Name That Tune
We all have song lyrics stuck in our head, but how many of these 20 songs can you identify based solely on the lyrics? Let's find out...
Get 15-20 right: Lyric Legend
10-14: Lyric Almost Legend
5-9: Keep Listening
0-4: Lyrically Challenged
1: "For Well You Know That It's A Fool Who Plays It Cool"
1: "We Are the World"
2: "Cold as Ice"
3: "Hey Jude"
4: "The Fool on the Hill"
United Press International, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Hey Jude"
Artist: The Beatles
Album: n/a (1968)
"And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain/Don't carry the world upon your shoulders/For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool/By making his world a little colder".
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
2: "Well, I heard Mr Young Sing About Her"
1: "Southern Cross"
2: "Sweet Home Alabama"
3: "Free Bird"
4: "American Girl"
MCA Records, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Sweet Home Alabama"
Artist: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Album: Second Helping (1974)
"Well, I heard Mr Young sing about her/Well, I heard old Neil put her down/Well, I hope Neil Young will remember/A Southern man don't need him around, anyhow".
MCA Records, Wikimedia Commons
3: "I Want My, I Want My MTV"
1: "Sultans of Swing"
2: "Video Killed the Radio Star"
3: "Thriller"
4: "Money for Nothing"
Helge Øverås, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Money For Nothing"
Artist: Dire Straits
Album: Brothers in Arms (1985)
"I want my, I want my MTV... Hah, now look at them yo-yos, that's the way you do it/You play the guitar on the MTV/That ain't workin', that's the way you do it/Money for nothing and your chicks for free".
Heinrich Klaffs, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
4: "She's A Good Girl, Crazy 'Bout Elvis"
1: "Walking in Memphis"
2: "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"
3: "Blue Suede Shoes"
4: "Free Fallin’"
Davidwbaker, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Free Fallin’"
Artist: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Album: Full Moon Fever (1989)
"She's a good girl, loves her mama/Loves Jesus and America too/She's a good girl, crazy 'bout Elvis/Loves horses and her boyfriend too".
Takahiro Kyono, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
5: "Being Good Isn't Always Easy/No Matter How Hard I Try"
1: "Sinnerman"
2: "Son of a Preacher Man"
3: "Easy Lover"
4: "My Boyfriend's Back"
Dezo Hoffman, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Son Of A Preacher Man"
Artist: Dusty Springfield
Album: Dusty in Memphis (1969)
"Being good isn't always easy/No matter how hard I try/When he started sweet-talkin' to me/He'd come and tell me 'Everything is alright'/He'd kiss and tell me 'Everything is alright',Can I get away again tonight?"
6: "Backbeat, The Word Was On The Street/That The Fire In Your Heart Is Out"
1: "Wonderwall"
2: "Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)"
3: "Wannabe"
4: "I’m on Fire"
Will Fresch, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Wonderwall"
Artist: Oasis
Album: (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
"Backbeat, the word was on the street/That the fire in your heart is out/I'm sure you've heard it all before/But you never really had a doubt/I don't believe that anybody/Feels the way I do about you".
Will Fresch, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
7: "Long As I Know How To Love, I Know I'll Stay Alive"
1: "Night Fever"
2: "Stayin' Alive"
3: "I Will Survive"
4: "Funkytown"
Thomas Rodenbücher, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "I Will Survive"
Artist: Gloria Gaynor
Album: Love Tracks (1978)
"No, not I, I will survive/Long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive/I've got my life to live/And all my love to give and/I will survive/I, I, I will survive".
giorgioerriquez, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
8: "I Was Standing In Line With Mr Jimmy"
1: "Brown Sugar"
2: "Wild Horses"
3: "Bohemian Rhapsody"
4: "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
A: "You Can't Always Get What You Want"
Artist: The Rolling Stones
Album: Let It Bleed (1969)
"I went down to the Chelsea drugstore/To get your prescription filled/I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy/And, man, did he look pretty ill/We decided that we would have a soda/My favorite flavor, cherry red".
Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
9: "Phony Beatlemania Has Bitten The Dust"
1: "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
2: "London Calling"
3: "Imagine"
4: "Friday I'm in Love"
John Coffey, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "London Calling"
Artist: The Clash
Album: London Calling (1979)
"London calling, now don't look to us/Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust/London calling, see we ain't got no swing/Except for the ring of that truncheon thing".
Helge Øverås, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
10: "I Don't Have Much Money, But Boy, If I Did/I'd Buy A Big House Where We Both Could Live"
1: When I'm Sixty Four"
2: "Tiny Dancer"
3: "Piano Man"
4: "Your Song"
Bert Verhoeff, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Your Song"
Artist: Elton John
Album: Elton John (1970)
"It's a little bit funny/This feelin' inside/I'm not one of those who can easily hide/I don't have much money, but boy, if I did/I'd buy a big house where we both could live".
Ernst Vikne, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
11: "At Night, I Wake Up With The Sheets Soakin' Wet/And A Freight Train Runnin' Through The Middle Of My Head"
1: "Born in the USA"
2: "Ring Of Fire"
3: "I’m on Fire"
4: "Light My Fire"
Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "I’m On Fire"
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Album: Born in the USA (1985)
"At night, I wake up with the sheets soakin' wet/And a freight train runnin' through the middle of my head/Only you can cool my desire/Oh, oh, oh, I'm on fire".
DoD News Features, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
12: "I Go On Too Many Dates/But I Can't Make 'Em Stay"
1: "Good Time Girl"
2: "Blank Space"
3: "I Will Always Love You"
4: "Shake it Off"
A: "Shake It Off"
Artist: Taylor Swift
Album: 1989 (1985)
"I go on too many dates/But I can't make 'em stay/At least that's what people say, mm-mm/That's what people say, mm-mm".
13: "Warm Smell Of Colitas Rising Up Through The Air"
1: "Purple Rain"
2: "Hotel California"
3: "Margaritaville"
4: "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)"
Steve Alexander, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Hotel California"
Artist: Eagles
Album: Hotel California (1976)
"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair/Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air/Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light/My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night".
jeaneeem, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
14: "'Cause If You Liked It, Then You Should Have Put A Ring On It"
1: "Single Ladies"
2: "7 Rings"
3: "Love Will Keep Us Together"
4: "Silly Love Songs"
A: "Single Ladies"
Artist: Beyoncé
Album: I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008)
"Cause if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it/If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it/Don't be mad once you see that he want it/If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it/Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, o-ohh".
Everett Collection, Shutterstock
15: "My Motto's Always Been 'When It's Right, It's Right'"
1: "Superstition"
2: "You May Be Right"
3: "Afternoon Delight"
4: "Night Fever"
Windsong/RCA Records, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Afternoon Delight"
Artist: Starland Vocal Band
Album: Starland Vocal Band (1976)
"Gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight/Gonna grab some afternoon delight/My motto's always been "when it's right, it's right"/Why wait until the middle of a cold, dark night?"
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
16: "Your Beauty Is Beyond Compare/With Flaming Locks Of Auburn Hair"
1: "Roxanne"
2: "Jolene"
3: "Angie"
4: "Lola"
RCA Records, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Jolene"
Artist: Dolly Parton
Album: Jolene (1974)
"Your beauty is beyond compare/With flaming locks of auburn hair/With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green/Your smile is like a breath of spring/Your voice is soft like summer rain/And I cannot compete with you Jolene".
17: "If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place/Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change"
1: "Man in the Mirror"
2: "Hungry Like The Wolf"
3: "Smooth Criminal"
4: "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
Matthew Rolston, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Man In The Mirror"
Artist: Michael Jackson
Album: Bad (1987)
"I'm starting with the man in the mirror/I'm asking him to change his ways/And no message could've been any clearer/If you wanna make the world a better place/Take a look at yourself and then make a change".
Zoran Veselinovic, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
18: "There's Nothin' That A Hundred Men Or More Could Ever Do"
1: "Burning Down the House"
2: "In the Air Tonight"
3: "Eye of the Tiger"
4: "Africa"
Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Africa"
Artist: Toto
Album: Toto IV (1982)
"It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you/There's nothin' that a hundred men or more could ever do/I bless the rains down in Africa/Gonna take some time to do the things we never had".
19: "I See Trees Of Green/Red Roses Too"
1: "The Rose"
2: "Bein' Green"
3: "Kiss from a Rose"
4: "What a Wonderful World"
Herman Hiller, Wikimedia Commons
A: "What A Wonderful World"
Artist: Louis Armstrong
Album: What a Wonderful World (1967)
"I see trees of green/Red roses too/I see them bloom/For me and you/And I think to myself/What a wonderful world".
Herbert Behrens, Wikimedia Commons
"If The Sky That We Look Upon/Should Tumble And Fall"
1: "Stand by Me"
2: "Brown Eyed Girl"
3: "Mrs Robinson"
4: "Can't Help Falling in Love"
Kingkongphoto, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
A: "Stand By Me"
Artist: Ben E King
Album: Don't Play That Song! (1962)
"If the sky that we look upon/Should tumble and fall/Or the mountain should crumble to the sea/I won't cry, I won't cry/No, I won't shed a tear/Just as long as you stand/Stand by me".
Randy Miramontez, Shutterstock
How Did You Do?
So, how did you do naming those tunes? Feel free to post/boast in the comments.
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