Remembering the list song, 25 years after ‘Paththar Ke Phool’ gave us ‘Kabhi tu Chhalia lagta hai’.
Some part of me dies every time a film from my school or college days celebrates a major anniversary – I’m talking about you, Paththar Ke Phool, now 25 years old – but this isn’t a how-time-flies- post. Neither is it a do-you-remember-when- post. Some of you may recall that this was Raveena Tandon’s first film, opposite a Salman Khan who still looked like a bratty boy (as opposed to the bratty muscle-mountain he is today). For me, the film brings to mind Vinod Mehra, who died a few months before its release. It’s incredible to remember that this gentlest, most self-effacing of actors was allowed to flourish as a leading man. Okay, I guess this is turning out to be a do-you-remember-when- post after all, but let’s pause just a minute to marvel at a Hindi cinema that looked at a Vinod Mehra, a Rakesh Roshan, an Amol Palekar, a Navin Nischol, and said, “Never mind that you think ‘gym’ is a character from Huckleberry Finn. You’re hero material.”
But back to Paththar Ke Phool, it’s a song that comes to mind: Kabhi tu Chhalia lagta hai. It became quite popular. It’s a dream duet, and the lyrics are a concatenation of film names. The heroine tells the hero that he’s sometimes a Chhalia, a Deewana, an Anari, an Awara. He returns the favour, calling her Noorie, Julie, Chandni, Bobby. The song is modelled after the Ek Duuje Ke Liye song, Mere jeevan saathi, which was not only more rooted in the film’s context (it wasn’t just a dream; the hero did not know Hindi, and he had to rely on the names of films to put across his feelings) but also a purer song, in the sense that it is, from start to finish, a concatenation of film names. (The Paththar Ke Phool song, on the other hand, has bridging lines that aren’t made of film titles.) But that doesn’t matter. The point is that these are “list songs” – as the name suggests, songs whose structure is that of a list, a catalogue of similar-sounding (or similar-meaning) things.
I’m sure the list song has a long and storied history (our devotional chants, for instance, even if you may not categorise something like the Venkateswara Suprabhatam or the Hanuman Chalisa as a “song”), but as a pop-culture staple, they begin to show up in Broadway. In the 1920s and 30s, Cole Porter wrote songs like You’re the top, in which he compiled a list of people and things that represented the very best, and went on to use them to refer to the couple. You’re the Coliseum… You’re the Louvre Museum / You’re Mahatma Gandhi… You’re Napoleon Brandy / You’re the National Gallery / You’re Garbo’s salary… The most famous list song from Broadway, at least to Indian ears, may be My favourite things from The Sound of Music. Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens… This may look easy, but it’s anything but. It’s a rigid structure, and the lyricist has to transform a laundry list into something playful and loose, something that sounds like poetry.
But it isn’t always about rhyming or metre. Gulzar’s Mera kuchh samaan from Ijaazat is (as composer RD Burman reportedly complained) filled with jagged lines, but it is very much a list song – quite literally so. It’s a list of things the woman has left behind with her ex and now wants back: a few monsoon days, the sound of falling leaves, her rain-soaked heart from the time they shared an umbrella and got partly wet, one hundred and sixteen moonlit nights, that single mole on his shoulder… Ek ladki ko dekha, from 1942: A Love Story, is a more joyous list song. As is Kannadasan’s Kaalangalil aval vasantham, from Paava Mannippu. Among seasons, she is spring / among the arts, she is painting / among months, she is December / Among flowers, she is the jasmine.
Gulzar wrote another kind of list song for Kitaab, less wistful, more exuberant: A aa e ee, Masterji ki aa gayi chitthi… Students sing about a letter from which sprang a cat, a mosquito – it’s a combination of list song and nonsense verse, the most famous instance of which may be Rail gaadi, from Aashirwad. That film also had the delightful Nani ki naav, in which a boat is filled with all kinds of things which are taken away by a crocodile. Parts of Pettai rap, from Kaadhalan, also come under this category, the nonsense verse list song – it’s a list of realities, feelings that make Madras Madras. This film also had Kaadhalikkum pennin kaigal, a list of the things that happen in the presence of a girlfriend. Tin becomes gold, sweat turns into holy water…
For a time, Vairamuthu was the foremost practitioner of the list song. Kannukku mai azhagu from Pudhiya Mugam. (The list song as romantic reverie.) Senthamizh naattu Thamizhachiye from Vandicholai Chinraasu. (The list song as misogynistic rant.) Or even something as recent as Malargal kaetten, from O Kaadhal Kanmani. (The list song as plea; you’ve given me so much, but I want more, I want you.) Can Kannadasan’s wordplay be counted under list songs? After all, what are Athikaai (from Bale Pandiya) or Athaan (Paava Mannippu) or Paarthen sirithen (Veera Abhimanyu) if not a “list” of dazzling rhymes? My favourite list song from that great composer is Kodi asainthathum, from Paarthaal Pasi Theerum. Did the flag begin to flutter after the breeze set in, or was it the other way around? Did the flower unfurl after the moon came out, or was it vice versa? It’s as existential a love duet as you’ll find, the chicken-and-egg question tucked into a gorgeous list song.
An edited version of this piece can be found here. Copyright ©2016 The Hindu. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
sanjana
March 12, 2016
Wonderful and nostalgic. Rolling back to those pure days if one call them so. I am a fan of the Tandon song(she looked so fresh and simple). Amol Palekar Vinod Mehra and Navin Nischol. We dont have such heroes anymore and if they are there, they will not flourish as regular heroes. There is this lovely evergreen song from Lal Pathtar picturised on a happily unhappy Vinod Mehra. Geet gaata hu mein, one of my favourites. Of course kaalangalil aval vasantham and atthan songs. And that P.B. song Nilavukku enmel ennadi kovam from that era perhaps. Thanks for this BR.
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Vanya
March 12, 2016
It feels so wrong to bring up this example after mera kuchh saamaan has just been discussed, but it has to be done. Let’s not forget the list song as a history lesson: “Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray,…”
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Amit Joki
March 12, 2016
Oh those wonderful songs. Those wonderful composition by RD Burman saab, those chiselled lyrics which still holds relevance today.
Those expressive eyes of Raveena, her dancing skills, I can very well remember that it was an excellent debut.
Loved the way you brought Mere Jeevan Saathi, it made me go back to the good old days of Haathi Mere Saathi.
I fondly remember when Kodi finally asanjudhu. The visual was quite gripping. I must say it was a gem of a song.
There is nostalgia in the air, thanks to you. It vividly brings back the days to mind when I didn’t exist.
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tonks
March 12, 2016
May I add to the list? Two more :
A You’re adorable
B You’re so beautiful
C You’re a cutie full of charms
D You’re a darling and
E You’re exciting and
F You’re a feather in my arms and so on until zee 🙂
A list of what happened (mostly in the US) in the last ten years before the song was recorded :
“Well, the last ten years, look at the hills we’ve climbed
The best golfer’s black, the best rapper’s white an’ it’s about damn time
But we best beware, there’s a brand new fight, you see
An’ I hate to say we might be our own worst enemy
We watched Oklahoma sifting through the damage
An’ we watched a US President get caught
We watched shareholders watch their savings vanish
We all cried when we watched those towers fall
We lost Minnie Pearl, Ron Reagan and Sam I Am
We even lost Superman”
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tonks
March 12, 2016
In the Malayalam movie CID Moosa Dileep’s character uses another Hindi movie name list to speak to a North Indian girl in this song (because he does not know the language ) :
“Maine pyar kiya, pyar kiya tho darna kya,
Akele hum akele thum, kabhi khushi kabhi e gham,
Mujhe kuch kehna hai.. haye.. kuch kuch hotha hai”
And a list of the various reasons throughout the year ( from New years day in January right up Christmas day in December) to;why you might call someone and how none if them is actually the real reason for this call 🙂
*No New Year’s Day to celebrate
No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away
No first of spring
No song to sing
In fact here’s just another ordinary day
No April rain
No flowers bloom
No wedding Saturday within the month of June
But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you*
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Mohammed Arif Attar
March 12, 2016
You forgot We Didn’t Start The Fire…I mean that’s the ultimate list song no? Remember memorising the lyrics to the song when I should have been memorising for my exam the next day.
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tonks
March 12, 2016
An old Malayalam song that is similar to the Kannadasan song quoted in the post, translates to:
“Among mangoes you are Malogova, among the months you are Kanni maasam,
among the trees of the forest you are a black veetti,
among domestic animals you are a Sindhi cow” 😀
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tonks
March 12, 2016
Vanya just referred to that song in her comment, Muhammed Arif 🙂
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tonks
March 12, 2016
I apologise for monologuing but another list of sorts :
Maduraikku Pogathadi
Anga Malli Poo Kanna Vekkum
Thanjaavur Pogaathadi
Thala Aataama Bhomma Nikkum
Thoothukudi Pona Sila Kappal Kara Thattum
Kodaikaanal Pona Anga Megam Unna Suthum
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tonks
March 12, 2016
This is almost spamming but just this one list song more. This is similar to the Stevie Wonder song in that it covers the seasons throughout the year, but this is a list of nice things wished by a generous soul, would happen to an ex :
I wish you bluebirds in the spring
To give your heart a song to sing
And then a kiss, but more than this
I wish you love
And in July a lemonade
To cool you in some leafy glade
I wish you health
But more than wealth
I wish you love
My breaking heart and I agree
That you and I could never be
So with my best
My very best
I set you free
I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all when snowflakes fall
I wish you love
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lakshmi
March 12, 2016
Does “Nitham nitham nelli choru” (Mullum Malarum) qualify? 🙂
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Mohammed Arif Attar
March 12, 2016
Yeah I saw that later on Tonks. Thanks. I actually searched for Fire and thought everyone had missed it.
Another one that could possibly be a list song: Moonshadow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr0rDW5j1KU
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tonks
March 12, 2016
I heard this song for the first time while watching The blind side in which Tim McGraw, the person who sang this song, also stars.
The song is a list of names of people who contributed to the “southern voice”
Hank Williams sang it
Number 3 drove it
Chuck Berry twanged it
Will Faulkner wrote it
Aretha Franklin sold it
Dolly Parton graced it
Rosa Parks rode it
Scarlett O chased it
Hank Aaron smacked it
Michael Jordan dunked it
Pocahantas tracked it
Jack Daniels drunk it
Tom Petty rocked it
Dr. King paved it
Bear Bryant won it
Billy Graham saved it
Smooth as the hickory wind
That blows from Memphis
Down to Appalachicola
It’s hi ya’ll did ya eat well
Come on in I’m
Sure glad to know ya
Don’t let this old gold cross
An’ this Allman Brothers t-shirt throw ya
It’s cicadas making noise
With the southern voice
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tonks
March 12, 2016
Perhaps the oldest recorded list song?
This is a list of the behaviour of people from different countries at noon. (Mad dogs and Englishmen, of course, go out in the midday sun 😀 )
Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun,
The Japanese don’t care to,
The Chinese wouldn’t dare to.
Hindus and Argentines sleep firmly from twelve till one,
But Englishmen detest a siesta.
In the Philipines
They have lovely screens
To protect you from the glare.
In the Malay States
There are hats like plates
Which the Britishers won’t wear.
At twelve noon the natives swoon and no further work is done,
But mad dogs and Englismen go out in the midday sun
The toughest Burmese bandit
Can never understand it.
In Rangoon the heat of noon
Is just what the natives shun,
They put their Scotch or Rye down
And lie down.
In a jungle town
Where the Sun beats down
To the rage of man and beast
The English garb
Of the English sahib
Merely gets a bit more creased.
In Bangkok
At twelve o’clock
They foam at the mouth and run,
But mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun
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Rahini David
March 12, 2016
Tonks : please continue your contributions. I am loving it. Will pitch in when I can. I am strongly reminded of the times when I was in college. Too bored to pay attention to the class, I would write a list of rain songs or movies that have only two syllables in their name (Like vaali, kushi). By the end of the day, the entire class would be thinking about the criteria and what all fits. 🙂
I believe that these list making hobbies can prevent our brain from rusting too soon. Definitely what a doctor would recommend.
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MANK
March 12, 2016
Tonks seem to have cleaned up the table , but let me make
My contributions
from *My fair Lady *
:Why can’t the English learn to speak :
Why can’t the English
Teach their children how to speak
Norwegians learn Norwegian
The Greeks are taught their Greek
In France every Frenchman
Knows his language from A to Zed
The French don’t care what they do actually
As long as they pronounce it properly
Arabians learn Arabian
With the speed of summer lightning
And the Hebrews learn it backwards
Which is absolutely frightening
But use proper English, you’re regarded as a freak
Oh why can’t the English
Why can’t the English
Learn to speak!
:why can’t a woman be more like a man:
This is dedicated specifically to Rahini 😀
Why can’t a woman be more like a man?
Men are so decent, such regular chaps.
Ready to help you through any mishaps.
Ready to buck you up whenever you are glum.
Why can’t a woman be a chum?
Why is thinking something women never do?
Why is logic never even tried?
Straightening up their hair is all they ever do.
Why don’t they straighten up the mess that’s inside?
Why can’t a woman behave like a man?
If I was a woman who’d been to a ball,
Been hailed as a princess by one and by all;
Would I start weeping like a bathtub overflowing?
And carry on as if my home were in a tree?
Would I run off and never tell me where I’m going?
Why can’t a woman be like me?
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gvsafamily
March 12, 2016
Showing up here after a long time and glad to find that the fun/wit/action/drama in these parts is still very much intact! 🙂
“Never mind that you think ‘gym’ is a character from Huckleberry Finn. You’re hero material.”
LOL… and thank God for that!
And finally, pertinent to the subject at hand, this got to be the creepiest list song ever.
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brangan
March 12, 2016
MANK: Neither of them is a list song. 🙂 They are, however, sublime examples of musical-theatre lyric-writing 🙂
gvsafamily: And this one too:
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tonks
March 12, 2016
Roja’s list of (not so) chinna chinna asaigal.
And a list of what makes the lady a tramp :
She gets too hungry for dinner at eight
She likes the theatre and never comes late
She never bothers with people she’d hate
That’s why the lady is a tramp
Doesn’t like crap games with barons or earls
Won’t go to Harlem in ermine and pearls
Won’t dish the dirt with the rest of the girls
That’s why the lady is a tramp
You shouldn’t have encouraged me, Rahini, I shall now be doing this all night 🙂
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MANK
March 12, 2016
Brangan, does abhi na jaon chod ke qualify, if i make a list of why my beloved should not leave me so soon , you know * abhi abbi to ayi ho,hawa zara mehek to le, ye sham dal to le zara, ………………… * 🙂
And speaking of Nitham nitham nelli chor remind me of this song *ayila porichathundu * from mullum malaram remake venalil oru mazha. its nice to hear them both side by side. ayila porichathundu is composed by MSV incidentally and it is a very popular song
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srinichennai
March 12, 2016
“Madhuraiyil parandha meen kodiyai un kangalil kandeney” from Poovaa Thalaiyaa was a quintessential list song. Specialities of various parts of Tamilnadu describing various aspects of the heroine. Almost like the answer table of a match-the-following puzzle. Lovely song if you can pardon the incongruity of TMS singing for Gemini
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gvsafamily
March 12, 2016
“For a time, Vairamuthu was the foremost practitioner of the list song. ”
Interestingly, I’ve always thought Vairamuthu overdid it, especially in the 90s after ARR burst into the scene.
Firstly, too many list songs in the same movie (‘netru illada maatram’, ‘kannukku mai azhagu’, ‘sambo sambo’ from pudiya mugam OR ‘kannum kannum’, ‘putham pudhu bhhomi’ from thiruda thiruda)
And then mandatory list songs in every movie (odakara marimuthu from indra, athangara marame from kizhakku seemayile) or the ones you have mentioned from kadhalan and so on… the 90s just seem to be full of them.
List songs, when overdone, just seem an easy way out for the lyricist 🙂
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brangan
March 12, 2016
I think this is the oldest list song in Tamil I know of. Great rhymes/lyrics and an astounding elaboration of Senchurutti.
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lakshmi
March 12, 2016
About lyrics that are a concatenation of film names:
An entire song in one of NTR’s movies is just a list of titles of only his films.
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srinichennai
March 12, 2016
The comments themselves are becoming something of a list of list songs. A few more ;
“Nee kaatru naan maram. Enna sonnaalum thalai aattuven” from Nilaave Vaa.
“Veenaiyadi nee enakku, mevum viral naan unakku” – Ezhaavadhu manithan
“Take it easy Oorvasi” – Kaadhalan (Cool situations – breezy Vairamuthu)
“Kannum kannum kollaiyadiththaal” – Thiruda Thiruda (again light Vairamuthu)
“Malarukku thendral pagaiyaanaal adhu malarndhida kadhiravan thunaiyundu” – Enga veettu pillai (Serious situation; great lyrics)
“Ninaikka therindha maname unakku marakka theriyaadhaa” – Anandha Jyothi (“sad” list)
“Maanallavo Kangal thandhadhu” – Needhikku pin paasam (Mutual back-scratching list)
“Ulagam pirandhadhu enakkaga” – Paasam (one of MGR’s earliest list songs)
…….. and the list can go on and on
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V'enkatesh
March 12, 2016
Of late, Bharathiraaja’s films seem to have a great impact on me. 🙂 The prelude of this song bears a faint resemblance with “Ek ladki ko dekha”:
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
March 12, 2016
MANK: Who played Shoba’s part in the Malayalam remake?
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sanjana
March 12, 2016
We can have one antakshari special too. Everyone can enjoy playing the singer for a minute. Even the besura ones.
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MANK
March 13, 2016
Honest Raj ,as far as i remember, i think shobha played that role in malayalam too
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Iswarya
March 13, 2016
This must be one of the earliest list songs in Tamil, and also a ‘He says-She says’ kind of song where surprisingly it is not the man who has the last word! In fact, the woman comes across as the smart one while the man is trying to woo her with all sappy metaphors which she ‘scientifically’ deconstructs – in the last line, she even gets to chide him as “mandu”! I couldn’t believe at first that this rare song from 1960 was not by Kannadasan:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv3QBEGRDqQ
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Yossarian
March 13, 2016
Good one BR. The list of list songs would be incomplete without this gem:
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olemisstarana
March 13, 2016
Tonks – that’s brilliant.
Here’s my contribution: Lydia and her tattoos. (We are doing listicle style songs, yes?)
This is a story of Lydia and her varied body art…
Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia the tattooed lady
She has eyes that men adore so
And a torso even more so
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclopedia
Lydia, the queen of tattoo
On her back is the Battle of Waterloo
Beside it the Wreck of the Hesperus, too
And proudly above waves the red, white and blue
You can learn a lot from Lydia
(la la la la la la)
When her robe is unfurled, she will show you the world
If you step up and tell her where
For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree
Or Washington crossing the Delaware
(la la la la la la)
(la la la la la la)
Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia the tattooed lady
When her muscles start relaxin’
Up the hill comes Andrew Jackson
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclopedia
Lydia, the queen of tattoo
For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz
With a view of Niagara that nobody has
And on a clear day, you can see Alcatraz
You can learn a lot from Lydia
(la la la la la la)
(la la la la la la)
Come along and see Buffalo Bill with his lasso
Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso
Here’s Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon
Here’s Godiva but with her pajamas on
(la la la la la la)
(la la la la la la)
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclopedia
Lydia, the queen of them all
She once swept an admiral clean off his feet
The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat
And now the old boy’s in command of the fleet
For he went and married Lydia
I said Lydia
He said Lydia
I said Lydia
He said Lydia
Ole!
😀 😀 😀
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Vanya
March 13, 2016
Agree with gvsafamily about list songs being lazy. IMO, within a song, listing works only in moderation, else it gets old really fast. For example, the overrated “take a walk on the wild side”.
Change up the rhythm a little bit (and throw in a killer roll-based drum intro/outro!) and it’s so much more effective:
“You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don’t need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don’t need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free”
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lakshmi
March 13, 2016
A list of nouns 🙂
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tonks
March 13, 2016
You’re the best book I ever read
You’re the smartest thing I ever said
You’re breakfast in bed
You’re the best dream in my head
You’re my calm thought when I see red
You’re better than punk rock cred
You’re breakfast in bed
Angreji me kahte hain ke i luv u Gujarati ma bole tane prem karu chhu, chhu, chhu Bangali me kahte hain aamee tumake bhalo bashee Aur panjabi me kahte hain teree toh ha Tere bin mar java, mai tainu pyar karna Tere jaiyo naiyo labnee, o sathee ho Ni baliye angreji me kahte hain ke i luv u turu rutu Gujarati ma bole tane……
kalyaNa samayal saadham
kaai karigaLum pramaadham
andha kaurava prasaadam
idhuvae ennakku pOdhum
ahhahahahahaha
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sanjana
March 13, 2016
Lydia Oh Lydia sounds like Laila oh Laila from Qurbani. Or vice versa? We can sing that song the way it was sung in hindi.
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olemisstarana
March 13, 2016
Sanjana: I heartily approve of this comment… 😀
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KayKay
March 13, 2016
Would this qualify as a list song? From one of the finest voices in country music today.
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tonks
March 13, 2016
Perhaps it’s because one member of Monty Python is a doctor, there is not even one STD left out in an exhaustive list of venereal diseases in this “love” song (the last two lines are what I find most funny) :
Inflammation of the foreskin
Reminds me of your smile
I’ve had ballanital chancroids
For quite a little while
I gave my heart to NSU
That lovely night in June
I ache for you my darling
And I hope you get well soon.
My penile warts, your herpes
My syphilitic sores
Your moenelial infection
How I miss you more and more
You dobie’s itch, my scrumpox
Our lovely gonorrhea
At least we both were lying
When we said that we were clear
Our syphilitic kisses
Sealed the secret of our tryst
You gave me scrotal pustules
With a quick flickof your wrist
Your trichovaginitis
Sent shivers down my spine
I got snail tracks in my anus
When your spirochetes met mine.
Gonococcal urethritis, streptococcal ballinitis,
Meningo myelitis, diplococcal cephalitis,
Epididimitis, interstitial keratitis,
Syphalitic choroiditis, and anterior u-ve-i-tis
My clapped out genetalia
Is not so bad for me
As the complete and utter failure
Every time I try to pee.
My doctor says my buboes
Are the worst he’s ever seen
My scrotum’s painted orange
And my balls are turning green.
My heart is very tender
Though my parts are awful raw
You might have been infected
But you never were a bore
I’m dying of your love my love
I’m your spirochaetal clown
I’ve left my body to science
But I’m afraid they’ve turned it down.
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dhileeshpc
March 13, 2016
How about the annoying auteur song from Chintu Ji? Is there a worse way to pay tribute to these auteurs?😀 May be it makes sense in context. Haven’t seen the film.
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tonks
March 13, 2016
A list of alternate professions :
If I were a carpenter
And you were a lady,
Would you marry me anyway?
Would you have my baby?
If a tinker were my trade
would you still find me,
Carrying the pots I made,
Following behind me.
If I worked my hands in wood,
Would you still love me?
Answer me babe, “Yes I would,
I’ll put you above me.”
If I were a miller
at a mill wheel grinding,
would you miss your color box,
and your soft shoe shining?
And a list of what makes this unfortunate guy Mr In-between with similes that would give Wodehouse (and BR) a run for their money 🙂 :
https://g.co/kgs/hTBoK
Well, I’m too old for girls and I’m too young for women
I’ve looked all around and my hopes are a-dimmin’
I feel like a fish not allowed any swimmin’
And it makes a fella mean
To feel he’s a part of the Lost Generation
I feel like a choo-choo that can’t find the station
I work like a dog with no recreation
They call me Mr. In-Between
Those sweet little things just set me a-droolin’
I’m too big for sodas and I’m too old for schoolin’
Too young for lovin’ but I’m too old for foolin’
They call me Mr. In-Between
I feel like a sailboat kept in a bottle
I feel like an engineer that can’t find the throttle
I’m too small to walk but I’m too big to toddle
And, Lordy, I’m turnin’ green
To see all the men makin’ time with the ladies
The high school kids at the show with their babies
While I run around like a dog with the rabies
They call me Mr. In-Between
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Paresh
March 13, 2016
tonks, you beat me in posting the CID Moosa song here, it was throbbing in my head while reading this post. But, I clicked the refresh button before posting it & found that you’ve already done it. 😛 This song started a trend of sorts; now every typical Dileep film (targeting the children during the vacation time) has one such song. And, his friend Nadirshah (who recently made his debut as a director with Amar Akbar Anthony) has the expertise of providing the lyrics for these songs.
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Yoganand Netrakanti
March 13, 2016
Refering to the song ‘Kabhi tu Chaalia in ‘Paththar Ke Phool’ which (you wrote)”is modelled after the ‘Ek Duje Ke Liye’ song, ‘Mere jeevan saathi’……a concatenation of film names” . I wish draw your attention to the original version of “Ek Duje Ke Liye’ which was Telugu film ‘Maro Charitra(1978), a tragic love story scripted and directed K. Balachander with Kamal Hasan and Saritha who played roles of hero and herione from which the original idea sprang up (may be from the mind of K. Balachander ) to use all the Telugu film titles. The Telugu film song is from begining to the end is a concatenation of Telugu film titles The song begins with th the title of a Telugu movie, “Kalsi Unte Kaladu Sukham”, (1961). Th Telugu song is In the film, “Kalasi….” hero is N.T.Rama Rao and heroine is Savitri. The Telugu song, unlike the Hindi song does not pour out any feelings rather the hero(Balu) tries prove that he has picked up Telugu before the heroine. The entire song is picturised on the hero and heroine and the shot in a lift. In the context of Telugu fim, the hero does not know single word in Telugu( at least in the beginining), he is a Tamil Iyer Brahmin boy who cannot understand or speak in Telugu and falls in love with a Telugu girl (who cannot understand or speak Tamil). How the hero picks up dialects of Telugu?How they overcome the barriers of language is not simply the proverbial the rest (hi) is their lovestory but as the very title indicates it is “Maro Charitra” ( literal translation “Another History”).
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Yoganand Netrakanti
March 13, 2016
tonks, I cannot resist from the temptation of tasting(oh! sorry stating) the original version of the song “Kalyana samayal saadham”( Maya Bazaar.) in Telugu the song starts with “Vivaha Bhojanambu” lterally mean the same. Both in Telugu and Tamil S.V. Ranga Rao essays the role of Ghathothkacha. The Telugu version of the film is as good as the Tamil version.Both the lyrics-in Telugu and Tamil- never give an impression of being dubbed or remade.The food items described in those songs are always on the tongues of the audience. Added to this the recently the colourisation added appeal to the songs . The song describes the food items. It is not a “laundry list” but a high-class wedding menu list. I relish the food items mentioned in the songs.
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Shan
March 13, 2016
Great post!! Very well written.
Another song that came to mind while reading this post was Pichle Saat Dinon Mein from Rock On.
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Gradwolf
March 14, 2016
LOL @ list of nouns.
Everybody forgot the greatest list of groceries. Raaja madness.
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brangan
March 14, 2016
Gradwolf: But that’s not a list song 🙂 Though Nitham nitham nellu choru certainly is one (except for the bridges).
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Gradwolf
March 14, 2016
Boss in my defense comments space such hard definition thaandi poy romba neram aachu.
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Rahini David
March 14, 2016
brangan: Ah list songs eh? Nice. I tell you, BR, had you just known to insert this post when everyone was screaming about racism and politeness and all that, this would have cooled us down and made our brain cells work in more productive ways. Just keep a list of these dogbone posts lined up in a MS Word document. 😀
Tonks: What a list, lady! Getting introduced to a few songs in this way is much better than going to a billboard countdown and scratching our heads. 🙂
V’enkatesh is not “Honest Raj (formerly ‘V’enkatesh)”? —scratches head—
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tonks
March 14, 2016
More come to mind, but I was afraid of boring everyone 🙂 Country music is a treasure trove of such songs
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Rahini David
March 14, 2016
MANK: Too bad BR would not accept that as a list song. It is a delightful one. Also, I would have inserted two more songs from that movie.
One is Eliza giving a list of how things would be if the tables were turned, she would not lend him money, refuse to call a doctor, not save him when drowning or just have him executed. Well, what a list that is. 🙂
And what’s more, apart from Henry Higgins’ song itself coming across as a rant that a man might say after a woman has just thrown a tantrum, Eliza is given a song to diss him too. And it is not a “men are bossy” song but a song specific to her anger against him. That is exactly what a flower girl who is being overworked over a silly bet would sing.
Second one is Eliza’s delightfully amoral dad singing a list of his sins (and what a list THAT is) and how he gets away from them all with a little bit of luck.
Oh and would Eliza’s list of things that would fill her Loverly Rich Life count?. Well then the Fiddler’s list of Rich Life would too.
—BR: Please moderate the previous one out—
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Rahini David
March 14, 2016
Tonks: Are the things Don Williams believes in in your list? Or Annie’s Song by John Denver? I agree that country music loves this format.
I have to admit that during the time “Nee Kaatru Naan Maram” was released I was getting a tad irritated with list songs. It is like the lyricists decide on a theme and just spin and spin and spin. Some songs just stop being free-flowing enough. (Case in point: Aanrea Nootraandea) But some songs just nail it. I have felt that “Satham Illatha Thanimai Ketean” is a song that begins as if it is a long laundry list. However, the “Vayathukku Seriyaana Vazhkai Kettean” made me feel otherwise. Ajith’s character in that movie has no childhood to speak off and that being in that list makes it a personal one and rooted in that story. That is important to me in a song. It should be for that movie, not just any movie.
With “Uppa Sakarayaa” song, somehow my love for the list songs revived. In a way, I feel that it is because mid-90s had just too many list songs especially after the spectacular success of “Chinna Chinna Aasai”. It became monotonous. I used to feel that “Pennala pennala oothapoo” is a rather good one. Now I feel that the music is good but it is a generic laundry list song.
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Rahini David
March 14, 2016
Oh people who do not like lists of lists and all things meta are going to avert their wee eyes and leave us alone. So I guess that is fine.
Michael Jackson’s “Gone too soon”.
Like A Comet blazing ‘Cross The Evening Sky – Gone Too Soon
Like A Rainbow fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye – Gone Too Soon
…
Like The Loss Of Sunlight on A Cloudy Afternoon – Gone Too Soon
Like A Castle built Upon A Sandy Beach – Gone Too Soon
…
Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight. Here One Day. Gone One Night
Alanis Morisette’s “Hand In My Pocket”
I’m broke but I’m happy
I’m poor but I’m kind
I’m short but I’m healthy, yeah
I’m high but I’m grounded
And also her list of non-Ironic stuff ironically called Ironic
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Rahini David
March 14, 2016
Try to guess “the Look” this woman has (Roxette)
Walking like a man,
Hitting like a hammer,
[…]
her loving is a wild dog,
she’s got the look.
[…]
Banging on the head drum,
shaking like a mad bull,
she’s got the look.
Swaying to the band,
moving like a hammer,
she’s a miracle man.
Loving is the ocean,
Kissing is the wet sand,
she’s got the look.
What do they mean “Kissing is the wet sand”? “In wet sand” or “like wet sand”. Ugh.
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sanjana
March 14, 2016
tonks, carry on. They are good.
I too think these blogs make us forget all the controversies for a while. Like boating on a calm lake watching the stars. Music and humour make us face the next day with a smile. The pied piper leads us on and we are happy to follow him.
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sanjana
March 14, 2016
MJ’s Gone too soon is too good.
We can add
Food gone too soon from the plate.
Drink gone too soon from the glass.
Smile gone too soon.
Weeknends gone too soon.
Sleeping time gone too soon.
Lazing around gone too soon.
School days gone too soon.
College days gone too soon.
Working days gone too soon.
Life gone too soon.
Parents gone too soon.
Spouse gone too soon.
Kids gone too soon.
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Rahini David
March 14, 2016
List songs have another advantage. They go on and on and on. And so a tired woman who is running out of regular nursery rhymes as lullaby can turn to list songs to keep the tune going (Though I admit it is extremely tiring). Few favorites are
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes,
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, (when she comes).
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, (when she comes).
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain, she’ll be coming ’round the mountain,
She’ll be coming ’round the mountain when she comes, “toot toot.
She’ll be driving six white horses when she comes, etc.
We’ll all come out to meet her when she comes, etc.
She’ll be carrying three white puppies when she comes etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_ChristmasTwelve Days of Christmas
On the First day of Christmas my true love sent to me a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
On the Second day of Christmas my true love sent to me Two Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.
On the Third day …..
…
…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_MacDonald_Had_a_FarmOld MacDonald Had a Farm
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Deepak
March 14, 2016
My favorite list song definitely is “We didn’t start the fire”, not just cause of the awesome tune, but also because at one point of time I knew the lyrics by heart. It also prompted me to to learn a lot about the history of the times (admittedly an American view of it) – I don’t think I would’ve learnt so much about the Vietnam war, thalidomide poisoning, etc., had it not been for this song.
On another note, wouldn’t “Strawberry kanne” from Minsaara Kanavu count as a list song?
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udhaysankar
March 14, 2016
List song?. Pudhusu pudhusaa kandupudikireengale paa.
1)Pachai Nirame about Pachai, manjal, etc.
2)Evan di unna pethaan (yeah, it did have a list).
3)Nitham nitham nelli choru.
4)Girlfriend. It has a list of necessities that make a girlfriend mandatory. –
5)Satham Illaadha thanimaiya ketten, where SPB unleashes the epic list of his wants with ferocity and frustration.
6)Chinna Chinna aasai.
7)Appan mavane vaada. Simbu welcomes his kid with the list of things he’ll do with him after his birth.
8)Break the rules. It has a list of activities that are considered ‘thappu’ by Tamil society.
9)Balleilakka. The second beat intro song for thalaivar makes a list of things that make Tamil Nadu special.
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Altman
March 14, 2016
There is a superb list song “Where Do You Go To My Lovely” by Peter Sarstedt.
This song features in the soundtrack of The Darjeeling Limited.
You talk like Marlene Dietrich
And you dance like Zizi Jeanmaire
Your clothes are all made by Balmain
And there’s diamonds and pearls in your hair, yes there are.
You live in a fancy apartment
Off the Boulevard of St. Michel
Where you keep your Rolling Stones records
And a friend of Sacha Distel, yes you do.
You go to the embassy parties
Where you talk in Russian and Greek
And the young men who move in your circles
They hang on every word you speak, yes they do.
But where do you go to my lovely
When you’re alone in your bed
Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes i do.
I’ve seen all your qualifications
You got from the Sorbonne
And the painting you stole from Picasso
Your loveliness goes on and on, yes it does.
When you go on your summer vacation
You go to Juan-les-Pines
With your carefully designed topless swimsuit
You get an even suntan, on your back and on your legs.
And when the snow falls you’re found in St. Moritz
With the others of the jet-set
And you sip your Napoleon Brandy
But you never get your lips wet, no you don’t.
But where do you go to my lovely
When you’re alone in your bed
would you Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes I do.
You’re in between 20 and 30
A very desirable age
Your body is firm and inviting
But you live on a glittering stage, yes you do, yes you do.
Your name is heard in high places
You know the Aga Khan
He sent you a racehorse for Christmas
And you keep it just for fun, for a laugh ha-ha-ha
They say that when you get married
It’ll be to a millionaire
But they don’t realize where you came from
And I wonder if they really care, or give a damn
But where do you go to my lovely
When you’re alone in your bed
Tell me the thoughts that surround you
I want to look inside your head, yes i do.
I remember the back streets of Naples
Two children begging in rags
Both touched with a burning ambition
To shake off their lowly-borne tags, they try
So look into my face Marie-Claire
And remember just who you are
Then go and forget me forever
But I know you still bear
the scar, deep inside, yes you do
I know where you go to my lovely
When you’re alone in your bed
I know the thoughts that surround you
‘Cause I can look inside your head.
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MANK
March 14, 2016
Rahini, never took you for an MJ fan 🙂
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Rahini David
March 14, 2016
MANK: mmm. Why?
More Songs:
1. Ezhuthugirean oru kaditham – Kalki
2. That poem that is recited after a blackout in Duet
3. Nee nadanthal nadai azhagu
4. Autokaaran Autokaaran
5. Ooru kannu uravu kannu naai kannu – Chinna Gownder (does this qualify?)
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Filistine
March 14, 2016
“On the first day of Christmas” always reminds me of the Cacofonix masterpiece “On the first day of Solstice” from The Mansion of the Gods. Wish I could attached that page here
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tonks
March 14, 2016
Altman : Thank you for sharing that lovely song . That was one of the songs I had in mind but did not post. It’s a one song wonder, he had no other hits. One theory says that this song is about the Italian star Sophia Loren, who was abandoned by her father and had a poverty-stricken life in Naples and this is the theory I believed for a long time. In reality however, Peter Sarstedt wrote the song about a girl he fell madly in love with in Vienna in 1965 who died in a hotel fire.
I have some associations with the song. It takes me right back to my early teens (the way remembered music and smells do) when it used to played frequently in N Delhi AIR. It also used to be a favourite with a cousin of mine who died young (in Sri Lanka during the IPKF war). He was in the Indian army and used to listen to this in an old record player there.
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sameoldnewbie
March 14, 2016
Very enjoyable post and comments! Here is a perfect list song, made by the genius that is Nina Simone. Its essentially a list of what she’s got and not, and I would urge anyone who hasn’t heard this song already to give it a try 🙂
I ain’t got no home, ain’t got no shoes
Ain’t got no money, Ain’t got no class
Ain’t got no skirts, Ain’t got no sweater
Ain’t got no perfume Ain’t got no bed
Ain’t got no mind,
Ain’t got no mother Ain’t got no culture
Ain’t got no friends, aint got no schoolin’
Ain’t got no love, Ain’t got no name
Ain’t got no ticket, Ain’t got no token
Ain’t got no god
and what have i got?
why am i alive anyway?
yeah what have i got?
nobody can take away?…
Got my hair. Got my head
Got my brains, Got my ears
Got my eyes, Got my nose
Got my mouth, I got my smile
I got my tongue, Got my chin
Got my neck, Got my boobies
Got my heart, Got my soul
Got my back, I got my sex
I got my arms, got my hands, got my fingers,
got my legs, got my feet, got my toes,
got my liver, got my blood..
I’ve got life,
i’ve got my freedom
i’ve got life
I’ve got life
and I am gonna keep it
I’ve got life
and nobody’s gonna take it away
I’ve got life!
She often improvised the lyrics in her live performances, which are just joyous to watch.
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sameoldnewbie
March 14, 2016
Another (semi?) list song – quite fun…
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Altman
March 14, 2016
tonks: I thank you for remembering and sharing all these wonderful songs. I came across this song while watching The Darjeeling Limited. This stood out to me in an impressive soundtrack encompassing songs like Play with Fire by Rolling Stones, Charu’s Theme by Satyajit Ray etc…Wes Anderson has a quirky taste in music. The soundtrack of his Life Aquatic…has David Bowie songs in “Portuguese”.
I love the way this playful song takes a dramatic turn at the end. I have listened to it a lot of times without giving much thought about its history. Thanks for sharing it too. It’s sad that Peter Sarstedt is a one-song wonder, his voice is mesmerising. Wikipedia says he was born in Delhi. Some coincidence! I’m sorry to hear about your cousin. This song will never be the same for me.
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
March 14, 2016
V’enkatesh is not “Honest Raj (formerly ‘V’enkatesh)”? —scratches head—
Rahini: Pardon… Pardon (Gounder style)
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tonks
March 14, 2016
There was this huge hit for Billy Ray Cyrus (Miley’s dad) called Achy Breaky heart which is a list song. It used to be then played so frequently on most radio stations that most people were fed up. This is the brilliant Weird Al’s hilarious parody of the song, in response. It’s a list of alternate songs for the radio station to play (instead of Achy Breaky heart). Very, very funny
Achy Breaky Song
You can torture me
With Donnie & Marie
You can play some Barry Manilow
Or you can play some schlock
Like New Kids On The Block
Or any Village People song you know
Or play Vanilla Ice
Hey, you can play him twice
And you can play the Bee Gees any day
But Mr. DJ, please
I’m beggin’ on my knees
I just can’t take no more of Billy Ray
Don’t play that song
That “Achy Breaky” song
The most annoying song I know
And if you play that song
That “Achy Breaky” song
I might blow up my radio, ooo…
You can clear the room
By playind Debbie Boon
Or crank your Abba records until dawn
Oh, I can even hear
Slim Whitman or Zamfir
Don’t mind a Yoko Ono marathon
Or play some Tiffany
On 8-track or CD
Or scrape your fingernails across the board
Or tie me to a chair
And kick me down the stairs
Just please don’t play that stupid song no more
Don’t play that song
That “Achy Breaky” song
You know I hate that song a bunch
And if you play that song
That nauseating song
It might just make me lose my lunch, ooo…
Don’t play that song
That “Achy Breaky” song
I think it’s driving me insane
Oh, please don’t play that song
That irritating song
I’d rather have a pitchfork in my brain…
Don’t play that song
That “Achy Breaky” song
The most annoying song I know
And if you play that song
That “Achy Breaky” song
I might blow up my radio, ooo-woo…
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Honest Raj (formerly 'V'enkatesh)
March 14, 2016
My contribution:
“Ondraanavan Uruvil Irandaanavan” from Thiruvilaiyadal
“Vaadi Vaadi” from Osthe.
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tonks
March 14, 2016
A list of why Speedy Gonzales should come home:
Come on home to your adobe
And slap some mud on the wall
The roof is leakin’ like a strainer
There’s loadsa roaches in the hall
Your doggy’s gonna have a puppy
And we’re runnin’ outta coke
No enchiladas in the icebox
And the television’s broke
And a list of how “my girl” makes me feel.
(Someone I know recently made a photo compilation video with this song running in the background for her daughter’s birthday and the romantic love song suddenly changed into one on parental love)
I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it’s cold outside I’ve got the month of May.
I’ve got so much honey the bees envy me.
I’ve got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees.
I don’t need no money, fortune or fame.
I’ve got all the riches, baby, one man can claim.
I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?
Its my girl
Talkin’ ’bout my girl (my girl).
Kerala’s top rock band Thaikkudam Bridge’s most famous song Fish rock has a chorus that sounds like a list of different varieties of fish sold by a fishmonger
Aila mathi chura kaari kanava kilimeen koori karimeen. Vatta vaala braalu choraku aikkoora natholi.
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Santa
March 15, 2016
My apologies in advance for sullying this fantastic thread with these sordid lyrics. But hey, at least the list in this song is smaller than those in the other ones 🙂
You are my chicken fry
You are my fish fry
…
You are my samosa
You are my masala dosa
…
Sarson ka tu saag hai
Main makke de roti
…
You are my chocolate
You are my cutlet
…
Garma Garam Tandoori tu hai
Main to aankhen saikoon
…
You are my rossogolla
You are my rasmalai
…
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udhaysankar
March 15, 2016
How did I miss this? http://youtu.be/bflp9L2lY6A
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udhaysankar
March 15, 2016
Kannu chuvakkanu pallu kadikkanu
Mushti churuttanu aake viyarkkanu
Naadi njarambu valinju murukanu
Peshikalaake urundu kayaranu
Chankinakathu thaalamadiykkanu
Thakida thakida melamadiykkanu
Kayyum kaalum vera veraykkanu
Peda pedaykanu thudi thudiykkanu
Peruviralu peruthukayaranu
Velichappaadupoluranju thullanu.
Is there any other song that expresses the thrill of getting into a fight so effectively?
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tonks
March 15, 2016
Word Crimes by Weird Al is a list of wrong usage of grammar online.
(Dedicated to Iswarya and the rest of the grammar elves here 😉 )
If you can’t write in the proper way
If you don’t know how to conjugate
Maybe you flunked that class
And maybe now you find
That people mock you online
Okay, now here’s the deal
I’ll try to educate ya
Gonna familiarize
You with the nomenclature
You’ll learn the definitions
Of nouns and prepositions
Literacy’s your mission
And that’s why I think it’s a
[Chorus:]
Good time
To learn some grammar
Now, did I stammer
Work on that grammar
You should know when
It’s “less” or it’s “fewer”
Like people who were
Never raised in a sewer
I hate these word crimes
Like I could care less
That means you do care
At least a little
Don’t be a moron
You’d better slow down
And use the right pronoun
Show the world you’re no clown
Everybody wise up!
[Verse 2:]
Say you got an “I”,”T”
Followed by apostrophe, “s”
Now what does that mean?
You would not use “it’s” in this case
As a possessive
It’s a contraction
What’s a contraction?
Well, it’s the shortening of a word, or a group of words
By the omission of a sound or letter
[Bridge:]
Okay, now here’s some notes
Syntax you’re always mangling
No “x” in “espresso”
Your participle’s danglin’
But I don’t want your drama
If you really wanna
Leave out that Oxford comma
Just keep in mind
[Chorus:]
That “be”, “see”, “are”, “you”
Are words, not letters
Get it together
Use your spellchecker
You should never
Write words using numbers
Unless you’re seven
Or your name is Prince
I hate these word crimes
You really need a
Full time proofreader
You dumb mouth-breather
Well, you should hire
Some cunning linguist
To help you distinguish
What is proper English
[Verse 3:]
One thing I ask of you
Time to learn your homophones is past due
Learn to diagram a sentence too
Always say “to whom”
Don’t ever say “to who”
And listen up when I tell you this
I hope you never use quotation marks for emphasis
You finished second grade
I hope you can tell
If you’re doing good or doing well
About better figure out the difference
Irony is not coincidence
And I thought that you’d gotten it through your skull
What’s figurative and what’s literal
Oh but, just now, you said
You literally couldn’t get out of bed
That really makes me want to literally
Smack a crowbar upside your stupid head
[Chorus:]
I read your e-mail
It’s quite apparent
Your grammar’s errant
You’re incoherent
Saw your blog post
It’s really fantastic
That was sarcastic (Oh, psych!)
‘Cause you write like a spastic
I hate these Word Crimes
Your prose is dopey
Think you should only
Write in emoji
Oh, you’re a lost cause
Go back to pre-school
Get out of the gene pool
Try your best to not drool
Udhayshankar : An ICSE 10th std student I know used the song lyrics you posted as a mnemonic to learn this by heart in a chapter on Endocrine glands (Biology):
“Responses to Adrenaline – Constriction of arterioles of eye, sweating, tensing of muscles, faster heart rate, thumping of heart and shivering.”
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Iswarya
March 16, 2016
tonks: Thanks.. IIRC, you’ve posted this here before? Or was it some other song about language? BTW, about the list you’re putting up here, AWESOME!! claps 🙂
My own favourites that have not yet appeared here:
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udhaysankar
March 16, 2016
Tonks : That has to the best use of a song to memorise stuff.
Our teacher used to make us sing the line ‘BBROY IN GREAT BRITAIN HAD A VERY GOOD WIFE’ tuned with the rhyme ‘London Bridge is falling down’, to memorize the values used to calculate the resistance of a resistor.
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Sai Balaguru
March 16, 2016
hello sir, Try to hear the song ” Kannama Kannavilaya ” in the film ” Vishwa Thulasi” composed by Legendary M,S Vishwanathan and sung by S,P,B.
Beautiful List song with a haunting tune.
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tonks
March 17, 2016
‘Whenever life gets you down,
And things seem hard or tough
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft
And you feel that you’ve had quite enough’, this (mind boggling) list by Monty Python reminds us of how insignificant, how small our problems are and helps put things in perspective :
“Just remember that you’re standing on a planet that’s evolving
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour
That’s orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it’s reckoned
A sun that is the source of all our power
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour
Of the galaxy we call the ‘milky way’
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars
It’s a hundred thousand light years side to side
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick
But out by us, it’s just three thousand light years wide
We’re thirty thousand light years from galactic central point
We go ’round every two hundred million years
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe
The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, the speed of light, you know
Twelve million miles a minute and that’s the fastest speed there is
So remember, when you’re feeling very small and insecure
How amazingly unlikely is your birth
And pray that there’s intelligent life somewhere up in space
‘Cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth”
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Rahini David
March 18, 2016
Because I got high
I was gonna clean my room until I got high
I was gonna get up and find the broom but then I got high
my room is still messed up and I know why. ’cause I got high [repeat 3X]
I was gonna go to class before I got high
I coulda cheated and I coulda passed but I got high
I am taking it next semester and I know why, ’cause I got high [repeat 3X]
I was gonna go to work but then I got high
I just got a new promotion but I got high
now I’m selling dope and I know why, – ’cause I got high [repeat 3X]
7 more of this sort
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sanjana
March 18, 2016
Mera joota hai japani yeh patloon englishtani
Sar pe laal topi roosi phir bhi dil hai hindustani
from Shri420.
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tonks
March 18, 2016
Some of (the many) Beatles’ list songs :
The first two songs are random lists of altered sensation and perception (the first induced by LSD and the second by spiritual/religious fervour, perhaps)
“Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she’s gone”
“Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me
Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe
Jai Guru Deva OM”
A list of why it might be still useful to feed your partner even if he has turned 64 :
“I could be handy, mending a fuse
When your lights have gone
You can knit a sweater by the fireside
Sunday mornings go for a ride
Doing the garden, digging the weeds
Who could ask for more?”
And then there’s the list of what the Tax man can do :
“If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street
If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat
If you get too cold I’ll tax the heat
If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet”
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ThouShaltNot
March 20, 2016
Here is the listiest Tamil film song from the movie “Kanthaswamy” (this is the shorter version 🙂 ). How do you say “ad nauseam” in Tamil?
Here is a sweet song which lists objects that have imparted beauty (to a lover). And some.
Can a mere listing of alphabets sound pleasing to the ear? Sure. Watch Vani Jayaram rattle off Tamil alphabets in verse form (with accelerating tempo) in the movie “Kanchi Kamakshi”. Magnifique! BTW, in the Tamil film world, VJs diction is peerless.
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tonks
March 20, 2016
Most love songs describe the euphoria of being in love or the depression afterwards (Shankar Mahadevan’s Breathless, another list song, describes both). But here is a song whose lyrics are unusual ( I cannot think of any other song that does this) in that it lists the (sad, dreary, monotonous, lonely) routine of things that happen the day before that special person walks into someone’s life. Originally written by Abba ( and the final song they recorded before they broke up), the eighties synth-pop band Blacmange’s version which I happened to hear first, is the one I like better :
I must have left my house at eight, because I always do
My train, I’m certain, left the station just when it was due
I must have read the morning paper going into town
And having gotten through the editorial, no doubt I must have frowned
I must have made my desk around a quarter after nine
With letters to be read, and heaps of papers waiting to be signed
I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so
The usual place, the usual bunch
And still on top of this I’m pretty sure it must have rained
The day before you came
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An Jo
March 31, 2016
Rangan sorry for being off-topic but it’s been 40 years of DEEWAR. Could you gather-up some time writing something on that?
Something from me, couldn’t resist writing about it ————
Deewar, after 40 years, stands not just as a symbolic representation of the wall between the good and not-so-good depicted in the film but one that has been firmly entrenched between the masala-laden, rich, ‘epic-driven’ story-telling that was the hall-mark of the ‘70s/early ‘80s and the multiplex-pleasing, Hollywood-bastardized story-telling of present times.
Read more at http://www.bollybrit.com/features/revisiting-classics-deewar#sOOl1MMvax8cWXjO.99
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