The table below lists all A-listed songs by artists beginning with B. Some artists are also linked to their own individual pages.
Artist | Song Title | Topic |
B-52s | Housework | spring cleaning & household chores |
Love Shack | jukeboxes | |
Meet the Flintstones (as the BC-52s) | geology | |
Roam | motivation | |
Rock Lobster | the coast | |
Wig | hats & accessories | |
B-Squadron | 6.6.44 | D-Day |
Ba-Benzélé Pygmies | Hindewhu | flutes, pipes & whistles |
Ba Cissoko | Le Rêve de l’oiseau (Koto Djime) | fairytales |
Babe Ruth | The Mexican | 19th century life |
Babes in Toyland | Fair Is Foul and Foul Is Fair | Shakespeare |
Baby Huey | Hard Times | poverty |
Running | running | |
Babybird | Candy Girl | sweetness |
The Jesus Stag Night Club | Jesus | |
You’re Gorgeous | songs that aren’t what they seem | |
Babymetal | Gimme Chocolate!! | flavour |
Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!! | doors | |
Karate | determination | |
Babyshambles | Albion | England |
Fuck Forever | upbeat break-up #2 | |
Baccara | Yes Sir, I Can Boogie | so bad they’re good |
Bach, Johann Sebastian | Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major | driving songs |
Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major: I. Allegro | flutes, pipes & whistles | |
Canon a 2, per tonos (Endlessly Rising Canon) (from The Musical Offering) | finish where they begin | |
Cello Suite No. 1 in G major: I. Prelude (performed by Yo-Yo Ma) | cello | |
Ei! Wie schmeckt der Kaffee süsse (from Cantata No. 211) | flavour | |
Erbarme dich, mein Gott (sung by Michael Chance) | androgynous vocals | |
Erbarme dich, mein Gott (sung by Marian Anderson) | songs that give you goosebumps | |
Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major | mathematics | |
Toccata and Fugue in D minor | organ | |
Bacharach, Burt | South American Getaway | South America |
Bachman-Turner Overdrive | Takin’ Care of Business | punctuality |
Bad Brains | Pay to Cum | incidental music |
Bad Bunny | La Canción (with J Balvin) | perspiration |
Bad Company | Shooting Star | hearing, choosing & playing records |
Bad Daughter | Tiny Sun | audible breaths |
Bad Religion | American Jesus | Jesus |
The Handshake | formal agreements | |
Badalamenti, Angelo | The Nightingale (with Julee Cruise) | nightingales & thrushes |
Baddiel & Skinner | Three Lions (with the Lightning Seeds) | songs that capture the zeitgeist |
Badfinger | Baby Blue | defined or redefined by television |
Matted Spam | misleading or incongruous titles | |
No Matter What | Welsh songs | |
Badfoot Brown & the Bunions Bradford Funeral & Marching Band | Martin’s Funeral | funerals |
Badly Drawn Boy | In Safe Hands | hands |
Something to Talk About | recorded for movies | |
This Song | songs about songs | |
Badshah | Saturday, Saturday (with Indeep Bakshi & Akriti Kakar) | days of the week |
Badu, Erykah | Certainly | feminism |
Green Eyes | eyes | |
The Healer | healing | |
Hollywood | Hollywood | |
Kiss Me on My Neck | spine & neck | |
Orange Moon | colours | |
Window Seat | windows | |
Ye Yo | tautonyms | |
Baez, Joan | Copper Kettle | making things |
Diamonds & Rust | can’t live with or without you | |
Joe Hill | historical figures | |
One Too Many Mornings | misunderstanding | |
Prison Trilogy (Billy Rose) | prisons | |
The Queen of Hearts | queens | |
Song in the Blood | blood | |
We Shall Overcome | survival | |
Bahama Soul Club | No Words (ft Brenda Boykin) | quiet |
Bailey, Bill | Das Hokey Kokey | left & right |
Unisex Chipshop | unusual rhymes | |
Bailey, Mildred | Trust in Me | trust |
Bailey, Roy | Invisible Married Breakfast Blues (with Leon Rosselson) | the invisible |
Rolling Home | music for funerals | |
Bailey Rae, Corinne | Put Your Records On | media for listening to recorded music |
Bainbridge, Merril | Under the Water | forgotten follow-ups |
Baker, Anita | Caught Up in the Rapture | falling in love |
Fairy Tales | fairytales | |
Baker, Chet | Everything Happens to Me | luck |
I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes) | missing someone | |
Let’s Get Lost | being lost | |
Like Someone in Love | similes | |
Make Me Rainbows | rainbows | |
My Funny Valentine | beauty | |
My Ideal | perfection | |
Baker, George (see George Baker Selection) | ||
Baker, LaVern | Batman to the Rescue | comics & cartoons |
Saved | starting over | |
Soul on Fire | slow, sexy love songs | |
Think Twice (Version X) (with Jackie Wilson) | sweary songs | |
Bakshi, Indeep | Saturday, Saturday (with Badshah & Akriti Kakar) | days of the week |
Balaké, Amadou | Taximen | taxis |
Balfa Brothers | La Danse de Mardi Gras | New Orleans |
Ballard, Hank | How You Gonna Get Respect (When You Haven’t Cut Your Process Yet) (with the Dapps) | hair |
The Twist (with the Midnighters) | songs with a twist | |
Ballboy | A Day in Space | spoken word |
I Hate Scotland | Scotland | |
I Lost You, But I Found Country Music | lost and found | |
I Wonder If You’re Drunk Enough to Sleep with Me Tonight | self-deprecation | |
Kiss Me, Hold Me and Eat Me | kissing | |
They’ll Hang Flags from Cranes Upon My Wedding Day | weddings | |
Balloon Farm | A Question of Temperature | heat #2 |
Baltmiskyte, Ieva | Frog Galliard (composer: John Dowland) | amphibians |
Balvin, J | La Canción (with Bad Bunny) | perspiration |
Bam Bam | Where’s Your Child? | anxiety |
Bananarama | Robert De Niro’s Waiting… | famous people |
Venus | girl groups | |
Banarzi, Troy | Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest | treasure |
Band | Chest Fever | organ |
I Shall Be Released | songs with special guests | |
It Makes No Difference | loneliness | |
King Harvest (Has Surely Come) | rural songs | |
Long Black Veil | stiff upper lip | |
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down | survival | |
Stage Fright | theatre | |
The Weight | debut songs | |
When I Paint My Masterpiece | painting & painters | |
Band Aid | Do They Know It’s Christmas? | collaborations & side projects |
Band of Holy Joy | A Clear Night, A Shooting Star, A Song for Boo | electricity |
Funambulist We Love You | the circus | |
I Have Travelled the Buses Late at Night | urban environment | |
Isn’t That Just the Life | saints & martyrs | |
Band of Skulls | The Devil Takes Care of His Own | the Devil |
Patterns | patterns & sequences | |
Bandit Queen | Miss Dandys | underwear |
Bandwagon | Breakin’ Down the Walls of Heartache | obstacles |
Bang Bang Machine | Geek Love | literary songs |
Bangles | Following | surveillance |
Hazy Shade of Winter | covers by the opposite sex | |
If She Knew What She Wants | confusion & delusion | |
Manic Monday | work | |
Single by Choice | the number one | |
Walk Like an Egyptian | walking & running | |
Banhart, Devendra | I Feel Just Like a Child | children |
Owl Eyes | owls | |
Pumpkin Seeds | nuts & edible seeds | |
Banton, Buju | Murderer | murder |
Not an Easy Road | searching & seeking | |
Bar-Kays | Soul Finger | ten words or fewer |
Barbara | L’Aigle noir | raptors |
Barbara and the Browns | I Don’t Want to Have to Wait | waiting |
Barbarians | Are You a Boy or Are You a Girl? | the Beatles |
Barbeau, Anton | Mushroom Box, 1975 | farm produce |
Barbecue Bob | Black Skunk Blues | ironic songs |
Barber, Miranda | My Roof Has Got a Hole in It | holes |
Barber, Samuel | Adagio for Strings | orchestral string instruments |
Barbieri, Caterina | Rendering Intuitions | drone music |
Barclay James Harvest | Hymn (Live 1980) | ascension |
John Lennon’s Guitar | guitars | |
Bardot, Brigitte | Bonnie and Clyde (with Serge Gainsbourg) | crime |
Bare, Bobby | Finger on the Button | switches & buttons |
This Guitar Is For Sale | sales, selling & bargains | |
Barenaked Ladies | Bank Job | gripping or intriguing narrative |
The Big Bang Theory Theme | unusual rhymes | |
Boomerang | can’t live with or without you | |
Brian Wilson | songwriting | |
Duct Tape Heart | fixing & repairing | |
Flying Dreams | empathy | |
Never Is Enough | alternative outcomes | |
Odds Are | survival | |
One Week | extraordinary vocals | |
Raisins | non sequiturs | |
Serendipity | chance & coincidence | |
Silverball | hobbies | |
War on Drugs | addiction | |
Bargeld, Blixa | Axolotl (with Teho Teardo) | amphibians |
Subterranean World (How Long?) (with Anita Lane) | estimates of distance & time | |
Bark Psychosis | The Black Meat | black |
Barker, Emily & the Red Clay Halo | Nostalgia | TV theme songs |
Barnes & Barnes | Fish Heads | startling songs |
Barnett, Courtney | Anonymous Club | anonymity |
Avant Gardener | COVID-19 lockdown | |
Elevator Operator | gripping or intriguing narrative | |
History Eraser | accents | |
Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party | fear of missing out | |
Pedestrian at Best | self-deprecation | |
Barracudas | I Saw My Death in a Dream Last Night | last night |
Summer Fun | surprising intros | |
Barrett, Syd | Dominoes | board games |
Golden Hair | inspired by poetry | |
Here I Go | upbeat break-up | |
Octopus | mysterious & puzzling | |
Barretto, Ray | Hard Hands | nicknames & pseudonyms |
Barry, John | Back to Nature | harpsichord |
Hit and Miss (Jukebox Jury Theme) (as John Barry Seven Plus Four) | jukeboxes | |
Midnight Cowboy | harmonica | |
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service | trombone | |
The Persuaders Theme | instrumental soundtracks | |
Bartholomew, Dave | The Monkey | misanthropic songs |
Barton, Edward | I’ve Got No Chicken But I’ve Got Five Wooden Chairs | eccentric songs |
Bartz, Gary | I’ve Known Rivers | literary songs |
Basement Jaxx | Jus 1 Kiss | kissing |
Make Me Sweat (ft Roxanne Shanté) | perspiration | |
Oh My Gosh | flirting | |
Rendez-Vu | rendezvous | |
Bashful Brother Oswald | Rabbit in the Log | rabbits |
Basie, Count | April in Paris | places in Europe |
I’m Beginning to See the Light (with Ella Fitzgerald) | falling in love | |
Jumpin’ at the Woodside | ensembles, big bands & orchestras | |
Silks and Satins | rough & smooth | |
Basinski, William | Melancholia II | quiet songs |
Basque Dub Foundation | El Secuestro del Dub | influenced by dub |
Bass, Fontella | Rescue Me | pick-up lines & marriage proposals |
Bassey, Shirley | Diamonds Are Forever | precious stones |
Goldfinger | greed | |
Bat for Lashes | The Big Sleep | striking album endings |
Skin Song | skin | |
Bataan, Joe | Latin Strut | from New York City |
Bathers | Two Cats on the Piano | cats |
Battlefield Band | To a Mouse | small things |
Bauhaus | Bela Lugosi’s Dead | long songs |
Dark Entries | night & darkness | |
Hope | hope | |
Spy in the Cab | spying | |
Stigmata Martyr | saints & martyrs | |
The Three Shadows, Part I | horror-inspired songs | |
Baxter, Les | Cairo Bazaar | markets & fairs |
Lust (ft Bas Sheva) | wordless vocals | |
Baxter, Rayland | Yellow Eyes | yellow |
Bazan, David | Hard to Be | higher education |
BBC Radiophonic Workshop | Doctor Who Theme (composed by Ron Grainer, produced by Delia Derbyshire) | instrumental soundtracks |
Doctor Who Theme (composed by Ron Grainer, produced by Delia Derbyshire) | electronic music to 1983 | |
BBC Sound Archive | Nightingales and Bombers | birdsong |
Be-Bop Deluxe | Adventures in a Yorkshire Landscape | wide open spaces |
Blazing Apostles | redemption | |
Crying to the Sky | sky | |
Jean | tribute songs | |
Be Good Tanyas | Light Enough to Travel | nightclubs |
The Littlest Birds | small things | |
When Doves Cry | unlikely cover songs | |
Beach Boys | 4th of July | anniversaries |
A Day in the Life of a Tree | trees | |
A Young Man Is Gone | actors | |
Add Some Music to Your Day | music as nutrition | |
All Dressed Up for School | school | |
All This Is That | faith | |
Break Away | breaking things | |
Busy Doin’ Nothin’ | visitors | |
Cabin Essence | 19th century life | |
Caroline, No | disappointment | |
Cool, Cool Water | refreshment & cooling down | |
Disney Girls (1957) | nostalgia | |
Do It Again | regressing & reversing | |
Do You Like Worms? | misleading or incongruous titles | |
Don’t Go Near the Water | trash | |
Don’t Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder) | joints of the body | |
Don’t Worry Baby | great backing vocals | |
Don’t Worry Baby | dares | |
Forever | devoted love | |
Fun Fun Fun | hedonism | |
God Only Knows | alternative outcomes | |
Good Vibrations | vibrato, tremolo & oscillations | |
Hang On to Your Ego | id, ego & superego | |
Help Me, Rhonda | different 7″ versions | |
Heroes and Villains | close harmony singing | |
Holidays | fictional adverts | |
In My Room | teenagers | |
Kokomo | steelpan | |
Let’s Go Away for a While | holidays | |
Little Bird | nature | |
Our Prayer | short songs | |
Passing By | wordless vocals | |
Sail On Sailor | the sea | |
Sloop John B | the Caribbean | |
Surfin’ USA | sound like other songs | |
Surf’s Up | falsetto | |
Take a Load Off Your Feet | feet | |
Time to Get Alone | volume changes | |
The Trader | 19th century life | |
Vegetables | food | |
The Warmth of the Sun | summer | |
When I Grow Up (To Be a Man) | getting older | |
Wind Chimes | notable outros or codas | |
Wouldn’t It Be Nice | accordion | |
Wouldn’t It Be Nice | youthfulness | |
Beach House | A Walk in the Park | parks |
Take Care | androgynous vocals | |
Bean, Carl | I Was Born This Way | homosexuality |
Beastie Boys | An Open Letter to NYC | peace |
Body Movin’ (Fatboy Slim Remix) | dancing | |
Johnny Ryall | oddballs, outcasts & outsiders | |
Rhymin’ and Stealin’ | pirates | |
Three MC’s and One DJ | three | |
Twenty Questions (ft Miho Hatori) | eureka moments | |
Beat | Can’t Get Used to Losing You | loss |
Doors of Your Heart | doors | |
Mirror in the Bathroom | mirrors | |
Rotating Head | joints of the body | |
Whine & Grine / Stand Down Margaret | politicians | |
Beat Happening | Hot Chocolate Boy | non-alcoholic drinks |
Beatles | A Day in the Life | great middle eights |
A Hard Day’s Night | work | |
A Taste of Honey | bees | |
All You Need Is Love | cello | |
Back in the U.S.S.R. | places in Europe | |
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite | advertising | |
The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill | tigers | |
Don’t Let Me Down | first love | |
Drive My Car | songs with jokes | |
Eleanor Rigby | character songs | |
The End | words of wisdom | |
Flying | psychedelia | |
For No One | nothing | |
Glass Onion | self-referential songs | |
Help! | immaturity | |
Helter Skelter | fairgrounds | |
Here Comes the Sun | anticipation | |
Hey Jude | na-na-hey-hey songs | |
I Am the Walrus | ‘I am’ songs | |
I Feel Fine | sound like other songs | |
I Me Mine | id, ego & superego | |
I Want to Hold Your Hand | pick-up lines & marriage proposals | |
If I Fell | notable key changes | |
I’ll Follow the Sun | tomorrow | |
I’m a Loser | failure | |
I’m Only Sleeping | waking up | |
I’m So Tired | tiredness | |
In My Life | retrospection | |
It’s All Too Much | drone music | |
Julia | tribute songs | |
Komm gib mir deine Hand | foreign language versions | |
Long, Long, Long | notable outros or codas | |
Lovely Rita | jobs | |
Martha My Dear | famous or notable animals | |
Nowhere Man | stereotypes | |
Octopus’s Garden | underwater | |
Only a Northern Song | non sequiturs | |
Paperback Writer | writing | |
Penny Lane | brass songs | |
Rain | notable outros or codas | |
Rock and Roll Music | music genres | |
Rocky Raccoon | revenge | |
Savoy Truffle | chocolate | |
She Loves You | start with the chorus | |
She Said She Said | actors | |
She Said She Said | arguments #2 | |
She’s Leaving Home | orchestral string instruments | |
Strawberry Fields Forever | false endings | |
Taxman | fractions & portions | |
This Boy | B sides | |
Tomorrow Never Knows | odd noises & instruments | |
We Can Work It Out | compromise | |
While My Guitar Gently Weeps | guitars | |
Within You Without You | inspired by India | |
Yellow Submarine | children’s songs | |
Yesterday | old and new | |
You Never Give Me Your Money | money | |
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away | embarrassment | |
Beau | Silence Returns | volume changes |
Beau Dommage | Harmonie du soir à Chateauguay | days of the week |
La Complainte du phoque en Alaska | the circus | |
Beaujon, Andrew | Truer Than the Wheel | wheels |
Beautiful South | 36D | prostitution |
A Little Time | decisive songs | |
Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud) | survival | |
Have You Ever Been Away? | stick it to the man | |
Hold Me Close (Underground) | basements & underground | |
Liars’ Bar | pubs & bars | |
Old Red Eyes Is Back | eyes & sight | |
Perfect 10 | perfection | |
Prettiest Eyes | passage of time | |
Song for Whoever | forgetting | |
The Table | furniture | |
Tattoo | upbeat break-up #2 | |
This Old Skin | skin | |
When I’m 84 | refusal | |
You Keep It All In | repression | |
Beauty Room | Soul Horizon | horizons |
Beaver & Krause | Spaced | drone music |
Bécaud, Gilbert | Dimanche à Orly | love songs to places |
L’orange | orange | |
Bechet, Sidney | Petite fleur | from New Orleans |
Beck | Devils Haircut | the Devil |
Guess I’m Doing Fine | chicken and egg | |
Jack-Ass | sampling & recycling | |
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat | hats | |
Morning | songs to start the morning | |
The New Pollution | natural disasters | |
Where It’s At | musical instruments | |
Where It’s At | two – part 2 | |
Wow | similes | |
Beck, Jeff | Hi Ho Silver Lining | ‘high’ songs |
Nadia | vibrato, tremolo & oscillations | |
Over the Rainbow | covers by the opposite sex | |
The Revolution Will Be Televised | resistance | |
Beckett, Harry | Are You Sitting Comfortably? | chairs |
Bracelets of Sound | hats & accessories | |
Bedelt, Klaus | Queen of the Desert | pioneers |
Bedroom Philosopher | Golden Gaytime | ice cream |
Bee Gees | Edison | electricity |
How Deep Is Your Love | slow, sexy love songs | |
I Started a Joke | smiling & laughing | |
I’ve Gotta Get a Message to You | songs of desperation | |
New York Mining Disaster 1941 | Jones & Joneses | |
Night Fever | youth cults | |
Stayin’ Alive | falsetto | |
Words | freedom of expression | |
Bees | Chicken Payback | poultry |
Beethoven, Ludwig van | Moonlight Sonata (performed by Lee Ashley) | 3/4 time |
Ode to Joy | hope & resilience | |
Ode an die Freude (Ode to Joy) (performed by a flash mob) | national anthems | |
Piano Concerto No. 5 (performed by Alfred Brendel) | great arrangements | |
Beiderbecke, Bix | Mississippi Mud | earth, soil & dirt |
Royal Garden Blues (with His New Orleans Lucky Seven) | music venues | |
Beirut | After the Curtain | theatre |
Scenic World | accordion | |
Bel Canto | Baltic Ice-Breaker | stuck or trapped |
Capio | mixtape closers | |
Belafonte, Harry | Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) | dawn |
Jamaica Farewell | islands | |
John Henry | iron & steel | |
Love, Love Alone | kings | |
Scratch, Scratch | itching & scratching | |
There’s a Hole in the Bucket (with Odetta) | geometric shapes | |
Try to Remember | nostalgia | |
Turn the World Around | climate change | |
We Are the Wave | wide open spaces | |
Zombie Jamboree | zombies | |
Be’lakor | Venator | monsters |
Belew, Adrian | Men in Helicopters (Acoustic) | wilderness |
Bell, Archie & the Drells | (There’s Gonna Be A) Showdown | effects of fame |
Tighten Up | dance styles | |
Bell, Chris | I Am the Cosmos | ‘I am’ songs |
Bell, Maggie | Souvenirs | memorabilia & souvenirs |
Bell, William | You Don’t Miss Your Water | idioms & common expressions |
Bell X1 | The Curtains Are Twitchin’ | neighbours |
Light Catches Your Face | faces | |
Belle, Lucinda (see Lucinda Belle Orchestra) | ||
Belle and Sebastian | Another Sunny Day | passage of time |
The Blues Are Still Blue | cleansing | |
The Chalet Lines | moving on | |
Expectations | school | |
The Fox in the Snow | winter | |
I’m Waking Up to Us | upbeat break-up | |
It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career | alternative outcomes | |
Judy and the Dream of Horses | songwriting | |
Lazy Line Painter Jane | bad boys & bad girls | |
Lord Anthony | character songs | |
The Magic of a Kind Word | kindness | |
Nothing in the Silence | fun | |
The Stars of Track and Field | sport | |
The State I Am In | different 7″ versions | |
Storytelling | writing | |
Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It | stick it to the man | |
This Is Just a Modern Rock Song | meta-songs | |
Belle Stars | Sign of the Times | girl groups |
Bellowhead | New York Girls | songs that fit every topic |
One May Morning Early | nightingales & thrushes | |
Roll Alabama | Liverpool & Merseyside | |
Belly | Gepetto | toys |
Beloved | The Sun Rising | the sun |
Sweet Harmony | quiet songs | |
Ben, Jorge | Descobri Que Eu Sou um Anjo | surreal songs |
Filhos de Gandhi (with Gilberto Gil) | inspired by India | |
Fio Maravilha | substitutions | |
O Circo Chegou | the circus | |
País Tropical | nature | |
Ponta de Lança Africano (Umbabarauma) | sport | |
Take It Easy My Brother Charles | multilingual songs | |
Zagueiro | songs offering advice | |
Ben-Ari, Mosh | Jah Is One | left wing politics |
Benatar, Pat | Hit Me with Your Best Shot | dares |
Bennett, Lorna | Breakfast in Bed | relaxation & leisure |
Skank in Bed (with Scotty) | beds | |
Bennett, Louise | Linstead Market | markets & fairs |
Bennett, Martyn | Aye? | Scotland |
Bennett, Tony | New York State of Mind (with Billy Joel | from New York City |
Some Other Time (with Bill Evans) | procrastination | |
Stranger in Paradise | sampling & recycling | |
Benny Goodman Quartet (see Goodman, Benny) | ||
Benson, Brendan | Metarie | magazines |
Bentley Boys | Down on Penny’s Farm | farm produce |
Bentley Rhythm Ace | Spacehopper | jumping |
Why Is a Frog Too..? | amphibians | |
Benton, Brook | Hotel Happiness | hotels |
Rainy Night in Georgia | loneliness | |
Bergin, Mary | Tom Billy’s / The Langstern Pony | flutes, pipes & whistles |
Berkeley, Busby | Lullaby of Broadway | dance instrumentals |
Berklee Indian Ensemble | Kun Faya Kun | high-pitched vocals |
Berlioz, Hector | Dream of a Night of the Sabbath (Symphonie fantastique, 5th movement) | nightmares |
Bern, Dan | Shakespeare’s Got a Gun | Shakespeare |
Bernstein, Elmer | Staccato’s Theme | TV theme songs |
Bernstein, Leonard | Jet Song (from West Side Story) (with Stephen Sondheim) | bad boys & bad girls |
Berry, Chuck | Brown Eyed Handsome Man | great opening lines |
Johnny B. Goode | named after men | |
No Money Down | shopping | |
Promised Land | California | |
Roll Over Beethoven | jukeboxes | |
Route 66 | American west | |
School Day (Ring Ring Goes the Bell) | school | |
Sweet Little Sixteen | ages | |
Too Much Monkey Business | multitasking & being busy | |
You Never Can Tell | marriage | |
Berry, Richard & the Pharaohs | Louie Louie | indecipherable songs |
Best Coast | Goodbye | famous last words |
Beta Band | Dr. Baker | doctors |
Dry the Rain | light | |
Needles in My Eyes | tools | |
Bethânia, Maria | Carcará | raptors |
Beths | Little Death | orgasms |
Better Than Ezra | Under You | from New Orleans |
Beverley (see Martyn, Beverley) | ||
Bevis Frond | For Pat (on the Chaise Longue Dreaming) | chairs |
Stain on the Sun | denial | |
Stoned Train Driver | jobs | |
Waving | physical gestures | |
Beyoncé | Crazy in Love (ft Jay-Z) | falling in love |
Daddy Lessons (ft Dixie Chicks) | fathers and daughters | |
Formation | artistic trends of the 21st century | |
Freakum Dress | clothes | |
Freedom (ft Kendrick Lamar) | pragmatism | |
Hold Up | adultery & infidelity | |
If I Were a Boy | alternative outcomes | |
Irreplaceable | confidence | |
Irreplaceable | substitutions | |
Levii’s Jeans (with Post Malone) | legs & pants | |
Love on Top | notable key changes | |
Move Your Body | bodily motion & exercise | |
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) | na-na-hey-hey songs | |
Bhatt, V. M. | Ganges Delta Blues (with Ry Cooder) | genre defying |
Bhundu Boys | Baba Munini Francis | discovery |
Manhenga | music for funerals | |
Radio Africa (with Latin Quarter) | Africa | |
Biafra, Jello | Plastic Jesus (with Mojo Nixon) | plastic |
Bibb, Eric | Booker’s Guitar | guitars |
New Shoes | footwear | |
Bibb, Leon | Rainbow Round My Shoulder | rainbows |
Biffy Clyro | Bubbles | one word titles |
Mountains | wide open spaces | |
Big Audio Dynamite | C’mon Every Beatbox | media for listening to recorded music |
E=MC2 | inspired by or about films | |
Sambadrome | South America | |
Big Black | Bad Penny | lies |
Kerosene | fire | |
Steelworker | violence | |
Big Bopper | Chantilly Lace | telephones |
Big Brother & the Holding Company | Ball and Chain | keys & locks |
Piece of My Heart | the heart | |
Big Country | Chance | chance & coincidence |
In a Big Country | deserts | |
Steeltown | iron & steel | |
Big Dipper | All Going Out Together | natural disasters |
Big Ghana Band | Unbelievable | disbelief |
Big Hard Excellent Fish | Imperfect List 2 | list songs |
Big Maybelle | You’ll Never Know | never |
Big Star | The Ballad of El Goodo | authenticity & fakery |
Holocaust | mothers | |
Jesus Christ | biblical songs | |
September Gurls | September | |
Thank You Friends | please & thank you | |
Thirteen | adolescence | |
Watch the Sunrise | dawn | |
When My Baby’s Beside Me | energizing songs | |
Big Thief | UFOF | acronyms |
Big Three | Cavern Stomp | music venues |
Big Youth | Foreman vs Frazier | fighting |
Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing | authenticity & fakery | |
Bigg Jus | Say Goodbye (ft Jerold Marcellus Bryant) | normal & abnormal |
Bikini Kill | Rebel Girl | gangs |
Bill Evans Trio (see Evans, Bill) | ||
Bill Nelson’s Red Noise (see Nelson, Bill) | ||
Bimini | God Save This Queen | gender & LGBTQ+ |
Bird, Andrew | Eyeoneye | breaking things |
The Happy Birthday Song | birthdays | |
Scythian Empires | unusual rhymes | |
Bird and the Bee | Birds and the Bees | bees |
Birds | Leaving Here | escape |
Birkin, Jane | 69 année erotique (with Serge Gainsbourg) | dates |
Je t’aime… moi non plus (with Serge Gainsbourg) | lust | |
Lost Song | classical songs | |
Birthday Party | Deep in the Woods | forests & woodlands |
Happy Birthday | anniversaries | |
Mutiny in Heaven | heaven & hell | |
Bishop, Stephen | Little Italy | Italy |
Bishop Allen | Click, Click, Click, Click | photography |
Bishops | Mr. Jones | Jones & Joneses |
Bittova & Fajt | Peřiny (Morning Song) | alarm sounds |
Bizet, Georges | Au fond du temple saint (The Pearl Fishers’ Duet) (from Les pêcheurs de perles) | conversations |
En vain pour eviter (from Carmen) | fortune tellers | |
Flower Song (from Carmen) | flowers | |
Björk | 107 Steps (with Siobhan Fallon) | capital punishment |
The Anchor Song | the sea | |
Bath | swimming & bathing | |
Come to Me | welcoming | |
Cover Me | hammer & mallet instruments | |
Crystalline | unusual time signatures | |
Cvalda (with Catherine Deneuve) | manual labour | |
Future Forever | eternity | |
Headphones | ears & hearing | |
Hope | suicide | |
Hyperballad | faith | |
It’s Oh So Quiet | quiet | |
I’ve Seen It All (with Thom Yorke) | duets | |
Mutual Core | geology | |
Sun in My Mouth | inspired by poetry | |
Sweet, Sweet Intuition | sixth sense | |
Thunderbolt | odd noises & instruments | |
Unison | compromise | |
Venus as a Boy | beauty | |
Blacc, Aloe | I Need a Dollar | austerity |
Black | Fly Up to the Moon (ft Sam Brown) | ascension |
Sweetest Smile | faces | |
Black, Cilla | Alfie | great arrangements |
Liverpool Lullaby | Liverpool & Merseyside | |
Black, Frank | Bad News (as Black Francis) | omens & prophecies |
Song of the Shrimp | songs with jokes | |
Whatever Happened to Pong? | hobbies | |
Black, Mary | Loving Hannah | change of mind |
Black, Taska | Sandpaper (ft Ayelle) | sand |
Black Angels | Haunting at 1300 McKinley | addresses |
Black Bob | If You See My Rooster (Please Run Him Home) (with Memphis Minnie) | running |
Joe Louis Strut (with Memphis Minnie & Bill Settles) | fighting | |
Black Box | Ride on Time | made you fall in love with music |
Black Box Recorder | Andrew Ridgley | other musicians |
The Art of Driving | switches & buttons | |
Being Number One | music industry | |
Child Psychology | children | |
The English Motorway System | cars & driving | |
The Facts of Life | immaturity | |
French Rock’N’Roll | France | |
Goodnight Kiss | makeup | |
The School Song | teachers | |
These Are the Things | small things | |
Black Country, New Road | Sunglasses | hats & accessories |
Black Eyed Peas | Where Is the Love? | September 11 attacks |
Black Flag | Rise Above | ascension |
Six Pack | beer | |
TV Party | television | |
Black Francis (see Black, Frank) | ||
Black Grape | In the Name of the Father | supergroups |
Reverend Black Grape | preachers, priests & religious leaders | |
Black Keys | Everlasting Light | lighthouses & guiding lights |
Gold on the Ceiling | gold | |
Black Mountain | Bicycle Man | bicycles |
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club | Grind My Bones | bones |
In Like the Rose | roses | |
Black Sabbath | Black Sabbath | sound effects |
Children of the Sea | loss | |
Electric Funeral | funerals | |
Heaven and Hell | sinners | |
Iron Man | comics & cartoons | |
Iron Man | time travel | |
Lady Evil | best bass lines | |
Paranoid | mental illness | |
The Sign of the Southern Cross | compass points | |
War Pigs | horror-inspired songs | |
Black Sheep | The Choice Is Yours | songs by duos |
Black Sorrows | Hold On to Me | treasure |
Black Stalin | Caribbean Unity | the Caribbean |
Black Star | Astronomy (8th Light) (ft Weldon Irvine) | black |
Definition | assassination | |
Thieves in the Night | books #2 | |
Black Uhuru | General Penitentiary | prisons |
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner | visitors | |
I Love King Selassie | royalty | |
No Loafing (Sit and Wonder) | waiting | |
Solidarity | unity | |
What Is Life? | meaning of life | |
Youth of Eglington | shooting | |
Blackalicious | Alphabet Aerobics | choosing & using words |
Chemical Calisthenics (ft Cut Chemist) | science | |
Deception | celebrity | |
Green Light: Now Begin | green | |
Sleep | relaxation & leisure | |
Blackberry Smoke | Good One Comin’ On | hedonism |
One Horse Town | roots | |
Blackbyrds | Rock Creek Park | parks |
Blackmore’s Night | Barbara Allen | redemption |
Locked Within the Crystal Ball | fortune tellers | |
Blackwell, Scrapper | Carried Water for the Elephant (witih Leroy Carr) | the circus |
Blades, Rubén | Pedro Navaja (with Willie Colón) | Mexico & Central America |
West Indian Man (with Son del Solar) | the Caribbean | |
Blake, Blind | Police Dog Blues | police |
Blake, James | Take a Fall for Me (ft RZA) | asking, begging & pleading |
Blakey, Art | Elephant Walk | elephants & mammoths |
Ife L’ayo (There Is Happiness in Love) (with the Afro-Drum Ensemble) | outstanding percussion | |
Obirin African (Woman of Africa) (with the Afro-Drum Ensemble) | Africa | |
Tobi Ilu (with the Afro-Drum Ensemble) | great drumming | |
Bland, Bobby | Turn On Your Love Light | influenced by gospel |
Blast, C. L. | Somebody Shot My Eagle | austerity |
Blaze | My Beat (ft Palmer Brown) | mood-changing music |
Bleach | The Head That Controls Both Right and Left Sides Eats Meats and Slobbers Even Today | arresting opening lines |
Bleechers | Come into My Parlour | domestic songs |
Blegvad, Peter | The Cryonic Trombone (with Andy Partridge) | gases |
Gold | the obvious | |
Hangman’s Hill (with John Greaves & Chris Cutler) | hanging | |
King Strut | using your imagination | |
Magritte (with John Greaves & Chris Cutler) | works of art | |
Powers in the Air | sixth sense | |
Blenders | Don’t Fuck Around with Love | songs offering advice |
Blessing | Hurricane Room | the Commonwealth |
Bleu, Chakra | Black Elephant | elephants & mammoths |
Bley, Carla | Very Very Simple (as the Carla Bley Band) | meta-songs |
Bley, Paul | M.J. (with Annette Peacock) | more questions than answers |
Blige, Mary J. | Beautiful (Black Star Remix) | beauty |
Blind Boys of Alabama | (Jesus Hits Like the) Atom Bomb | God & the Devil |
Way Down in the Hole | songs defined or redefined by television | |
Blind Melon | Paper Scratcher | oddballs, outcasts & outsiders |
Blink-182 | Man Overboard | upbeat break-up #2 |
Turpentine | hardware | |
What’s My Age Again? | ages | |
Bliss, Melvin | Synthetic Substitution | substitutions |
Blitzen Trapper | Furr | dogs |
Bloc Party | Hunting for Witches | confusion & delusion |
Block 16 | Morning Sun (ft Jon Lucien) | songs to start the morning |
Blondie | 11:59 | times of day |
Angels on the Balcony | theatre | |
Atomic | energizing songs | |
Denis | multilingual songs | |
Fade Away and Radiate | boring & dull | |
Hanging on the Telephone | letters, emails & telegrams | |
The Hardest Part | iron & steel | |
Heart of Glass | the heart | |
I Know But I Don’t Know | uncertainty | |
(I’m Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear | unexplained phenomena | |
One Way or Another | confidence | |
Picture This | cleansing | |
Rapture | genre switch | |
Rip Her to Shreds | insulting songs | |
Sunday Girl (French Version) | songs in French | |
Blondy, Alpha | Afriki | influenced by reggae |
Blood | Sewer Brain | genre switch |
Blood, Sweat & Tears | Spinning Wheel | spinning |
You’re Made Me So Very Happy | happiness | |
Bloom, Bobby | Montego Bay | the Caribbean |
Bloom, Kath | Bicycle (with Lauren Mazzacane) | bicycles |
Bloomfield, Mike | Farther Up the Road | moving on |
Stop (with Al Kooper) | supergroups | |
Blow, Kurtis | The Breaks | breaking things |
If I Ruled the World | conditional phrases | |
Blue Cheer | Doctor, Please | doctors |
Blue Dots | Saturday Night Fish Fry | meals & mealtimes |
Blue Hearts | Linda Linda | different 7″ versions |
Blue Magic | Sideshow | carnivals & funfairs |
Blue Mink | Melting Pot | recipe songs |
Blue Nile | From a Late Night Train | trains |
Headlights on the Parade | parades | |
Over the Hillside | horizons | |
Blue Öyster Cult | (Don’t Fear) The Reaper | death |
Feel the Thunder | ghosts | |
Godzilla | famous or notable animals | |
The Marshall Plan | crowds | |
pockets | ||
She’s as Beautiful as a Foot | feet | |
Veteran of the Psychic Wars | the brain | |
Blues Brothers | Everybody Needs Somebody to Love | collaborations & side projects |
Shake a Tail Feather (with Ray Charles) | dancing | |
Blues Pills | Devil Man | the Devil |
Blues Traveler | Trust in Trust | trust |
Bluhm, Tim | Raining Gravel | banks & banking |
Blunstone, Colin | Caroline Goodbye | goodbye |
I Don’t Believe in Miracles | disbelief | |
Say You Don’t Mind | androgynous vocals | |
Setting Yourself Up | deceptive appearances | |
Blur | Coffee & TV | home |
Crazy Beat | rhythm, beat & boogie | |
Girls & Boys | holidays | |
Sunday Sunday | the weekend | |
Sweet Song | songs about songs | |
This Is a Low | bad weather | |
To the End (La Comedie) (with Françoise Hardy) | multilingual songs | |
Tracy Jacks | oddballs, outcasts & outsiders | |
Trimm Trabb | shoes | |
The Universal | the future | |
Blyth Power | Bind Their Kings in Chains | judges & trials |
Bo, Eddie | Horse with a Freeze Pts 1&2 (as Roy Ward) | stop-start songs |
Boards of Canada | Aquarius | more questions than answers |
Dawn Chorus | dawn | |
In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country | rural songs | |
Roygbiv | nature | |
B.o.B | Past My Shades (ft Lupe Fiasco) | eyewear |
Bob & Earl | Harlem Shuffle | dance styles |
Bob and Marcia | Pied Piper | leadership |
To Be Young, Gifted and Black | adolescence | |
Bob-Cats | Big Noise from Winnetka | double bass |
Bobo, Willie | Funky Sneakers | footwear |
Bobo’s (see Palmashow) | ||
Bocca Juniors | Raise (63 Steps to Heaven) | synth pop 1980-2000 |
Boccherini, Luigi | Guitar Quintet No. 4 in D major: IV. Fandango | finger snaps & toe taps |
Boden, Jon | Cinnamon Water | swimming & bathing |
Boeing Duveen & the Beautiful Soup | Jabberwock | whimsical songs |
Which Dreamed It | ambiguity | |
Bogan, Lucille | B.D. Woman’s Blues | homosexuality |
Shave ‘Em Dry | great songwriting 1900-1955 | |
Boggs, Dock | Wise County Jail | earth, soil & dirt |
Bogguss, Suzy | Letting Go | higher education |
Bogle, Eric | And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda | 3/4 time |
No Man’s Land | peace | |
Plastic Paddy | plastic | |
Bohren and der Club of Gore | Midnight Black Earth | genre defying |
Skeletal Remains | bones | |
Boine, Mari | Goaskinviellja | raptors |
Vuoi vuoi mu | from Nordic countries | |
Bolan, Marc | The Perfumed Garden of Gulliver Smith | gardens |
Bomb the Bass | Beat Dis | rhythm, beat & boogie |
Bug Powder Dust (ft Justin Warfield) | literary songs | |
Sandcastles (ft Bernard Fowler) | sand | |
Bombay Sisters | Bhojanam Seyya Vaarungal | meals & mealtimes |
Bon Iver | For Emma | girls’ names |
I Can’t Make You Love Me | covers by the opposite sex | |
Bon Jovi | Livin’ on a Prayer | industry & manufacturing |
Bonamassa, Joe | Black Lung Heartache | caves |
Mountain Time | mountains | |
Bond | Fuego | girl groups |
Bonds , Gary U.S. | New Orleans | New Orleans |
Boney M. | Daddy Cool | coolness |
Rasputin | royalty | |
Bongwater | Nick Cave Dolls | toys |
Bonnie and the Treasures | Home of the Brave | freedom |
Bonnie “Prince” Billy (see Oldham, Will) | ||
Bonobo | The Keeper (ft Andreya Triana) | peace |
Sun Will Rise (with Speech Debelle) | determination | |
Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band | Ali-Baba’s Camel | four-legged livestock |
Big Shot | funny songs | |
The Bride Stripped Bare (by “Bachelors”) | music industry | |
Cool Britannia | Britain | |
Death Cab for Cutie | accidents | |
I’m the Urban Spaceman | aliens | |
The Intro and the Outro | list songs | |
Little Sir Echo | echoes | |
Mr. Apollo | forgotten follow-ups | |
Mr. Slater’s Parrot | whistling | |
No Matter Who You Vote For, The Government Always Gets In (Heigh Ho) | elections | |
Rhinocratic Oaths | strange & surreal | |
Sport (The Odd Boy) | sport | |
Trouser Press | surreal songs | |
We Are Normal | normal & abnormal | |
Boo Radleys | From the Bench at Belvidere | sitting & standing |
Lazarus | biblical songs | |
Martin, Doom! It’s Seven O’Clock | conversations | |
Wake Up Boo! | songs to start the morning | |
Boogie Down Productions | You Must Learn | lessons in life |
You Must Learn | knowledge | |
Booker, James | Junco Partner | from New Orleans |
Life | great keyboards | |
Booker T. & the M.G.’s | Chinese Checkers | games |
Green Onions | food | |
Time Is Tight | slowing down | |
Bookshop Band | A Shop with Books In | libraries |
Boomtown Rats | Don’t Believe What You Read | reading |
(I Never Loved) Eva Braun | narcissism | |
Booth, Webster | We’ll Gather Lilacs (with Anne Ziegler) | positive songs |
Boothe, Ken | Let the Water Run Dry | wells |
Boris | Blood Swamp (with Sunn O)))) | earth, soil & dirt |
Boris (with Merzbow) | drone music | |
Borland, Adrian | Walking in the Opposite Direction | stubbornness |
Boston | Hitch a Ride | hitchhiking |
Bostwick, Barry | Over at the Frankenstein Place (with Susan Sarandon & Richard O’Brien) | lighthouses & guiding lights |
Boswell, John D. | A Glorious Dawn (with Carl Sagan & Stephen Hawking) | eureka moments |
Boswell Sisters | Mood Indigo | great songwriting 1900-1955 |
Bottle Rockets | Another Brand New Year | old and new |
Indianapolis | stuck or trapped | |
Boutté, Lillian | Am I Blue | from New Orleans |
Bow Wow Wow | C⋅30 C⋅60 C⋅90 Go! | shopping |
Go Wild in the Country | rural songs | |
Bowen, Lorraine | Cup of Tea in Bed | tea |
Ice Cream Lady | ice cream | |
Lemon Disinfectant | smells | |
Pier Song | the coast | |
Post Office Blues | written correspondence | |
Bowie, David | A New Career in a New Town | instrumentals |
All the Madmen | hospitals | |
Always Crashing in the Same Car | cars & driving | |
Ashes to Ashes | mistaken identity | |
Blackstar | stars | |
Changes | change #2 | |
Come and Buy My Toys | toys | |
Fame | funk | |
Fashion | fear of missing out | |
Five Years | meta-songs | |
God Knows I’m Good | deception | |
Golden Years | whistling | |
“Heroes” | obstacles | |
“Heroes” | album tracks better than the singles | |
Kooks | fathers | |
Kooks | survival | |
Lady Stardust | other musicians | |
Let’s Dance | start with the chorus | |
Letter to Hermione | written correspondence | |
Life on Mars? | questions | |
The London Boys | youth cults | |
Look Back in Anger | surprise encounters | |
Memory of a Free Festival | music venues | |
Modern Love | punctuality | |
Moss Garden | onomatopoeia | |
Neuköln | electronic music to 1983 | |
Oh! You Pretty Things | oddballs, outcasts & outsiders | |
The Prettiest Star | different 7″ versions | |
Ragazzo solo, ragazzo sola | foreign language versions | |
Rebel Rebel | gender & LGBTQ+ | |
Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide | suicide | |
Space Oddity | without a chorus | |
Speed of Life | dance instrumentals | |
Star | celebrity | |
Starman | aliens | |
Station to Station | impressive intros | |
Stay | staying | |
Subterraneans | indecipherable songs | |
Time | stop-start songs | |
Under Pressure (with Queen) | duets | |
Where Are We Now? | specific or obscure places | |
The Width of a Circle | id, ego & superego | |
Wild Eyed Boy from Freecloud | capital punishment | |
Ziggy Stardust | saints & martyrs | |
Bowlly, Al | Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind (with Ken “Snakehips” Johnson) | quoting Shakespeare |
Dinner for One Please, James (with Ray Noble & His Orchestra) | meals & mealtimes | |
Goodnight, Sweetheart | great songwriting 1900-1955 | |
Hang Out the Stars in Indiana | hanging | |
Looking on the Bright Side of Life (with Ray Noble & His New Mayfair Orchestra) | optimistic songs | |
Love Is the Sweetest Thing (with Ray Noble & His New Mayfair Orchestra) | songs that say what love is | |
Please Don’t Mention It (with Ray Noble & His Orchestra and Anona Winn) | letters, emails & telegrams | |
Riptide (with Lew Stone & His Band) | tides | |
The Very Thought of You (with Ray Noble & His Orchestra) | crooners | |
You Ought to See Sally on Sunday | days of the week | |
Bowser and Blue | Working Where the Sun Don’t Shine (The Colo-Rectal Surgeon’s Song) | stomach & guts |
Box Tops | The Letter | letters, emails & telegrams |
Neon Rainbow | gases | |
Boy George | King of Everything | kings |
Same Thing in Reverse | equality | |
Boyer, Lucienne | Parlez-moi d’amour | great songwriting 1900-1955 |
boygenius | Anti-Curse | blessings & curses |
Revolution 0 | notable outros or codas | |
Brad | Buttercup | odd couples |
Bradley, Charles | Ain’t It a Sin | funk |
Why Is It So Hard | biography & autobiography | |
Bradley, Jan | Mama Didn’t Lie | innocence |
Brady, Bob & the Con-Chords | Everybody’s Goin’ to the Love-In | obsolete things |
Brady, Paul | The Lakes of Pontchartrain | New Orleans |
Bragg, Billy | A13, Trunk Road to the Sea | specific or obscure places |
Accident Waiting to Happen | insulting songs | |
Between the Wars | left wing politics | |
Bread and Circuses (with Natalie Merchant) | bread, cakes, pastry & biscuits | |
Brickbat | getting older | |
Christ for President (with Wilco) | Jesus | |
England, Half English (with the Blokes) | roots | |
God’s Footballer | football | |
Greetings to the New Brunette | brown | |
Handyman Blues | decor | |
Hot Rod Hotel (with Wilco) | hotels | |
I Guess I Planted (with Wilco) | positive songs | |
Ingrid Bergman (with Wilco) | famous people | |
It Says Here | freedom of expression | |
Levi Stubbs’ Tears | music as nutrition | |
The Man in the Iron Mask | masks | |
Must I Paint You a Picture | painting & painters | |
Never Buy the Sun | reading | |
No One Knows Nothing Anymore | knowledge | |
The Price of Oil | scandal | |
Remember the Mountain Bed (with Wilco) | mountains | |
Rotting on Remand | Liverpool & Merseyside | |
The Saturday Boy | unrequited love | |
St. Swithin’s Day | famous last words | |
Tank Park Salute | fathers | |
There Is Power in a Union | unity | |
To Have and to Have Not | social mobility | |
Waiting for the Great Leap Forward | waiting | |
The World Turned Upside Down | revolution | |
Bragg, Johnny | They’re Talking About Me | conspiracy theories & paranoia |
Brahem, Anouar | Le Pas du chat noir | minimalist songs |
Brahms, Johannes | Wiegenlied (Lullaby) (Opus 49 No. 4) | children’s songs |
Brakes | Heard About Your Band | boastful songs |
No Return | hearing, choosing & playing records | |
Bran Van 3000 | Speed | speed |
Brand New Heavies | Midnight at the Oasis | deserts |
Brand, Dollar (see Ibrahim, Abdullah) | ||
Brando, Marlon | If I Were a Bell (with Jean Simmons) | bells |
Brandt Brauer Frick | Bop | minimalist songs |
Caffeine | coffee | |
Branduardi, Angelo | Highdown Fair | patterns & sequences |
Brandy | The Boy Is Mine (with Monica) | harps, lyres & zithers |
Brann, Chris | Diving for Pills (as Wamdue Project) | dance instrumentals |
Brassens, Georges | Le Gorille | mammals |
Bratmobile | Gimme Brains | intelligence |
Bravery | An Honest Mistake | misunderstanding |
Braxton, Toni | Un-Break My Heart | reversing |
Breach | Everything You Never Had (We Had It All) (ft Andreya Triana) | gifts & giving |
Bread | The Guitar Man | crowds |
It Don’t Matter to Me | indifference | |
Breathless | Help Me Get Over This | never |
Breaux, Cléoma | Raise Your Window High | from New Orleans |
Brecht, Bertolt | Die Moritat von Mackie Messer | unsettling songs |
Breeders | Cannonball | impressive intros |
Drivin’ on 9 | travelling | |
Happiness Is a Warm Gun | Beatles covers | |
New Year | new year | |
Saints | fairgrounds | |
Bregović, Goran | Kalasnjikov (with the Tzigane Brass Orchestra) | ensembles, big bands & orchestras |
Brel, Jacques | Au printemps | spring |
La Bière | beer | |
La Chanson de Jacky | personal theme songs | |
La Chanson des vieux amants | songs that give you goosebumps | |
La Quête | songs in French | |
La Valse à mille temps | passage of time | |
Les Bonbons | seduction | |
Les Marquises | contentment | |
Ne me quitte pas | songs that make you cry | |
Quand on n’a que l’amour | devoted love | |
Brenston, Jackie & His Delta Cats | Rocket 88 | cars & driving |
Brewer, Teresa | (Put Another Nickel In) Music, Music, Music (with the Dixieland All Stars) | jukeboxes |
Brian | You Don’t Want a Boyfriend | losers |
Brian and Michael | Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs | Manchester |
Brian Jonestown Massacre | Bout de Doigts | underrated artists |
Reign On | roses | |
Brides of Funkenstein | Just Like You | audible breaths |
Party Up in Here | big and meaty | |
Bridie, David | The Koran, the Ghan and a Yarn | 19th century life |
Briggs, Anne | Clea Caught a Rabbit | rabbits |
She Moves Through the Fair | ghosts | |
The Time Has Come | goodbye | |
Bright Eyes | First Day of My Life | starting over |
Hit the Switch | domestic songs | |
Lover I Don’t Have to Love | anti-love songs | |
Road to Joy | classical songs | |
Brightman, Sarah | I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper (with Hot Gossip) | loss |
Brilliant Corners | Brian Rix | laughter |
Brilliant Green | Rainy Days Never Stays | channelling pain |
Brinks, Stanley | Claudine (with Freschard) | detectives |
British Sea Power (see Sea Power) | ||
Britten, Benjamin | The Bonny Earl o’Moray (with Peter Pears) | indecipherable songs |
Cuckoo! (from Friday Afternoons) | birdsong | |
Elegy (O Rose, thou art sick) (from Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings) | doom | |
Nicolas and the Pickled Boys (from Saint Nicolas) | resurrection | |
Night Mail (written by W. H. Auden, narrated by John Grierson) | Britain | |
On a Poet’s Lips I Slept (from Nocturne) | inspired by poetry | |
Proverb 6 (The Hours of Folly) | proverbs | |
String Quartet No. 3 in G major, IV. Burlesque | without percussion | |
Broadcast | The Accidentals | accidents |
The Book Lovers | nerds & geeks | |
Ominous Cloud | clouds | |
Brockdorff Klang Labor | Festung Europa | exile |
Broderick, Peter | I Am Piano | piano songs |
Brody, Dean | Canadian Girls | Canada |
Broggs, Peter | No Ism Pon De Riddim | rhythm, beat & boogie |
Broken Family Band | Alone in the Make-Out Room | arguments #2 |
Living in Sin | sinners | |
You Get Me | Valentine’s Day songs | |
Bromberg, David | The New Lee Highway Blues | road trips |
Bronski Beat | Hit That Perfect Beat | perfection |
It Ain’t Necessarily So | cetaceans | |
Smalltown Boy | 1980s 12” singles | |
Brooklyn Bridge | Worst That Could Happen | being single |
Brooklyn Funk Essentials | Istanbul Twilight (with Hüsnü Şenlendirici) | influenced by dub |
The Revolution Was Postponed Because of Rain | distractions & diversions | |
Brooks, Elkie | Pearl’s a Singer | being lost |
Brooks, Juanita | Garden of Four Trees (with the Explosions) | gardens |
Brooks, Mike | Who Have Eyes to See | eyes |
Broonzy, Big Bill | Black, Brown and White | stereotypes |
Terrible Operation Blues | illness | |
Trouble in Mind | impermanence | |
Brother D with Collective Effort | How We Gonna Make the Black Nation Rise? | positive songs |
Brother Rodney | Keep Your Hand on the Throttle | switches & buttons |
Brötzmann, Peter | Machine Gun | saxophone |
Broughton, Edgar (see Edgar Broughton Band) | ||
Brousal, Barbara | Hello (with Dan Zanes) | hello |
Brown, Arthur (see Crazy World of Arthur Brown) | ||
Brown, Bobby | Oneness with the Forest | forests & woodlands |
Brown, Chuck & the Soul Searchers | Bustin’ Loose | motivation |
Brown, Clarence “Gatemouth” | Alligator Eating Dog | dogs |
Loup Garou | wolves | |
Brown, Clifford | Body and Soul (with Sarah Vaughan) | great songwriting 1900-1955 |
Parisian Thoroughfare (with Max Roach) | Paris | |
Brown, Dennis | Halfway Up, Halfway Down | compromise |
Malcolm X | saints & martyrs | |
Money in My Pocket | 12″ singles to 1979 | |
Silhouettes | jealousy | |
Words of Wisdom | words of wisdom | |
Brown, Foxy | Candy (ft Kelis) | food |
Brown, Greg | Two Little Feet | expressing movement of walking |
Brown, Ian | F.E.A.R. | acronyms |
Brown, James | Ain’t It Funky Pts. 1-2 | list songs |
The Boss | boastful songs | |
Cold Sweat | perspiration | |
Don’t Be a Drop Out | education | |
Funky Drummer | sampling & recycling | |
Get on the Good Foot | fictional adverts | |
Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved | songs that command or instruct | |
Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine | bridges | |
Get Up Offa That Thing | funk | |
Gravity | gravity | |
Hell | heaven & hell | |
Hot Pants | fads & crazes | |
I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothing (Open the Door, I’ll Get It Myself) | control | |
I Got a Bag of My Own | bags & containers | |
I Got You (I Feel Good) | flavour | |
I Refuse to Lose | stubbornness | |
I Want You So Bad | stop-start songs | |
It’s a Man’s World (with Luciano Pavarotti) | collaborations & side projects | |
King Heroin | cocaine & heroin | |
Please Please Please | please & thank you | |
Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto | alternative Christmas songs | |
Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud | call and response | |
Brown, Joe | I’ll See You in My Dreams | music for funerals |
Brown, Maxine | Oh No Not My Baby | gossip |
Oh No Not My Baby | disbelief | |
Brown, Oscar Jr. | Brown Baby | brown |
Dat Dere | elephants & mammoths | |
Humdrum Blues | boredom | |
Brown, Pete & Piblokto | Things May Come and Things May Go, But the Art School Dance Goes On Forever | long titles |
Brown, Ruth | False Friend Blues | deceptive appearances |
I Burned Your Letter | starting fires | |
If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Keep Sitting on It | furniture | |
Brown, Sam | Stop! | heartbreak |
Brown, Shirley | Woman to Woman | songs with talking |
Brown, Vicky | Cité propre: gagner de l’argent par les déchets (ft Final D and the city of Douala) | trash |
Brown, VV | Shark in the Water | fish & other aquatic life |
Brown, Zac (see Zac Brown Band) | ||
Browne, Jackson | Before the Deluge | climate change |
In the Shape of a Heart | precious stones | |
The Late Show | famous last words | |
The Load-Out | concerts | |
The Pretender | compromise | |
Browne, Tom | Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.) | best bass lines |
Browning, Emily | Act of the Apostle | intelligence |
Browns | The Three Bells | bells |
Brozman, Bob | Hana Nu Kajimaya (with Takashi Hirayasu) | tradition |
Pa’ahana (with Ledward Kaapana) | steel guitar | |
Brubeck, Dave | Blue Rondo à la Turk (as Dave Brubeck Quartet) | finish where they begin |
The Real Ambassador (with Louis Armstrong and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross) | pioneers | |
Sixth Sense | sixth sense | |
Take Five (as Dave Brubeck Quartet) | numbered 1 to 10 | |
Unsquare Dance (as Dave Brubeck Quartet) | geometric shapes | |
Brumel, Antoine | Missa ‘Et ecce terræ motus’: Gloria | close harmony singing |
Brun, Ane | The Puzzle | mysterious & puzzling |
Brunettes | Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks | urban wildlife |
Bryant, Dana | Food | cooking |
Heat | perspiration | |
The Jackal (with Ronny Jordan) | glamour & style | |
Bryars, Gavin | Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet | blood |
BT | Fibonacci Sequence | mathematics |
B.T. Express | Express | alarm sounds |
Buarque, Chico | Cálice (with Milton Nascimento) | tyranny & dictatorship |
Construçao | great arrangements | |
João e Maria (with Nara Leão) | famous or notable duos | |
Buchanan & Goodman | The Flying Saucer, Part 1 | songs with jokes |
Buck 65 | Craftsmanship | jobs |
Riverbed 3 | neighbours | |
Zombie Delight | zombies | |
Buckethead | The Ballad of Buckethead | poultry |
Buckins, Mickey & the New Breed | Reflections of Charles Brown | melancholy songs |
Buckley, Jeff | Corpus Christi Carol | falsetto |
Everybody Here Wants You | slow, sexy love songs | |
Hallelujah | covers better than the original | |
Lilac Wine | wine | |
Lover, You Should’ve Come Over | quoting Shakespeare | |
Satisfied Mind | retrospection | |
Buckley, Tim | Buzzin’ Fly | insects |
Dolphins | mammals | |
The Earth Is Broken | nature | |
Happy Time | happiness | |
I Must Have Been Blind | mistakes | |
Once I Was | legacy | |
Song to the Siren | ancient history | |
Starsailor | mysterious & puzzling | |
Strange Street Affair Under Blue | body language | |
Buckshot LeFonque | I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (with Maya Angelou) | empathy |
Music Evolution | double bass | |
Budd, Harold | A Stream with Bright Fish (with Brian Eno) | fish & other aquatic life |
The Plateaux of Mirror (with Brian Eno) | fictional places | |
Budd, Roy | Get Carter | instrumental soundtracks |
Buddy Rich Orchestra (see Rich, Buddy) | ||
Budgie | Breadfan | bread & baking |
Budos Band | The Volcano Song | geology |
Buena Vista Social Club | Chan Chan | comeback songs |
Dancing Shoes (as Rhythms del Mundo) (ft Arctic Monkeys) | footwear | |
De Camino a la Vereda | supergroups | |
Dos Gardenias | two – part 2 | |
Buffalo Springfield | Bluebird | album tracks better than the singles |
For What It’s Worth | historical events | |
Buffalo Tom | Birdbrain | fools |
Taillights Fade | losers | |
Would Not Be Denied | denial | |
Buffett, Jimmy | Wings | wings |
Bug | Can’t Take This No More (ft Daddy Freddy) | start with the chorus |
Catch a Fire (ft Hitomi) | futility | |
Poison Dart (ft Warrior Queen) | poison | |
Skeng (ft Killa P & Flow Dan) | criminals | |
Bug Central | Nowhere Like Home | urban environment |
Bugg, Jake | Seen It All | sharp objects |
Two Fingers | physical gestures | |
Buggles | Video Killed the Radio Star | old and new |
Buika, Concha | Jodida Peró Contenta | independence |
Oro Santo (with Javier Limón) | favourite live versions | |
Volver, Volver | regressing & reversing | |
Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir | Polegnala e Todora | choirs |
Bullet (see Hard Stuff) | ||
Bunyan, Vashti | Glow Worms | insects |
Rose Hip November | autumn | |
Rose Hip November | months of the year | |
Buoys | Timothy | stuck or trapped |
Burdon, Eric | Sixteen Tons | power |
Burdon, Eric & the Animals (see Animals) | ||
Burgess, Tim | A Case for Vinyl | hearing, choosing & playing records |
Burial | Night Bus | urban environment |
South London Boroughs | suburbia | |
South London Boroughs | debut songs | |
Burke, Solomon | I’m Hanging Up My Heart for You | hanging |
We’re Gonna Hold On | songs with special guests | |
Burnel, Jean-Jacques | Deutschland Nicht Uber Alles | national anthems |
Burnett, Fiona | Flutterby, Butterfly | butterflies & moths |
Burnett, T Bone | The Murder Weapon | sharp objects |
Burning Hearts | Into the Wilderness | wilderness |
Burning Hell | The Road | fixing & repairing |
Burning Spear | Black Wa-Da-Da | tautonyms |
Elephants | elephants & mammoths | |
Joe Frazier | misleading or incongruous titles | |
Man in the Hills | rural songs | |
Marcus Garvey | politicians | |
Marcus Say Jah No Dead | spiritual songs | |
Pit of Snakes | collective nouns | |
Red Gold and Green | colours | |
Slavery Days | 19th century life | |
What a Happy Day | happiness | |
Burnside, R. L. | Fireman Ring the Bell | bells |
Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down | sitting & standing | |
Burroughs, William | Words of Advice for Young People (with the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy) | advice |
Buscaglione, Fred | Juke Box | Italy |
Busdriver | Imaginary Places | itching & scratching |
Bush, Kate | An Architect’s Dream | works of art |
And Dream of Sheep | relaxation & leisure | |
Army Dreamers | war | |
Babooshka | anonymity | |
Breathing | nuclear war | |
Cloudbusting | rain | |
Constellation of the Heart | adventure | |
Deeper Understanding | internet | |
The Dreaming | odd noises & instruments | |
Eat the Music | music as nutrition | |
The Fog | family | |
Get Out of My House | books #2 | |
Hounds of Love | fear | |
How to Be Invisible | the invisible | |
Mrs. Bartolozzi | cleansing | |
Nocturn | the coast | |
Oh England My Lionheart | England | |
Pi | numbers | |
Pi | mathematics | |
Prelude | animal sounds | |
The Red Shoes | inspired by or about films | |
Rocket Man | space | |
Rubberband Girl | resilience | |
Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) | defined or redefined by television | |
The Sensual World | sexy songs | |
Snowflake | small things | |
Something Like a Song | mythical beasts | |
Strange Phenomena | sixth sense | |
Them Heavy People | lessons in life | |
This Woman’s Work | mothers | |
Under Ice | snow & ice | |
Under Ice | underwater | |
Waking the Witch | volume changes | |
Watching You Without Me | birdsong | |
The Wedding List | revenge | |
Wow | actors | |
Wuthering Heights | can’t live with or without you | |
Busted | What I Go to School For | school |
Year 3000 | time travel | |
Butler, Jerry | Giving Up on Love | anti-love songs |
Hey, Western Union Man | letters, emails & telegrams | |
Butler, John (see John Butler Trio) | ||
Butler, Richard | Good Days, Bad Days | reversing |
Butterbeans and Susie | I Wanna Hot-Dog for My Roll | innuendo |
Butterfield Blues Band | Walkin’ Blues | harmonica |
Butthole Surfers | I Saw an X-Ray of a Girl Passing Gas | bodily fluids |
Buzzcocks | A Different Kind of Tension | two – part 2 |
Boredom | boredom | |
I Don’t Mind | authenticity & fakery | |
Late for the Train | trains | |
Love Battery | electricity | |
Nostalgia | time travel | |
Paradise | paradise | |
What Do I Get? | questions | |
Why Can’t I Touch It? | touch | |
Byas, Don | Laura | instruments imitating voice & vice versa |
Byrd, Donald | Where Are We Going? | change #2 |
Byrd, Gary & the GB Experience | The Crown | ancient history |
Byrd, Jonathan | Diana Jones | prostitution |
I Was an Oak Tree | trees | |
The Waitress | restaurants & cafes | |
Byrds | Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins | space travel |
Chestnut Mare | horses | |
Dolphin’s Smile | cetaceans | |
Draft Morning | coming of age | |
Eight Miles High | marijuana | |
Hickory Wind | trees | |
Hungry Planet | environment | |
I Come and Stand at Every Door | nuclear war | |
I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better | close harmony singing | |
Mr. Spaceman | aliens | |
My Back Pages | songs for your teenage self | |
Pretty Boy Floyd | smuggling & stealing | |
Renaissance Fair | markets & fairs | |
She Don’t Care About Time | indifference | |
Tomorrow Is a Long Ways Away | tomorrow | |
Triad | fetishes | |
Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) | change | |
Wasn’t Born to Follow | fate & destiny | |
What’s Happening?!?! | uncertainty | |
Why | arguments #2 | |
Byrne, David | Don’t Fence Me In | unlikely cover songs |
Glass, Concrete & Stone | buildings | |
The Jezebel Spirit (with Brian Eno) | ghosts | |
This Is a Life (with Son Lux & Mitski) | distractions & diversions |