10 Best Songs With The Word 'Song' In The Title

Feature Photo: Bruce Alan Bennett / Shutterstock.com

Writing a song about a song can go in just about any direction, from something funny and commercial to something deeply personal, angry, reflective, or completely self-aware. That is what makes this list so much fun. We stayed with ten ranked artists, but when we got to Elton John and Led Zeppelin, there were simply too many great titles containing the word “song” to ignore, so both artists get a little extra room. Sometimes the music makes the rules.

# 10 – Escape (The Piña Colada Song) – Rupert Holmes

Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” is one of those records I can still picture playing on jukeboxes in the late 1970s and early ’80s, when everybody in the bar seemed to know the lines about making love at midnight and being into champagne. Released on Partners in Crime in 1979, the song became the final U.S. number-one hit of the 1970s. Holmes built the whole thing around a great little story: a man bored with his relationship answers a personal ad looking for something new, only to discover that the woman waiting for him is his own partner. It is funny, clever, a little twisted, and unbelievably catchy, which is probably why people are still singing along whenever it comes on.

Read More: Top 10 Rupert Holmes Songs

# 9 – Song Sung Blue – Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond’s “Song Sung Blue” proves that a very simple idea can sometimes become a massive record. Released on Moods in 1972, the song went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned Grammy nominations for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Diamond drew melodic inspiration from the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, but there is nothing complicated about the way he delivers the message. Everybody gets down, everybody knows sadness, and sometimes singing a sad song helps you get through it. That directness is what made “Song Sung Blue” such a natural sing-along and one of Diamond’s most recognizable hits.

# 8 – A Song For You – Leon Russell

Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” is one of the great love songs because it sounds like somebody finally dropping every defense and telling the truth. Russell released it on his self-titled debut album in 1970, and the song went on to be recorded by artists including Donny Hathaway, Ray Charles, the Carpenters, and many others before entering the Grammy Hall of Fame. The melody is beautiful, but Russell’s voice is what gives the record its real power because there is nothing slick about it. He sounds exposed, regretful, grateful, and completely sincere. That combination turned “A Song for You” from an album track into a standard.

Read More: Top 10 Leon Russell Songs

# 7 – It’s The Same Old Song – The Four Tops

The Four Tops’ “It’s the Same Old Song” is classic Motown because the heartbreak is sitting on top of a groove that makes you want to move. Holland-Dozier-Holland wrote and produced the 1965 single, Levi Stubbs tears into the lead vocal, and the Funk Brothers drive the track underneath him. The record reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, and the speed behind its creation is almost as famous as the song itself: Motown needed a fast follow-up after Columbia tried to capitalize on the Four Tops’ recent success, and the team turned this one around at incredible speed. The title may say it is the same old song, but that combination of Stubbs’ voice and the Motown rhythm section never sounded ordinary.

Read More: Top 10 Four Tops Songs

# 6 – Same Old Song And Dance – Aerosmith

Aerosmith’s “Same Old Song and Dance” has all the dirt, swagger, and danger that made the band’s early records so much fun. Steven Tyler and Joe Perry wrote the song for Get Your Wings, released in 1974, and the recording at the Record Plant in New York added a horn section that included Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Stan Bronstein, and Jon Pearson. Tyler sounds completely at home inside the groove, while the guitars give the track that loose, nasty feel Aerosmith was beginning to make its own. The song is about repeating the same reckless behavior and ending up with the same consequences, but the band plays it with so much confidence that the warning almost sounds like an invitation.

# 5 – Silly Love Songs – Paul McCartney & Wings

Paul McCartney answered everybody who complained that he wrote too many sentimental love songs by writing “Silly Love Songs” and taking it straight to number one. Released by Wings in 1976 on Wings at the Speed of Sound, the song spent five weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and turned the criticism into one of McCartney’s biggest post-Beatles hits. The bass line alone is worth the price of admission, and the layered vocals from Paul, Linda McCartney, and Denny Laine keep the whole record moving with a lightness that hides how carefully it is put together. McCartney’s point is simple: people keep falling in love, so why should anybody stop writing songs about it?

# 4 – The Song Is Over – The Who

The Who’s “The Song Is Over” is one of the most beautiful pieces on Who’s Next, and it carries some of the emotional weight left behind by Pete Townshend’s abandoned Lifehouse project. Released in 1971, the song shifts between Townshend and Roger Daltrey as the arrangement builds around piano, synthesizer, guitar, bass, and drums. The title carries a real sense of finality, but the music never feels defeated. Instead, it sounds like someone trying to accept that something important has ended while still holding on to what it meant. On an album filled with huge songs, “The Song Is Over” remains one of its most moving moments.

Read More: The Who’s 10 Most Loved Songs

# 3 – Only A Northern Song – The Beatles

George Harrison’s “Only a Northern Song” is funny, strange, psychedelic, and much sharper than it first appears. The Beatles recorded it during the 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sessions, but it was held back and eventually appeared on Yellow Submarine in 1969. Harrison was taking a shot at his frustrating position inside Northern Songs, the publishing company tied to The Beatles’ catalog, and he wrapped that complaint inside deliberately odd chords, noises, and a wonderfully sarcastic lyric. It is one of Harrison’s most pointed early songs because he manages to criticize the business around the band while still making the record sound like a psychedelic joke.

Read More: Top 10 Beatles Love Songs

# 2 – Elton John – Border Song / Cage The Songbird / The Last Song / Love Song / Michelle’s Song / Sad Songs (Say So Much) / Someone’s Final Song / Song For Guy / Texan Love Song / This Song Has No Title / Your Song

“Border Song.” Appearing on Elton John in 1970, “Border Song” was one of the early records that showed how naturally Elton could bring gospel feeling into his piano playing. Bernie Taupin’s lyric reaches toward brotherhood and division, while Elton sings it with a seriousness that separates it from many of the brighter hits that would soon follow. Aretha Franklin later recorded the song herself, which says plenty about the strength of the composition.

“Cage the Songbird.” “Cage the Songbird” comes from 1976’s Blue Moves, with music by Elton John and Davey Johnstone and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. The lyric was inspired by the death of Édith Piaf, and the song has the feeling of looking backstage after the lights have gone out and discovering how lonely fame can become. David Crosby and Graham Nash appear on backing vocals, adding even more atmosphere to one of the album’s darker pieces.

“The Last Song.” Released on The One in 1992, “The Last Song” deals directly with AIDS through the relationship between a dying son and his father. Elton and Bernie Taupin do not hide behind metaphor here, and that directness gives the song enormous emotional weight. It also became closely connected to Elton’s AIDS advocacy at a point when he was putting more and more of his public life behind that cause.

“Love Song.” “Love Song” from Tumbleweed Connection is unusual in Elton’s early catalog because it was written by Lesley Duncan rather than Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Duncan also played acoustic guitar and sang backing vocals on the recording. The performance is quiet, intimate, and almost folk-like, which makes it stand apart on an album filled with visions of the American West.

“Michelle’s Song.” “Michelle’s Song” appeared on the 1971 soundtrack to Friends, one of those Elton John records that longtime fans know much better than casual listeners. Written by Elton and Bernie Taupin, it fits the young romantic atmosphere of the film and shows how quickly their songwriting partnership was developing during that extraordinary early run of albums and soundtrack work.

“Sad Songs (Say So Much).” Elton returned to the word “song” in a much bigger way with “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” from Breaking Hearts in 1984. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven in the UK, pairing an upbeat track with a lyric about why people turn to sad music when life hurts. It is a great Elton John idea: sometimes the records that sound the saddest are the ones that make us feel less alone.

“Someone’s Final Song.” One of the darkest tracks on Blue Moves, “Someone’s Final Song” is built around a man leaving behind a final message before taking his own life. Elton’s piano and vocal carry most of the emotional weight, while the backing voices deepen the feeling of isolation surrounding the lyric. It is not an easy song, but that is exactly why it stands out.

“Song for Guy.” “Song for Guy” closed 1978’s A Single Man and became one of Elton John’s most successful mainly instrumental pieces, reaching number four in the UK. Elton later explained that the title referred to Guy Burchett, a 17-year-old messenger for his company who died in a motorcycle accident around the time the music was being written. That knowledge gives the repeating final words an even deeper sense of fragility.

“Texan Love Song.” “Texan Love Song” from Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player in 1973 lets Bernie Taupin write from the viewpoint of an angry, reactionary narrator raging against long hair, drugs, politics, and the counterculture. Elton sings it over harmonium rather than piano, and the arrangement leans toward country and folk. The satire is sharp because the character is allowed to expose himself through his own words.

“This Song Has No Title.” Buried inside the enormous Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album is the short and strange “This Song Has No Title,” one of those songs that longtime Elton fans love precisely because it was never one of the giant radio hits. Elton handles the keyboards and vocals while Taupin’s lyric moves through art, confusion, experience, and identity. The title sounds like a joke, but the song itself is searching for something much bigger.

“Your Song.” Any Elton John section built around the word “song” eventually has to come back to “Your Song.” Released on Elton John in 1970, it became one of the records that introduced Elton and Bernie Taupin to the world and has remained one of their defining compositions ever since. There is no trick to it: the melody is beautiful, the lyric is humble, and Elton sings it like he means every word.

# 1 – Led Zeppelin – The Song Remains The Same / The Rain Song / Immigrant Song / The Lemon Song / The Wanton Song

“The Song Remains the Same.” Led Zeppelin opened Houses of the Holy in 1973 with “The Song Remains the Same,” a rush of layered Jimmy Page guitars and Robert Plant vocals that feels like the band taking off at full speed. Page originally imagined the piece as an instrumental overture before it developed into a full song. Three years later, the title became the name of Led Zeppelin’s concert film and live soundtrack, giving the phrase an even bigger place in the band’s history.

“The Rain Song.” “The Rain Song” follows immediately on Houses of the Holy and shows the other side of Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page’s unusual guitar tuning, John Paul Jones’ keyboards, and one of Robert Plant’s most restrained vocals create a slow, beautiful piece that rises and falls without ever losing its sense of space. Putting it right after “The Song Remains the Same” was a perfect example of how quickly Zeppelin could move from power to beauty.

“Immigrant Song.” “Immigrant Song” kicks open Led Zeppelin III in 1970 with Robert Plant’s famous cry and one of the band’s most relentless riffs. The lyric’s Norse imagery grew out of Led Zeppelin’s trip to Iceland, and the song became a Top 20 hit in the United States. It is short by Zeppelin standards, but there is no wasted motion anywhere in it.

“The Lemon Song.” “The Lemon Song” from Led Zeppelin II drops the band deep into the blues, with John Paul Jones’ bass playing becoming just as important as Jimmy Page’s guitar and Robert Plant’s vocal. The song draws heavily from Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor,” and Chester Burnett is now included in the songwriting credit alongside the members of Led Zeppelin. It is loose, dirty, heavy, and filled with the kind of live-room energy that made the second Zeppelin album hit so hard.

“The Wanton Song.” “The Wanton Song” arrived on Physical Graffiti in 1975 and sounds like Led Zeppelin reducing hard rock to its most physical elements: Jimmy Page’s cutting riff, John Bonham’s drums, John Paul Jones holding down the bottom, and Robert Plant riding over the top. Recorded during the Physical Graffiti sessions at Headley Grange, the track is compact, heavy, and relentless. It is one of the album’s great deep cuts and a perfect final entry for this list.