There must be 50 ways to say goodbye in a song

• Adios - Linda Ronstadt
• Bye Bye - Mariah Carey
• Farewell, Farewell - Fairport Convention
• Just Go Away - Blondie
• Sayonara - The Pogues

The Eyes Have It

Eyes - the window to the soul. Also the window to the blues, the rock 'n' roll, and maybe even the rap. Songs about eyes. No cheating and searching on Spotify - I will know.

Brown
• Brown Eyes: Fleetwood Mac
• Brown-Eyed Girl: Van Morrison
• A Pair Of Brown Eyes: The Pogues
Blue
• Blue Eyes: Elton John
Red
• Ole Red-Eyes Is Back: The Beautiful South

Dance Craze Songs

A list of songs with an associated dance craze. Ideally the song lyrics should explain how to do the dance.

• Agadoo: Black Lace. The fourth worst song ever?
• The Bump: Kenny. Ludicrous seventies dance.
• Do The Funky Chicken: Rufus Thomas.
• The Chicken Song: Spitting Image.
• (Do Do Do) The Funky Gibbon: The Goodies.
• Macarena: Los Del Rio.
• Oops Upside Your Head: The GAP band. Sitting on the floor, rowing - what was all that about?
• (Do The) Push & Pull: Rufus Thomas.
• The Resurrection Shuffle: Ashton, Gardner, and Dyke.
• Superman: Black Lace.
• The Time Warp: Rocky Horror Show.
• The Twist: Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, and later covered by Chubby Checker.

Disqualified:

• Land Of 1000 Dances: Just About Everybody. Too general.

Eponymous Tracks

Not albums, oh no. That would be too easy. What we want here are tracks with exactly the same name as their performer.

• Hi Tension: Hi Tension
• M.E.T.H.O.D. Man: Method Man. Or is that cheating?
• Talk Talk: Talk Talk
• They Might Be Giants: They Might Be Giants

I got my first real six-string...

As any fule kno, the guitar is the world's finest instrument when it comes to rockin' and, indeed, rollin'. No surprise then that songsmiths in need of inspiration look down at their Martin/Gibson/Fender and think: "Hey! I'll slip in a few lines about this here guitar!". And so another list is born.

Here is the playlist on Spotify

Some highlights:

Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams. I got my first real six-string/ Bought it from the five-and-dime/ Played it till my fingers bled/ It was the summer of '69.

Guitar Man - several different songs of the same name by Elvis, Bread, and J. J. Cale

Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen. Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk.

This Old Guitar - Neil Young

Sound of the Suburbs - The Members. Johnny's upstairs in his bedroom sitting in the dark/ Annoying the neighbours with his punk rock electric guitar.

The Wood and the Wire - Fairport Convention. In a high-street window it winked and beckoned/ Turned his head in a single second/ First month's wage, heart's desire/ Under the spell of the wood and wire.

Thanks to the taxi drivers and radio stations of Kaliningrad for inspiration. Good to know that Bon Jovi are still rocking Russia.

Many rivers to cross

Songs about rivers. Only real rivers, named in the song title. Only one entry per river.

Anna Liffey - The Dubliners

Banks of the Bann - various

Blackwaterside - Oysterband and others. There are lots of River Blackwaters.

The Blue Danube - Johann Strauss II - not a song, so disqualified.

Clyde Water - Dave Swarbrick & Martin Carthy

Cuyahoga - R.E.M.

The Miller of the Dee - Isaac Bickerstaffe

River of Jordan - Peter Paul & Mary

Kern River - Emmylou Harris and/or Merle Haggard

L.A. River - Rancid

Moon River - Henry Mancini. Controversial. The song was not written about a particular river, but after it became successful, an inlet near lyricist Johnny Mercer's hometown of Savannah, Georgia was renamed "Moon River". So now there is a river for the song to be about.

My Lagan Love - Sinead O'Connor

Ferry 'cross the Mersey - Gerry and the Pacemakers

Banks of the Nile - Sandy Denny

Ohio River Boat Song - Bonnie Prince Billy

Ohoopee River Bottomland - Larry Jon Wilson

Orinoco Flow - Enya

Red River Valley - Slim Whitman

Rio Grande - Brian Wilson

Rio Grande - traditional sea shanty. Yes I know but it's about a different Rio Grande (the one in Brazil)

Broad Majestic Shannon - The Pogues

Oh Shenandoah - just about everybody.

Go little Swale - Jake Thackray

Swanee - George Gershwin (but not "Old Folks at Home" by Stephen Foster as river not in title)

Dear River Thames - Richard Digance

Both Sides of the Tweed - Mary Black

Fog on the Tyne - Lindisfarne

Song of the Volga boatmen - Red Army Choir etc

Five a day - bands named after fruit & veg

• Apple
  
• The Electric Banana Band
  
• The Black-Eyed Peas
  
• Kid Creole and the Coconuts
  
• The Cranberries
  
• Black Grape
  
• The Huckleberries
  
• Orange Juice
  
• Red Hot Chilli Peppers
  
• Smashing Pumpkins
  
• Prefab Sprout
  
• Strawberry Switchblade
  
• The Cucumbers
  
• Zucchini
  

Heavenly Bodies

Pythagoras believed that the planets orbited in proportions that created harmony, and called this the music of the spheres. In honour of Pythagoras, then, here is a
Spotify playlist of songs related to planets, stars, comets, moons, and other heavenly bodies.
Sample tunes:

• That Lucky Old Sun - Sam and Dave
  
• Mercury Blues - Wishbone Ash
  
• Venus in Furs - Velvet Underground
  
• Planet Earth - Duran Duran
  
• Teenagers from Mars - The Misfits
  
• Uranus - Sacred Weird Little Guys
  
• etc. etc.
  

Please feel free to add to the spotify list, but I don't think we need any more moon songs unless they're really, really good.

Burn, baby, burn! Inappropriate Funeral Songs

Funerals could be a lot less miserable if they were accompanied by some downright unsuitable music. Imagine a cremation where, when the coffin slides away on the conveyor belt, you hear the unmistakable bass intro to Disco Inferno. I think that would lighten the atmosphere a bit.

I've collected some suggestions on this
Spotify playlist. Feel free to add some more.

Four Legs Good

Four Legs Good is the name of a Spotify playlist created by my mate Greg. You'll soon get the jist.


http://open.spotify.com/user/gregfinch/playlist/2e8zzrAPW9D4xqGQV3wEv5

You will need to download the Spotify software before you can listen in.

Future listmungous lists may well become Spotify playlists.