A Brief History
On July 20, 1971, The Raiders held the top spot on the Rock and Roll charts with “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian).” Although the word “reservation” appears in the song’s lyrics, nowhere in the song is the title mentioned. Here we list 10 major hit songs that also do not have their title in the lyrics, sometimes making for awkwardness when trying to look up the song or talking about it.
Digging Deeper
1. “Indian Reservation”, The Raiders, 1971.
Formerly known as Paul Revere and the Raiders, the band actually recorded the song as a lead singer Marc Lindsay solo. It was their biggest hit. What you may not know, is that the song was first recorded in 1959 by Marvin Rainwater with a different title, “The Pale Faced Indian,” but was not a hit. In 1968 Don Fardon reached #20 in the US and #3 in the UK with his rendition of the song, with The Raiders taking it to #1 in 1971, their only #1 hit.
2. “Space Oddity”, David Bowie, 1969.
The song written and performed by David Bowie about an unlucky astronaut named Major Tom does not have anything remotely similar to the title in its lyrics, creating a large amount of confusion about the song’s title. Although the classic tune hit #1 in France and the UK, the best it did in the US was #4 (depending on which chart you consult). How many times have you heard someone refer to the song as “Major Tom?” Especially confusing since there is a song called “Major Tom (Coming Home)” by German singer Peter Schilling that is about the same fictional astronaut. In fact, Bowie sang 2 other songs about Major Tom, “Ashes to Ashes” and “Hallo Spaceboy.” Bowie’s video for “Blackstar” may also refer to good old Major Tom. Apparently music fans cannot get enough of our good Major, so K.I.A. sang “Mrs. Major Tom” in 2003. If you wonder whether there is any connection to the Elton John song, “Rocket Man,” the answer is maybe.
3. “Yellow Ledbetter”, Pearl Jam, 1992.
Co-written by lead vocalist Eddie Vedder, the title is a take on Vedder’s friend, Tim Ledbetter. This song was the B-Side of Pearl Jam’s signature hit, “Jeremy”, and peaked at #21 on the US charts. The somewhat mumbled lyrics contribute to the confusion over the title of the song,
4. “Baba O’Riley”, The Who, 1971.
Written by Pete Townshend, the title derives from 2 of Townshend’s musical influences, Meher Baba and Terry Riley. Baba was of Iranian ethnicity, born in India, and a religious mystic that claimed to be God in human form. Riley is an American classical composer with influences from jazz and Indian music. Have you ever heard this song referred to as “Teenage Wasteland?” That seems to be the common logical assumption among those that do not know the real title. This tune is about the desolation of teenagers at Woodstock, drug hazed and at least 20 of which got brain damage from drugs. Pearl Jam often covers the song at concerts.
5. “Maggie May”, Rod Stewart, 1971.
Rod Stewart’s signature song and a #1 hit, Stewart claims it is about the first woman he had sex with, though the woman’s name was not Maggie nor Maggie May. The title comes from “an old Liverpudlian song about a prostitute.” “Maggie May” finished 1971 as the #2 song of the year in the US, but although Stewart refers to “Maggie,” in the lyrics, the last name, “May,” is never mentioned. For that matter, is “May” even a last name or just an added appellation to “Maggie?”
6. “A Lover’s Concerto”, The Toys, 1965.
A sweet love song that reached #1 (or #2, depending on which chart) in the US, this girl group classic has a hunting refrain that echoes through your brain after the music fades away; however, nowhere in the song is the word “concerto” mentioned. Although the Toys sang the definitive version, excellent covers by The Supremes, The Lennon Sisters, Kelly Chen and others are readily available for your listening pleasure on YouTube.
7. “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Queen, 1975-1976, 1991.
This epic hit raced up the charts a second time in 1991 upon the death of lead singer, Freddie Mercury. Supposedly the “Bohemian” part of the title refers to the artsy nature of individualistic artists and the “Rhapsody” part is a reference to a sort of Rock and Roll Opera, espousing the ideals of romantic Rock. Consisting of several different sections of various Rock genres pieced together, the song is a masterpiece. Mercury apparently used parts of many songs he heard over the years to piece together this composite tune.
8. “For What It’s Worth”, Buffalo Springfield, 1966.
Written by band member Stephen Stills, this song is generally regarded as an anti-Vietnam War song, but in reality was written in response to the Sunset Strip Curfew Riots of 1966 (police vs. hippies in Hollywood, California). (The Sunset Strip Curfew Riots also generated several other songs by artists including The Monkees, The Mamas and the Papas, The Standells, and Frank Zappa, et al. Actors Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson were there protesting.) The song is sub-titled, “(Stop, Hey What’s That Sound?)” in a conscious effort to reduce confusion over the title.
9. “Positively 4th Street”, Bob Dylan, 1965.
One of Dylan’s instantly recognizable hits, we have no idea what 4th Street he is referring to in the title, which does not get referenced anywhere in the song. For that matter, as bitter and negative as the song is about its target person, that person is not named and is unknown. No chorus or refrain is repeated, giving the song an odd, yet oddly catchy feel. Speculation that the song is somehow ridiculing 4th Street in Greenwich Village is common, and numerous theories about whom is the target of the song’s invective are rampant. What is your guess?
10. “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, The Who, 1971.
This tune ran for 8 and half minutes on the album, although a shortened version for radio was released. Written by Pete Townshend, the song was intended as the last song on a rock opera project called “Lighthouse,” but that project was abandoned and the song appeared on the “Who’s Next” album. For some reason, the line “We don’t get fooled again!” appears more than once in the song, but not the title line featuring the word “won’t.” (Oddly enough, 4 of these 10 songs listed date from 1971. Must have been something about naming songs with titles not in the lyrics then, but I don’t remember.) This powerful rock anthem has been cited as a cautionary warning against allowing the government or candidates for office to fool the people yet once again. (It doesn’t work, and we get fooled over and over. Sad…)
Question for students (and subscribers): What songs would you add to the list? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Paul Revere & The Raiders. “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian).” Indian Reservation. Sony Music Entertainment, 1971.
The featured image in this article, a 45 RPM picture sleeve for “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian),” is of a cover of an audio recording, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the work or the artist(s) which produced the recording or cover artwork in question. It is believed that the use of low-resolution images of such covers
- solely to illustrate the audio recording in question,
- on an educational website hosted on servers in the United States,
qualifies as fair use under the copyright law of the United States.
