Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#1

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:11pm

The great thing about musicals is that the songs have a story, so...have you ever listened to a cast album and gone, "...they wrote a song about THIS? What?"

In my pants, she has burst like the music of angels, the light of the sun! --Marius Pantsmercy

[heo1128]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#2

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:13pm

I'd say (way back when) electroshock therapy in "Feeling Electric" is out of the norm. And a variety of songs from Sweeny about making humans and other creatures into pies.

[husk_charmer]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#2

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:14pm

I'm still confused about the song in Seesaw, where they teach Ken Howard "Spanglish"

http://www.youtube.com/huskcharmer

[Shannon Bo Dannon]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#3

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:15pm

Well, the first thing that came to my head were some of the Avenue Q songs, like "I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today" and "The Internet is For Porn," but those kind of songs make that show so real and hilarious.

[goober1632]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#4

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:24pm

"Unfortunate Erection"
"Dance 10, Looks 3"
"Contact" - rent
"Sodomy" - hair
"The Rape of Miss Goldberg" - trousers
"Kesa" - See What I Wanna See
"Think of Meryl Streep" - Fame
"Internet is for Porn"

[GlindatheGood22]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#5

Posted: 5/4/09 at 9:33pm

A Little Priest - Sweeney Todd
Hominy Grits - Grey Gardens
Entering Grey Gardens - Grey Gardens

I know you. I know you. I know you.

[TimesSquareRegular]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#6

Posted: 5/4/09 at 10:01pm

Listen to BAJOUR for a terrific song (really!)about African tribes and tse-tse flies.

2016 These Paper Bullets (1/02) Our Mother's Brief Affair (1/06), Dragon Boat Racing (1/08), Howard - reading (1/28), Shear Madness (2/10), Fun Home (2/17), Women Without Men (2/18), Trip Of Love (2/21), The First Gentleman -reading (2/22), Southern Comfort (2/23), The Robber Bridegroom (2/24), She Loves Me (3/11), Shuffle Along (4/12), Shear Madness (4/14), Dear Evan Hansen (4/16), American Psycho (4/23), Tuck Everlasting (5/10), Indian Summer (5/15), Peer Gynt (5/18), Broadway's Rising Stars (7/11), Trip of Love (7/27), CATS (7/31), The Layover (8/17), An Act Of God (8/31), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (8/24), Heisenberg (10/12), Fiddler On The Roof (11/02), Othello (11/23), Dear Evan Hansen (11/26), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (12/21) 2017 In Transit (2/01), Groundhog Day (4/04), Ring Twice For Miranda (4/07), Church And State (4/10), The Lucky One (4/19), Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (5/16), Building The Wall (5/19), Indecent (6/01), Six Degrees of Separation (6/09), Marvin's Room (6/28), A Doll's House Pt 2 (7/25) Curvy Widow (8/01)

[VonTussleGirl]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#7

Posted: 5/4/09 at 10:18pm

"Genius" from Flight of the Lawnchair Man. Leonardo Da Vinci leads an enthusiastic dance number. It lives up to its title.

"Ruffhousin' Mit Shuffhausen" from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels comes to mind as well.

[scaryclowns2232]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#8

Posted: 5/4/09 at 10:21pm

Essentially any song from Assassins.

[LizzieCurry]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#9

Posted: 5/4/09 at 10:25pm

"The Sensitive Song"

"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt

[AndAllThatJazz22]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#10

Posted: 5/4/09 at 10:26pm

"Didn't I See This Movie?" -Next to Normal

"Feed Me" -Little Shop of Horrors

"There's nothing good on. The media hates Christmas. The media loves vampires, though. Maybe they will show a Twilight Christmas."
-Danmeg's 10 year old son.

[[tos]fan999]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#11

Posted: 5/5/09 at 12:14am

I would have to say nearly every song from Act II of Grey Gardens. I'm assuming that's the first showtune written about corn?

<-----Bernadette Peters and Alexander Hanson in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC.

Send in the clowns...Send in the crowds!

"I prefer neurotic people. I like to hear rumblings beneath the surface."-Stephen Sondheim

[wickedfan]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#12

Posted: 5/5/09 at 12:18am

Not from a show, but a song called "Poor Little Patty." It's about Patty Hearst. Random subject matter.

"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.

[colorandlight2]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#13

Posted: 5/5/09 at 12:54am

"Hello, Little Girl" from INTO THE WOODS is a little sketchy out of context. Well, in context for that matter too.

[MrSweetNAwful]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#14

Posted: 5/5/09 at 1:03am

I immediately thought Coffee from See What I Wanna See.

You're reminding me of people you hear at the movies asking questions every ten seconds, "Who is that? Why is that guy walking down the street? Who's that lady coming up to him? Uh-oh, why did that car go by? Why is it so dark in this theater?" - FindingNamo on strummergirl

"If artists were machines, then I'm just a different kind of machine...I'd probably be a toaster. Actually, I'd be a toaster oven because they're more versatile. And I like making grilled cheese" -Regina Spektor

"That's, like, twelve shows! ...Or seven." -Crazy SA Fangirl

"They say that just being relaxed is the most important thing [in acting]. I take that to another level, I think kinda like yawning and...like being partially asleep onstage is also good, but whatever." - Sherie Rene Scott

[CATSNYrevival]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#15

Posted: 5/5/09 at 1:21am

"Fiddle About" from The Who's Tommy. A song about an uncle molesting his nephew. Yeah... awkward.

[lovepigeon]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#16

Posted: 5/5/09 at 6:45am

'Wick' from The Secret Garden. Sure, it means something in the story, but it really didn't justify a song. I feel the same about 'This Was a Real Nice Clambake' from Carousel and loads from Hair.

[fosca3]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#17

Posted: 5/5/09 at 9:41am

Lots of the songs from URINETOWN, like 'It's a Privilege to Pee'

You don't go to the dragon without a present - Mark Rylance

[WhizzerMarvin]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#18

Posted: 5/5/09 at 9:55am

I'm Small from Dude

Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco. Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!

[Weez]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#19

Posted: 5/5/09 at 10:02am

I don't know if these are weird, as such, but I know a whole bunch of songs about masturbation, such as 'Jack's Song' from Naked Boys Singing (which is also embarrassingly catchy) and half of Spring Awakening, and 'Come to Jesus' from Myths and Hymns is almost certainly about abortion. Although the closest I can find to premature ejaculation is 'My Unfortunate Erection' (actually, 'Contact' from Rent sounds like there might be some premature ejaculation in there somewhere... must investigate further).

Really, a GREAT MANY showtunes are about WTF subject matter. Hell, WHOPLE SHOWS are about WTF subject matter! Bearing that in mind, it's really not hard to find a song that makes you go O_O when it's out of context. Although the ones that invoke that reaction even when in context, those are the special ones. :)

EDIT: oh, and 'Big Ass Rock' from The Full Monty is about assisted suicide. David Yazbek seems to have written a few WTF songs. XD

Notes from the Earlham Street Gutter

Updated On: 5/5/09 at 10:02 AM

[SporkGoddess]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#20

Posted: 5/5/09 at 12:12pm

Awwww, "Wick" is one of my favorite songs from TSG.

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

[LadyDramaturg2]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#21

Posted: 5/5/09 at 12:51pm

GREAT thread idea, Schmerg!

[myshikobit]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#22

Posted: 5/5/09 at 12:51pm

I totally agree with "I'm Small". I was "Ed" in You Can't Take it With You" and I made my 'mazurka' the overture from Dude. So naturally I had the score stuck in my head and was singing offstage. And I got to the part of "I'm Small" where it's like "but not big enough for your big fat a++" and one of my friends only heard that part and was like "wtf" and made a huge deal about it's stupidity. We've quoted it ever since. Another WTF subject matter is "Boom Boom" from Little Me and "Out for Blood" from Carrie (surprised no one's mentioned it yet).

"There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when we depart this world of ours: children and art." -Sunday In The Park With George

[SporkGoddess]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#23

Posted: 5/5/09 at 1:08pm

Okay, just thought of a few:

"My Psychopharmacologist and I" from N2N.

"The Call" from Floyd Collins - it's about... spelunking!

"The Factory Girls / Come Up to My Office" from Parade - about alleged sexual harassment in the workplace

Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!

[Mister Matt]

re: Songs With Weirdest Subject Matter#24

Posted: 5/6/09 at 2:17pm

Donkey Pot Pie

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian