Parody songs

Anyone on here write them?
What sort of things are the best to write about(obviously current affairs) but what about poking fun at celebrities or 'people less unfortunate than yourself' Ive seen a few which use Elvis or Beatles tunes but they just take the piss out the original artists..so any advice?

Thanks

Martin Baum or Baumski is undiputed king of parody songs.

Oh good, hopefully he and others may have some advice for a parody song virgin

Quote: Griff @ January 6 2009, 9:21 PM GMT

Ted - go and watch NewsRevue or Treason Show if you get the chance. Both of them have loads of parody songs in them (written by many people on here including me) and then you'll get a good feel for the kind of thing that works.

Main thing to remember is that a song needs to be like a "sketch" - once you've altered the result, the end result needs to tell a story, and have lots of jokes in. Jokes that would work outside the song, that is, not just lines that sound funny because they've been changed from the original.

Also good to listen to song parodies by Mitch Benn, or London Underground by the Amateur Transplants. Radio Four's Fifteen Minute Musicals also has some fantastic parody songs and I believe it's available to buy on CD.

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Thanks for the advice Griff,
I will try and listen to the ones you mentioned.
Any1 care to post a couple of lines just to give me a idea on a basic subject like I dunno mocking a celebrity for instance,if not no bother
thanks

LOL I liked it,
Makes my efforts look pretty shit lol
I was making me mistake of thinking I had to change the words but keep the rhyme if that makes sense..here I will give example

This is just an example ive wrote this minute to the tune of 'all shook up' about Amy Winehouse just to let you see the way im using the ryhmes

I inject tar into my soul
Thats what's wrong with me
I'm skinny like Mercury with hiv
My friends say I'm acting wild not giving a f**k
Its the drugs
Huh!
I'm all drugged up
Oh,oh,oh,mm,mm,oh yeah, yeah!

ive changed the words but kept the basic rhyming structure

Anyone else find them a bit 'easy'?

I give far more credit to comedians who write songs from scratch, like Bill Bailey or Tim Minchin.

Quote: Griff @ January 6 2009, 9:53 PM GMT

Ted - regarding your parody ... you need to pay attention to how the lines scan.

The original Elvis is "Well bless my soul" (4 syllables) and your line is "I inject tar into my soul" (8 syllables). There's a certain amount singers can do to squeeze extra syllables in, but doubling the syllable count is possibly verging on unsingable.

You might be better in this example just to say "I inject myself / That's what's wrong with me".

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Yes good advice,
the singers would have a nightmare trying mine

I wouldn't begrudge an ongoing serial for relying on them. Such material - quick to write; guaranteed laughs - is surely key to their existence.

It's worthwhile reserving credit elsewhere, however. I have never understood the adulation Weird Al Yankovic receives, nor why he'd want to dedicate his life to such a limited form of comedy.

ive never been a fan of al...just never thought he was that funny tbh,
seen funnier ones on YouTube lol

Quote: Mav42 @ January 6 2009, 10:01 PM GMT

I wouldn't begrudge an ongoing serial for relying on them. Such material - quick to write; guaranteed laughs - is surely key to their existence.

It's worthwhile reserving credit elsewhere, however. I have never understood the adulation Weird Al Yankovic receives, nor why he'd want to dedicate his life to such a limited form of comedy.

View original

It's easy to write one good verse/chorus, but I wouldn't say a song is easier or quicker to write than a decent sketch, nor any more guaranteed to get consistent laughs all the way through. Most (whether TS/NR or higher profile) tend to have at least one duff verse even after lots of redrafts/rehearsals.

Agree that Al Yankovic songs are dire - he basically comes up with a tweaked title, 1 or 2 good lines and then churns out the rest.

I write song parodies, started when I was 16.
They're usually about stupid things... or food
I've parodied songs by Kaiser Chiefs, The Killers, My Chemical Romance, The Rasmus etc.
I have about 40 altogether.
They're all terrible but the 3 people that read them seem to like them.

I think the golden rule, especially for NR, is to stick to the original rhythm and format.

Hello,

I've written a few of these to generally decent feedback and have waffled a few thoughts from my attempts below:

Well-known songs best usually, as if it's not familiar people will be too busy working out what it is to enjoy the lyrics. First one I wrote was to a Maximo Park tune and about 1 person here knew it.

Find it helps to sing it and make sure it fits in tempo, syllables, and generally rhyme - and maybe check it's not too tongue-twisting. Plus always trying to keep a rhyme ahead especially when using couplets.

Rhythm and timing of lines very important in telling jokes. For really well-known songs/lines and especially the chorus/title lines should probably stick to the original song's rhymes.

Adding to last point, it's nice to have a theme running through a verse and tie it up with a neat gag at the end.
e.g. from a "Doggy in the White House song" I did about Obama's daughter getting a dog that she won't be allergic to:

Dad's buying a puppy for the White House
It must be a real special breed
The dog must be hy-po-allergenic
Cos if not it will make me sneeze ('achoo!)

Like Griff said, a progression through a story is best, or it feels fragmented.

Also admire those who write a comic song lyrics AND music, but also enjoy the challenge of trying to fit words and gags into the constraints of the existing structure.

Amateur transplants is good - London Underground brilliant, and also liked their medley one part of which is "yellow" by Coldplay

"Look at your skin, look at its off-white hue,
Look at your eyeballs too,
They've gone all yellow
You came to me, you thought you had the flu.
I knew that wasn't true.
You wouldn't be yellow
We took some blood off you
That's just a thing we do
To folks who turn yellow
You're yellow like the desert in damascus is
You're yellow cos your liver has metastases
Do you know you're really f**cked you know
You're really f**ked you know "

Of Weird Al's stuff, did like "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi" and "The Saga Begins," which fit the "1st" Star Wars film story:

(To the tune of
A long, long time ago
In a galaxy far away
Naboo was under an attack
And I thought me and Qui-Gon Jinn
Could talk the federation in
To maybe cutting them a little slack
But their response, it didn't thrill us
They locked the doors and tried to kill us
We escaped from that gas
Then met Jar Jar and Boss Nass
We took a bongo from the scene
And we went to Theed to see the Queen
We all wound up on Tatooine
That's where we found this boy

Oh
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
He left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

Did you know this junkyard slave
Isn't even old enough to shave
But he can use the Force, they say

Ahh, do you see him hitting on the queen
Though he's just nine and she's fourteen
Yeah, he's probably gonna marry her someday

Well, I know he built C-3PO
And I've heard how fast his pod can go
And we were broke, it's true
So we made a wager or two
He was a prepubescent flyin' ace
And the minute Jabba started off that race
Well, I knew who would win first place
Oh yes, it was our boy

We started singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

Now we finally got to Coruscant
The Jedi Council we knew would want
To see how good the boy could be
So we took him there and we told the tale
How his midi-chlorians were off the scale
And he might fulfill that prophecy
Oh the Council was impressed of course
Could he bring balance to the Force?
They interviewed the kid
Oh, training they forbid
Because Yoda sensed in him much fear
And Qui-Gon said "Now listen here"
"Just stick it in your pointy ear"
"I still will teach this boy"

He was singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

We caught a ride back to Naboo
'Cause Queen Amidala wanted to
I frankly would've liked to stay
We all fought in that epic war
And it wasn't long at all before
Little hotshot flew his plane and saved the day
And in the end some Gungans died
Some ships blew up and some pilots fried
A lot of folks were croakin'
The battle droids were broken
And the Jedi I admire most
Met up with Darth Maul and now he's toast
Well, I'm still here and he's a ghost
I guess I'll train this boy

And I was singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin'
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"
"Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"

We were singin'
My my this here Anakin guy
Maybe Vader someday later
Now he's just a small fry
And he left his home
And kissed his mommy goodbye
Sayin' "Soon I'm gonna be a Jedi"