Choppin'"

Donovan

• "Sunshine Superman"

Doors

• "Peace Frog"

Dredg

• "Convalescent"
• "Lechium"
• "Of the Room"
• "Penguins In the Desert"
• "Sanzen"
• "Scissor Lock"
• "Yatahaze"

Ian Dury

• "Jack Shit George"

Bob Dylan

• "Absolutely, Sweet Marie" (he does sing "sweet Marie" several times, but never the word absolutely)
• "From a Buick 6"
• "4th Time Around"
• "I Don't Believe You"
• "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry"
• "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"
• "Obviously 5 Believers" (... "fifteen jugglers and five believers"... but he never sings obviously five)
• "Positively Fourth Street"
• "Rainy Day Women #12 and #35"
• "Spanish Harlem Incident"
• "Temporary Like Achilles"

Julia Ecklar[?]

• "Crane Dance"
• "Fallen Angel"
• "Terminus Est"
• "Temper of Revenge"

Elastica

• "2:1"

Emerson, Lake and Palmer

• "The Endless Enigma"
• "Karn Evil 9"
• "The Mass"
• "Pirates"

Eminem

• "Guilty Conscience"
• "Role Model"

Melissa Etheridge

• "Royal Station 4/16"

Everclear

• "Santa Monica"
• "Why I Don't Believe In God"

Fish

• "The Perception of Johnny Punter"
• "Tara"

Leslie Fish[?]

• "The Discards"
• "Firestorm"
• "Neutral Zone, Romulan View"
• "Zero Game"

Five For Fighting[?]

• "Superman"

The Fleetwoods[?]

• "Come Softly to Me" (they do sing "come softly" but that phrase was considered too risqué for a title)

For Squirrels[?]

• "Mighty K.C."

4 Non Blondes[?]

• "What's up?"

Garbage[?]

• "Supervixen"
• "Temptation Waits"
• "Vow"

Genesis

• "Afterglow"
• "Can Utility and the Coastliners"
• "Guide Vocal"
• "Supper's Ready" (The lyrics do include the line, "Hey my baby, your supper's waiting for you-oo")
• "Time Table"

Gentle Giant

• "Alucard"
• "Black Cat" (Both words do appear in the lyrics, but never together)

Gorillaz

• "19/2000"
• "Clint Eastwood"

Green Day

• "Basket Case"
• "Brain Stew"
• "Longview"
• "Pulling Teeth"

Guns and Roses

• "Estranged"

Roy Hamilton[?]

• "Ebb Tide"

Alex Harvey

• "Vambo Marble Eye"

Heaven 17

• "Penthouse and Pavement"

Bobby Hendricks[?]

• "Psycho"

Idlewild[?]

• "American English"
• "The Bronze Medal"

Ja Rule

• "Mesmerize (featuring Ashanti)"

Jefferson Airplane

• "A Small Package of Value Will Come To You Shortly"
• "DCBA"
• "rejoyce"
• "Triad"
• "White Rabbit"

Jilted John[?]

• "Jilted John"

The Jive Five[?]

• "My True Story"

Quincy Jones

• "Get a Bloomin' Move On" (better known as the theme to The Italian Job)

Joy Division

• "A Means to an End"
• "Atrocity Exhibition"
• "Candidate"
• "Ceremony"
• "Day of the Lords"
• "Decades"
• "Digital"
• "Disorder"
• "Glass"
• "Insight"
• "Interzone"
• "I Remember Nothing"
• "New Dawn Fades"
• "Passover"
• "Sound of Music"
• "The Eternal"
• "The Kill"
• "Twenty-Four Hours"
• "Wilderness"

KMFDM[?]

• "Adios"
• "Brute"
• "Craze"
• "Dogma"
• "Naive"
• "Sycophant"
• "Terror"
• "Ultra"

Led Zeppelin

• "Black Dog"
• "D'yer Mak'er"
• "Fool In the Rain"
• "Over the Hills and Far Away"
• "Tea For One"
• "The Battle of Evermore"
• "Trampled Under Foot"

Legendary Stardust Cowboy[?]

• "Paralyzed" (maybe)

Live

• "Selling The Drama"

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions[?]

• "Grace"
• "Mainstream"
• "Minor Character"
• "29"

Madness

• "Shut Up"

Madonna

• "Mer Girl"
• "Drowned World"
• "Cyberragga"
• "Intervention"
• "X-Static Process"
• "Impressive Instant"
• "Shanti/Ashangti"
• "Up Down Suite"
• "The Beast Within"
• "Act of Contrition"

The Mamas and the Papas

• "Creeque Alley"

The Manic Street Preachers

• "Elvis Impersonator"

Barry Manilow

• "Weekend in New England"

Manowar

• "Gates of Valhalla"

Marillion

• "Blind Curve"

Melanie[?]

• "What Have They Done To My Song, Ma?" (the label insisted on correcting the grammar in the title)

Metallica

• "Astronomy"
• "Enter Sandman"
• "No Leaf Clover"

George Michael

• "Killer"

Ministry

• "Jesus Built My Hotrod"

The Monkees

• "Alternate Title" (its original title, "Randy Scouse Git", was also not in the lyrics)

Van Morrison

• "Astral Weeks"

Muse (band)

• "Uno"
• "Muscle Museum"

Nazareth

• "Hair of the Dog"

New Order

• "Bizarre Love Triangle"
• "Blue Monday"
• "In A Lonely Place"
• "Round and Round"
• "The Perfect Kiss"
• "True Faith"
• "Your Silent Face"

Stevie Nicks

• "Beauty and the Beast"

Nine Inch Nails

• "I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally"
• "Somewhat Damaged"

Nirvana

• "About a Girl"
• "In Bloom"
• "Lithium"
• "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Heather Nova

• "Bare" (Not entirely sure it isn't in the underwater speech part)
• "Maybe An Angel"
• "Heart And Shoulder" (the chorus is "give me your heart, give me your shoulder", however)

Phil Ochs

• "The World Began in Eden and Ended in Los Angeles" Phil Ochs

onelinedrawing[?]

• "15,000"
• "Crush on Everyone"

Onesidezero[?]

• "Holding Cell"
• "New World Order"

Pearl Jam

• "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town"

Wilson Pickett

• "Land of 1,000 Dances"

Pink Floyd

• "Brain Damage"
• "In the Flesh"
• "Young Lust"

The Pogues (featuring Kirsty McColl)

• "Fairytale of New York"

Primitive Radio Gods[?]

• "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand"

Procol Harum

• "A Christmas Camel"

Pulp

• "Disco 2000" - does include the line "Let's all meet up in the year 2000", but the word "disco" is entirely absent.
• "Babies"
• "Joyriders"
• "Live bed show"

OutKast

• "Rosa Parks"
• "Spottieottiedopaliscious"

Radiohead

• "Airbag"
• "How to Disappear Completely (And Never Be Found)"
• "Idioteque"
• "Paranoid Android"

Lou Reed

• "Endless Cycle"

Reel Big Fish

• "Thank You For Not Moshing"

The Rolling Stones

• "Sympathy for the Devil"

Rodriguez[?]

• "Jane S. Piddy"
• "Like Janis"

Roxy Music

• "Beauty Queen"
• "Chance Meeting"
• "Manifesto"
• "Pyjamarama"
• "Remake / Remodel"
• "Sea Breezes"
• "Strictly Confidential"
• "2HB"

Rush

• "2112"
• "A Passage to Bangkok"
• "Countdown"
• "Losing It"
• "The Analog Kid"
• "Vital Signs"
• "Witch Hunt"

Kyu Sakamoto[?]

• "Sukiyaki"

The Shaggs

• "Philosophy of the World"

Simon and Garfunkel

• "El Condor Pasa"(If I Could) (should a song count if its alternate title from the lyrics is included on the album? if not remove this and note this qualification at the top)
• "Punky's Dilemma"

Skinny Puppy

• "Testure"
• "Tin Omen"

Smashing Pumpkins

• "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"
• "Eye"
• "Here Is No Why"
• "The End is the Beginning is the End"
• "Cherub Rock"

The Smiths

• "How Soon Is Now?"

Soundgarden

• "Big Dumb Sex"

Spiller[?]

• "Groovejet"

Stabbing Westward

• "Shame"

Staind

• "Epiphany"

Static-X

• "I'm With Stupid"

Cat Stevens

• "Father and Son"

Al Stewart[?]

• "Love Chronicles"
• "Manuscript"
• "Swiss Cottage Manouevres"

Rod Stewart

• "Young Turks"

Stone Temple Pilots

• "Big Empty"
• "Columbia"
• "Sex Type Thing"
• "Tripping on a Hole in a Paper Heart"

Styx

• "A.D. 1928"
• "A.D. 1958"
• "Street Collage"

Sublime

• "Doin' Time"
• "Let's Go Get Stoned"

Sum 41

• "Fat Lip"

System Of A Down[?]

• "Chop Suey!" (its original title, "Suicide", was in the lyrics)
• "Roulette"

Temple of the Dog

• "Hunger Strike"

They Might Be Giants

• "AKA Driver" (only for trademark reasons)
• "Destination Moon"
• "We Want A Rock"

Toadies[?]

• "Possum Kingdom"

Tool

• "Ænima"
• "Disgustipated"
• "Hooker With a Penis"
• "Jerk Off"
• "Lateralus"
• "Opiate"
• "Parabola"
• "Prison Sex"
• "Schism"
• "Stinkfist"
• "Ticks and Leeches"

United States of America (band)[?]

• "Garden of Earthly Delights"

U2

• "A Sort of Homecoming"
• "Bad"
• "The Unforgettable Fire"
• "Scarlet"
• "Exit"
• "Mothers of the Disappeared"
• "Hawkmoon 269"
• "The Wanderer"

The Valentines[?]

• "Woo Woo Train"

The Vibrations[?]

• "My Girl Sloopy"

Tom Waits

• "Emontional Weather Report"
• "Postcard from a Hooker in Minneapolis"

Dionne Warwick

• "Valley of the Dolls"

Roger Waters

• "4:30 AM (Apparently They Were Travelling Abroad)"

Keith West[?]

• "Excerpt from a Teenage Opera" (however, this is sometimes listed as "Grocer Jack", which does appear in the lyrics)

The Who

• "Baba O'Riley" (however, this is based in part on an earlier song entitled "Teenage Wasteland", which does appear in the lyrics of both versions)

Stevie Wonder

• "Fingertips"

Brenton Wood[?]

• "Gimme Little Sign" (he actually sings "gimme some kinda sign")

X

• "Have Nots"

Weird Al Yankovic

• "Bob"
• "Cavity Search"
• "Couch Potato"
• "Smells Like Nirvana"

Yes

• "The Ancient/Giants Under the Sun"
• "The Gates of Delirium"
• "The Revealing Science of God/Dance of the Dawn"
• "Siberian Khatru" (lyrics do include the word "khatru" but not "Siberian")

Frank Zappa

• "Return of the Son of Monster Magnet"

See also

• List of songs in which the title constitutes the entire lyrics
• List of song titles phrased as questions