Do you ever come across songs that "borrow" a line, or a few bars, from a famous song? Not in the sense of stealing or plagiarising, but quoting directly to evoke a familiar remembrance.

For example, George M. Cohan's "Grand Ole Flag" ends with the lines:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.
... which lifts a line and melody directly from the old traditional "Auld Lang Syne"

Or how about ELO's version of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven", which starts with the "da-da-da-dum" from Beethoven's 5th Symphony?

"A Fifth of Beethoven"

Salt & Pepa said "Like Prince said, 'you're a sexy mother...'"

The Style Council's "How She Threw It All Away" includes the line "But thankfully you remembered the words to 'I Can't Buy Me Love'".

"Black Velvet" includes the words "'Love Me Tender' kept 'em crying in the aisles"

"Unforgiven II" by Metallica quotes from the chorus of "Unforgiven" at the end.

"Glass Onion" by The Beatles

Beatle borrowings....

"Party Girl" - Elvis Costello....the end part of the song is the "You Never Give Me Your Money" riff..

"The Loved Ones" and "Pidgin English" - Elvis Costello. Both on Imperial Bedroom...quote "P.S. I Love You"

"Start" - The Jam....basically "Taxman"

"It's Too Bad" - The Jam...the instrumental riff between verses is the Yeah Yeah Yeah part of "She Loves You"

"My Best Friend's Girl" - The Cars....has the "I Will" riff.

Come Together - The Beatles "here come old flat top" from Chuck Berry

How about "Turning Japanese" by The Vapors, because it uses that traditional, stereotypical Oriental melody (the one from old movies and cartoons, not sure if it even has a name)?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEmJ-VWPDM4[/youtube]



Incidentally, "sampling" shouldn't really count in this category, because that is directly incorporating a part of the original, ACTUAL recording into a new song.

The Style Council's "Shout To The Top" is basically Brinsley Schwarz's "Surrender To The Rhythm". Paul Weller's "The Changing Man" is basically ELO's "10538 Overture".

The Oasis list would be really, really long.

Sugarloaf's "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" throws in a quick riff from the Beatles' "I Feel Fine"--right after the lyric: "You ain't bad but we've heard it all before/ and it sounds like John, Paul and George."

Good ones.

This one may or may not be an intentional Costello Beatles reference, but I think it is.....

"and you won't see me" at the end of "The Invisible Man" on the Punch The Clock album.

More Costello:

From "The Other Side of Summer" on the "Mighty Like A Rose" album...

"Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine no possessions', (John Lennon "Imagine")
A poor little schoolboy who said 'We don't need no lessons' (referencing Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2")

The Beatles' "Something" borrows it's opening line from James Taylor's "Something In The Way She Moves"

Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country" quotes from an arrangement of the traditional song "Scarborough Fair":

"Remember me to one who lives there / she once was a true love of mine"

Manfred Mann's Earth Band incorporate the old piano song "Chopsticks", during the instrumental bridge of their cover version of Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light"


Triumph's song "American Girls" uses the opening instrumental portion from "The Star Spangled Banner" during the solo, right after the line "Gentlemen, please rise and salute American girls..."






Absolutely agree, but in hindsight mebbe I should have titled the thread "Songs that INTENTIONALLY borrow or quote other famous songs"

The Beatles' "Run For Your Life" takes its first line, "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man," from a line in an Elvis Presley song. "Baby Let's Play House," I think ... ?

The Undertones' song "Mars Bars" has a verse that goes,

To Patrick Moore and David Bowie,
And all you other stars,
There's evidence here to show ye,
That there's life on Mars.

(I think Patrick Moore is an astronomer who wrote a book called "Life on Mars.")

"A New England" by Billy Bragg (and covered winningly by Kirsty MacColl) begins thusly:

I was 21 years when I wrote this song
I'm 22 now, but I won't be for long

Lifted verbatim from "Leaves That Are Green" by Simon & Garfunkel.

"American Pie" mentions The Beatles' "Helter Skelter".
David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" references "Space Oddity" as does Peter Schilling's "Major Tom".

In They Might Be Giants' "Hey Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said I Had a Deal," they have a line that goes, "Well, I told you 'bout the world (its address)," which not only references their own song "The World's Address," but the specific word choice alludes to the way Lennon references earlier Beatles songs in "Glass Onion." (i.e., "I told you 'bout").

During the psychedelic jam at the end of The Beatles' "It's All Too Much," George Harrison starts singing the opening line from the Merseybeats' "Sorrow" ("With your long blond hair and your eyes of blue ...")

Neil Young's Borrowed Tune is the Stones' Lady Jane. Neil even cops to it in the lyrics.