Top Musical Song?

"I'm Tired" froim Blazing Saddles

"Officer Krupke" in West Side Story
"Hair" in...wait for it....Hair
...and I'm not sure if it counts but "Pink Elephants on Parade" from Dumbo.

10 faves:
"comedy tonight" (a funny thing happened on the way to the forum)
"six months out of every year" (damn yankees)
"the game" (damn yankees)
"luck be a lady" (guys and dolls)
"over the rainbow" (wizard of oz)
"if i only had a brain" (wizard of oz)
"my funny valentine" (babes in arms)
"hymn for a sunday evening" (bye bye birdie)
"the first lord's song" (hms pinafore)
"the major general's song" (pirates of penzance)
"wells fargo wagon" (the music man)

(oops, that's 11)

Monty Python flicks were known to be musical at times. So if they qualify: Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, from The Life Of Brian. If not, then I guess You're The One That I Want from Grease will do for me.

"The Street Where You Live" (My Fair Lady)

Consider Yourself (Oliver!)
Blame Canada (South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut)
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Meet Me In St Louis)
The Deadwood Stage (Calamity Jane)
You'll Never Walk Alone (Carousel)

A little definitional note: practically every song from the 30s-40s showed up in some sort of musical review at some point, but that doesn't make 'em count. I'm only considering coherent original book-musicals, not reviews or retro pastiches like No, No Nanette or Anything Goes.

Serious mainstream:

No Business Like Show Business - Annie Get Your Gun
There's A Place For Us - West Side Story
Send In The Clowns - A Little Night Music
Everything's Coming Up Roses - Gypsy
Old Man River - Showboat
The Street Where You Live - My Fair Lady
If Ever I Would Leave You - Camelot
Mack The Knife - Threepenny Opera
Surabaya Johnny - Mahagonny
Goodnight, My Someone - The Music Man
Summertime - Porgy and Bess
Climb Ev'ry Mountain - The Sound of Music
Whistle a Happy Tune - The King and I
People Will Say We're In Love - Oklahoma
Life is a Cabaret - Cabaret
If They Could See Me Now - Sweet Charity

1. Pure Imagination - Willy Wonka And the Chocolate Factory
2. That's What Brian Boytano'd Do - South Park
3. Ease On Down The Road - The Wiz
4. Very Good Beer - The Simpsons
5. Superstar - Jesus Christ Superstar

I have very fond memories of all of the songs associated with roles I've played ("Potiphar" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, "Gee, Officer Krupke" and "When You're A Jet" from West Side Story, "How Can Love Survive?" and "No Way To Stop It" from The Sound Of Music).

no kiss me kate songs yet? a couple of those (too damn hot, i'm always true to you in my fashion) are up there with the west side story/sound of music ones mentioned above, easy. and the best songs from my fair lady are the two stanley holloway ones, which are totally drunken proto-oi! music hall classics.

holloway numbers = "get me to the church on time" and the even more debaucherous "with a little bit of luck" btw. they are totally worthy of the anti-nowhere league, whereas some of rex harrison's numbers are perhaps worthy of neil tennant i suppose.

and ps - "edelweiss" and esp. "i am 16 going on 17" > the sound of music songs nominated above

"16 Going On 17" is dangerously close to ever musical theatre stereotype rolled up into gigantic wanktastic ball of suck. It's all about "The Lonely Goatherd" and "Edelweiss" (and the excised von Trapp/Max/Ilsa trios, dammit!).

"Hello Dolly."

ok, true, i grant you the goatherd song, ghost of dan. i'd forgotten that one. not to menton damned for all time/40 lashes/i don't know how to love him, from jesus christ superstar

Lots from Cabaret, but especially the title song and, for the sheer chill of it, "Tomorrow Belongs to Me."

Also, "What Lola Wants" from Damn Yankees.

"Tomorrow Belongs To Me" is marvelous, especially when you know that Duran Duran used to come on stage to it on their early 80s world tours!

Also, "Somewhere Up In Heaven There's An Angel with Big Ears" from Elephant! (the musical within "The Tall Guy")

"The Lonely Goatherd" is brilliant. "Wouldn't It Be Lovely" and "Why Can't The English Teach Their Children How To Speak", both from "My Fair Lady", are peerless.

And "Unkle Fukka" obv.

10 faves:
"comedy tonight" (a funny thing happened on the way to the forum)
"six months out of every year" (damn yankees)
"the game" (damn yankees)
"luck be a lady" (guys and dolls)
"over the rainbow" (wizard of oz)
"if i only had a brain" (wizard of oz)
"my funny valentine" (babes in arms)
"hymn for a sunday evening" (bye bye birdie)
"the first lord's song" (hms pinafore)
"the major general's song" (pirates of penzance)
"wells fargo wagon" (the music man)

(oops, that's 11)

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Tuesday, December 28, 2004 12:43 AM (4 years ago)

I never figured out what fcc's new username was or whether he had gone off of the internets.