Why futile? Because as diligently as I try to nail these titles down, the more they squirm and multiply. It’s like musical Tribbles.
Or not.
Take Bruce Springsteen. I thought of the Boss’ “Blinded by the Light,” which led me to “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and, I figured, more goodies to come. But no. Apparently writing songs and titles draw on different strains of voodoo. (Along the same lines, reference Elvis Costello, The Cure, Coldplay and Taylor Swift. (Snnnooorrreee.)
You wanna talk divination, let’s consider song-titling geniuses such as Fall Out Boy and They Might Be Giants, PJ Harvey and Robert Johnson, Public Enemy and Loretta Lynn, Curtis Mayfield and Bob Marley, Steely Dan and The Smiths. On a wider scale, there’s the Motown collective, the great Chicago bluesmen and mid-century jazz giants, and the folks like Cole Porter and the Gershwins, whose works make up what’s now known as the Great American Songbook.
This compendium includes tunes you’ve never heard of, guaranteed. Some of the titles are magnificently loose-screwy – Half Man Half Biscuit’s “Joy Division Oven Gloves,” Felt’s “Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death” – and others fiendishly clever (The Henningsens’ “Jesus or a Bullet,” Bloodhound Gang’s “Lift Your Head Up High”). Then there are the immortals that need no justification but their own existence. These include “Lush Life,” “Stones in My Passway,” “People Get Ready” and — coming right up — “Absolutely Sweet Marie.”
A
Absolutely Sweet Marie, Bob Dylan
Accidentally Kelly Street, Frente!
Accidentally Like a Martyr, Warren Zevon
Across the Alley From the Alamo, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
The Adventures of Moon Man and Slim Shady, Kid Cudi and Eminem
Ain’t No Grave, Johnny Cash
Ain’t Nuthin’ But a She Thing, Salt-N-Pepa
Alex Chilton, The Replacements
All Eyez on Me, 2Pac
All Ice No Whiskey, Samantha Fish
Alligators All Around, Carole King
All Along the Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix Experience
All My Best Friends Are Metalheads, Less Than Jake
All Shook Down, The Replacements
All the Good Girls Go to Hell, Billie Eilish
All the People I Like Are Those That Are Dead, Felt
All the Young Dudes, Mott the Hoople
All You Fascists Bound to Lose, Woody Guthrie
Always True to You in My Fashion, Cole Porter
American Jesus, Bad Religion
American Pie, Don McLean
American Tune, Paul Simon
Ana Ng, They Might Be Giants
And a God Descended, Dar Williams
Android Warehouse, Steely Dan
Andy Warhol, David Bowie
Angel From Montgomery, John Prine
Anyway the Main Thing Is, Patty Larkin
Apocalypse Express, Judee Sill
B
Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing, Chris Isaak
Baby Got Back, Sir Mix-a-Lot
Bad Poker Hand, Gary Primich
The Ballad of a Ladyman, Sleater-Kinney
The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest, Grateful Dead
Ballad of a Thin Man, Kula Shaker
Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today), The Temptations
Barbarism Begins at Home, The Smiths
Barbed Wire Whipping Party, Grateful Dead
Bark Like You Want It, Sir Mix-a-Lot
Batwing, Meat Puppets
Because the Night, Patti Smith
Bells of War, Wu-Tang Clan
Best Wishes to Your Black Lung, Less Than Jake
Bird Dream of the Olympus Mons, Pixies
Bikini Girls With Machine Guns, The Cramps
B***h, The Rolling Stones
B***h, Samantha Fish
B***h Better Have My Money, The Maine
B***h Better Have My Money, Rihanna
B***h, Don’t Kill My Vibe, Kendrick Lamar
B***h, I’m in the Club, Kendrick Lamar
B***h Please, Snoop Dogg
B***h Please II, Snoop Dogg
Bitchin’ Camaro, Dead Milkmen
Bitches Brew, Miles Davis
Bite Me, Avril Lavigne
Blackeyed Blonde, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Black Hearted Love, PJ Harvey
Black Sheets of Rain, Bob Mould
Black Spartacus Heart Attack Machine, The Nightwatchman
Blah Blah Blah, Kesha
Blank Generation, Richard Hell and the Voidoids
Bluebird Wine, Emmylou Harris
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Willie Nelson
Blue Rondo a la Turk, Dave Brubeck
Blue Train, John Coltrane
Bodhisattva, Steely Dan
Bodhisattva Vow, Beastie Boys
The Body of an American, The Pogues
Bold As Love, Jimi Hendrix Experience
Boom Boom, John Lee Hooker
Boom Boom, Cham featuring Rihanna
Bootie Cooler, Shuggie Otis
Born to Hula, Queens of the Stone Age
The Bottle Let Me Down, Merle Haggard
Box of Rain, Grateful Dead
The Boy With the Thorn in His Side, The Smiths
Break My Soul, Beyonce
Bright Future in Sales, Fountains of Wayne
Bring the Noise, Public Enemy and Anthrax
Brokedown Palace, Grateful Dead
Buddha of Suburbia, David Bowie
Buffalo Stance, Neneh Cherry
Bukowski, Modest Mouse
Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Smashing Pumpkins
Bungle in the Jungle, Jethro Tull
But Not for Me, George and Ira Gershwin
C
California Uber Alles, Dead Kennedys
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, The Carpenters
Call Off Your Dogs, Lake Street Dive
Candy Man’s Gone, Bruce Cockburn
Cannibal, Kesha
Cannibal’s Hymn, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Candy Everybody Wants, 10,000 Maniacs
Cannonball, The Breeders
Can’t Get You More Pregnant, Blink-182
Can’t Knock the Hustle, Jay-Z
Careful With That Axe, Eugene, Pink Floyd
Cast No Shadow, Oasis
Casiotone Nation, Soul Coughing
Catch Hell Blues, The White Stripes
Cemetry Gates, The Smiths
Champagne and Reefer, Muddy Waters
Cheap Ass Weave, Cardi B
Cheek to Cheek, Irving Berlin
Cheeseburger in Paradise, Jimmy Buffett
Cherry Bomb, The Runaways
Cherry Flavored Stomach Ache, Haim
Children of the Grave, Black Sabbath
Cigarettes, The Wreckers
The Cisco Kid, War
Cissy Strut, The Meters
Clint Eastwood, Gorillaz
Cloudbusting, Kate Bush
Cobrastyle, Robyn
Cobrastyle, Teddybears
Cool Blue Stole My Heart, Joan Armatrading
Cool Wooden Crosses, Chris Whitley
Cortez the Killer, Neil Young
Country Death Song, Violent Femmes
Crackerbox Palace, George Harrison
Crash Course in Brain Surgery, Metallica
Crawling Kingsnake, The Black Keys
Cream Puff War, Grateful Dead
Crockett & Tubbs, Ghostface Killah featuring Raekwon
Cross Bones Style, Cat Power
Cybele’s Reverie, Stereolab
D
Daft Punk Is Playing at My House, LCD Soundsystem
Damn Love Song, Kris Delmhorst
Dammit, Blink-182
Damn U, Prince and the Revolution
Dangerous MC’s, Busta Rhymes
Dark End of the Street, Flying Burrito Brothers
Date With IKEA, Pavement
Dead Men Don’t Need Season Tickets, Half Man Half Biscuit
Dear God 2.0, The Roots
Death Came and Got Me, Rosie Thomas
Death Comes Ripping, The Misfits
Death of a Martian, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Debaser, Pixies
Desperados Under the Eaves, Warren Zevon
Desperados Waiting for a Train, Guy Clark
Devil in a New Dress, Kanye West
Devil’s Pie, D’Angelo
Diet Mountain Dew, Lana Del Rey
Diet of Strange Places, k.d. lang
Diet Soda Society, The Maine
Dimming of the Day, Richard and Linda Thompson
Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Jay-Z
The Disco Strangler, The Eagles
Dis Generation, A Tribe Called Quest
Disturbing the Priest, Black Sabbath
D-I-V-O-R-C-E, Tammy Wynette
Divorce Song, Liz Phair
Do the Clam, Elvis Presley
Doctor Wu, Steely Dan
Dog & Butterfly, Heart
Doll Parts, Hole
Done and Dusted, Ashleigh Dallas
Don’t Blame the World, It’s the DJ’s Fault, Cobra Starship
Don’t Bogart That Joint, Little Feat
Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind), Loretta Lynn
Don’t Eat Stuff Off the Sidewalk, The Cramps
Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Crystal Gayle
Don’t Sweat the Technique, Eric B. and Rakim
Don’t Touch My Ascot, KISS
(Don’t Worry) If There’s a Hell Below We’re All Going to Go, Curtis Mayfield
Dope Beat, Boogie Down Productions
Dope Calypso, Violent Soho
Dope Girlz, Steve Aoki and Shaun Frank
The Dope Smokin’ Song, Hank Flamingo
Do the Strand, Roxy Music
Double Crossing Time, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton
The Down Beat, Sugarhill Gang
Dracula’s Wedding, OutKast
Dreadlock Holiday, 10cc
Driving Sideways, Aimee Mann
Drivin’ Nails in My Coffin, Ernest Tubb
Drunken Praying Mantis Style, Beastie Boys
A Dustland Fairytale, The Killers
E
Eastbound and Down, Jerry Reed
Eat the Acid, Kesha
8 Million Stories, Kurtis Blow
80s Comedown Machine, The Strokes
80 Proof Bottle of Tear Stopper, George Strait
Elvis Song, Maisie Peters
Embrace the Martian, Kid Cudi and Crookers
Enchanted Porkfist, Meat Puppets
Enchanted Sky Machines, Judee Sill
Enter Sandman, Metallica
Eric Clapton’s Wallet, Captain Sensible
Estimated Prophet, Grateful Dead
Even Robots Need Blankets, Mayday Parade
Every Ghetto, Every City, Lauryn Hill
The Evil Has Landed, Queens of the Stone Age
Evil That Men Do, Queen Latifah
Ex-Girl to Next Girl, Gang Starr
Expressway to Yr Skull, Sonic Youth
F
Fairytale of New York, The Pogues
Fascist Architecture, Bruce Cockburn
Fat Joe Speaks, Fat Joe
Fat Man and Dancing Girl, Suzanne Vega
Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
The Fez, Steely Dan
Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple
50ft Queenie, PJ Harvey
Fight the Power, Public Enemy
Finest Worksong, R.E.M.
First We Take Manhattan, Leonard Cohen
Fish Heads, Barnes & Barnes
Fist City, Loretta Lynn
Fixing a Hole, The Beatles
Flick of the Switch, AC/DC
Footprints in the Snow, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys
Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Forty Four, Howlin’ Wolf
.44 Caliber Love Letter, Alexisonfire
Frail Grasp of the Big Picture, The Eagles
Freak on a Leash, Korn
Freight Train Rain, The Reivers
French Inhale, Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa
From the Ritz to the Rubble, Arctic Monkeys
F*** tha Police, N,W.A.
F*** Up Some Commas, Future and Lil Wayne
Furious Rose, Lisa Loeb
G
Gangsta of Love, Geto Boys
Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It, Ice Cube
Gangsta’s Paradise, Coolio
Gangsta’s Paradise, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine
Get Up Offa That Thing, James Brown
Get Up, Stand Up, Bob Marley and the Wailers
Get Ur Freak On, Missy Elliott
Ghetto Gatsby, Alicia Keys
Gimme Danger, Iggy Pop and the Stooges
Girlfriend in a Coma, The Smiths
Girl on Fire, Alicia Keys
Girls Make Me Wanna Die, The Aces
Glory Box, Portishead
God Is an Indian and You’re an Asshole, Modest Mouse
God’s Going to Cut You Down, Johnny Cash
Godwhacker, Steely Dan
Gold Digger, Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
Golden Ball and Chain, Jason and the Scorchers
Gold Star for Robot Boy, Guided by Voices
Good Intentions Paving Company, Joanna Newsom
The Good Times Are Killing Me, Modest Mouse
The Gospel According to Saint Me, Veruca Salt
Got My Mojo Workin’, Muddy Waters
Gotta Serve Somebody, Bob Dylan
Government Hooker, Lady Gaga
The Gravity Car, The Olivia Tremor Control
Great American Sharpshooter, Less Than Jake
The Great Atomic Power, Louvin Brothers
Greetings to the New Brunette, Billy Bragg
Grunge Song, Austin Lounge Lizards
Guyana Punch, The Judy’s
H
Haiku d’Etat, Myka 9
Haitian Divorce, Steely Dan
Hand Crushed by a Mallet, Fall Out Boy
Hand in Glove, The Smiths
Hanging on the Telephone, Blondie
Happy Wanderer Polka, Brave Combo
The Harder They Come, Jimmy Cliff
Hazy Shade of Criminal, Public Enemy
Heads Will Roll, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Heard It on the X, ZZ Top
Heartaches By the Number, Ray Price
Heart Like a Wheel, Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Hellhound on My Trail, Robert Johnson
Hell Looks a Lot Like L.A., Less Than Jake
Help Save the Youth of America From Exploding, Less Than Jake
Here Comes That Sinking Feeling, Eurythmics
Here Comes the Boom, Nelly
Here Comes the Moon, George Harrison
Hey Bulldog, The Beatles
Hey Jack Kerouac, 10,000 Maniacs
Higgs Boson Blues, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
The Highway Cafe of the Damned, Austin Lounge Lizards
Hocus Pocus, Focus
Holiday in Cambodia, Dead Kennedys
Holidays in the Sun, Sex Pistols
Honaloochie Boogie, Mott the Hoople
Honky Tonk Blues, Hank Williams
Honky Tonk Myself to Death, George Jones
Hot House of Omagarashid, The Yardbirds
Hotline Bling, Drake
The Hotness, Rihanna featuring Shontelle
House of Balloons, The Weeknd
The House That Built Me, Miranda Lambert
How I Wrote Elastic Man, The Fall
How He Wrote Elastica Man, Elastica
How to Disappear Completely, Radiohead
How to Handle a Rope, Queens of the Stone Age
How You Love Me Now, Hey Monday
The Humpty Dance, Digital Underground
The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game, The Marvelettes
I
I Against I, Bad Brains
I Am a Man Of Constant Sorrow, Soggy Bottom Boys and Dan Tyminski
I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline), Howlin’ Wolf
I Broke My Saw, Love Tractor
I Fell in Love With the Devil, Avril Lavigne
I Figured You Out, Elliot Smith
If I Had a Rocket Launcher, Bruce Cockburn
If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day, Robert Johnson
If I Should Fall From Grace With God, The Pogues
If I Were a Boy, Beyonce
I Fought Piranhas, The White Stripes
If You Love Someone, Set Them on Fire, Dead Milkmen
If You Won’t Leave Me, I’ll Find Somebody Who Will, Warren Zevon
I Kicked a Boy, The Sundays
I Know You Got Soul, Eric B. and Rakim
I Left My Wallet in El Segundo, A Tribe Called Quest
I Like Beer, Tom T. Hall
I Like Men, Peggy Lee
I’ll Replace You With Machines, Guided by Voices
I’ll Take My Sorrow Straight, Iris DeMent
I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide, ZZ Top
I’m Basting a Turkey With My Tears, Lurlene Lumpkin
I’m Gonna Be Boss From Now On, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys
I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down, Paul Young
I’m Mandy, Fly Me, 10cc
Immortal Blues, Chris Whitley
I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., The Clash
I’m the Least You Could Do, Bloodhound Gang
Ingrid Bergman, Billy Bragg
In Heaven There Is No Beer, traditional
Incarcerated Scarfaces, Raekwon
Inspiration Information, Shuggie Otis
I Palindrome I, They Might Be Giants
The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver, All Time Low
I Slept With Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me, Fall Out Boy
It’s Tricky, Run-D.M.C.
I Was a Teenage Werewolf, The Cramps
I Wanna Be Your Dog, Iggy Pop and the Stooges
I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, Sleater-Kinney
I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl, Nina Simone
I Want My Mullet Back, Billy Ray Cyrus
(I Want to Be An) Angelpoise Lamp, The Soft Boys
I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks, Bloodhound Gang
I Wish I Were a Lesbian, Loudon Wainwright III
I Won’t Be Your Yoko Ono, Dar Williams
I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife for You, Sugar, The United States of America
J
James Brown Medley, MC5
Jenny on the Railroad, The Horse Flies
Jesus and Tequila, The Minutemen
Jesus Built My Hotrod, Ministry
Jesus Chrysler Drives a Dodge, Screaming Blue Messiahs
Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam, Meat Puppets
Jesus Just Left Chicago, ZZ Top
Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed, Cristina Vane
Jesus of Suburbia, Green Day
Jesus or a Bullet, The Henningsens
Jesus Stole My Girlfriend, Violent Soho
Jesus Was a Cross Maker, Judee Sill
Jimmy Carter, Blue Mountain
Joe McCarthy’s Ghost, The Minutemen
Joe Stalin’s Cadillac, Camper Van Beethoven
John Hughes Movie, Maisie Peters
Johnny Hit and Run Pauline, X
Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed, Thin Lizzy
Johnny Was a Pyro, Patty Larkin
Joy Division Oven Gloves, Half Man Half Biscuit
Judy Is Your Viet Nam, They Might Be Giants
Juicy, Notorious B.I.G.
Just Another Nervous Wreck, Supertramp
Just Like Fire Would, The Saints
K
Keep On Keeping On, Curtis Mayfield
Kick Out the Jams, MC5
Kid Charlemagne, Steely Dan
Kill Bill, SZA
Killin’ Floor, Howlin’ Wolf
Killing in the Name, Rage Against the Machine
Killing the Blues, John Prine
Kill the Poor, Dead Kennedys
King of Rock, Run-D.M.C.
Kissing the Lipless, The Shins
Knives Out, Radiohead
Kozmic Blues, Janis Joplin
KRS-One Attacks, KRS-One
Ku Klux Klan, Steel Pulse
Kung Fu Fighting, Carl Douglas
Kurt Cobain, Veronica Maggio
L
The Lamb Ran Away With the Crown, Judee Sill
Land of 1000 Dances, Wilson Pickett
The Last Chance Texaco, Rickie Lee Jones
Last Fair Deal Gone Down, Robert Johnson
Last Hour of the Last Day of Work, Less Than Jake
The Last of the Secret Agents, Nancy Sinatra
Late Night Grande Hotel, Nanci Griffith
Lawyers, Guns and Money, Warren Zevon
Learnalilgivinanlovin, Gotye
Lee Majors Come Again, Beastie Boys
The Lefty Rhetoric Blues, Roger Manning
Leonard Cohen’s Day Job, Austin Lounge Lizards
Let Me Teach You How to Eat, Reverend Horton Heat
Let’s Talk Dirty in Hawaiian, John Prine
Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death, Felt
Lick, Cardi B featuring Offset
Lift Your Head Up High (and Blow Your Brains Out), Bloodhound Gang
Little Miss Fire Prevention, Hank Flamingo
Little Time Bomb, Billy Bragg
Lived in Bars, Cat Power
Lithium, Nirvana
Little Wing, Jimi Hendrix Experience
Locomotive Breath, Jethro Tull
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress, The Hollies
Long May You Run, Stills-Young Band
Long Snake Moan, PJ Harvey
Loose Rap, Aaliyah
Lost Highway, Hank Williams
The Lovecats, The Cure
Love Gun, KISS
Love Gun, Rick James
Love Is a Velvet Noose, Trembling Bells
Love Is the Drug, Roxy Music
(Love Is) The Tender Trap, Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen
Love Like Anthrax, Gang of Four
Love Theme From KISS, KISS
Love Whip, Reverend Horton Heat
Low Rider, War
The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Traffic
Lush Life, John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
Lust, Kendrick Lamar
M
Machine Gun Funk, Notorious B.I.G.
Magnesium Night Light, Grateful Dead
Malt Liquor Tastes Better When You’ve Got Problems, Less Than Jake
Mambo Italiano, Dean Martin
Mannish Boy, Muddy Waters
March of the Swivel Heads, English Beat
Marilyn Monroe, Pharrell Williams
A Marshmallow World, Dean Martin
Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand, The Who
Master of Puppets, Metallica
Master Race Rock, The Dictators
Masters of War, Bob Dylan
Mark Rothko Song, Dar Williams
The Mayor of Simpleton, XTC
Me and the Devil Blues, Robert Johnson
Me and You and a Dog Named Boo, Lobo
Mean Mistreater, Muddy Waters
Meat Is Murder, The Smiths
Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass, All Time Low
Me So Horny, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine
Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim
Microphone Fiend, Eric B. and Rakim
Mildred Pierce, Sonic Youth
Miles Runs the Voodoo Down, Miles Davis
Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa, De La Soul
Mind Playing Tricks on Me, Geto Boys
The Minotaur’s Song, The Incredible String Band
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Lauryn Hill
Mojo So Dope, Kid Cudi
Mommy’s Little Monster, Social Distortion
Monsters in the Parasol, Queens of the Stone Age
Money in the Grave, Drake
Motorway to Roswell, Pixies
Mr. and Mrs. Used to Be, Loretta Lynn
Mr. Brightside, The Killers
Murdergram, Jay-Z featuring DMX and Ja Rule
Mutant Stomp, The Fugs
My City Was Gone, The Pretenders
My Ding-a-Ling, Chuck Berry
My Father Was a Collapsing Star, Trembling Bells
My House Is Bigger Than Your House, Maddie Ross
My Mother the War, 10,000 Maniacs
My Neck, My Back, Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine
My Planet Is Dead, Beware of Darkness
My Rifle, My Pony and Me, Dean Martin
N
Narcissistic Cannibal, Korn
Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings, ZZ Top
Needles in the Camel’s Eye, Brian Eno
Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin, The Runaways
Nellyville, Nelly
Nelson Mandela, The Specials
Never Ending Math Equation, Modest Mouse
New Slang, The Shins
New Test Leper, R.E.M.
Night of the Living Baseheads, Public Enemy
Night of the Living Junkies, Kendrick Lamar
Ninety Nine Year Blues, Jimmie Rodgers
99 Problems, Jay-Z
No Diggity, Blackstreet and Dr. Dre
Nonstop Disco Powerpack, Beastie Boys
Notorious B.I.G., Notorious B.I.G. featuring Puff Daddy
No More Tearstained Makeup, Martha and the Vandellas
Nuthin’ but a “G” Thang, Dr. Dre
O
Oh Well, Part 1, Fleetwood Mac
OK, Busta Rhymes
Okie From Muskogee, Merle Haggard
One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show, Honey Cone
One Nation Under a Groove, Funkadelic
158 Years of Beautiful Sex, Guided by Voices
1000%, Fatima Mansions
1,000,000%, Fatima Mansions
1 Trillion Dollars, Anti-Flag
Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued, Fall Out Boy
P
Pablo Picasso, The Modern Lovers
Paint the Town Beige, Robert Earl Keen
Pair of Brown Eyes, Peter Case
Pale Blue Eyes, Velvet Underground
Paper Bag, Fiona Apple
Paperbag Writer, Radiohead
Paper Thin Hotel, Fatima Mansions
The Paris Match, The Style Council featuring Tracey Thorn
Party for Your Right to Fight, Public Enemy
Passionate Kisses, Lucinda Williams
Pass the Courvoisier, Busta Rhymes featuring P. Diddy
Pavlov’s Bell, Aimee Mann
People Are Strange, The Doors
People Are Strange Polka, Brave Combo
People Get Ready, Curtis Mayfield
People Got a Lotta Nerve, Neko Case
Personal Jesus, Johnny Cash
Peter Pan RIP, Kula Shaker
Piece of My Heart, Janis Joplin
Pigs on the Wing, Dead Boys
Pharaoh’s Dance, Miles Davis
Pictures of Matchstick Men, Status Quo
The Pill, Loretta Lynn
p.i.m.p., 50 Cent
Pimpin’ All Over the World, Ludacris
Pimp Juice, Nelly
Pink Cookies In a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings, LL Cool J
Pink Triangle, Weezer
Pink Turns to Blue, Husker Du
Pink Venom, BLACKPINK
Planet Rock, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force
Playing to the Firmament, Dar Williams
Please Don’t Bury Me, John Prine
Please Listen to My Demo, EPMD
Poison Girl, Chris Whitley
Political Song for Michael Jackson to Sing, The Minutemen
Polyester Bride, Liz Phair
Polythene Pam, The Beatles
Popemobile to Paraguay, Fatima Mansions
Popskull, Meat Puppets
Portions for Foxes, Rilo Kiley
Potato Song, Kesha
Powderfinger, Neil Young
Powder Your Face With Sunshine, Dean Martin
Pressure Drop, Toots and the Maytals
Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Smiths
Pretty Savage, BLACKPINK
Pretty Vacant, Sex Pistols
Pretzelbodylogic, Prince and the Revolution
Pretzel Logic, Steely Dan
Prophets of Rage, Public Enemy
Pro Tool Robots, Myka 9
Proud to Be Black, Run-D.M.C.
Psycho Killer, Talking Heads
Pump Up the Volume, M|A|R|R|S
Punchdrunk Lovesick Singalong, Radiohead
Pure Heroine, Lorde
Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix Experience
Pusherman, Curtis Mayfield
Pussycat Meow, Deee-Lite
Pussy, Pussy, Pussy, Light Crust Doughboys
Put That A$$ to Work, LMFAO
Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head, They Might Be Giants
Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See, Busta Rhymes
Q
Queen Jane Approximately, Bob Dylan
Queens of Noise, The Runaways
Queer, Garbage
R
Radiation Vibe, Fountains of Wayne
Radio Baghdad, Patti Smith
Radio Free Europe, R.E.M.
Rampage, EPMD
Rapper’s Delight, Sugarhill Gang
Raspberry Beret, Prince and the Revolution
Rasputin’s HMO, Austin Lounge Lizards
Rat Farm, Meat Puppets
Rat Salad, Black Sabbath
Rebel Without a Pause, Public Enemy
Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat), Digable Planets
Red Barchetta, Rush
Red Dahlia, Mili
Red Dragon Tattoo, Fountains of Wayne
Redemption Song, Bob Marley and the Wailers
Redneck Martians Stole My Baby, Hank Flamingo
Repeater, Fugazi
Return of the Grievous Angel, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Gil-Scott Heron
Rhymes Like Dimes, MF Doom
Rick James, Nelly
Riders on the Storm, Snoop Dogg (Doors cover)
The Rip, Portishead
Roadrunner, The Modern Lovers
Robots One, Humans Zero, Less Than Jake
Rockafeller Skank, Fatboy Slim
Rocky Raccoon, The Beatles
Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, Warren Zevon
Rollin’ Stone, Muddy Waters
Rollin’ With the Flow, Charlie Rich
Room Full of Mirrors, The Pretenders
Rosa Parks, OutKast
Rose Blood, Mazzy Star
Rotting in Vain, Korn
Round Midnight, Thelonious Monk
Ruckus in B Minor, Wu-Tang Clan
Ruff Ryder’s Anthem, DMX
A Rush and a Push and the Land Is Ours, The Smiths
Rushing Elephants, Wu-Tang Clan
S
Satan Gave Me a Taco, Beck
Satan’s New Wave Soul Losers, Love Tractor
Satin in a Coffin, Modest Mouse
Saturday Satan/Sunday Saint, Ernest Tubb
Savage, Megan Thee Stallion with Beyonce
The Science of Selling Yourself Short, Less Than Jake
Search and Destroy, Iggy Pop and the Stooges
Seether, Veruca Salt
Seven Hours With a Backseat Driver, Gotye
Severed Goddess Hand, Meat Puppets
Sex on Fire, Kings of Leon
Shake ‘Em on Down, Furry Lewis
Shake ‘Em on Down, Samantha Fish
Shaking Through, R.E.M.
Shaman’s Blues, The Doors
The Shape I’m In, The Band
Sharp Cutting Wings, Lucinda Williams
She Blew My Mind (69 Times), Rick James
She Don’t Use Jelly, The Flaming Lips
She Got the Gold Mine and I Got the Shaft, Jerry Reed
She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked), Carl Carlton
She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinking Doubles), Gary Stewart
She’s Sellin’ What She Used to Give Away, Buddy Jones
Shimmer Like a Girl, Veruca Salt
Shine on You Crazy Diamond, Pink Floyd
A Ship Without a Sail, Richard Rodgers and Moss Hart
Shoehorn With Teeth, They Might Be Giants
Short Skirt/Long Jacket, CAKE
Shotgun Rider, Delbert McClinton
Show Biz Kids, Steely Dan
Sicko Mode, Travis Scott
The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight, R.E.M.
6ft Down Blues, Kula Shaker
6th Avenue Heartache, The Wallflowers
Sky Blue Skin, Jeff Buckley
The Sky Is Crying, Elmore James
Slang of Ages, Steely Dan
Slave, The Rolling Stones
Slippin’ Into Darkness, War
Slow Like Honey, Fiona Apple
A Small Package of Value Will Come to You Shortly, Jefferson Airplane
Smells Like Nirvana, “Weird Al” Yankovic
Smile, Darn Ya, Smile, Sammy Davis Jr.
Smokestack Lightnin’, Howlin’ Wolf
Solar Prestige a Gammon, Elton John
So Long and Thanks for All the Booze, All Time Low
Someone to Watch Over Me, George and Ira Gershwin
Something Bad Happened to a Clown, Warren Zevon
Snakes on Everything, Little Feat
A Song for the Deaf, Queens of the Stone Age
A Song for the Reptoids of Denver International Airport to Sing, Deforesters
Song of the Shrimp, Elvis Presley
The Sound, The 1975
The Spiderbite Song, The Flaming Lips
Spill the Wine, War
Spitting Off the Edge of the World, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Spoonful, Howlin’ Wolf
Springtime Mama, Henry Gross
Squealer, AC/DC
Sri Lanka Sex Hotel, Dead Milkmen
Standing at the Crossroads, Elmore James
Steady Mobbin’, Ice Cube
Steve Biko, A Tribe Called Quest
Steve Jobs, Steve Aoki featuring Angger Dimes
Stinkfist, Tool
Stir it Up, Bob Marley and the Wailers
Stone Cold Buggin’, Young MC
Stoned at the Nail Salon, Lorde
Stoned, Slow, Rugged, Rusty Wier
Stones in My Passway, Robert Johnson
Stoned Soul Picnic, Laura Nyro
Straight, No Chaser, Thelonious Monk
Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A.
Strange Fruit, Billie Holiday
Stripper Hoe, Cardi B
Subterranean Homesick Blues, Bob Dylan
Subway to Venus, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Sucker Born, Samantha Fish
Sucker M.C.’s, Run-D.M.C.
Suicide Freestyle, Ja Rule
Sunday Morning Coming Down, Kris Kristofferson
Superappin’, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Super Bon Bon, Soul Coughing
Superfly, Curtis Mayfield
Super Freak, Rick James
Swastikas on Parade, The Residents
Sweet Amarillo, Old Crow Medicine Show
Sweet Death Polka, Trembling Bells
Sweetheart (Waitress in a Donut Shop), Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks
Sweet Jane, Velvet Underground
Sweet Young Thing Ain’t Sweet No More, Mudhoney
Swingin Party, The Replacements
T
Take Five, Dave Brubeck
Take the Skinheads Bowling, Camper Van Beethoven
Tao of the Machine, The Roots
Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk), Parliament/Funkadelic
Teenage FBI, Guided by Voices
Teenage Riot, Sonic Youth
Tell Me Something Good, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt, Otis Jackson
Ten Degrees and Getting Colder, Gordon Lightfoot
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off, Joe Nichols
Terraplane Blues, Robert Johnson
Thank U, Next, Ariana Grande
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, The Smiths
They Call Me Rockin’, The Tailgators
Things Have Gone to Pieces, George Jones
The Thing That Only Eats Hippies, Dead Milkmen
33% God, Beastie Boys
32-20 Blues, Robert Johnson
This Corrosion, Sisters of Mercy
This Song Has No Title, Elton John
Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray, Patsy Cline
3-D Witch Hunt, Tad
Throng of Blowtown, Mary Lou Lord
A Thug’s Love Story, Kool G Rap
Tie Your Mother Down, Queen
Time the Avenger, The Pretenders
Today I Lost a Tooth, The Olivia Tremor Control
Too Bad I Have to Destroy You Now, Kid Cudi
Toxic, Britney Spears
There’s No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car, Elvis Presley
There Stands the Glass, Webb Pierce
Train in Vain, The Clash
Tramp, Salt-N-Pepa
Trampled Under Foot, Led Zeppelin
Transgender Dysphoria Blues, Against Me!
Traveling Riverside Blues, Robert Johnson
Tripe Face Boogie, Little Feat
Tron Cat, Tyler the Creator
Trouble in Mind, Richard M. Jones
Trouble No More, Muddy Waters
Truck Stop Girl, Little Feat
True Grit, Glen Campbell
True Love Travels on a Gravel Road, Nick Lowe
True Love Ways, Buddy Holly
Turkish Song of the Damned, The Pogues
Twentieth Century Fox, The Doors
Twenty Four Hour Garage People, Half Man Half Biscuit
Two Little Hitlers, Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Two More Bottles of Wine, Emmylou Harris
2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, 2Pac
U
Ubangi Stomp, Alice Cooper
Uma Thurman, Fall Out Boy
The Unclouded Day, traditional
Unkiss Me, Maroon 5
Untitled Song for Latin America, The Minutemen
Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother, Jerry Jeff Walker
Uptown Hoochie, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
V
Valley of the Dead Cars, Fatima Mansions
Ventilator Blues, The Rolling Stones
Venus in Furs, Velvet Underground
Verdi Cries, 10,000 Maniacs
Vicar in a Tutu, The Smiths
Virginia Plain, Roxy Music
Viva Dead Ponies, Fatima Mansions
Volcano Girls, Veruca Salt
Voodoo Child, Jimi Hendrix Experience
Vyrna Knowl Is a Headbanger, The Soft Boys
W
Waitress in the Sky, The Replacements
Walkin’ After Midnight, Patsy Cline
Walking the Floor Over You, Ernest Tubb
Walmart Checkout Line, Donna Hughes
War, Edwin Starr
War Pigs, Black Sabbath
Wasn’t Born to Follow, The Byrds
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights, Freddy Fender
Watusi Wedding, Screaming Blue Messiahs
The Way You Look Tonight, Jerome Kern
Weasles Ripped My Flesh, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention
The Weather Is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful, Jimmy Buffett
Wedding Day in Funeralville, John Prine
The Week of Living Dangerously, Steve Earle and The Dukes
Welcome to the Terrordome, Public Enemy
(We’re Not) The Jet Set, George Jones and Tammy Wynette
Werewolf, Fiona Apple
We Threw Gasoline on the Fire and Now We Have Stumps for Arms and No Eyebrows, NOFX
What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me), Jerry Lee Lewis
Whenever Kindness Fails, Robert Earl Keen
When the Grass Grows Over Me, George Jones
When Under Ether, PJ Harvey
When the Whip Comes Down, The Rolling Stones
When We All Hold Hands at the End of the World, Guided by Voices
Whipping Post, Allman Brothers Band
Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, Hank Williams Jr,
A White Demon Love Song, The Killers
White Light/White Heat, Velvet Underground
White Punks on Dope, The Tubes
White Room, Cream
Why Don’t We Get Drunk and Screw, Jimmy Buffett
Wildwood Flower, Carter Family
Willin’, Little Feat
The Wind Cries Mary, Jimi Hendrix Experience
Wine Me Up, Faron Young
Wish You Were Gay, Billie Eilish
Wishing Bone Blues, Cristina Vane
Wolf at the Door, Patty Larkin
The World Is a Ghetto, War
Wow., Post Malone
Wrath of Kane, Bid Daddy Kane
Wu-Revolution, Wu-Tang Clan
X
XXX, Helium
Y
Y’all Been Warned, Wu-Tang Clan
Y’all Come Back Saloon, Oak Ridge Boys
Yoga Is As Yoga Does, Elvis Presley
You Can’t Call It Cheatin’ (She Reminds Me of You), Gin Blossoms
You Dropped a Bomb on Me, The Gap Band
You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison?, My Chemical Romance
You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart, Sinead O’Connor
You Should See Me in a Crown, Billie Eilish
Your Flesh Is So Nice, Jeff Buckley
Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad, Tammy Wynette
You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty
You Turn Me On I’m a Radio, Joni Mitchell
Z
Zoosk Girl, Flo Rida
Zulu Nation Throwdown, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force
ZZ Top Goes to Egypt, Camper Van Beethoven