The Songs That Celebrate Themselves

"not long is how long that this rhyme took me"

I always go awww at Chris Knox's Not Given Lightly: "This is a love song to John & Licia's (sp?) mother. This isn't easy - I might not write another."

"I wrote this song two hours before we met" etc. I get the concept, but it doesn't seem to make any linear sense, it's kind of a circular logic thing, which I guess is what he was going for.

and my personal favorite: The Posies - Any Other Way

"I was crushed of course, but at least it's something I can write about"

also, once I saw some Robbie Williams concert on Mtv2 where he sings some semi-clever line and then adds an aside: "that's one of me better lyrics", which for some reason I just loved.

"this part of the song is called the second verse
sounds just like the first but with different words
it only has three chords and they are A and E and D
they are A and E and D
then it goes to D minor, D, uh, A, E, D"

Would the "Always - no, sometimes..." part of "Strawberry Fields" count?

A couple more examples - Billy Bragg's "A New England" - "I was 21 years when I wrote this song" - like Pulp sets up a circular logic, or rather in this case not quite, because the implication is of a different pre-song song that BB wrote before the situation described in the song kicked in. It's a great line because of that hint of what- might-have-been sadness and also because it captures how quickly things move when you're 21/22.

And Syd Barrett on "Jugband Blues" - "I wonder who could be singing this song".

And Tom, the "I was 21 years..." line was stolen from a Paul Simon song ("Kathy's song", I believe) and I remember reading an interview with a young Bragg where he said he wrote to Paul Simon to ask if he could quote the line with permission, which was nice of him.

It's about me, isn't it? ISN'T IT? ISN'T IT???

A rare moment. Mark the date.

The Sparks song is exactly what I'm thinking of - the emotional impact of the song is completely dependent on the fact that it's about the song ("emotional impact" here = "the conceit that you only hear this song when death is approaching" heh).

That, but it also seems an interesting commentary on the nature of hitmaking and popularity -- spreading out so that even the 'kids' are singing it and all.

To me the emotional impact of the song is all about Giorgio Moroder's berserk, kitchen-sink elecro-disco production.

That Pulp song does make sense to me. It's an expression of utter romanticism. It's a dream. It's like whispering 'I love you' into your pillow.

the song that the Mountain Goats end every one of their shows with possesses a narrative self-consciousness in the lyrics...

any Mountain Goats fans/members know what I'm talking about?

Adam Ant's "Ant Music."

I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
...

I was dreamin' when I wrote this
So sue me if I go 2 fast

Okay, maybe not too self-tooting, but look who we're quoting here...

But I have to keep my self respect, I'll never be a star
Since there's just two songs in me, and this is Number Three"
--They Might Be Giants, "Number Three"

"Why I Write Such Good Songs," by Kleenex Girl Wonder fits here.

Jim Croce: "I'll Have To Say I Love You In a Song".

Also, George Harrison:

This song has nothing tricky about it
This song ain't black or white and as far as I know
Don't infringe on anyone's copyright, so . . .

This song we'll let be
This song is in E
This song is for you and . . .

This tune has nothing Bright about it
This tune ain't bad or good and come ever what may
My expert tells me it's okay

As this song came to me
Quite unknowingly
This song could be you could be . . .

This riff ain't trying to win gold medals
This riff ain't hip or square
Well done or rare
May end up one more weight to bear

But this song could well be
A reason to see - that
Without you there's no point to . . . this song

And, yep, also "Only a Northern Song". Actually George Harrison is the king of the meta-lyric.

And The Rutles:

Oh yes, of course I do..
(Ah ha, we thought as much)
Hang on... who are youse?

(We're the other members of the band)
And who invited you to sing along?
Go on, answer that!
(Well no one, we were only passing by)
Well kindly keep on going if you please
(But we're only trying to help you with your song)
But I don't want any help
(Oh yeah, what about the middle eight?)
Oh yeah!

And of course:

Hmm. That was supposed to be "Don't Download This Song" by Yankovic. It seems like the embedding script should be removed from ILM again.

This thread is reminding me quite how much I dislike These Words by Natasha Bedingfield.

I always rather liked the lyrics to Ani DiFranco's "This Bouquet", though I think it only tenuously satisfies the thread criteria:

Got a garden of songs
Where I grow all my thoughts
Wish I could harvest one or two
For some small talk
I'm always starving for words
Whenever you're around
Nothing on my tongue
So much in the ground
Nothing on my tongue
So much in the ground

Half the time I got my gaze
Trained on your motel door
Fourth door from the end
Rest of the time my gaze lays
Like a stain on the carpeted floor
If it weren't for my brain
I'd just go over and make friends
Too bad about my brain
Cuz I'd like to make friends.

See the little song bird
Unable to make a sound
You'd never know she follows
Her words from town to town
We both have gardens of songs
And maybe its okay
That I am speechless
Cuz I picked you this bouquet
Yup, sure am speechless
But I picked you this bouquet

"How strange the change, form major to minor"

^^
'From"

Todd Rundgren - "Chain Letter"

This is the ending of my song
It has made me blind and deaf and weak but most of all
It shows you that I'm wrong
For you see it's really twice this long*
And if I should die tomorrow it will carry on

* line actually does occur at the song's midpoint

Karen Mantler - 'My Solo' (file under 'songs that apologize for their own existence')

here is a song
that features me
on harmonica

if I had words
I would sing
not play a solo

all I can do
is try my best
hope I don't get lost

I find it hard
to improvise

[harmonica solo]

well I wrote this song
with a vamp in the middle
and I knew when I wrote it
that I'd written it for the fiddle

-John Hartford

Weird Al's "This Song Is Just Six Words Long" is the first one that comes to mind.

Can't believe nobody mentioned "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" with the spoken word part about it being the perfect country and western song.

Also "Our Song" by Taylor Swift, kinda. And Brad Paisley's "This Is Country Music" celebrates itself along with the genre.

Lotta country examples.

Yes, "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" is a good one.

There is also "Internet curtains" by Denim which basically takes the piss out of itself immensely along the lines of "We've not been going very long / We've only got one good song / And this is it...", leading up to the part where the song becomes a hit because Chris Evans plays it. It would help if I could remember the words, I'm sure.
― Rob M, Wednesday, April 24, 2002 1:00 AM (13 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this track is pretty much a straight steal from 'Suffice To Say' by Yachts, which uses the same trick ("I never wrote a middle eight/so we'll just have to do without/but there's an instrumental break/right after this")

(is there anyone who has done this as frequently as Denim/Go Kart Mozart era Lawrence btw?)

quite a few Randy Newman songs "so I went to the park and took some paper along/and that's where I made this song", "she drives the kids to school/she does the laundry too/she wrote this song for me, listen!"