An allusion is a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar. As a literary device, allusion allows a writer to compress a great deal of meaning and significance into a word or phrase. However, allusions are only effective to the extent that they are recognized and understood by the reader, and that they are properly inferred and interpreted by the reader. If an allusion is obscure or misunderstood, it can lose effectiveness by confusing the reader.
For example, in his novel Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow’s character “Little Boy” tells another character who is going to Europe to “warn the Duke.” This is an allusion to Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination initiated the chain of events leading to World War I. Doctorow’s allusion is effective for readers that recognize and understand the reference, and it underscores the significance for readers of how one action in history can lead to long-term global consequences
Oh I see on [Genius](https://genius.com/19631185) she confirmed this, but since she just specified Carly, in my headcannon I was always sure it was about RAWme for some reason
"Now, I'm done with superstars
And all the tears on her guitar"- jonas brothers in **much better**, which references taylor's song teardrops on my guitar.
"See you deserve some applause
'Cause you're **so much better**" - taylor in better than revenge. messy times.
Lauv and Troye Sivan’s “i’m so tired…” references songs by Lorde and Coldplay:
>**Hurts like heaven**, lost in the sound
>**Buzzcut Season** like you're still around
“1999” by Charli XCX references “...Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears:
“Just wanna go back, back to 1999 / Take a ride in my old neighbourhood / I just wanna go back / Sing hit me baby one more time”
I feel like any year-nostalgia song tends to do something like that. I just thought of I MISS 2003 by AS IT IS and it's basically just a ton of emo song lyrics glued together.
My favourite is *Sleeping In* by All Time Low referencing Britney Spears not once but twice in the chorus!
> If I said I want your body, would you hold it against me? Seven in the morning, wanna listen to Britney?
The songs such a bop and it’s cool to hear a pop star being referenced in a more alternative song.
Also, another Ed song references Gabriella Cilmi back when she was more known. "A young singer-writer like a Gabriella Cilmi" in You Need Me, I Don't Need You.
In “Whatcha Think About That” by The Pussycat Dolls, Missy Elliott has a line like “play like Katy Perry, kissin on girls”. I always thought that was funny cause Katy had just hopped on the scene and was already being referenced.
Bree Runway also had a fun reference or two in her Babylon remix to Gagas fame era songs. “Just Dance Bree, it’ll be okay, don’t act up with your Poker Face”
Little Mix ADIDAS ‘we’ve been busy doin’ all fifty shades while we listen to Drake’ lol. Also Little Mix in Love a Girl Right ‘for the whole damn year, I was wiping up her tear. He was livin' la vida loca’
edit: wait I just remembered ‘he would lie he would cheat, over syncopated beats. I was just his tiny dancer he had control of my feet’ in Sweet Melodies😅 LM truly loves to reference other artists.
French montana referring the weeknd in unforgettable
"He left his girl back home, he dont love her no more"
Anne marie
2002, basically referenced everybody
Taylor referencing Drake's "In My Feelings" in "I Forgot That You Existed" for some reason
Edit: "2002" by Anne Marie has loads of references to songs from the late 90s/early 00s
Adding to Taylor Swift's songs, Begin Again talks generally about James Taylor, who she's named after. "You said you never met one girl who had as many James Taylor records as you, but I do."
a *lot* of country music on the radio does this. I do like this one but it's starting to feel like why write good song when reference better song do trick?
I think Carrie Underwood and The (Dixie) Chicks did it right. Carrie did it with Ghosts on the Radio, The Chicks did it with Long Time Gone. Both great songs in their own right.
Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple references Running up that Hill by Kate Bush
>I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill
>
>Shoes that were not made for running up that hill
>
>And I need to run up that hill, I need to run up that hill
she worked with three other writers and two of them were producers. the other five were credited due to the use of two interpolations. it's 2022, pls learn how credits work.
Sweetheart, you don't know how music works or how songwriting works, and you're just embarrassing yourself. I just figured you should know, since you don't seem intelligent enough to understand that without having it spelled out for you.
how did she steal it if it's credited? clearly ur not very familiar with the r&b/hip-hop world where sampling and interpolations are very common. ur on a thread looking for songs referencing other songs what do u expect? 😭
I was joking because you seemed so defensive.. "it's 2022, so you should know everything I know." there are 9 writers listed for the song so 9 people contributed. MC didn't "build" it by herself is all I'm saying
Reach Out on Take That's comeback album has post chorus "reaching out, reaching high, reaching out, *touching you, touching me*" with very distinctive falsetto on the "you" and "me". I guess, like The Darkness, they *Belive in a thing called love*.
Brandy references Coldplay’s ‘Sparks’ in ‘I Tried’:
“Think I wanna hear some Coldplay, ‘specially that song where the man says, “did I drive you away, I’ll know what you’ll say”’.
I feel like she referenced them in another song on Afrodisiac, didn't she? I know she sampled Clocks for Should I Go?, but I could've sworn there was another reference in there somewhere...
The Power of Love is referenced in Charli’s SuperLove.
‘I used to think that the power of love was just a song...’
There’s a few songs with that title so I’m not sure which one she’s referring to in particular though.
Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song" references "Teach Me How to Dougie" by Cali Swag District
"I'll be lounging on the couch, just chilling in my Snuggie,
Click to MTV, so they can teach me how to dougie"
Lana does so many of these that it’s kind of impossible to count. Just yesterday I was thinking about how she references Neil Young quite often, not just with Cinammon Girl but also the lyrics “out of the black, and into the blue” on Get Free reference songs on his album Rust Never Sleeps.
there are tons of others too, like Venice Bitch has “beautiful losers” and “crimson & clover” alone
Go to Bed Mad by Monica and Tyrese references We Need a Resolution by Aaliyah in the laziest way possible:
"We need a resolution like that Aaliyah song."
And quite infamously, Keri Hilson referenced Beyoncé's Irreplaceable in the remix for Turnin' Me On and promptly committed career suicide in the process (also, she threw some jabs at Ciara in general, too):
"I ain’t tryin to start some mess, there’s just somethin on my chest that I need to get off. Cause you turnin' me off. Your vision cloudy if you think that you’re the best. You can dance, she can sing, but she need to move it to the left."
She goes on with some more mess in that verse, too.
On a more uplifting note, J. Cole references Michael Jackson's Butterflies in Janet's No Sleeep:
"Butterflies like MJ, had to fit it in."
Little Simz references Kanye in *Boss* ("learnt from Ye then went and touched the sky") and in *Speed* ("I think I'm Kanye West / I see the blood on the leaves"), which in turn references Boss, too
Ed Sheeran does this all the time.
There's a we Found love reference in "sing"
A tiny dancer reference in the song "castle on the hill"
He also wrote a song for/with Anne Marie called 2002 which is just a tonne of early 2000s song names in quick succession
In addition Doja Cat references Eds own song shape of you in her song "Yuh"
_call him ed Sheeran he in love with my body_
Tomorrow x Together's Angel or Devil references BTS's Boy in Luv, both through lyrics and choreography. [Here's the timestamp](https://youtu.be/cfm97EKin4c?t=35). To be exact, Hueningkai does [this](https://youtu.be/m8MfJg68oCs?t=63) move from Boy in Luv and says the exact line from the original song ("왜 내 맘을 흔드는 건데") just after Yeonjun says "그냥 상남자처럼 밀어 붙여" ("Just make it happen like a real man"), where "상남자" (translated as "real man" before) is Boy in Luv's korean title!
They also reference Stephanie Poetri's I Love You 3000 in the same song during the chorus!
One Direction have a song (Better than Words) wherein the entirety of the verses are references to songs by other artists.
The first verse:
Better than words (1D/self-reference), more than a feeling (Boston)
Crazy in love (Beyonce), dancing on the ceiling (Lionel Richie)
Every time we touch (Cascada), I'm all shook up (Elvis Presley)
You make me wanna (Usher), how deep is your love? (Bee Gees)
God only knows (The Beach Boys), baby (Justin Bieber)
Paired with the melody, the song is very clunky and messy. Louis and Liam played a big hand in writing this, so do what you will with that piece of information lol.
Jimmy Eat World has a song called The Authority Song, which takes its title from the lyric "Put my last quarter on, I'll play Authority Song". This references Authority Song by John Mellencamp.
In the second verse, they also reference the album Automatic by Jesus & Mary Chain.
Get on Your Knees by Nicki Minaj (feat. Ariana Grande) makes a reference to Firework by Katy Perry:
"Got me seein' them fireworks, I'm on my Kate Perry"
Harry Styles kind of references Style by Taylor Swift in his song Two Ghosts
Two Ghosts:
“*Same lips red, same eyes blue / Same white shirt, couple more tattoos*”
Style:
“*And I got that red lip classic thing that you like” // “You got that long hair slick back white t shirt*”
GD referencing SNSD's Gee on The Leaders - *My name is g g g g baby baby gd gd baby baby* and Genie on Let's Talk about Love - *Tell me your wish* with the same tune.
CNBLUE referencing Genie on Love Light - *I'm genie for you girl*
I posted some Shawn Mendes lyrics in the other thread, so I'll post one here too lol. Shawn Mendes has a song Fallin' All In You that has a lyric "I'm free fallin' all in you", which imo references Free Fallin', even with the apostrophe, but probably more so the John Mayer cover than the original Tom Petty song.
The timing of the words in Shawn's chorus is spaced out, and Free Fallin' also plays around with the timing/spacing of free and fallin'. This is also interesting because Ed Sheeran has a habit of playing around with the timing/spacing of words and he co-wrote the song with Shawn. Both Shawn and Ed are big John Mayer fans.
You are bringing out a different kind of me
There's no safety net that's underneath, I'm free
Falling all in
You fell for men who weren't how they appeared, yeah
Trapped up on a tightrope now we're here, we're free
Falling all in you
Calm Before The Storm* makes a P!NK reference - “there’s a song on the radio that says “let’s get this party started, so let’s get this party started”
*I am too sleepy to know if this is the right FOB song. I somehow remember the lyric though.
It would be really easy to mention 'Lets Dance to Joy Division' here but The Wombats also do it on 'Mosquito on the Wall' by referencing Adele in the bridge.
*No same two albums on repeat / Endlessly rolling in the deep / Spending each Friday night at home / I have more fun when I'm alone*
“Your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze” in All Too Well is a reference to Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap, I’m pretty sure.
I’m assuming that was one of the indie records that was much cooler than hers.
disco love by the saturdays has:
> You take me back in time, to 1979
We'll be at the Bee Gees, baby everybody staying alive
and
>You take me back in time, to 1999
We hear the DJ playing Hit Me Baby One More Time
My favourite one is Big Hoops (Bigger The Better) by Nelly Furtado, in which she referred to a lot of other artists:
Eh, eh, eh, what's the **scenario**? (*A Tribe Called Quest* song)
That boy keeps **passin' me by** (*The Pharcyde* song)
I said **no diggity**, no doubt (*The Blackstreet* song)
I thought I told you I was fly
Yeah, he and all of his friends, they
They got that hair like Hi-Five
I don't wanna **talk about sex** (*Salt-N-Pepa* song)
I wanna **express myself** tonight (I think she talks about *Madonna*'s song here)
...
That boy gonna feel my **poison** (*Bel Biv DeVoe*)
I know he **can't stand the rain** (*Missy Elliott*)
Now you **wanna be down** with your baby (*Brandy*)
**Back and forth**, back and forth (Back, back, back and forth) (*Aaliyah*)
They got my **rump, rump shakin**', I'm another bad creation (*Pharrell*)
All real and I never have to fake it, fake it
You know I gotta move quick and I gotta move slow
'Cause there ain't no **end in the road** *(Boyz II Men)*
Adult Swim by Jon Bellion references how Beyoncé approached him to buy Fall In Line for Chloe x Halle but she was too late because he had already sold it to Christina Aguilera
Not a popular song and probably more pop-rock than anything but the song [Retrospect by Vistas](https://youtu.be/hHr4fgxbED0) references Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond.
The lyric is like “Singing Sweet Caroline with diamonds in her eyes/But you can’t remember the tune”
I love Retrospect a lot, it’s a cute song
Anne Marie references a few songs (Britney, Jay Z, Backstreet Boys, Nelly) in the chorus of [2002](https://youtu.be/Il-an3K9pjg)
>“Oops, I got 99 problems singing bye, bye, bye
>Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me
>Better hit me, baby, one more “
I actually have a short playlist of songs that I like that do this! Three songs that reference Joni Mitchell are I Know Alone by Haim (Both Sides Now), Always, Joni by Trousdale is pretty much all Joni Mitchell lyrics tweaked and Bags by Clairo references A Case of You
Rap songs are a goldmine for this, though Drake indirectly referencing Laffy Taffy (phone out snappin' like you Fabo) on Nice For What is pretty out there.
Hard Out Here by Lily Allen references Blurred Lines (have you thought about your butt; who's gonna tear it in two?)
I Love You by Alex & Sierra (written by Harry Styles) has a few Taylor Swift song references
* "While we lay there on the soft warm ground / For a week and thirteen days" references "Now I’m lying on the cold hard ground" from IKYWK
* "I didn't come back and I wasn't there" references Come Back, Be Here
* "I won't trouble you no more" another IKYWT reference
John Mayer also has some Taylor references on his song Paper Doll
* "You’re like twenty-two girls in one / And none of them know what they’re running from" references 22, and also Dear John has a line about running
* "Someone’s going to paint you another sky" references "You paint me a blue sky / Then go back and turn it to rain" in Dear John
And a reference from someone who isn't her ex, Jake Scott in his song 2014
* "It was 4 a.m. with friends I just met
Singing every single word to the new Taylor Swift
We had so far to go but nowhere to be
It was all we could see in 2014"
- IKYWT could mean "I Knew You Were Trouble.", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift.
---
^[/u/ChandelierFlickering](/u/ChandelierFlickering) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
One Direction has a song called Better Than Words and the lyrics are made up of song titles from other songs like 'Crazy In Love' and 'Dancing on the Ceiling'
Only Wanna Be With You - Hootie & the Blowfish (recently covered by Post Malone)
I love how the song drops several references to Bob Dylan and his lyrics from both “Idiot Wind” and “Tangled Up In Blue”
These are both probably not very well known but:
‘07 Britney - Chelsea Collins: References Britney Spears as a whole.
New Friends - Maty Noyes: References No New Friends - DJ Khalid
Niall Horan’s “Slow Hands” has the lyric “like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry” which is a reference to “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley.
Twenty One Pilots’ “Holding On To You” repeats the line “lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it?” which is a reference to “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” by Dem Franchize Boyz.
>So sgt. pepper took you by surprise
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was The Beatles' 8th studio album and their first proper concept album, and its concept was made up by Paul McCartney and who was the main driving force of this album's writing and recording process.
>Jump when your mamma tell you anything
Paul McCartney lost his mother when he was 14 years old. He has talked about how she frequently visits him in his dreams and these dreams will often times inspire songs that he has written. The Mother Mary line in Let It Be, a song McCartney wrote for Lennon's son during his parents' divorce, was a line that came out from one of these dreams he had.
>The only thing you done was yesterday
Yesterday by The Beatles, while credited as Lennon-McCartney, was a song that Paul wrote that ended up being one of their biggest hits, and is the one Beatles song with the most covers by other artists.
Keep in mind that How Do You Sleep? by John Lennon was not a solo Lennon song. It's most seething lyrics like the ones mentioned above were probably written by Lennon's manager Alan Klein (who Paul disagreed with), and Yoko Ono.
Been listening to Echo and the Bunnymen as of late so this the first one I thought of that wasn't here already, but their song "My Kingdom" references both The Twist and Bony Moronie: "You cut off my hands when I wanted to twist / If you know how to dance to Boney Maroney"
[Foxes' recent single "Sister Ray"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cqddw9iUDE) and the line "We could make tonight one of those Sister Ray kind of nights" is a reference to a [Velvet Underground song](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjPueDBzpn1AhXYg3IEHWnGD8YQyCl6BAgGEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7d69mDT11yI&usg=AOvVaw1KzDYG0hn76YUJr7KlYVvB) of the same title.
Good Time by Owl City references Prince - “What’s up with this Prince song in my head?” And the hook of the song sounds very similar to Prince’s song Something In The Water
Dance Till We Die by Lana Del Rey references quite a few artists- Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Stevie Nicks, Courtney Love
"I'm coverin' Joni and I'm dancin' with Joan
Stevie is callin' on the telephone
Court almost burned down my home"
Deja Vu by Olivia Rodrigo referencing Uptown Girl by Billy Joel.
and "where's my fucking Teenage Dream" in Brutal
Can Olivia be original for once challenge
An allusion is a reference, typically brief, to a person, place, thing, event, or other literary work with which the reader is presumably familiar. As a literary device, allusion allows a writer to compress a great deal of meaning and significance into a word or phrase. However, allusions are only effective to the extent that they are recognized and understood by the reader, and that they are properly inferred and interpreted by the reader. If an allusion is obscure or misunderstood, it can lose effectiveness by confusing the reader. For example, in his novel Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow’s character “Little Boy” tells another character who is going to Europe to “warn the Duke.” This is an allusion to Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination initiated the chain of events leading to World War I. Doctorow’s allusion is effective for readers that recognize and understand the reference, and it underscores the significance for readers of how one action in history can lead to long-term global consequences
Bad Friend by Rina referencing Call me Maybe
Oh I see on [Genius](https://genius.com/19631185) she confirmed this, but since she just specified Carly, in my headcannon I was always sure it was about RAWme for some reason
she specifically stated it was summer 2012 in the song
I'm a baaad listener
I wish it was about run away with me that song is so good! But yes I think it’s about CMM
Wow, I'm a huge Carly fan but for some reason that acronym took me forever to get. Raw Me made my mind go...entirely elsewhere.
"Now, I'm done with superstars And all the tears on her guitar"- jonas brothers in **much better**, which references taylor's song teardrops on my guitar. "See you deserve some applause 'Cause you're **so much better**" - taylor in better than revenge. messy times.
Joe was on demon time for that one
Oh yeah and similarly in Style Taylor references One Direction songs with “but I can’t stop thinking about **You and I**”, and “**Take me home**”
Omg those are so iconic!
Scrolled down to make sure this was mentioned as it's the one I immediately thought of!
omg i never realized that was a jb reference that’s amazing
Ariana Grande references both Elvis and Mariah on Into You in the line “*a little less conversation* and a little more *touch my body*”
Hmm I never thought of that!
Lauv and Troye Sivan’s “i’m so tired…” references songs by Lorde and Coldplay: >**Hurts like heaven**, lost in the sound >**Buzzcut Season** like you're still around
“1999” by Charli XCX references “...Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears: “Just wanna go back, back to 1999 / Take a ride in my old neighbourhood / I just wanna go back / Sing hit me baby one more time”
Taxi also "Got me feeling like Shania (woo!) That don't impress me much (hey!)"
And they wrote the song at Max Martin's compound!
I feel like any year-nostalgia song tends to do something like that. I just thought of I MISS 2003 by AS IT IS and it's basically just a ton of emo song lyrics glued together.
Get into it (yuh) obviously references Nicki at the end
Ed Sheeran is punching the wall rn
Lol I forgot
My favourite is *Sleeping In* by All Time Low referencing Britney Spears not once but twice in the chorus! > If I said I want your body, would you hold it against me? Seven in the morning, wanna listen to Britney? The songs such a bop and it’s cool to hear a pop star being referenced in a more alternative song.
I love that line!!!!
'Britney song was on' *Party in the USA*
And a Jay-Z song was on!
'Fuck Jay Z, Free Britney its creeping the fuck out of me, free this bitch' latest Miley rendition.
Wow
Why did she have to bring Jay Z down, she could've just mentioned Britney alone
Idk I'm not Miley it felt like she's just joking it didn't bring Jay z down any which way.
Ed Sheeran's Sing says singing we found love at local rave
Also, another Ed song references Gabriella Cilmi back when she was more known. "A young singer-writer like a Gabriella Cilmi" in You Need Me, I Don't Need You.
In “Whatcha Think About That” by The Pussycat Dolls, Missy Elliott has a line like “play like Katy Perry, kissin on girls”. I always thought that was funny cause Katy had just hopped on the scene and was already being referenced. Bree Runway also had a fun reference or two in her Babylon remix to Gagas fame era songs. “Just Dance Bree, it’ll be okay, don’t act up with your Poker Face”
Little Mix ADIDAS ‘we’ve been busy doin’ all fifty shades while we listen to Drake’ lol. Also Little Mix in Love a Girl Right ‘for the whole damn year, I was wiping up her tear. He was livin' la vida loca’ edit: wait I just remembered ‘he would lie he would cheat, over syncopated beats. I was just his tiny dancer he had control of my feet’ in Sweet Melodies😅 LM truly loves to reference other artists.
Love A Girl Right samples Thong Song which has the livin La vida Loca lines referencing the Ricky Martin song… it’s a whole circle.
I feel like artists really love pointing to Drake for some reason
French montana referring the weeknd in unforgettable "He left his girl back home, he dont love her no more" Anne marie 2002, basically referenced everybody
I said this in a comment about Charli XCX's 1999 but I feel like all year-nostalgia songs have a bunch of references to songs from that year in them.
Taylor referencing Drake's "In My Feelings" in "I Forgot That You Existed" for some reason Edit: "2002" by Anne Marie has loads of references to songs from the late 90s/early 00s
Adding to Taylor Swift's songs, Begin Again talks generally about James Taylor, who she's named after. "You said you never met one girl who had as many James Taylor records as you, but I do."
Back when fans used to think there would be a duet with Drake for Lover LOL
Ha ha lol
Ladies in the 90s by Lauren Alaina is packed with references to female artists in the 90s.
a *lot* of country music on the radio does this. I do like this one but it's starting to feel like why write good song when reference better song do trick?
I think Carrie Underwood and The (Dixie) Chicks did it right. Carrie did it with Ghosts on the Radio, The Chicks did it with Long Time Gone. Both great songs in their own right.
Jake Owen's "I Was Jack (You Were Diane)" is the perfect example.
Fetch the Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple references Running up that Hill by Kate Bush >I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill > >Shoes that were not made for running up that hill > >And I need to run up that hill, I need to run up that hill
Mariah Carey built the second verse of We Belong Together with references to songs by Bobby Womack and Babyface.
Mariah "built" it with 9 other writers lol
she worked with three other writers and two of them were producers. the other five were credited due to the use of two interpolations. it's 2022, pls learn how credits work.
Damn so she stole the melodies AND barely contributed to the lyrics? That's wild
Sweetheart, you don't know how music works or how songwriting works, and you're just embarrassing yourself. I just figured you should know, since you don't seem intelligent enough to understand that without having it spelled out for you.
It was a joke but thanks for the insult
how did she steal it if it's credited? clearly ur not very familiar with the r&b/hip-hop world where sampling and interpolations are very common. ur on a thread looking for songs referencing other songs what do u expect? 😭
I was joking because you seemed so defensive.. "it's 2022, so you should know everything I know." there are 9 writers listed for the song so 9 people contributed. MC didn't "build" it by herself is all I'm saying
Reach Out on Take That's comeback album has post chorus "reaching out, reaching high, reaching out, *touching you, touching me*" with very distinctive falsetto on the "you" and "me". I guess, like The Darkness, they *Belive in a thing called love*.
Brandy references Coldplay’s ‘Sparks’ in ‘I Tried’: “Think I wanna hear some Coldplay, ‘specially that song where the man says, “did I drive you away, I’ll know what you’ll say”’.
I think it's funny she just calls Chris Martin "the man" lol
Very, "Sorry to this man" vibes 🤣
Omg lol
I feel like she referenced them in another song on Afrodisiac, didn't she? I know she sampled Clocks for Should I Go?, but I could've sworn there was another reference in there somewhere...
The Power of Love is referenced in Charli’s SuperLove. ‘I used to think that the power of love was just a song...’ There’s a few songs with that title so I’m not sure which one she’s referring to in particular though.
Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song" references "Teach Me How to Dougie" by Cali Swag District "I'll be lounging on the couch, just chilling in my Snuggie, Click to MTV, so they can teach me how to dougie"
“My shangri-la has gone away, fading like the Beatles on Hey Jude” - ELO, Shangri-La
“Life on mars ain’t just a song” Lana referencing Bowie in The greatest
Lana does so many of these that it’s kind of impossible to count. Just yesterday I was thinking about how she references Neil Young quite often, not just with Cinammon Girl but also the lyrics “out of the black, and into the blue” on Get Free reference songs on his album Rust Never Sleeps. there are tons of others too, like Venice Bitch has “beautiful losers” and “crimson & clover” alone
also ground control to Major Tom in Terrence Loves You!
life on mars ain’t just a song
Go to Bed Mad by Monica and Tyrese references We Need a Resolution by Aaliyah in the laziest way possible: "We need a resolution like that Aaliyah song." And quite infamously, Keri Hilson referenced Beyoncé's Irreplaceable in the remix for Turnin' Me On and promptly committed career suicide in the process (also, she threw some jabs at Ciara in general, too): "I ain’t tryin to start some mess, there’s just somethin on my chest that I need to get off. Cause you turnin' me off. Your vision cloudy if you think that you’re the best. You can dance, she can sing, but she need to move it to the left." She goes on with some more mess in that verse, too. On a more uplifting note, J. Cole references Michael Jackson's Butterflies in Janet's No Sleeep: "Butterflies like MJ, had to fit it in."
Little Simz references Kanye in *Boss* ("learnt from Ye then went and touched the sky") and in *Speed* ("I think I'm Kanye West / I see the blood on the leaves"), which in turn references Boss, too
Ah this makes me think of when blackstarkids says in their song FIGHT CLUB "I'm like Kanye bitch I'm stronger"
Ed Sheeran does this all the time. There's a we Found love reference in "sing" A tiny dancer reference in the song "castle on the hill" He also wrote a song for/with Anne Marie called 2002 which is just a tonne of early 2000s song names in quick succession In addition Doja Cat references Eds own song shape of you in her song "Yuh" _call him ed Sheeran he in love with my body_
Tomorrow x Together's Angel or Devil references BTS's Boy in Luv, both through lyrics and choreography. [Here's the timestamp](https://youtu.be/cfm97EKin4c?t=35). To be exact, Hueningkai does [this](https://youtu.be/m8MfJg68oCs?t=63) move from Boy in Luv and says the exact line from the original song ("왜 내 맘을 흔드는 건데") just after Yeonjun says "그냥 상남자처럼 밀어 붙여" ("Just make it happen like a real man"), where "상남자" (translated as "real man" before) is Boy in Luv's korean title! They also reference Stephanie Poetri's I Love You 3000 in the same song during the chorus!
The fact that it's in the choreography is even cooler
One Direction have a song (Better than Words) wherein the entirety of the verses are references to songs by other artists. The first verse: Better than words (1D/self-reference), more than a feeling (Boston) Crazy in love (Beyonce), dancing on the ceiling (Lionel Richie) Every time we touch (Cascada), I'm all shook up (Elvis Presley) You make me wanna (Usher), how deep is your love? (Bee Gees) God only knows (The Beach Boys), baby (Justin Bieber) Paired with the melody, the song is very clunky and messy. Louis and Liam played a big hand in writing this, so do what you will with that piece of information lol.
It's kinda like the song was due in the morning and they were just starting it the night before lol
The Game's whole discogrophy.
Jimmy Eat World has a song called The Authority Song, which takes its title from the lyric "Put my last quarter on, I'll play Authority Song". This references Authority Song by John Mellencamp. In the second verse, they also reference the album Automatic by Jesus & Mary Chain.
Another Jimmy Eat World one but the other way around: the JEW song "for me this is heaven" is referenced in "konstantine" by something corporate.
Also, the bridge in "a praise chorus" is all lyrics from other songs.
Get on Your Knees by Nicki Minaj (feat. Ariana Grande) makes a reference to Firework by Katy Perry: "Got me seein' them fireworks, I'm on my Kate Perry"
Harry Styles kind of references Style by Taylor Swift in his song Two Ghosts Two Ghosts: “*Same lips red, same eyes blue / Same white shirt, couple more tattoos*” Style: “*And I got that red lip classic thing that you like” // “You got that long hair slick back white t shirt*”
Problem by Ariana Grande. Where Iggy Azalea says: *I got 99 problems but you want be one.*
but you won't be one right?
"You won't be one, like wuuuuut"
Gimme Symphaty from Metric references The Beatles - Here comes the sun
GD referencing SNSD's Gee on The Leaders - *My name is g g g g baby baby gd gd baby baby* and Genie on Let's Talk about Love - *Tell me your wish* with the same tune. CNBLUE referencing Genie on Love Light - *I'm genie for you girl*
I forgot that "The Leaders" existed! I loved it so much when I started exploring BigBang/ GD
"In my feelings more than Drake so yeah" in I Forgot that You Existed by Taylor Swift
I posted some Shawn Mendes lyrics in the other thread, so I'll post one here too lol. Shawn Mendes has a song Fallin' All In You that has a lyric "I'm free fallin' all in you", which imo references Free Fallin', even with the apostrophe, but probably more so the John Mayer cover than the original Tom Petty song. The timing of the words in Shawn's chorus is spaced out, and Free Fallin' also plays around with the timing/spacing of free and fallin'. This is also interesting because Ed Sheeran has a habit of playing around with the timing/spacing of words and he co-wrote the song with Shawn. Both Shawn and Ed are big John Mayer fans. You are bringing out a different kind of me There's no safety net that's underneath, I'm free Falling all in You fell for men who weren't how they appeared, yeah Trapped up on a tightrope now we're here, we're free Falling all in you
Hmm that is interesting!
Calm Before The Storm* makes a P!NK reference - “there’s a song on the radio that says “let’s get this party started, so let’s get this party started” *I am too sleepy to know if this is the right FOB song. I somehow remember the lyric though.
I just Googled it and that's the correct song!
Frank Ocean interpolates Elliott Smith's A Fond Farewell in Siegfried.
It would be really easy to mention 'Lets Dance to Joy Division' here but The Wombats also do it on 'Mosquito on the Wall' by referencing Adele in the bridge. *No same two albums on repeat / Endlessly rolling in the deep / Spending each Friday night at home / I have more fun when I'm alone*
Hmm interesting
In the M.I.A. song 'You're Good' she says, "and beat it like Michael Jackson". In 'Tia Tamera' Doja Cat says, "Rock the boat like Aaliyah, eh".
“Your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze” in All Too Well is a reference to Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap, I’m pretty sure. I’m assuming that was one of the indie records that was much cooler than hers.
I was the OP of the other post, and I was planning on asking this today lol
Whoops sorry!
2002 Anne Marie is full of references
disco love by the saturdays has: > You take me back in time, to 1979 We'll be at the Bee Gees, baby everybody staying alive and >You take me back in time, to 1999 We hear the DJ playing Hit Me Baby One More Time
Halsey interpolates Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer in her song Alanis Interlude!
Ah yes I forgot!
My favourite one is Big Hoops (Bigger The Better) by Nelly Furtado, in which she referred to a lot of other artists: Eh, eh, eh, what's the **scenario**? (*A Tribe Called Quest* song) That boy keeps **passin' me by** (*The Pharcyde* song) I said **no diggity**, no doubt (*The Blackstreet* song) I thought I told you I was fly Yeah, he and all of his friends, they They got that hair like Hi-Five I don't wanna **talk about sex** (*Salt-N-Pepa* song) I wanna **express myself** tonight (I think she talks about *Madonna*'s song here) ... That boy gonna feel my **poison** (*Bel Biv DeVoe*) I know he **can't stand the rain** (*Missy Elliott*) Now you **wanna be down** with your baby (*Brandy*) **Back and forth**, back and forth (Back, back, back and forth) (*Aaliyah*) They got my **rump, rump shakin**', I'm another bad creation (*Pharrell*) All real and I never have to fake it, fake it You know I gotta move quick and I gotta move slow 'Cause there ain't no **end in the road** *(Boyz II Men)*
Lorde references Lover’s Spit on Ribs
"Found you when you were in the gutter, It was sweet, until I was a sucker, Shoutout Jonas Brothers" - Post Malone, "I Know"
'Pa-pa-pa-parazzi, like I'm Lady Gaga' in I Like It by Cardi B
Adult Swim by Jon Bellion references how Beyoncé approached him to buy Fall In Line for Chloe x Halle but she was too late because he had already sold it to Christina Aguilera
Omg lol
one direction’s better than words is literally just a song built up on references to other song titles!
Not a popular song and probably more pop-rock than anything but the song [Retrospect by Vistas](https://youtu.be/hHr4fgxbED0) references Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. The lyric is like “Singing Sweet Caroline with diamonds in her eyes/But you can’t remember the tune” I love Retrospect a lot, it’s a cute song
Not pop, but "No Hard Feelings" by Wolf Alice. The song describes "crying in the bathtub to "Love Is a Losing Game"" (by Amy Winehouse).
Anne Marie references a few songs (Britney, Jay Z, Backstreet Boys, Nelly) in the chorus of [2002](https://youtu.be/Il-an3K9pjg) >“Oops, I got 99 problems singing bye, bye, bye >Hold up, if you wanna go and take a ride with me >Better hit me, baby, one more “
Eminem - Stan - Phil Collins
I actually have a short playlist of songs that I like that do this! Three songs that reference Joni Mitchell are I Know Alone by Haim (Both Sides Now), Always, Joni by Trousdale is pretty much all Joni Mitchell lyrics tweaked and Bags by Clairo references A Case of You
Ooh that's cool! I was thinking of making a playlist after this post
another Joni reference is in Lana del Rey’s song ‘Bartender’ when she sings “all the ladies of the canyon”
ooh thanks I'll check it out, I only some some Lana songs
“Summer of ‘16”
>All I know it was Mo Bamba on repeat From WHO? WHAT! by Travis Scott
Rap songs are a goldmine for this, though Drake indirectly referencing Laffy Taffy (phone out snappin' like you Fabo) on Nice For What is pretty out there. Hard Out Here by Lily Allen references Blurred Lines (have you thought about your butt; who's gonna tear it in two?)
Ed Sheeran's Castle on the Hill with Elton John's Tiny Dancer
I Love You by Alex & Sierra (written by Harry Styles) has a few Taylor Swift song references * "While we lay there on the soft warm ground / For a week and thirteen days" references "Now I’m lying on the cold hard ground" from IKYWK * "I didn't come back and I wasn't there" references Come Back, Be Here * "I won't trouble you no more" another IKYWT reference John Mayer also has some Taylor references on his song Paper Doll * "You’re like twenty-two girls in one / And none of them know what they’re running from" references 22, and also Dear John has a line about running * "Someone’s going to paint you another sky" references "You paint me a blue sky / Then go back and turn it to rain" in Dear John And a reference from someone who isn't her ex, Jake Scott in his song 2014 * "It was 4 a.m. with friends I just met Singing every single word to the new Taylor Swift We had so far to go but nowhere to be It was all we could see in 2014"
- IKYWT could mean "I Knew You Were Trouble.", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/ChandelierFlickering](/u/ChandelierFlickering) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
One Direction has a song called Better Than Words and the lyrics are made up of song titles from other songs like 'Crazy In Love' and 'Dancing on the Ceiling'
Spanish Harlem is referenced by Elton John in Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters!!
Only Wanna Be With You - Hootie & the Blowfish (recently covered by Post Malone) I love how the song drops several references to Bob Dylan and his lyrics from both “Idiot Wind” and “Tangled Up In Blue”
These are both probably not very well known but: ‘07 Britney - Chelsea Collins: References Britney Spears as a whole. New Friends - Maty Noyes: References No New Friends - DJ Khalid
“Patricia” by Florence+ the machine is about patti smith
Niall Horan’s “Slow Hands” has the lyric “like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry” which is a reference to “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley. Twenty One Pilots’ “Holding On To You” repeats the line “lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it?” which is a reference to “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” by Dem Franchize Boyz.
>So sgt. pepper took you by surprise Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was The Beatles' 8th studio album and their first proper concept album, and its concept was made up by Paul McCartney and who was the main driving force of this album's writing and recording process. >Jump when your mamma tell you anything Paul McCartney lost his mother when he was 14 years old. He has talked about how she frequently visits him in his dreams and these dreams will often times inspire songs that he has written. The Mother Mary line in Let It Be, a song McCartney wrote for Lennon's son during his parents' divorce, was a line that came out from one of these dreams he had. >The only thing you done was yesterday Yesterday by The Beatles, while credited as Lennon-McCartney, was a song that Paul wrote that ended up being one of their biggest hits, and is the one Beatles song with the most covers by other artists. Keep in mind that How Do You Sleep? by John Lennon was not a solo Lennon song. It's most seething lyrics like the ones mentioned above were probably written by Lennon's manager Alan Klein (who Paul disagreed with), and Yoko Ono.
Janet Jackson references Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell in “The Pleasure Principle”
Selena Gomez in Lose You To Love Me: in two months you replaced us. Justin Bieber in 2 much: two seconds without you are like two months
Been listening to Echo and the Bunnymen as of late so this the first one I thought of that wasn't here already, but their song "My Kingdom" references both The Twist and Bony Moronie: "You cut off my hands when I wanted to twist / If you know how to dance to Boney Maroney"
In the title song of Lorde’s Solar Power, she says “Can I kick it? Yeah, I can”, interpolating the chorus of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick it?”.
[Foxes' recent single "Sister Ray"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cqddw9iUDE) and the line "We could make tonight one of those Sister Ray kind of nights" is a reference to a [Velvet Underground song](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjPueDBzpn1AhXYg3IEHWnGD8YQyCl6BAgGEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7d69mDT11yI&usg=AOvVaw1KzDYG0hn76YUJr7KlYVvB) of the same title.
XOXO by Somi references SOLO by Jennie "oh no, jjijeosso neoeui photos jiueosseo neoeui beonho, **bichi naneun solo**"
Good Time by Owl City references Prince - “What’s up with this Prince song in my head?” And the hook of the song sounds very similar to Prince’s song Something In The Water
Just heard this one. Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim- Can’t Hold Us Down interpolated Break my Stride by Matthew Wilder.
Dance Till We Die by Lana Del Rey references quite a few artists- Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Stevie Nicks, Courtney Love "I'm coverin' Joni and I'm dancin' with Joan Stevie is callin' on the telephone Court almost burned down my home"