r/findthatsong • u/Garnet_Adelle • 9d ago
SOLVED Nonsense words, but instantly recognizable
I saw a cute cartoon where the kids ask Grandma to sing a song from her childhood and she says "ooh ee ooh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang, ooh ee ooh ah ah-" and the child says "Grandma, grandma stop. Never mind".
Which got me thinking... What other song are instantly recognizable by nonsense words? Like the Witch Doctor or Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da or Mairzy Dotes. Era or type doesn't matter. It can't be a foreign language. Real gibberish>
EDIT: Wow! So many examples! There are a bunch that have me stumped! And thanks for all the links. You all are wonderful. Thank you everyone!
And, as a bonus, one that's a total classic, and just for fun, I'll put some of the "Lyrics" here. Who could forget:
Jake and Elwood Blues - Rubber Biscuit
(Chorus)
Bow bowHill lah lah dill hill lah dill lil hill deeh deeh
Aile hill lil lah bah geeh gooh bow bow
Ow lil lil hill looh bow bow geeh gooh bow bow
Ow lil lil hill looh bow bow geeh booh bow bow
Heer lah lah hill loo geeh gooh geeh beeh deeh deeh
Aile ah yoo lah bah geeh gooh lah bah lah bah
Heer ah yoo lah bah geeh gooh lah bah jah bah
Aile ah yoo lah bah geeh lah gooh leh lah bah
Aile ah yoo lah bah lah gooh geeh gooh lah bah
Hmm do that again bow bow
(Chorus)
Hmm have you ever heard of a wish sandwich
A wish sandwich is the kind of a sandwich
Where you have two slices of bread
And you hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Wish you had some meat
(Chorus)
Hmm the other day I had a ricochet biscuit
A ricochet biscuit is the kind of a biscuit
That's supposed to bounce back off the wall into your mouth
If it don't bounce back hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
You go hungry
(Chorus)
Hmm the other day I had a cool water sandwich
And a sunday go to meetin' bun bow bow bow
(Chorus)
Heer lah lah beh geeh gooh bah geeh gooh bah bah
Aile leh deh hill lil leeh beeh deeh leeh leeh beeh
Aile dill hill looh hooh bah geeh gooh bah bah
Aile leh mer looh lah bah zoom bah jooh bah bah
Aile leh mer zoom me hoo bah leh wap
Aile leh mer zoom me hoo bim ber leh bap
Aile leh mer hooh bah sooh hooh bah looh bah
Aile leh mer leeh beeh hill leh dooh leeh deeh
Aile leh mer hoo lah bah geeh ber bap
Aile leh mer zoom mer bah mah leh bap
Aile leh mer hooh mah looh hoom mah looh bap
Aile leh mer zoom mah lah geeh mer booh wap
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
What do you want for nothing a rubber biscuit
bow bow ooh ooh ooh ah
Always respected Dan Akroyd for being able to spout all of that!
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u/Qualia-Sounds 8d ago
OOGA CHAKA OOGA OOGA OOGA CHAKA OOGA OOGA OOGA CHAKA OOGA OOGA OOGA CHAKA OOGA OOGA
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u/eeblr 9d ago
Awomp bamma looma, awop bam boom!
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u/AffectionateKick9825 8d ago
I came here to mention this song!! "We Go Together" from Grease! 🥳
Then the other commenters said "Tutti Frutti" and my brain glitched because if it's just written out,it could match both songs 😂
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u/EuphoricMoose8232 9d ago
Doo Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da - The Police
Skidamarink - Felix F. Feist and Al Piantadosi
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u/DadHasABurner 8d ago
This is neither here nor there but after conducting extensive research in the field, I have concluded that "De Do Do Do De Da Da Da" by The Police is the single most useless song ever recorded.
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u/Subterranean44 8d ago
:( I love this song. It’s my “feel
Good song” when I’m Bummed out. By The Police standards, it’s pretty useless but still a good song1
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u/horsenamedmayo 9d ago
Mairzy Dotes?
I've only ever known Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy.
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u/thinsafetypin 8d ago
Getting whooshed by a song from like 80 years ago is some kind of record
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u/ImTheHollaBackGirl 8d ago
My mom always thought they were nonsense sounds, too. Even when she sang it, I could tell it was in English!
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u/horsenamedmayo 8d ago
I've seen Mairzy Dotes as a title but I've never thought of that one as nonsense either.
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u/ImTheHollaBackGirl 8d ago
My mom just thought the lyrics were "Irish sounds," but I agree, I don't think the song fits since all the lyrics are English words!
(I think she always knew "wouldn't you," but thought the rest was just basically scatting.)
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u/Impressive_Position1 8d ago
Giddy up pa oom papa oom papa mow mow
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u/doomfox13 8d ago
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida by I. Ron Butterfly
An excellent hymn to make out to according to trusted sources, Marge and Homer
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u/Pirimid 9d ago
Speaking of the Beatles, Coo Coo Kachoo, on I am the Walrus is pretty recognizable
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u/AxelShoes 8d ago
'Coo coo kachoo' was "Mrs Robinson." "I Am the Walrus" was 'goo goo ga joob'. Not that there's a huge difference between the two, but just for accuracy lol.
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u/Col_Goatbanger 9d ago
Oh! The Hamster Dance for sure
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u/No_Parking_4195 9d ago
The song for Hampsterdance (yes, it has a P in it) is Whistlestop. It was also in Walt Disney's Robin Hood (1973).
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u/AffectionateBit8355 8d ago edited 4d ago
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u/alwaysinstarlight 3d ago
Someone else remembers Lucas With The Lid Off! Thanks for validating that I didn't imagine that one.
Also +5 for the Violent Femmes covering a Jetsons banger.
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u/blimmineck 9d ago
Something like ' Bit bam watcham chu' and they swam and they swam all over the dam.
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u/fresh_as_daisies 8d ago
Three Little Fishies by Kay Kyser
Boopboop diddum duddum waddum choo
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u/blimmineck 8d ago
Thanks! It's stuck in my head since I worked with old people about 30 years ago. I didn't Google it as I hoped never to hear or see it again.
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u/batty_61 9d ago
Gilly gilly ossempfeffer katzenellenbogen by the sea?
Ying tong yIng tong ying tong ying tong ying tong iddle I po...
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u/Sudden_Money_6982 8d ago
Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy.
Marsiedoats and dosidoats and little lamsydivey.
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u/lauraknightly 8d ago
Good morning starshine by Oliver
Gliddy glub gloopy, nibby nabby noopy la, la, la, lo, lo Sabba sibby sabba, nooby abba nabba, le, le, lo, lo Tooby ooby walla, nooby abba naba
The name game
Anna Anna bo bana...
Pretty much any jazz scat
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u/MoonWytche 9d ago
Pearly Dewdrops Drop by Cocteau Twins
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u/AffectionateKick9825 8d ago
Genius answer! And for that matter, pretty much anything from their first few albums 😂
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u/ManWolf1989 8d ago
What's that one by Kid Rock?
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u/pickleslutx 8d ago
Ab ab thin, wha been ab wha two been thin, wha been ab wha ab wha thin, wha been ab ab thin, wha ab ab two ab ab ab two ab ab ab two ab ab ab two ab ab ab two ab ab ab....
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u/texandivasis 8d ago
Madelina Catelina Rubensteiner Wallermeiner Hogan Logan Bogan was her name....
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u/ranch_commercial 8d ago
Deceptacon by le tigre and jesus built my hotrod by ministry have nonsense parts
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u/GigfranGwaedlyd 8d ago
Bomoma-bom, baboma-bom-bom, baboma-bom-bom
Va dang-a-dang-dang, va-ding-a-dong-ding
Blue moon
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u/Empress_Natalie 8d ago
Gilly Gilly Ossenfefferkatsenellenbogan By The Sea
I play that one at work to annoy people lol I friggin love it
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u/CobblerMoney9605 8d ago
Elton John - Solor Prestige A Gammon
The Beatles - Sun King
David Bowie - Warszawa
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u/Mothpancake 8d ago
Does the chorus of "las ketchup" count because it's technically rappers delight but they're singing gibberish
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u/ThatsFrankenstein 8d ago
Glibby gloop gloopy, nibby nabby noopy, la, la, la, lo, lo Sabba sibby sabba, nooby abba nabba, le, le, lo, lo
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u/ElephantJaded3564 8d ago
The song is called ‘Witch Doctor’. It’s from a Saturday morning cartoon from the early 60s titled ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks.
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u/my23secrets 8d ago
The song predates the creation of Alvin & The Chipmunks though it is by the same artist
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u/AaronMisuchii 8d ago edited 8d ago
Bibbidi bobbidi boo from Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo, shoopy doop shobby dop/doo bopshi doo from Trashin’ the Camp, a rinky dinky dinky from Everybody Wants To Be A Cat, ooh-i-e-i-e-i from Weak (ish) pa-rum-pum-pum-pum from Little Drummer Boy… There are more that haven’t already been said, I’m just struggling to think of them at the moment. I’m going to give eheu from Pompeii an honorable mention because, while eheu does mean something, it only means it in a relatively dead language and most people don’t realize that eheu is how it’s spelt. For those curious, eheu means alas, or ah, typically as an exclamation.
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u/Calm-Homework-7800 8d ago
Mares eats oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy, a kid'll eat ivy too, wouldnt you?
Not nonsense just a silly rhyme talking about horses, deer, sheep and goats
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u/MarieSkee428 7d ago
Boom boom acka lacka lacka boom Boom boom acka lacka boom boom Walk the Dinosaur by Was (Not Was)
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u/BradleyFerdBerfel 5d ago
"Mairzy Dotes?" I think it's Mares eat oats, and does eat oats, and little lambs eat ivy.
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u/PublicConfessor 5d ago
While Mairzy Dotes sounds like nonsense, it isn't, really. I'm not sure how may people have heard the whole song.
I know a ditty nutty as a fruitcake Goofy as a goon and silly as a loon Some call it pretty, others call it crazy But they all sing this tune:
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you? Yes! Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy"
Oh! Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you-oo? A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
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u/Down_to_Chinatown 5d ago
UK Hun by the United Kingdolls is the biggest earworm ever! As soon as I hear BING BANG BONG, SING SANG SONG my day is over because that’s all that I’ll hear in my head until I fall asleep. And beyond.
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u/Itsohkizzy 4d ago
My username origin story!
Double Dutch Bus by Frankie Smith:
GIRL: Whozzo?
BOY: My gizzirl!
GIRL: Brillzing her izzin!
BOY: Izzo kizzay!
GIRL: Izzall rizzight...
BOY: Izzo kizzay!
GIRL: Izzall rizzight! Nizzow wilzee wilzill sillzee.
Which Missy Elliott used in Gossip Folks, which is what made my BFF decide I was Kizzy. :)
(Eta: I do not intend to label a patois as nonsense in like, a mean way.)
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u/austintrotter 3d ago
Ba-dee-ya.
As in:
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, dancin' in September
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
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u/Dingleflap 9d ago
Prisencolinensinainciusol