h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

What are the best songs written about (not for) certain instruments?

I like "My Baby Grand" by Billy Joel and Ray Charles. And for a song that uses an instrument as an allegory, how about "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder? I guess you can tell I'm a piano player.

As I'm old enough to remember my grandmother's player piano, "The Old Piano Roll Blues"; George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"

The totally absurd, Ray Steven's "Guitarzan (and his jungle band)"

Heh. Those are all super.

"Dueling Banjos" from the movie "Deliverance", "76 Trombones" from the musical "The Music Man"...

Hmmm. I don't know if this one counts, but "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is about a violin duel with the Devil.

The Saxophone Song by Kate Bush.

And - eh - dare I say it - Tamborine by Prince

"My guitar wants to kill yo' mama" - Frank Zappa

Nice guitar solo

and Pianists From Saint-sains Carnaval of the animals. Very annoying.

"My Green Tambourine" -the Hollies

"Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man" -Bob Dylan


(jingle jangle)

Yeeps, I didn't even know there WERE songs about instruments. Turns out my memory's just a tad dodgy, that's all

There has to be many more !!!
But it's not as easy finding them as I thought it would be...

Not surprising really *^_^*

I{ think I will have to turn the list into a helpful entry when we're done.

'The Little Drummer Boy' by Rolf Harris, he actually sing the drumming.

On a Biblical note Psalm 150 has the most references to instruments in any of them.

Ring the Bells: James, Can I get away with Guitar Man by Elvis?
and as a final one Everybody Needs a 303 by Fatboy Slim.

Tubular Bells I II and III

If you get Elvis' Guitar Man, Phil, I get Billy Joel's Piano Man.

Are their any songs about female instrument players?

Are those Toobular Bells choons actually -about- instruments?

Then you'll have to allow "the Bells of St. Mary's" "Jingle Bells" and as I gag, another seasonal song "Silver Bells"...

If we have bells, the oranges and lemons (say the bells of St Clements) can be done. It lists several of the London churches in the rhyme.

I see no problem with Piano Man, Fragilis.

The 303 in everybody wants a 303 is a Roland 303 Synth, used in a lot of dance music, especially the rave/ecstasy type stuff. I meant to put that in further up but I forgot.

Green Tambourine is by the Lemon Pipers, not the Hollies - great track, and probably the first use on record of the electric sitar...
There must be some jazz tracks, surely?