Two-Word Lyrics: Proper Name Edition

I should queue up some more PNAS posts, but I think I'm going to save a bunch of them for when we're at Worldcon. And I do have more serious science-related stuff that I've marked to talk about, but it's Friday, and everybody could use a break. So here's a silly pop-music thing instead.

As with past editions, the following two-word phrases are taken from pop songs, and (I think) uniquely identify a single song. At least, I can only think of one song in my collection for each of them. The twist this time around is the each of the two-word phrases is a person's name.

If you think you know the song, leave a comment guessing it, and post your own two-word phrase for other people to guess. Here are the names:

  1. Father McKenzie
  2. Beth McKenzie
  3. John Berryman
  4. Ezra Pound
  5. Wilson Pickett
  6. Desmond Dekker
  7. Jean Content
  8. Merle Haggard
  9. Sloppy Sue
  10. Mojo Nixon
  11. Billy Idol
  12. Billy Shears
  13. Rocco Sifretti

Note that while some of these people did songs in which they speak of themselves in the third person, the song I have in mind is by a different artist. There' are two bands that appear twice (Edit: counting error corrected.), otherwise they're all by different people.

Good luck!

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Well, I'll grab the easy one: 1 - Eleanor Rigby. Can't think of a response offhand, though.

10 - "Punk Rock Girl" by the Dead Milkmen.

By Richard Campbell (not verified) on 31 Jul 2009 #permalink

1. Eleanor Rigby
12. Sgt Pepper's lonely Hearts Club Band

I see you're two Beatles songs and raise you two more (three words each for these): "Sir Walter Raleigh" and "Edgar Allan Poe"

I only recognize the Beatles songs.

Mike:
Bungalo Bill and I am the Walrus

Jerry Brown
Bacharach and David

# Ezra Pound

Don't know if that's what you had in mind, but "Ezra Pound and TS Elliott are fighting in the captain's tower, while Calypso singers laugh at them and fisherman hold flowers".

Bob Dylan, Desolation Row

5. "Sweet Soul Music," Arthur Conley

Spotlight on Wilson Pickett now
that wicked wicked Pickett
singin' Mustang Sally
Oh yeah, oh yeah

ETA: oh yeah,

Easy one: Bob Dylan
Hard one: Mikhail Baryshnikov

Easy one: Bob Dylan

I want to say David Bowie "Song for Bob Dylan", but I think it's only in the title. The lyrics themselves say "Robert Zimmerman" and "Dylan" but not, if I'm not mistaken, "Bob Dylan".

Bob Dylan is mentioned in "The Seeker" by The Who.

Bluefoot, I am the Walrus is right, but the other is incorrect.

Soppy Sue and Big Balls Billy will be comin up for air with the angels in the night

Well, Merle Haggard could be from "Longhaired Redneck" by David Allan Coe (if you define country music as a subset of pop).

Next one: Steven Hawking

Bob Dylan is mentioned in "The Seeker" by The Who.

But only as "Bobby Dylan", I think, making that two songs that mention Bob Dylan by name without saying "Bob Dylan".

6. Rancid, "Roots Radicals"

By Anonymous (not verified) on 31 Jul 2009 #permalink

The guesses for 1, 4, 6, 10, and 12 are correct.

Comment #7 has a song that does mention Wilson Pickett, but it's not the one I was thinking of. Additional clue: "Solomon Burke."

Comments #12 and #13 have the right artists, but the wrong song. The lyric in #12 starts out right, but goes wrong after "air."

For other guesses: "Sir Walter Raleigh" (comment #3) is from "I'm So Tired" off the White Album. (I almost used that, minus the title).

"Bob Dylan" is in "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows (and also a hundred other things, I suspect).

Additional names:
"John Cassavetes"
"Solomon Grundy"

"Solomon Grundy" - Crash Test Dummies, "Superman's Song"
"John Berryman" - The Hold Steady, "Stuck Between Stations"

By Satan Mayo (not verified) on 31 Jul 2009 #permalink

4 - "Ezra Pound - Axe King" by This Is Serious Mum (TISM)

After the above hints I can recognize "Big Balls Billy" as being from Bruce Springsteen's song "Rosalita." I had never known that the other name in that lyric is Sloppy Sue.

Merle Haggard could also be from "A Lap Dance Is So Much Better When The Stripper Is Crying" by the Bloodhound Gang.

'Billy Sheares' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

By Ron Gould (not verified) on 02 Aug 2009 #permalink

John Cassavetes - "Asshole" by Denis Leary

The only proper name I can think of off the top of my head is a three-namer: Eugene Isaac Alvarez

By Tom Renbarger (not verified) on 03 Aug 2009 #permalink

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