Song Title | Artist | Topic |
O Caroline | Matching Mole | regrets |
O Circo Chegou | Jorge Ben | the circus |
O Death | Ralph Stanley | death |
O Galho da Roseira | Airto Moreira | roses |
O-Kagura / Festivo | The STRiPES | clicking, tapping & stomping |
O Majhi Re | Shaan & Saurav Moni | arresting opening lines |
O Mar | Dorival Caymmi | the coast |
O Mary Don’t You Weep | Bruce Springsteen & the Seeger Sessions Band | miracles |
O mio babbino caro (from Gianni Shicchi) | Giacomo Puccini (sung by Amira Willighagen) | melancholy songs |
O Pencil Sharp | Drive Like Jehu | without a chorus |
O Sole Mio | Blind John Davis | classical songs |
O Superman (For Massenet) | Laurie Anderson | spoken word |
aliens |
O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion | Stevie Wonder & Take 6 | a cappella |
Oatmeal | Sudan Archives | waking up |
Obama Nation | Lowkey | US presidents |
Obirin African (Woman of Africa) | Art Blakey & the Afro-Drum Ensemble | Africa |
Obrigado, Pelé | Wilson Simonal | football |
Obscurity Knocks | The Trash Can Sinatras | fractions & portions |
Obsesión | Aventura ft Judy Santos | songs in Spanish |
Obvious | The Elephants | the obvious |
Occasional Rain | Terry Callier | water |
Ocean | The Velvet Underground | notable outros or codas |
Ocean Eyes | Billie Eilish | eyes |
Ocean in the Night | Elephant Gym | unusual time signatures |
The Ocean Is Teacher | Tom Furse | teachers |
Ocean Rain | Echo & the Bunnymen | mixtape closers |
Ocean Size | Jane’s Addiction | wide open spaces |
Ocean Spray | Manic Street Preachers | nursing & healthcare |
October Night | Witch | September & October |
October Song | Amy Winehouse | September & October |
Octopus | Syd Barrett | puzzling & mysterious |
Octopus’s Garden | The Beatles | underwater |
Odd Jobs | Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | decor |
Odds & Ends | ryo/supercell ft Hatsune Miku | audible breaths |
Odds Are | Barenaked Ladies | survival |
Ode to Billie Joe | Bobbie Gentry | storytelling songs |
Ode to Boy | Yazoo | beauty |
Ode to Jackie Leven | Tyla J. Pallas | biography & autobiography |
Ode to Joy | Ludwig van Beethoven | hope & resilience |
Ludwig van Beethoven (performed by a flash mob) | national anthems |
Ode to My Family | The Cranberries | family |
Ode to the Bouncer | Studio Killers | borders, barriers, walls & fences |
Odessa | Caribou | divorce |
Odyssey | Symphony X | songs that express excess |
Off the Wall | Michael Jackson | triggering dancing |
Offerings | Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson | staying |
Official Suburbian Superman | Suzi Quatro | spring cleaning & household chores |
Offshore Banking Business | The Members | taxation |
O.F.N.I. (Objeto Flamenco No Identificado) | UHF (Ultra High Flamenco) | supergroups |
Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake | Small Faces | instrumentals |
Oh Better Far to Live and Die | Gilbert and Sullivan | kings |
Oh Bondage Up Yours! | X-Ray Spex | great opening lines |
Oh Carolina | Folkes Brothers | lesser known originals |
Oh Death | Charley Patton & Bertha Lee | COVID-19 lockdown |
Oh England My Lionheart | Kate Bush | England |
Oh Good Ale | The Copper Family | beer |
Oh Happy Day | Edwin Hawkins Singers | call and response |
spiritual songs |
Oh I Swear | Richard Thompson | can’t live with or without you |
Oh Larsen B | British Sea Power | cold |
Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me | Charles Mingus | nuclear war |
Oh Lord, Why Lord | Los Pop Tops | classical songs |
Oh Mary | Neil Diamond | deep voices |
Oh My God | Michael Franti & Spearhead | conspiracy theories & paranoia |
Oh My God | Katzenjammer | genre defying |
Oh My Gosh | Basement Jaxx | flirting |
(Oh No! I Must Have Said) Yes | Van der Graaf Generator | misunderstanding |
Oh No Not My Baby | Maxine Brown | gossip |
disbelief |
Oh, Pretty Woman | Roy Orbison | change of mind |
Oh Sweet Nuthin’ | The Velvet Underground | nothing |
Oh, the Divorces! | Tracey Thorn | divorce |
Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’ | Gordon MacRae | bright and beautiful |
Oh What a World | Rufus Wainwright | great arrangements |
Oh Yeah | Roxy Music | radio |
Oh Yeah | Yello | audible breaths |
Oh! You Pretty Things | David Bowie | oddballs, outcasts & outsiders |
Ohio | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | protest |
Ohio/Machine Gun | The Isley Brothers | higher education |
Ohio River Boat Song | Bonnie “Prince” Billy | rivers |
Ohio Town Saved from Killer Bees by Hungry Vampire Bats | Jad Fair & Yo La Tengo | newspapers |
Ohm Sweet Ohm | Kraftwerk | resistance |
Oi Can’t Git a Noice Loaf a Bread | The Singing Postman | bread & baking |
The Oil Song | Steve Forbert | scandal |
Oiseaux exotiques | Olivier Messiaen (performed by Daniel Kirk-Foster) | birdsong |
Okie from Muskogee | Merle Haggard | pride |
Okinawa Song – Chin Nuku Juushii | Ryuichi Sakamoto | Asian cities |
Okra | Olu Dara | markets & fairs |
Ol’ Man River | Screamin’ Jay Hawkins | rivers |
Old | Dexys Midnight Runners | old age |
Old 45s | Chromeo | hearing, choosing & playing records |
Old Age Killed My Teenage Bride | Half Man Half Biscuit | ages |
The Old Ark’s A’Moving | A. A. Gray & Seven Foot Dilly | children’s songs |
Old Blue | Odetta & Larry | pets |
Old Codger | The Stranglers & George Melly | unlikely collaborations |
Old Enough | The Raconteurs | violin |
Old Fart at Play | Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band | masks |
Old Gopher | Edgar Broughton Band | American west |
Old King | Neil Young | pets |
The Old Main Drag | The Pogues | finish where they begin |
Old Man | Love | gifts & giving |
Old Man | Neil Young | old age |
The Old Man’s Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime) | Scott Walker | politicians |
Old McDonald Had a Farm | Ella Fitzgerald | farming |
Old Molly Metcalfe | Jake Thackray | tradition |
Old, New Bicycle | Helvetia | bicycles |
Old Red Eyes Is Back | The Beautiful South | eyes & sight |
Old Rugged Cross | Rahsaan Roland Kirk | crosses |
Old School | Danger Doom ft Talib Kwei | television |
Old September Blues | My Morning Jacket | September |
Old Tart’s Song | Poison Girls | wanting to be someone else |
Old Wild Men | 10cc | old age |
Olde Tyme Mem’ry | Mischief Brew | authenticity & fakery |
Oliveira Dos Cen Anos | C. Tangana | football |
Oliver’s Army | Elvis Costello & the Attractions | Britain |
Olympia | Hole | US cities & states |
Ombra mai fu | George Frideric Handel (sung by Andreas Scholl) | falsetto |
OMG | The Streets ft Laura Vane | acronyms |
Ominous Cloud | Broadcast | clouds |
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever | The Peddlers | wide open spaces |
On a Good Day | Joanna Newsom | harp, lyre & zither |
On a Monday | Lead Belly | judges & trials |
On a Poet’s Lips I Slept (from Nocturne) | Benjamin Britten | inspired by poetry |
On a Wedding Anniversary | John Cale | anniversaries |
On Broadway | The Drifters | roads & streets |
On Days Like These | Matt Monro | Italy |
On est chez nous | Zebda | France |
On Hearing the First Cuckoo of Spring | Frederick Delius | interlopers |
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service | John Barry | trombone |
On Morecambe Bay | Christy Moore | tides |
On My Radio | The Selecter | radio |
On Some Faraway Beach | Brian Eno | wide open spaces |
On Sunday Afternoon | The Harptones | afternoon |
On the Border | Al Stewart | borders, barriers, walls & fences |
On the Bus Mall | The Decemberists | buses |
On the Edge of a Cliff | The Streets | chance & coincidence |
On the Horizon | Ben E. King | horizons |
On the Improve | John Williamson | recovery |
On the Nature of Daylight | Max Richter | lower the heartrate |
On the Nickel | Tom Waits | crisis |
On the Pale Silver Sofa | Cold Gawd | chairs |
On the Radio | Regina Spektor | radio |
On the Radio | Donna Summer | songs with sudden changes |
On the Run | The Jompson Brothers | being scared |
On the Run | Pink Floyd | vibrato, tremolo & oscillations |
On the Shelf | Jake Thackray | being single |
On the Sunny Side of the Street | Louis Armstrong | hope & resilience |
On Tooting Broadway Station | Kitchens of Distinction | forgiveness |
Once I Dreamt a Tree Upside Down | Jan Garbarek Group | inversions |
Once I Was | Tim Buckley | legacy |
Once in a Lifetime | Angélique Kidjo | underwater |
Once in a Lifetime | Talking Heads | mistaken identity |
Once More with Feeling | Traffic Experiment | stuck or trapped |
Once There Was a Wintertime | Cornershop ft Bubbley Kaur | winter |
Once Upon a Dream | Lana Del Rey | fairytales |
One | Johnny Cash | numbered 1 to 10 |
One | Metallica | songs that build |
One Armed Scissor | At the Drive-In | aliens |
One Black Rat | Big Mama Thornton | rodents |
One Brief Moment | Natacha Atlas | brevity |
One Chord Wonders | The Adverts | the number one |
One Day | Fatoumata Diawara | treasure |
One Day at a Time | Joe Walsh | resilience |
One Day Like This | Elbow | euphoria |
One Evening | Feist | evening |
One Fine Day | The Chiffons | optimistic songs |
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Opening Theme) | Jack Nitzsche | odd noises & instruments |
One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) | Frank Sinatra | pubs & bars |
One Horse Town | Blackberry Smoke | roots |
The One I Love | R.E.M. | songs that aren’t what they seem |
One in Ten | UB40 | ‘I am’ songs |
One Is the Magic Number | Jill Scott | being single |
One Last Breath | Creed | redemption |
One Love / People Get Ready | Bob Marley & the Wailers | unity |
One Man Guy | Loudon Wainwright III | volume |
One Man Guy | Rufus Wainwright | being alone |
One May Morning Early | Bellowhead | nightingales & thrushes |
One Million Coasters | NOFX | plastic |
One Mint Julep | The Clovers | the number one |
The One Moment | OK Go | impressive videos |
One Moment More | Mindy Smith | the number one |
One More | The Weaves | the number one |
One More Addiction | Natalie Imbruglia | addiction |
One More Breath | Richard Thompson | breathing |
One More Cup of Coffee | Bob Dylan | coffee |
One More Mile to Go | Otis Spann | the number one |
One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21 | The Flaming Lips | artificial intelligence |
One More Time | Daft Punk ft Romanthony | repetition |
One More Try | George Michael | education |
One Nation Under a Groove | Funkadelic | unity |
One Night in Bangkok | Murray Head | specific or obscure places |
One Night Stand | The Aloof | one night stands |
One Night Stand | The Partridge Family | strangers |
One Note Samba | The New Stan Getz Quartet with Astrud Gilberto | meta-songs |
One Note Samba | Herbie Mann with João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim | austerity |
One of Our Submarines | Thomas Dolby | underwater |
One of These Things First | Nick Drake | failure |
One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) | Mick Hucknall / Bob Dylan | misunderstanding |
The One on the Right Is on the Left | Johnny Cash | inversions |
One People, One Struggle | Anti-Flag | the number one |
One Piece at a Time | Johnny Cash | smuggling & stealing |
One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer | Amos Milburn | numbers |
One Second to Midnight | Icons of Filth | the number one |
One Size Never Fits | Matt Andersen | stereotypes |
One Step Beyond | Madness | echoes |
One Step Forward | Max Romeo & the Upsetters | regressing & reversing |
One Thousand Cherry Trees | Hatsune Miku | substitutions |
One Too Many Mornings | Joan Baez | misunderstanding |
One Way | Levellers | sinners |
One Way Glass | Manfred Mann Chapter Three | glass |
One Way or Another | Blondie | confidence |
One Way Out | Sonny Boy Williamson II | windows |
One Week | Barenaked Ladies | extraordinary vocals |
One Week | Say Sue Me | brevity |
Oneness with the Forest | Bobby Brown | forests & woodlands |
One’s on the Way | Loretta Lynn | babies & childbirth |
The Onion Song | Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell | vegetables |
Online | Brad Paisley | substitutions |
Only | Anthrax | one word titles |
Only a Dream | Mary Chapin Carpenter | leaving or being left behind |
Only a Northern Song | The Beatles | non sequiturs |
Only a Pawn in Their Game | Bob Dylan | shooting |
The Only Living Boy in New Cross | Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine | London |
Only Love Can Break Your Heart | Saint Etienne | covers better than the original |
Only Remembered | Coope Boyes and Simpson | a cappella |
Only Shallow | My Bloody Valentine | adult lullabies |
Only So Much Oil in the Ground | Tower of Power | wells |
Only the Stones Remain | The Soft Boys | impermanence |
The Only Way Is Up | Yazz and the Plastic Population | recovery |
Only When I’m Drunk | Tha Alkaholiks | drinking |
Only Women Bleed | Alice Cooper | feminism |
Onomatopeia | Todd Rundgren | odd noises & instruments |
O-o-h Child | The Five Stairsteps | consolation |
Ooh Las Vegas | Emmylou Harris | gambling |
Ooh My Love | Stevie Nicks | castles & palaces |
Oops!… I Did it Again | Britney Spears | guilt & apology |
Oops (Oh My!) | Tweet ft Missy Elliott | sexy songs |
Open All Night | Bruce Springsteen | songs that build |
Open Country Joy | Mahavishnu Orchestra | violin |
An Open Letter to NYC | Beastie Boys | peace |
Open My Eyes | Nazz | songs to start the morning |
Open the Door Homer | Bob Dylan & the Band | doors |
Open Up | Leftfield | California |
Open Up Your Door | Richard Hawley | doors |
Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sun Shine In) | Pebbles and Bamm Bamm | bright and beautiful |
Open Your Eyes | Angélique Kidjo | eyes |
Ophelia | Natalie Merchant | feminism |
Opium | Dead Can Dance | recreational drugs |
Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money) | Pet Shop Boys | nerds & geeks |
Opportunity | Bobby McFerrin | covers by the opposite sex |
Optimistic | Brian Power ft Lucita Jules | happiness |
Optimistic | Sounds of Blackness | positive songs |
Opus in Beige | Stan Kenton | colours |
Opus Pocus | Jaco Pastorius | hammer & mallet instruments |
Orange | Passepied | orange |
Orange | Psychostick | fruit |
Orange Blossom Special | Charlie McCoy | harmonica |
Orange Claw Hammer | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band | shaggy dog stories & tall tales |
Orange Colored Sky | Nat King Cole | orange |
Orange Crush | R.E.M. | spine & neck |
Orange Moon | Erykah Badu | colours |
Orange Peel | Reuben Wilson | orange |
Orange Rolls, Angel’s Spit | Sonic Youth | bread & baking |
Oranges and Lemons | Jools Holland & Suggs | fruit |
Orca Song | Tulku | cetaceans |
The Orchids | Psychic TV | tattoos & piercings |
Ordinary Angels | Frente! | normal & abnormal |
Ordinary Average Guy | Joe Walsh | normal & abnormal |
Ordinary Joe | Terry Callier | mixtape closers |
Organ Eternal | These New Puritans | eternity |
Original Stuntmaster | Aim | safety & danger |
Original Suffer-Head | Fela Kuti | reckless consumption |
Oro Santo | Javier Limón with Concha Buika | favourite live versions |
Ory’s Creole Trombone | Ory’s Sunshine Orchestra | trombone |
The Osmonds | Denim | Birmingham & the Black Country |
Oswald Defence Lawyer | The Fall | judges & trials |
The Other Man | Sloan | substitutions |
The Other Side | Public Service Broadcasting | musically adventurous |
The Other Window | Wire | strange & surreal |
Otis | The Durutti Column | genre defying |
Otomo | Tarwater | itching & scratching |
Otona no Ookami | KOKIA | wolves |
Oualahila Ar Tesninam | Tinariwen | call and response |
Oumniya | Souad Massi | prayer |
Our Country | Illy | Australia |
Our House | Madness | home |
Our Lips Are Sealed | The Go-Go’s | silence |
Our Lives Are Shaped by What We Love | Odyssey | meaning of life |
Our Mutual Friend | The Divine Comedy | tragedy & comedy |
Our Prayer | The Beach Boys | short songs |
Our Retired Explorer (Dines with Michel Foucault in Paris, 1961) | The Weakerthans | specific or obscure places |
Our Skulls | Imaad Wasif | bones |
Our Spring Will Come | John Cage | piano songs |
Our Sunshine | Paul Kelly | outlaws & rebels |
Our Town | Iris DeMent | leaving or being left behind |
Our Way to Fall | Yo La Tengo | memory |
Our Wedding | Crass | songs that aren’t what they seem |
’Ouses, ‘Ouses, ‘Ouses | The Imagined Village | urban environment |
Out in the Country | Paul Williams | simple pleasures |
Out in the Fields | Gary Moore & Philip Lynott | flags |
Out in the Street | Bruce Springsteen | the weekend |
Out of a Serpent’s Egg | Dead Can Dance | eggs |
Out of My Book | Van der Graaf Generator | flutes, pipes & whistles |
Out of Time | The Rolling Stones | schadenfreude |
Out of Time Man | Mano Negra | punctuality |
Out on the Floor | Dobie Gray | mood-changing music |
Out on the Weekend | Neil Young | the weekend |
Outdoor Miner | Wire | insects |
The Outdoor Type | The Lemonheads | funny songs |
Outer Space | John Grant | space |
Outro (I’m a Fool to Want You) | M. Ward | fools |
Outside the Trains Don’t Run on Time | Gang of Four | obsession |
Outside This Bar | American Music Club | pubs & bars |
Outsider | Ramones | oddballs, outcasts & outsiders |
Outubro | Milton Nascimento | months of the year |
Oval Room | Blaze Foley | US presidents |
Over and Over | Hot Chip | repetition |
Over at the Frankenstein Place | Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon & Richard O’Brien | lighthouses & guiding lights |
Over the Border | Saint Etienne | made you fall in love with music |
Over the Edge of the World | Virginia Astley | horizons |
Over the Hills and Far Away | John Tams | kings |
Over the Hillside | The Blue Nile | horizons |
Over the Rainbow | Jeff Beck | covers by the opposite sex |
Over the Rainbow | Judy Garland | recorded for movies |
Over the Wall | Echo & the Bunnymen | obstacles |
Overdose of Joy | Eugene Record | euphoria |
Overjoyed | Esperanza Spalding | double bass |
Overnight | Maggie Holland | itinerants & migration |
Overnight Sensation | Raspberries | false endings |
Overtake | AKB48 | Japan |
The Owl | Slapp Happy & Henry Cow | owls |
Owl Eyes | Devendra Banhart | owls |
The Owl of Love | Clogs ft Shara Worden | owls |
An Owl Song | Canned Heat | owls |
Owls | The Handsome Family | decor |
Oxford Comma | Vampire Weekend | wealth |
Oxford Street | Everything but the Girl | coming of age |
Oxford Town | Richie Havens | justice |
Oxygen | Feeder | breathing |
Oxygen | Willy Mason | protest |
Oxygène | Jean-Michel Jarre | gases |