On the way in to work this morning, I was switching through stations on the radio, and heard a bit of "Only" by Nine Inch Nails ("Only" on last.fm) followed by "Hitchin' a Ride" by Vanity Fare ("Hitchin' a Ride" on last.fm). I was struck by the unsettling realization that the chorus of "Only" would fit the tune of the dippy little flute line in "Hitchin' a Ride."
And now I'm stuck with the image of some hippy singing "There is no you, there is only me" like a bouncy little pop song. Since I can't shake it, I thought I'd share it.
Don't all thank me at once.
Other examples of alarming coincidences of tune are welcome in the comments.
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"O little town of Bethlehem" / "House of the Rising Sun"
It can work both ways, but it's funnier to put the Christmas carol's lyrics to the Animal's rendition of House.
Not quite a shining coincidence, but Nine Inch Noels, by Lore Sjoberg, is quite good.
A friend would often play
Green Day's Hitching A Ride
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...and something else, all on the guitar, going back and forth. Quite fun.
A famous example: George Harrison's "Oh My Lord" and the Supremes' "He's So Fine". That one involved an out of court settlement. So did "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. and "I Want A New Drug" by Huey Lewis and the News.
There are also cases where tunes have been intentionally recycled (and I don't mean as parodies). Compare Elvis's "Love Me Tender" with the folk song "Aura Lee", or "It's Now or Never" with the classical aria "O Sole Mio". Or if you happen to have a copy of Enya's The Celts, you will find that tracks 5 ("Deireadh an tuath") and 14 ("Dan y dwr") use the same arrangement of the same melody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTCYLbFxTpI
I win.
Ted Leo has an internet-famous recording where he covers "Since U Been Gone," only to replace the break lyrics with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" and the Flaming Lips recorded the lyrics to the Butthole Surfers' "Moving to Florida" over the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army."
And while not quite the same thing, Mark Ronson's blending of "Stop Me" and "You Keep Me Hanging On" is a glory to behold.