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Get ready to laugh until it hurts — join us as we count down our picks for the most hilarious and enduring song parodies ever recorded! From classic comedy rock to viral internet anthems, these tunes prove that laughter truly is the best medicine. Which song parody has had you in stitches? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:06Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:09hilarious and enduring pop song parodies of all time.
00:19Number 10. Big Bottom. Spinal Tap.
00:31It doesn't really matter whether or not you grew up a metalhead, you'll probably still get plenty of the references
00:35within Rob Reiner's 1984 comedy classic, This Is Spinal Tap.
00:39Lyrical redundancy, such as the one found within Tap's banger opener, Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight, is awesome.
00:51Elsewhere, the subsonic bass attack of Big Bottom is a not-so-subtle ode to romancing someone that's, well, let's
00:57just go with endowed on the back end.
01:00The line, how could I leave this behind, still gets us every time, while the fact that Spinal Tap were
01:05able to perform this song with a straight face is nothing short of impressive.
01:09I met her on Monday, it was my lucky Monday, you know what I mean.
01:17Number 9. Hanukkah Honey. Rachel Bloom.
01:30There's been a lot of chatter in recent years about whether or not Santa Baby is an all-time Christmas
01:34classic, or a problematic holiday tune that should probably go the way of the dodo.
01:38Here's where Rachel Bloom's Hanukkah Honey steps in, and makes everybody happy, because the song isn't about Christmas at all.
01:44Well, apart from Bloom's Santa dress.
01:58Either way, we advise you to stop clutching those pearls and get down with how Hanukkah Honey replaces those overly
02:04interpreted lyrics with lines about various Jewish traditions.
02:07Bloom also empowers the song, stating, in no uncertain terms, that she wants her partner to light her candle and
02:13spin her dreidel.
02:31We hope that this parody song doesn't hit too close to home for anybody out there, because we just can't
02:36stop laughing.
02:37Business Time by Flight of the Conchords is delivered in an intentionally sexy, slow jam sort of way.
02:42The only thing, is that the subject of this tune is actually anything but sexy.
02:46Business Time refers to the often mechanical and loveless manner of sex, as some couples who have known each other
02:51for a long time tend to engage in over time.
02:54Then you tell me you want some more, well, uh, I'm not surprised, but I am quite sleepy.
03:02That's sort of going through the motion sex that feels more transactional than romantic.
03:06The sort of business that's actually anything but pleasurable.
03:09It's business, it's business time, business hours are over, baby.
03:19Number 7, Dick in a Box, The Lonely Island.
03:23It's such a long time, and now I'm ready to lay it on the line.
03:30The Lonely Island seemed to drink from the same creative wellspring as Flight of the Conchords,
03:35when it came for the comedy group to draft this 2009 song.
03:38Slow jams of the late 80s and early 90s once again came up ripe for parody for the arrangements of
03:43this tune.
03:44Right down to the choices of wardrobe for Andy Samberg and his guest on the track, Justin Timberlake.
04:01Flowing satiny suits are the name of the game here, as Dick in the Box details all of the proper
04:06holiday seasons to give this gift that keeps on giving.
04:09Christmas, Kwanzaa, even the Country Music Awards aren't safe from various dicks in various size boxes.
04:23Number 6, Country Song, Bo Burnham.
04:26You know the words, you know the phrases, phrases like...
04:29A dirt road, a cold beer, a blue jeans, a red pickup.
04:36A rural noun, simple adjective.
04:41There's no denying how country music has exploded in popularity over the last decade or two.
04:45Comedian Bo Burnham certainly seemed to notice, particularly with how so many pop country acts seem to emerge in order
04:52to capitalize on certain genre tropes.
04:54This is where Burnham's country song, Pandering, came in, where the comedian knowingly embodies many of those same tropes, presumably
05:00to sell more records.
05:03Good girl in a straw hat, with her arms out in a cornfield.
05:10That is a scarecrow.
05:13Thought it was a human woman, sorry.
05:15The song works both as parody, as well as biting satire.
05:18And it's funny because it's True Situation that pulls out all the stops, and has made all the better for
05:23the fact.
05:24We go to bed, you doze off, so I take your country girl clothes off, I put my hands on
05:31your body, it feels like, hey, it's a f***ing scarecrow again.
05:36Number 5. Tribute.
05:38Tenacious D.
05:40All of a sudden, there shined a shiny demon in the middle of the road.
05:50Can you believe it's been over 20 years since Tenacious D dropped their debut album back in 2001?
05:55Two decades to enjoy awesome songs like Tribute, which was written, according to Jack Black and Kyle Gass, in deference
06:01to the greatest song in the world.
06:03Lyrically, some comparisons could be made to The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels, specifically with how its
06:09protagonist faces off against a demonic foe.
06:11You play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the devil his due.
06:14I better fiddle a gold against your soul, because I think I'm better than you.
06:17This is essentially why Tribute, as well as Tenacious D's discography in general, works so well.
06:24There's a legitimate love for epic rock and heavy metal of the Zeppelins and Roddy James Dio's of the world,
06:29who did this sort of thing first, and best.
06:32This is not the greatest song in the world, no.
06:38This is just a tribute.
06:40Number 4. White and Nerdy.
06:43Weird Al Yankovic.
06:44They see me mowing my front lawn.
06:48I know they're all thinking I'm so white and nerdy.
06:51They're just too white and nerdy.
06:53We contemplated initially at excluding Weird Al Yankovic from this list, simply because this master of the parody song has
07:00so many classics under his belt at this point in his career.
07:03Still, we'd be remiss if we didn't highlight some of those great tunes here, including White and Nerdy from 2006.
07:09First in my class there at MIT. Got skills, I'm a champion of D&D. MC Ezra, that's my favorite
07:14MC. Keep your 40 out, just have an Earl Grey tea.
07:16This take on Ryden by Chameleon Air featuring Crazy Bone has arguably, or maybe not so arguably, endured more than
07:22its source material.
07:23This ultimately ties into why we like Weird Al so much.
07:27The lyrics still feel relevant, and his band always delivers the goods when it comes to arrangements and performance.
07:32The question I ever thought was hard. What do I like, Kirk? Or do I like, Picard? Spend every weekend
07:37at the Renaissance Fair. Got my name on my underwear.
07:40Number 3. Hello Mudda, Hello Fada. A Letter from Camp. Alan Sherman.
07:45Hello Mudda. Hello Fada. Here I am at Camp Granada.
07:52This song is admittedly the oldest parody on this list, yet we're still talking about Hello Mudda, Hello Fada, a
07:59Letter from Camp by Alan Sherman, because this 1963 tune was actually a huge hit.
08:04It's even been preserved by the Library of Congress, which is no mean feat for a song that's primarily regaling
08:09summer camp stories to the tune of a classical opera, Dance of the Hours by Amil Kere Ponchielli.
08:21Odds are, you know the melody here, even if you think you don't, while Sherman's actual lyrics remain clever and
08:27funny today.
08:28My eyes are sailing, playing baseball. Gee, that's better. Fada, Fada, kindly disregard this latter.
08:39Number 2. I'm on a Boat. The Lonely Island featuring T-Pain.
08:43Let's go! I'm on a boat!
08:45I'm on a boat! I'm on a boat! Everybody look at me! Cause I'm sailing on a boat!
08:49I'm sailing on a boat!
08:50Okay, so we're just gonna jump ahead and get the obvious out of the way. Sing it with us.
08:54Fada, and look at me!
08:59We just couldn't wait to get to that part. But if we're being honest, all of I'm on a Boat
09:04rules.
09:04From the expert parody of the hip-hop genre's legacy of expensive, extravagant music videos, to the aggressive pontificating about
09:11partying and money,
09:12The Lonely Island nailed this one.
09:20I'm on a Boat is one of those parodies where the lyrics are insanely quotable, and fun for just about
09:25everyone.
09:26This must have been a blast to record in the studio.
09:40Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's Aria, Songs from Iran, reimagining Persian melodies as modern rock,
09:48metal, and pop songs.
09:49Check out the full track and album below.
09:59When I rise, you fill my head. In every dream, it's you I've made.
10:06Number 1. Amish Paradise. Weird Al Yankovic.
10:10As I walk through the valley where I harvest my grain, I take a look at my wife and realize
10:16she's very flame.
10:17Sorry, Coolio, but the controversy behind this parody of the rapper's hit, Gangsta's Paradise, worked a little bit like the
10:23Streisand effect.
10:24Some miscommunication between Coolio's label and Weird Al ultimately drew more attention to this parody.
10:29Not that it needed it, really, because Amish Paradise still remains one of Yankovic's all-time classic parodies.
10:34Hitching up the buggy, churning lots of butter, raise the barn on Monday, soon I'll raise another.
10:40Think you're really righteous, think you're pure in heart, well I know I'm a million times as humble as thou
10:45art.
10:46It's right up there with Eat It or Like a Surgeon as prime a Weird Al delivering the goods with
10:50charm, wit, and that killer band.
10:53So while Gangsta's Paradise may be a great song, we'd be lying if we said we didn't want to hear
10:57Weird Al's parody 10 out of 10 times over the OG.
11:00So don't be vain, and don't be whiny, or else my brother I might have to get medieval on your
11:05hiney.
11:06We've been spending most our lives living in an Amish paradise.
11:12What is it about parody that keeps us coming back for more?
11:14Let us know in the comments.
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