Waxing Lyrical

"T-Rex: Hey Dromiceiomimus, do you think that I could be forgiven? I wish you would.

Dromiceiomimus: Aw no, not this again. Come on T-Rex, passing off lyrics as conversation ONLY AMUSES YOURSELF."

- Dinosaur Comics

''Who first sang that song?... Let's keep it that way.''

Bob and Alice are talking, and you the viewer can't help but notice that there is something weird with Bob's dialogue. When he finishes speaking it turns out that Bob was using the lyrics to a well known song to make his point. Alternatively, Bob could have been singing, but the fact that the song was mainstream was hidden due to the fact that the song could have been reworked or sounded more appropriate to the character's situation than it actually was. Either way, the writers have made a joke by subtly slipping a popular song into the events of a show and then revealing it. Writers, like all people, just love to play with words.

This is a favorite trick of time-travelers or ambassadors to alien civilizations, who will break out song lyrics whenever they need to say something vaguely intellectual-sounding. This often seems to manifest as a game of dueling aphorisms with a local philosopher, who will always end up being impressed with such an obviously learned man. See I'm Mr. Future Pop Culture Reference.

Obviously, if the viewer knows the song well, they'll see the joke coming, but the joke is intended for a larger audience who are aware of the song but wouldn't know the lyrics by heart. If it appears in a children's show, it likely doubles as a Parental Bonus.

When used in Fan Fiction, this is Song Fic. Not to be confused with That Reminds Me of a Song, "One Song To The Tune Of Another" or "singing the wrong lyrics".

General

 * "CRAAAAAAAWLIIIIIING IN MY SKIIIIIIN", the refrain of Linkin Park's "Crawling", has become a Stock Phrase for mocking Wangst. Sometimes it's followed by the next line: "these wounds, they will not heal". Or a paraphrase or snowclone of it.

Advertising

 * This Commercial by Nortel features a CEO giving a rather bizarre inspirational speech to his company, which turns out to be the Beatles' "Come Together".
 * One advert for Virgin Media has the narrator reciting the lyrics to "Our House" by Madness.

Comic Books
"Nightclub Owner: You got....you got powers right?
 * Near the end of Scott Pilgrim volume 5, Scott says, "I don't care who you are, or where you're from, or... what you did. As long as you love me."
 * There was a panel of Young Justice where the characters end up quoting "War" and lampshading it: "War?" "What is it good for?" "Absolutely nothing!" "I love that song." "It's a song?"
 * The following exchange between Deadpool and a night club owner:

Deadpool: Oh yeah, I'm a superfreak.

Nightclub Owner: A super freak?

Deadpool: I'm super freakayyy."


 * There's another comic which has Deadpool ending a flashback with a casually-spoken "You ain't seen nothin' yet." Cut back to present day, with a two-page spread of him standing in front of a giant explosion, arms in air guitar position, belting, "B-B-B-BABY, YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!!"
 * When fighting the Thunderbolts during Dark Reign, Deadpool gets shot through the left torso by the Black Widow. He sinks to the ground, wheezing "S-shot...through...the heart..." Just as the Thunderbolts think they finally got him to shut up, he springs back up with "AND YOU'RE TO BLAME! YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME!" In the same arc, Taskmaster gets in on the action while disguised as Deadpool; Black Widow asks him who he is, and he responds with "Some people call me the space cowboy... some people call me the gangster of love."
 * The Simpsons comic had an issue with Milhouse auditioning for a boy band singing 'Tubthumping'; before he can finish Homer throws a shoe at him, knocking him over and causing him to exclaim "I can't get up again!"
 * In V for Vendetta, V introduces himself to a priest by saying, "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth... and taste." You probably remember this as the first line of The Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil
 * Later, when asked where he's going, he says, "I'm waiting for the man."
 * In Paul Cornell's Knight And Squire, the British superheroes include The Milkman - who once fought a villain called Two-Ton Ted from Teddington. It remains to be seen if his real name is Ernie.
 * During the Salvation Run mini-series, most of DC's villains were exiled to a distant planet, where they started to form separate factions. In one scene, The Joker is walking along a makeshift watchtower with Shadow Thief, complaining, "There must be some way out of here!", in reference to the first line of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower "There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief." Lampshaded when the Joker then commented, "I must be losing my mojo, there's a joke in there somewhere and I can't find it!"
 * The third issue of Archie Comics' Mega Man has Dr. Light tell Mega Man the following:
 * I made you in my image. I built your heart and gave you eyes. I gave you power and a sense of justice beyond any compare. I gave you hands, a child's face... heh... robot hair. But this burden, the burning in your heart, I did not put there.

Fanfic
"He suddenly looked at them with an evil look in his eye and muttered Well If you wanted Honesty that’s all you haD TO SAY!.
 * My Immortal:

“That’s not a spell that’s an MCR song.” I corrected him wisely."


 * A few mangled lines from songs are snuck into the dialogue in Decks Fall Everyone Dies.
 * In Drunkard's Walk II, during a discussion about Doug's Pinball Gag combat (it's magic), one character asks "How do you think he does it?" and a second responds "I don't know." A third continues "What makes him so good?...Well, it's obvious that he's a pinball wizard. And that there has to be a twist." Neither of the other two gets it.

Film
""Don't make it any less true.""
 * In Tropic Thunder, Kirk Lazarus quotes the theme song to The Jeffersons as part of an inspirational speech. He's immediately called out on it.

"Darius Stone: Wars come and go, but my soldiers stay eternal.
 * Done deliberately throughout Moulin Rouge as part of the concept. Christian hastily composes a poem for Satine, and even before the music cues, it is clearly Elton John's "Your Song". Zidler tries to convince the Duke to stay with what, before the farce of a song starts, may be the most lascivious recital of lyrics from "Like A Virgin" I've ever heard. And the central theme of the story is simply the final line of Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy".
 * Mel Gibson's character in Conspiracy Theory uses "Everything you do is magic" lyrics to propose to his Love Interest -- crash and burn too.
 * From School of Rock:
 * Jack Black's character, trying to bluff his way through a conversation with teachers while posing as a substitute, starts reciting snatches from Whitney Houston's "The Greatest Love of All". Someone asks "Isn't that a song?", and he denies it.
 * His Rousing Speech concludes "We roll tonight to the guitar bite, and for those about to rock, I salute you", from ACDC's "For Those About to Rock".
 * XXX 2: State Of The Union:

Gibbons: I like that. Who said it? Jefferson? Patton?

Darius Stone: Tupac Shakur."

"Gingerbread Man: Do you know the Muffin Man?
 * Shrek.

Farquaad: The Muffin Man?

Gingerbread Man: The Muffin Man.

Farquaad: Yes... I know the Muffin Man. Who lives on Drury Lane?

Gingerbread Man: Well... she's married to the Muffin Man.

Farquaad: The Muffin Man?

Gingerbread Man: The Muffin Man!

Farquaad: She's married to the Muffin Man..."

"Donkey: You love this woman, don't ya?
 * Also, there's this:

Shrek: Yes.

Donkey: You wanna hold her?

Shrek: Yes.

Donkey: Please her?

Shrek: Yes!

Donkey: Then ya gotta, gotta try a little tenderness!"

"Alferd Packer: Hey, do you guys think it's true, that she's a trapper horse?
 * In a sequence of Ocean's Twelve, Ocean and Rusty start talking Spy Speak with a contact. Linus tries to join the conversation... by reciting Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir". It translates to calling the contact's niece a cheap whore.
 * In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Ted's attempt at 'philosophising' with Socrates is to recite the line "All we are is dust in the wind" from the Kansas song "Dust In The Wind". It works.
 * In Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Bill and Ted go to heaven and are asked the meaning of life. They recite the chorus from Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Again, it works.
 * Earlier, after beating Death at a variety of games, as he's leading them from Hell to Heaven, Bill says to Ted, "Ted, Don't Fear the Reaper." (referring to the Blue Oyster Cult song) to which Death replies, "I heard that!".
 * Spice World: Bus driver played by Meat Loaf: "I love those girls, and I'll do anything for them... but I won't do that."
 * Charlie and The Chocolate Factory: "Good morning starshine!...The Earth says hello!"
 * From Cannibal the Musical:

Frank Miller: A horse is a horse.

James Humphrey: Of course.

Alferd Packer: Of course."

"Olive: He's charming... You know, he's a real gentleman. You know, and it feels like - It feels like I got a love and I know that it's all mine."
 * Across the Universe does this multiple times with various Beatles songs, "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" being perhaps the most obvious.
 * Of course, one can expect to find this trope in any Jukebox Musical.
 * In the made for TV Dinotopia movie, one of the castaway brothers (who really doesn't give a dang about the local ways and culture) uses the opening lyrics of Bohemian Rhapsody to answer an essay question regarding the meaning of a particular section of the Dinotopian philosophy. Afterwards, his teacher and a number of scholars are chattering about how deep it was.
 * This. Peter Sellers meets The Beatles in the land of Richard III.
 * A running gag in The Other Guys is Captain Mauch repeatedly quoting TLC lyrics. Gamble and Hoitz repeatedly attempt to call him out on it but he remains oblivious.
 * In Meet the Parents, when Greg is asked to say grace at dinner, he tries to improvise a prayer, and comes up with the lyrics to Day by Day from the musical Godspell.
 * In Roxanne, when asked to say something romantic, Chris quotes the opening lines to "Close to You" by The Carpenters, and is immediately called out on this.
 * In Easy A, Olive receives a greeting card that plays Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful Of Sunshine", and then the song becomes a huge Ear Worm for her. Later on, when she's lying to her best friend about having spent the weekend with a college boy, one of the lyrics slips into the conversation:

"Bert: The whole world gets its time from Greenwich. But Greenwich, they say, gets its time from Admiral Boom."
 * In an odd example, all that's left of the "Admiral Boom" song in Mary Poppins is a wax lyrical from Bert.

"Pistachio: But, Papa, don't preach. I'm in trouble deep... and I'm keeping my baby."
 * The Master of Disguise does this:

"Doughy: Whereas Hardy enjoys a minuet, ballet ruse and crepes suzette.
 * After the killer in Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth is revealed to be an Evil Twin identical cousin.

Hardy: Doughy likes to rock n roll, a hot dog makes him lose control.

Hagitha: What a wild duet.

Martina: Still they're cousins.

Dawson: Identical cousins.

Martina: They laugh alike.

Dawson: They walk alike.

Martina: At times they even talk alike.

Hagitha: And you can lose your mind.

Hardy: Shut up everybody! For god sakes, how many times do you think we've heard that in our lives."

"Natalie: Do a little dance?
 * In Charlies Angels: Full Throttle the Angels decide to pose as night club dancers.

Dylan: Make a little love?

Alex: Get down tonight."

"Ryan: The Beatles said it best. She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, listen, Michelle ma belle, this nowhere man is the walrus, koo koo kachoo!"
 * In Wrongfully Accused, Ryan tells off Cass, who's been romancing him but he suspects called the police on him:

Literature
"[Ian:] "One minute those kids are just running around chaotically, but the next minute they're all focused, and everyone's kung-fu fighting."
 * In the Arthur C. Clarke/Stephen Baxter book The Light Of Other Days, about a society where privacy is becoming obsolete, a girl is seen wearing a T-shirt with the words 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town'. The protagonist doesn't know what it means, but she explains it to him later in case the reader didn't catch it: "He sees you when you're sleeping..."
 * The Discworld novel Hogfather has some fun with the lyrics of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town": Quoth the Raven tells Susan "You'd better watch out"; Death, in his role as Hogfather, is able to ensure some kids see him, because, and he asks if checking the list twice is sufficient. In the same book, the magical and dizzyingly fast sleigh ride prompts Albert to mutter sarcastically "Oh, what fun."
 * And Soul Music. Oh, so very much.
 * In Thud, Fred Colon comments on the trouble in Koom Valley with the immortal question "War, Nobby, huh. What is it good for"? Nobby Nobbs proceeds to try and come up with an answer.
 * In the Doctor Who Expanded Universe novel The Eleventh Tiger, the Doctor and his companions are staying at a 19th century gongfu school. (Note that Ian and Barbara are from ten years before the song came out, but the Doctor clearly recognises the accidental reference):

"Those kids are as fast as lightning," Barbara added.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Are they indeed? And was it, perchance, dear boy, a little bit frightening? Hmm?""

"‘“There must be some way out of here,’ said the joker to the thief”.’"
 * In the Fifth/Seventh team-up Cold Fusion, Chris Cwej is posing as an Australian, and describes living in a close-knit community in a sunny suburb, where everyone pops in and out of each others' houses, before concluding "With a little understanding, you can find the perfect blend and that's when good Neighbours become good friends". Real Australian Tegan doesn't get the reference, having come from a time before "Neighbours" began, but does spot he's talking nonsense.
 * And in the Eighth Doctor novel Camera Obscura, the Doctor quotes "All Along the Watchtower" while trying to escape a creepy Eldritch Location with a man who literally stole his heart:

""‘Because,’ said Sabbath. ‘Because because because because because. Because of the wonderful things I does.’""
 * Sabbath (the aforementioned thief) has his own moment of doing this, for no particular reason at all: he's usually The Stoic, and he's from the 18th century. But he gets into an alarmingly perky and cheerful mood and starts quoting from The Wizard of Oz.

""A horse?" he said again.
 * Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency has a scene involving a horse in a bathroom.

"Yes, it is," said the Professor. "Wait--" he motioned to Richard, who was about to go out again and investigate-- "let it be. It won't be long."

Richard stared in disbelief. "You say there's a horse in your bathroom, and all you can do is stand there naming Beatles songs?""


 * In The Book Of Awesome, the final two paragraphs of "Taking your shoes of on a long car ride" match the lyrics of Buddy Holly's Rollercoaster.
 * In The Dresden Files book, Ghost Story, Dresden tries to console Molly by saying "for everything there is a season", but Molly cuts him off by telling him to stop quoting the Bible at her. Harry counters he was actually quoting the song Turn! Turn! Turn! (admittedly the latter is based on the former).

Live Action TV
"Eddy: Life is a mystery, we all must stand alone. I hear him call my name and it feels like home.
 * In the 2008 Good News Week season finale, host Paul McDermott laments on 2008 and eventually starts to sing a very slow song about it. His song includes lines "this was never the way I planned" and it sounds like he is singing regretfully about the year, until he gets to the chorus and it turns out that he is singing a very slow reworking of "I Kissed A Girl".
 * An ad for the TV show Bridezillas had the brides and their families getting ready for a fight and the family starts singing the song "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister.
 * From Absolutely Fabulous:

Saffy: That's lovely, who wrote it?

Eddy: Madonna, darling."

""Look at these human beings! Consider their potential! From the day we arrive on the planet, and blinking step into the sun... there's more to see than can ever be seen! More to do than -- no, hold on... sorry, that's The Lion King, but... The point still stands!""
 * From Doctor Who, "The Christmas Invasion":

"Third Doctor: It's really very simple, Jo. I am he, and he is me.
 * Earlier, in The Three Doctors, The Doctor(Jon Pertwee) tries to explain the presence of his past self (Patrick Troughton) to Jo:

Jo: And we are all together, goo goo kachoo?

Third Doctor: What?

Jo: It's a song by the Beatles.

Second Doctor: Oh, really? How does it go?"

"JD: You should tell her about it. Tell her everything you feel.
 * Scrubs:

Dr Cox: ...Should I give her every reason to accept that I'm for real?

JD: Hey! Billy Joel got me through high school."

"Dr Cox: Name a test, any test that you would use to check for Lupus.
 * In another episode Turk starts quoting the "Safety Dance" when Carla asks how he would react if their child were to take up dance classes and be mocked by his friends for it. When she tells Elliot, Elliot chastises her for forgetting the time she told Turk the Commissar was in town.
 * Another classic Turk Moment:

Turk: Lupus? Doesn't he live on the second floor? Does he live upstairs from you? Yes I think you've seen him before."

"Dick: Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, all you've got to do is call, and I'll be there.
 * Later, JD consoled a woman whose husband was dying with the theme from Facts of Life.
 * In another example of a song being disguised as a different type of song; at the Janitor's wedding in the final season, Ted sings a beautiful acoustic love song which turns out to be "Hey Ya".
 * There was an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun where Dick got called up for jury duty and was eager to go, while Nina and Mary told him not to bother. Dick made a point about how he has a sense of duty and can be relied upon:

Nina: (dismissively) Yeah, yeah, yeah...

Dick: Yes I will."

"Dave (reading card from the box): Uh, "Who's the black private dick, a sex machine to all the chicks"?
 * Another episode had someone asking Dick what he wanted, to which he very hammily shot back, in dead seriousness: "Fame! I want to live forever -- light up the sky like a flame!"
 * Another time, after a failed bank robbery which had Sally dressed like a biker, Tommy dressed like a sailor, and Harry dressed like a Native American, they greeted Don (in uniform) and Dick (dressed like a construction worker, since he had just gotten back from a gay bar). Everybody keeps saying "Hey!" back and forth to the tune of "Macho Man".
 * Either Del or Rodney on Only Fools and Horses, trying to be inspiring: "You've got to have a dream. If you don't have a dream... how're you going to have a dream come true?" (The other one just gives him a look.)
 * Gordon Brittas gets the same line in The Brittas Empire.
 * News Radio: Every year when the annual bonuses are delivered, Matthew gets no bonus, known around the station as "The Shaft". Naturally, the guys tease him by reciting lyrics from "Theme from Shaft".
 * Similarly, from the complaint box episode:

Everyone: Shaft!

Bill: I thought we'd get a kick out of that."

"Cleaner: Listen. When I was just a little girl, I asked my mother, what will I be? Will I be pretty? Will I be rich? Here's what she said to me.
 * On Not Only but Also a spoof of A Man for All Seasons had a scene with Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragorn delivering dialogue consisting entirely of lyrics from popular songs of the day.
 * An occasional joke on Not Going Out.

Lee: I'm guessing it was a no."

"Lucy: I don't think the crowd liked the Elaine Paige and Barabra Dixon number much.
 * [in an episode in which Tim and Lee have just played a gig of very unrock songs]

Lee: Yeah... looking back I should have played it differently."

"House: As the great philosopher Jagger said; You can't always get what you want.
 * House frequently quotes "You Can't Always Get What You Want". Most notably in the first episode:

Later

Cuddy: By the way, I checked out that philosopher you mentioned and it turns out that you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you'll get what you need."

"Jack: [in total seriousness] I have an opportunity here, Lemon. A chance to go back to the past to put things right that once went wrong.
 * It should be noted that "You Can't Always Get What You Want" eventually became the theme song for House's vicodin addiction.
 * Weird Science had an episode where Lisa the genie fell in love with one of the guys and became a Clingy Jealous Girl. He tells her "When you love someone, set them free", which causes Lisa to start deleting herself. Instantly his friend interrupts, saying "Don't listen to him! He's an idiot spouting bad song lyrics!"
 * The season 3 finale of Battlestar Galactica Reimagined has a number of characters start mumbling the same bits of nonsensical poetry as a sign of their mental breakdown. Towards the end of the finale, the lines come together and are revealed to be . The effect of Season Three's finale's reveal was weakened by the fact that the song is relatively well known,
 * became a kind of significant Leitmotif for the at the end of Season Three and throughout Season Four. The song actually becomes vitally important to the series overall:  draws a series of dots which are revealed to be the notes to the song when  remembers it as a song  father used to play when  was a child.  also uses the line  in the series finale, using the notes of the song as coordinates.
 * According to the commentary, in the finale, when Adama asks where the coordinates have taken them, her reply was to have been  Luckily,  recognized the narminess of the line and refused.
 * Lampshaded on Thirty Rock:

Liz: That's the Quantum Leap intro."

"Old Sage-Type Guy: My daughter, you will find that you can't always have what you want.
 * In the third season of the Australian Thank God You're Here, Shaun Micallef, responding to the question "Have you ever been to London?" replies "I've been to London, I've been to Birmingham, I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me."
 * The 2009 series of BBC documentary Springwatch was home to a bizarre series of these. Chris Packham had taken out a bet with a friend that he could slip the name of a Smiths song into every episode. The last episode featured Kate Humble reporting that Bill Oddie had called to congratulate him on this feat, to which Chris deadpans to camera, "William, it was really nothing."
 * Shows up on Mystery Science Theater 3000:

Servo: But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need."

"Ross: Who's this Casey?
 * In The Stand, Randall Flagg introduces himself, "Pleased to meet you, Lloyd. Hope you guess my name," to indicate that he is more or less the devil.
 * A Friends episode has Ross taking a phone message for Rachel from a guy named Casey. While on the phone, he asks if Casey is spelled "like '-at the bat' or '-and the Sunshine Band'?" After he hangs up:

Phoebe: Some guy she met at the movies.

Ross: What does he want with her?

Chandler: I'm guessing he wants to do a little dance...make a little love...and, basically, get down tonight."

"Joey: Because... because... because... because... because...
 * There's another time when Joey tries to stall answering the question "Why?"

Chandler: Because of the wonderful things he does?"

"Hugh: Do you think if they're naughty, she can just tell them "Stop! In the name of love!""
 * Used by Mock the Week when Diana Ross was given custody of Michael Jackson's children:

"Graeme: He's late.
 * A round on Whose Line Is It Anyway involves the participants holding a conversation purely in song titles.
 * In the 3D episode of Chuck, in trying to think fast, Chuck calls himself a drummer and then says: "I'm the little drummer boy... Come they told me... ba... rumpa... bombom..."
 * One episode of The Goodies started off by quoting the White Rabbit's song from Disney's version of Alice in Wonderland. Bill and Graeme are sitting around the office:

Tim: (walking in) I'm late.

Bill: For a very important date.

Graeme: No time to say hello.

Tim: (leaving) Goodbye.

Graeme and Bill: (together) He's late, he's late, he's late, eeh eeh!"

"Will: We're survive on love.
 * In The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Will recites a few lines of the show's theme song in formal-sounding prose to a judge. "Your honour, in West Philadelphia born 'n' raised, on the playground was where I spent most of my days".
 * Also when Will announces his marriage to Lisa, his Uncle Phil, Aunt Vivian and his mother ask how he manages to make a living.

Vy: What's love gotta do with it?

Geoffrey: (walking past them) Gotta do, gotta do with it."

"Mental image of Takezo Kensei: Objection, Your Honour: He's reciting the opening to Quantum Leap!"
 * This was a favorite technique of the writers of The Bob Newhart Show. In one episode, the guys get drunk and Emily offers to make them coffee. One says, "I love coffee." A second adds, "I love tea." Then Mr. Carlin says, "I love the Java Jive, and it loves me."
 * From another episode, Bob denies being afraid of death, saying, "I am strong, I am invincible ..." at which point another character cuts him off with, "You are woman. Let's hear you roar."
 * In a first season episode of Veronica Mars, "Lord of the Bling", Veronica explains her connection to a missing teenager with the words "We used to be friends...a long time ago." Immediately afterwards, the theme song starts playing - the opening line? "A long time ago, we used to be friends..."
 * In the short-lived Pepper Dennis, Pepper tries to advise a would-be Runaway Bride with the lyrics to D.H.T's "Listen To Your Heart".
 * In an episode of Heroes where Hiro Nakamura was put on trial by his own mind, he tried to defend his meddling with history by saying he had been 'setting right what once went wrong'

"Tony: She loves you, mate. And with a love like that, you know you should be glad."
 * Used in Men Behaving Badly when Tony is persuading Gary he should get back together with Dorothy.

"Herb: Bailey...sing something.
 * An episode of Home Improvement had Wilson dishing out some famous quotes about love. Tim responded with: "'Everybody... loves somebody sometimes.' Martin, comma, Dean."
 * Another episode had Wilson musing, on the subject of Tim compromising with his wife, "You have to give a little, take a little..." Tim responds, sardonically, "Yeah, and let your poor heart break a little." Then, he realizes what the next line in the song is, and they figure it's not so bad an idea after all, as they sing together, "That's the story of, that's the story of love..."
 * One episode of WKRP in Cincinnati has Herb recruiting staffers to sing a jingle for a funeral home client.

Bailey: Oh, I can't sing.

Herb: Everyone can sing.

Venus: Go on Bailey, sing. Sing a song.

Les: Sing out loud, sing out strong.

Herb: Sing of good things, not---

Venus: (Cutting him off) Herb!"

"Duane:: You can't help who you fall in love with. Cause when you get that feeling...
 * Spaced has one in its famous Paintball Episode.

Mike:: It's like sexual healing."

"Tim: I can read her like a book.
 * Also, when Daisy and Tim begin having an argument through cliches about the wisdom of Tim getting back with his girlfriend:

Daisy: Never judge a book by it's cover.

Tim: He who dares, wins.

Daisy: Look before you leap.

Tim: Do you believe in life after love?

Daisy: [Dismissive] That's a song.

Tim: Shit."

"Elizabeth Mitchell: Well, maybe, maybe the glass just started it. It was his impressive glass acting. It's kind of like a microwave in there, heating up... [laughs]
 * The DVD Commentary for Lost, "A Tale of Two Cities" (which is basically a producer and an actress cracking jokes - they even call it "our Mystery Science Theater 3000"):

Damon Lindelof: ...behind the glass. Juliet might, might as well walk over and just push the popcorn button, 'cause it's getting hot up in there.

Elizabeth Mitchell:[laughing] So take off all your clothes. [Lindelof chuckles]"

"Heart Attack Guy: But what does it all mean?
 * Kirsty Wark's signature gag on Dead Ringers; for example: "My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like, 'It's better than yours'. Damn right it's better than yours. More on that story later."
 * Supernatural: In the episode "Jus in Bello", Henriksen realizes he's been possessed and comments "I shot the sheriff." Dean, smiling, says back "But you didn't shoot the deputy."
 * In "No Rest for the Wicked," Ruby says "Hit me with your best shot, baby."
 * And when Dean's being-Death-for-a-day, everyone he collects says something like 'But what does it all mean?' At first he angsts about it, but after a while he gives up.

Dean: ...Everything is dust in the wind.

(pause)

Heart Attack Guy: That's it? That's all you got? A Kansas song?"

"Mr. Feeny: Mr. Matthews I have no idea what you're talking about, and that's the way, uh-huh uh-huh, I like it."
 * The Adventures of Pete and Pete. "Apocalypse Pete". A particularly hammish crossing guard orders a speeding remote-control car to "Stop in the name of love". It Makes Sense in Context.
 * One episode of Skins has Freddie meeting with a guidance counselor who reveres Michael Jackson and gives lyrics from his songs as advice.
 * Freddie catches on quickly enough; when asked what would Michael say about him, he suggests that he's "Bad" and should "Beat It". (Michael would actually tell him that he's "Gotta Be Startin' Somethin'" - not quite a Michael Jackson song (that was "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"), but close enough.)
 * And set up for a Crowning Moment of Funny later when Freddie visits him again; he turns, stares at the Thriller cover for inspiration... and gets nothing.
 * And of course, the guidance counselor is played by Will Young, who sung one of the greatest Michael Jackson songs ever that wasn't actually a Michael Jackson song ("Your Game").
 * Deliberately invoked in-universe. "The Middleman" gave us at least one conversation per episode between Wendy and Noser that consisted entirely of song lyrics.
 * In Being Human, when George finds out that his dad has died, Annie tries to give a eulogy and ends up with the lyrics to Fight For This Love by Cheryl Cole.
 * A running gag in Miranda involves her inability to restrain herself from doing this, and she almost always ends up lapsing into singing the rest of the song in places like a job interview, psychiatrist's office and a funeral.
 * This old MTV promo, with Steve Buscemi. All the way.
 * On Boy Meets World, Mr. Feeny does this with a KC And The Sunshine Band song:


 * There was an episode of Star Trek Deep Space Nine in which Quark, talking about the Dominion War, says, "War? What is it good for? You ask me, absolutely nothing."
 * On an episode of Yes, Dear, Jimmy and Christine are trying to write poems for each other. After several minutes of struggling, Jimmy starts reading his poem, which soon turns out to be Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer". As it turns out, Christine wrote the exact same thing.
 * Happens occasionally on Spicks and Specks. In one memorable example, Darlene Love started telling a story about the time she almost had sex with Tom Jones. Reginald D. Hunter chimed in "From what I hear, that's not unusual."
 * In one episode of Thirty Rock, after Liz's boyfriend Criss sells his hotdog van named "Van Der Beek", he says "I don't wanna wait for our lives to be over." Part of joke was that earlier in the episode Criss mentioned that he had never actually seen Dawsons Creek.
 * In the Pretty Little Liars episode "Over My Dead Body," a nearly carbon monoxide-poisoned Emily has a dream (or does she?) that she's having a conversation with the late Alison; when Emily asks who "A" is, Alison - taking a line from the show's signature tune, The Pierces' "Secrets" - tells her that "Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead."

Newspaper Comics
"Rat: You can't always get what you won, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you knead.
 * Occurs on occasion in the puntacular Sunday strips of Pearls Before Swine, where the setup for the jokes can lead to strange reconstructions of song lyrics. For example, Pig tells Rat about how he entered a bread-kneading competition at a fair, lost, and didn't even get to keep the bread dough that he kneaded. Rat responds by saying that if you're persistent enough, you can keep the dough, which prompts him to conclude with this gem:

(Beat Panel)

Rat: Who Writes This Crap? @*!&?"


 * In one Sherman's Lagoon strip, Sherman the shark announced that he was collecting (Easter) eggs. Sea turtle Fillmore pointed out that someone else was appointed to collect the eggs, and exclaimed, "Doesn't anyone know who they're supposed to be?" Of course, as soon as Sherman referred to himself as the "eggman," we all knew that walrus would show up in the last panel.

Radio
"I had a Siamese twin, you see, but we were separated a couple of months before I went onto the comedy circuit. In fact he earned a little money from doing this really bad impressions of me, but then he became an astronaut. I saw him again recently. He asked me how I'd been. I said, well, at first I was afraid, I was petrified, thought that I could never live without you... by my side. But I spent so many nights, thinking how you did me wrong, and I grew strong... So now you're back. From outer space."
 * A very common gag in Milton Jones's shows; particular highlights include "Is this a photo of you with REM?" "Yes, that's me in the corner" and this gem:

"Jon Holmes: I believe that the children are our future. Treat them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside...
 * In the first episode of Absolute Power, Sandy is accused of taking the petty cash, and stormed out. When they find out it was really stolen by the chairman of the Conservative Party and she returns, Charles greets her with "Ah, Sandy. You came and you gave without taking, but we sent you away."
 * When Pip Bin, Mr Gently Benevolent and Harry Biscuit are in space in Bleak Expectations, Harry keeps quoting "Space Oddity".
 * Happens occasionally on The Now Show; one particular example came when the audience question was "Who would you give an honour too?" and someone wrote "I would give a KBE to Shalamar, to make him a knight to remember." (Hugh: "I think I was far away enough from the actual tune there that we don't have to pay royalties.")
 * In the first episode of the 2010 election special series, The Vote Now Show, they looked at the various government inspectors the Conservatives would abolish, including one who checks premises for illegal performing animals. The conversation between the inspector and a suspect quickly becomes "Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear".
 * The second-to-last episode of The Vote Now Show, in what became a mini-Running Gag:

Steve Punt: Jon, has someone bet you that you can't get the lyrics to a Whitney Houston song into tonight's show?

Jon Holmes: Yes. Mitch Benn has, and he now owes me five pounds."

"Barry: I hope you won't want to give me a jab, because I'm terrified of needles.
 * There's a round on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue based on this. For instance, the following dialogue between Graeme Garden (as a doctor) and Barry Cryer (as his patient):

Graeme: (contemptuous) Baby. Take off your coat. Real slow.

Barry: But it hurts when I move my arms.

Graeme: Baby. Take off your shoes.

Barry: I can't bend over, it hurts...

Graeme: (irritated) I'll help you take off your shoes. Baby. Take off your dress.

Barry: Now, I can explain about the dress...

Graeme: (dismissively) Yes, yes, yes.

Barry : Doctor, do you want me to undress completely?

Graeme: You can leave your hat on."


 * The original radio version of Dead Ringers uses the same gag as the TV version, only with Radio 4 newsreader Charlotte Greene: "I'm Charlotte Greene. Say it loud and there's music playing, say it soft and it's almost like praying."

Real Life

 * There is a time and a place for this sort of wordplay; at an inquest asking you why you shot a man is not it.

Theater
"Og: Does an optical illusion feel an, oh, such a hungry yearning burning inside of him, under the hide of him? Does an optical illusion feel the beat-beat-beat of the tom-tom in the roaring traffic's boom, in his lonely room?
 * In Finian's Rainbow, Og the Leprechaun is trying to explain that he now knows What Is This Thing You Call Love?, and Finian plays along with the quotation of Silly Love Songs:

Finian (His scholarly interest is enlisted): Hmmm. Do you also feel like the promised kiss of springtime that trembles on the brink of a lovely song?

Og: Yes, and what's worse, smoke keeps coming out of me eyes.

Finian: You go round and round like an elevator lost in the tide?"


 * In The Complete History of America (abridged), Jefferson and Madison are brainstorming the beginning of the Bill of Rights. After throwing out each other's first ideas as "too liberal" or "too conservative" suggestions, Jefferson suggests, "Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother, you're staying alive, staying alive," to which Madison says, "No, that's too seventies."
 * In an indirect example, the stars of the broadway musical Rock of Ages are this; a small town girl, trying to escape her lonely world, and a city boy born and raised in south Detroit.

Video Games
"Jolee: I did it all for the Wookiees.
 * Many units in Warcraft III will spout song lyrics as their Stop Poking Me lines.
 * By extension, Starcraft as well.
 * On particular note was Lt. Duran from Brood War, who was prone to (of course) reciting Duran Duran lyrics when poked.
 * In Warcraft II, the cheat code to instantly research all magic spells was "every little thing she does".
 * In Sam and Max Freelance Police: Ice Station Santa, Sam and Max confront a giant Maimtron robot that randomly drops appropriate pop-song lyrics into its dialogue. Sam can distract it by asking it questions like "Why do fools fall in love?" and "Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?"
 * The Maimtron is reactivated in What's New Beelzebub with the words, "Did you think I'd crumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die? Oh no. Not I. I will survive. I will survive."
 * Later in Sam & Max: What's New, Beelzebub?, they meet Satan who quotes the two lines everyone knows from Sympathy for the Devil.
 * They also find a radio at one point, where if you return to a particular channel several times you get these lines: "Hello, hello, hello?" "Is there anybody out there?" "Just respond if you can hear me." "Is there anyone at home?"
 * In The Devil's Playhouse, the Maimtron army march to war against  while chanting, "If you liked it than you should have put a ring on it, if you liked it than you should have put a ring on it..."
 * Hotel Mario has Mario telling one of the Koopalings: "Hey you! Get off of my cloud!"
 * Jolee Bindo spent twenty years on Kashyyyk. Why?

PC: The Wookiees?

Jolee: The Wookiees!"

"Player Character: I told you once, you son of a gun, I'm the best there's ever been!"
 * In the handheld versions of The Urbz: Sims in the City, after you best the Red Man at a fiddling contest:


 * In Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, if the player starts the game by saying "I like MGS2!" in the opening screen, Snake will be wearing a mask in the opening cutscene and greet the Major by saying "Can you hear me, Major Tom?"
 * Kingdom of Loathing does this all the time.
 * In The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, there is a guy running around in Hyrule Castle Town. If you talk to him, he says: "I'm late! For a very important date!".

Web Comics

 * Happens all the time in My Name Is Might Have Been, a Rock Band Fan Web Comic.
 * Irregular Webcomic does this in this strip, which incorporates a number of Duran Duran lyrics, and this strip, in which the transcript of Galileo's trial consists of the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody".
 * In Elf Only Inn this was actually a plot point, where Slave made a big deal about someone stealing her (his?) poetry, only later was forced to admit she'd stolen all her poetry from a certain well-known singer.
 * One Dinosaur Comics strip involves T-Rex trying to hold conversations entirely in lyrics from "A Long December" by Counting Crows. It's lampshaded by Dromiceiomimus and Utahraptor.
 * Happens in this strip of Darths and Droids. Annie really seems to like the Broadway; that's not the first time she's done it.
 * Meanwhile, Jim is riffing off the Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush duet "Don't Give Up".
 * Xkcd does this every now and then, prompting many readers to start quoting the comic. This, inevitably, leads to Flame Wars, they get in one little fight and my mom got scared and said YOU'RE MOVIN' WITH YOUR AUNTIE AND YOUR UNCLE IN BEL AIR
 * Mentl in The Challenges of Zona is a mage who can use favorite song lyrics as powerful spells. Examples: he sent blasts of fire by singing "Great Balls of Fire", and can travel between dimensions by singing "Get Back to where you once belonged"

Web Original
"Marik: Let's see how you like my Cage of Doom!
 * A frequent gag including Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series. Including:

Yami: Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage.

Vic Mignogna: Let's dance!

Yami: I don't feel like dancing. No sir. No dancing today.

Téa: We didn't start the fire! It was always burning since the world's been turning!"

"Yugi: Hey, Joey, how'd it come to this? I mean, after all we've been through? Two of a pair, now on opposite sides.
 * An another one, from Episode 36, that then turns into BGM:

Joey: Yeah, from the very start with honor we've dueled 'n stuff. Watched each other’s backs and, you know, battled with pride.

Yugi: We’re closer than brothers. And now we have to fight each other.

Yugi and Joey, singing: And we trust our fate to the heart of the cards!

Tristan: No matter what!

Yugi and Joey, singing: Let the game begin.

Tristan: No matter what!

Yugi and Joey, singing: May the best man win."

"390. My character's background must be more in-depth than a montage of Queen lyrics."
 * Any time Rickrolling comes up in an internet discussion, there's a good chance that someone will mention how Rick Astley's never gonna give you up and never gonna let you down.
 * You wouldn't get it from any other guy.
 * It's now possible to recite lines that are simply a similar form of exaggeratedly romantic promises, and get your audience to Rickroll themselves.
 * The Descendants loves this. To date, it's used Hurt by Trent Reznor, A Lifetime by Talking Heads and Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones.
 * The Sympathy for the Devil one is arguable, because the characters were quoting the Show Within a Show.
 * TV Tropes: In addition to trope names, tropers will often disguise quotes from the song or show they're discussing as banter-like natter.
 * Unskippable's Grandia III episode:
 * As far as I know there's only been one.
 * Singular sensation.
 * An episode of ENN has the newsreaders reciting the theme song to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
 * This News Biscuit article, "Mild alarm caused by kung fu fighting outbreak" ("it was a little bit frightening" said one witness)
 * In a really old version of the Homestar Runner character page, Marzipan's description stated that "She loves horses and her boyfriend, too."
 * "3 Times Halloween Funjob" has Strong Sad dressing up like David Byrne, and sure enough there's an Easter Egg with the inevitable reference to the lyrics of "Once In A Lifetime".
 * Whenever someone on a message board or any sort of site says something that also happens to be the lyrics to a song, the next few posts are usually continuations of the lyrics.....
 * Linkara tends to do this quite a lot, most often when a comic's dialogue gives him a decent opening. This is usually an excuse to play the song, no matter how otherwise irrelevant, over the opening title card or closing credits.
 * He will also occasionally play a clip from the song immediately after reciting the verse if he thinks viewers might not get the reference. He seems to know an awful lot of songs.
 * After a chapter of Dive Quest that's been particularly harrowing for both of them on a personal level, Tislomer and Babrakus start reciting lines from the Dropkick Murphys' "Forever".
 * In Suburban Knights, some of The Nostalgia Chick 's elven montages feature lyrics to 'One Week' by Barenaked Ladies and Bad Romance by Lady Gaga.
 * Things Mr. Welch Is No Longer Allowed to Do In An RPG:

Western Animation
"Homer: D'oh! "Doe!")
 * The Simpsons episode "Bart Gets an Elephant" has a scene where Homer crashes the family car into a statue of a deer, leading to a Crowning Moment of Funny as the characters inadvertently recite the opening line of "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music.

Lisa: A deer!

Marge: A female deer! |undefined"

"Mick Jagger: Cheer up Homer, it's only Rock 'n' Roll Camp.
 * Homer also mourns his loss of the freedom he had in his youth, "I used to rock and roll all night and party ev-e-ry day. Then it was every other day. Now I'm lucky if I can find one night a month in which to get funky."
 * From the rock and roll fantasy camp episode when Homer is forced to leave:

Homer: But I like it..."

"Homer: So, if you take that bottle down, and pass it around...
 * Homer's attempt to put off telling Apu that he knows about Apu's affair:

Apu: Yes, yes, I know. There will be 47 bottles of beer on the wall!"

"Announcer 1: He's killing him softly with his saw.
 * And when Homer pretends to be a robot in a robot fighting competition he defeats one robot using a buzzsaw by using its own weapon against it, leading to this commentary:

Announcer 2: Killing him softly?

Announcer 1: With his saw!"

"Peter: This is life. The one you get, so go and have a ball. Because the world don't march to the beat of just one drum, what might be right for you, might be wrong for some. You take the good and take the bad and there you have... my opening statement."
 * South Park: In one episode the citizens of South Park are all being evicted by an oppressive Native American casino. They rise up and march and sing as one. The song includes lines such as "We are strong" and "No one can tell us were wrong" and sounds like an inspiring protest song... 'til it turns out they're singing "Love Is A Battlefield".
 * In another episode, Cartman appears before Congress, and after making his speech, says "I'm not the best speaker. Maybe I can put it best in the words of a timeless song." He then proceeds to lead Congress in "Heat of the Moment."
 * An episode of Family Guy where Peter runs for head of the PTA had him just reciting sitcom lyrics in his speech:

"Dr Venture: You know I feel so dirty when they start talking cute.
 * "Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog."
 * Also, when Peter's dad vanishes at the baseball game after going to "buy some peanuts and Cracker Jack", Brian responds with "I don't care if he never gets back." *Beat* "I wasn't being cute, I really hope he's dead."
 * In the episode where Lois becomes a model, Peter asks her "So don't you wanna go back and do your little turn on the catwalk? On the catwalk? Yeah, on the catwalk? Do your little turn on the catwalk?"
 * In the Return of the Jedi parody, when Leia strangles Jabba, his subtitles may read "Help, I'm being strangled!" but his Jabbaspeak is the lyrics to Lady Marmalade.
 * Also later, when C-3P0 is regaling the Ewoks with stories, he is telling them the opening theme to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
 * When Carter Pewterschmidt suffers a heart attack, he exclaims "I’m having a heart attack-ack-ack-ack! You oughta know by now!" before losing consciousness.
 * In "Foreign Affairs" Bonnie gets in a relationship with another paraplegic. Joe says that he truly loves her and proves it by standing (with help from Quagmire). The other paraplegic states that he would do anything for love, but he won't do that.
 * The Venture Brothers:

The Monarch: Yeah, well get used to it.

Dr Venture: I want to tell her that I love her, but the point is probably moot.

The Monarch: ... Are you reciting Jessie's Girl?"

"Blossom: Well, it's like the song goes - the love you take is equal to... equal to... oh, who cares, it's by some dumb old band anyway."
 * Also at the start of "Ghost Pirates of the Sargasso", we see Major Tom's last conversation before his spaceship crashes; the conversation is mostly David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and "Ashes to Ashes".
 * As well as Hank reciting The Doors lyrics while tripping on Molotov's spy poison, and several gags done with the ageing rockstars that seem to constitute most of The Guild's leadership. Venture Bros does this a lot actually.
 * The Powerpuff Girls did an entire episode of this joke. "Meet the Beat-Alls", in which most lines of dialogue were from Beatles songs. It was nominated for an Emmy.
 * And neatly subverted at the end:

"Princess: Help! I need somebody! Help! Not just anybody!"
 * Another episode that wasn't even remotely Beatles-related threw one in, too:

"Mayor: Goodness gracious! Great ball of fire!"
 * When the Mayor looks through a telescope during the heat wave in "Ice Sore":

"Leela: Fry's outside? He's in great danger!
 * Futurama, "Xmas Story":

Dr. Zoidberg: Why?

Leela: I'm telling you why! Santa Claus is coming to town!"

"Fry: How big's the honeycomb?
 * In the same episode, Santa: "I perform over 60 megachecks per second!"
 * "The Sting":

Hermes: Honeycomb's big, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bender: It's not small?

Hermes: No, no, no."

"George Michael's Head: Please pick me up before you go-go?"
 * Near the end of "Three Hundred Big Boys", when the piles of war plunder catch fire, Richard Nixon yells "The loot! The loot! The loot is on fire!"
 * In the second straight to DVD movie, "The Beast With a Billion Backs", Prof. Wernstum orders some tentacle-resisters to "Stop! In the name of love!"
 * Also from "I Dated A Robot".

"Elevator Steward: Maintenance shaft 7 serving...
 * Also this from "Bender's Game":

Professor: Shut your mouth.

Elevator Steward: I'm just talking about the shaft."

"Robot Psychiatrist: You're suffering from a breakdown. Now stop, hammertime. (activates the "treatment", which is basically hitting the patient with a hammer.)"
 * Still in "Bender's Game":

"Dr. Drakken: Your Nana is one bad grandmother...
 * In "The Tip of the Zoidberg", The Professor tells Dr. (John) Zoidberg to flee by saying, "Go Johnny, Go!".
 * Variation: In the American Dad episode where Roger poses as a college professor, his opening lecture quotes from the spoken introduction of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy". ("Electric word, 'life', it means forever, and that's a mighty long time...")
 * Kim Possible: Señor Senior Sr. paraphrases from Talking Heads' "Life During Wartime" when he tells his son "This is not a party, this is not a disco, this is not... fooling around!"
 * In another episode (which also counts as Getting Crap Past the Radar):

Kim: Shut yo' mouth!

Dr. Drakken: I'm just talkin' about Nana."

"Kim: And Bingo was his name-o."
 * In "Rufus in Show", when Kim and Ron infiltrated a dog-show, and Kim discovered the gems stolen by Falsetto Jones:

"Rocko: Why he never liked me, I'll never know, and Dingo was his name...
 * In Rocko's Modern Life, Rocko's attempt at hiding his nail-biting habit using a ham and a monkey puppet leads him to remark, "Everybody's got something to hide, except for meat and my monkey."
 * In another episode, Rocko recalls a school bully named Dingo who literally harassed him until the day he moved to America.

Heffer & Filbert: Oh."

"Kris Kringle: You better watch out. You better not cry, you better not pout.
 * In Monkey Dust, several of Clive's many excuses for being late.
 * 29 years before the Futurama example above, the Stop Motion Christmas Special Santa Claus Is Comin to Town worked in a similar gag while still averting a Title Drop.

Children: Why?

Kris Kringle: I'm telling you why! Because I came to town."

"Principal: (shocked) The leader of the band!
 * As did fellow Rankin-Bass Stop Motion Christmas Specials Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman.
 * The first episode of the eminently forgettable Family Dog had exactly one funny moment, when one character says to the Butt Monkey dog, "It just goes to show you, you can't always get what you wa-ant."
 * A Robot Chicken sketch featuring a crossover of The Jetsons, I Robot, and Unsolved Mysteries, introduces the case with the line "Meet George Jetson, his boy Elroy, daughter Judy, Jane his wife."
 * The sketch ends with a preview of the 'next episode', Jem. Was she outrageous? Truly, truly outrageous?"
 * The principal walks in on a student who murdered his music teacher.

Student: His blood runs through my instrument! (plays the saxophone as blood spurts out)"

"Skwisgaar Skwigelf, taller than a tree. Toki Wartooth, not a bumblebee. William Murderface. Murderface. Murderface. Pickles. The drummer. Doodily doo...ding dong doodily...doodily doo. Nathan Explosion."
 * In Metalocalypse, Senator Stampingston introduces Dethklok to the Tribunal using the lyrics to the theme song.

"Billy: You ain't bad! YOU AIN'T NOTHIN'!"
 * Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy said, upon realising he was in a dream "This is not me beautiful house! This is not me beautiful wife!" and woke up to Billy chanting "Same as it ever was! Same as it ever was!"
 * In another episode, Billy chastises General Skarr for not being as evil as Billy thought he was.

"Pacha: (reading labels) "Lions... Tigers... Bears!"
 * Transformers Animated: "I am Wreck-Gar and I dare to be stupid!"
 * Also a Mythology Gag, since that song was featured in Transformers the Movie.
 * In one of the climactic battles of Transformers Cybertron, Optimus orders his troops into battle formation with the command, "Come together, right now! Over me!"
 * Although this troper doesn't recall any particular examples at the moment, he remembers the Cybertron dub doing a lot of those.
 * An episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force combined this with The Power of Rock with the Foreigner Belt, which gave its wearer super-powers triggered by reciting the titles of Foreigner songs.
 * On Tiny Toon Adventures, when Babs arrives at New York, she says "New York, just like I pictured it. Skycrapers and everything", a line from the spoken section of Stevie Wonder's "Living in the City".
 * Animaniacs once had the Warners watching a pretentious French film with dialogue from the original lyrics to "Frere Jacques" and "Alouette".
 * In "Woodstock Slappy", when the festival gathers right outside Slappy's tree and she wonders aloud what's going on, Skippy says "There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear." Slappy is unamused.
 * In The Emperors New Groove, in Yzma's lair, lines from a certain song from The Wizard of Oz appear:

Yzma: (suddenly appearing from behind, holding the vial they were looking for) "Oh my!""

"Tchang Zu: My palace! These humans have paved my paradise and constructed a...
 * In one episode of Jackie Chan Adventures, Jackie explains that he's in a western town because "I've been working on the railroad." The people he's talking to get angry, and he adds "All the livelong day?"
 * In another, the thunder demon Tchang Zu is revived, only to discover that his former realm is now part of Hollywood:

Ratso: Uh, parking lot?"

"Paul Rocco: Let him stay. He only gets us into trouble anyway.
 * In Christmas Is Here Again Here Again, Buster the fox refuses to follow the others into the Big Bad's hideout.

Buster:He's right. I'm troubled waters, see. Now be a bridge and ease my mind."

""He's running late. Batmobile lost a wheel and Joker got away." (The League members cast pained expressions at Flash) "Well, that's what I heard.""
 * The Flash pulled one on Justice League Unlimited, when asked where Batman was:


 * In the My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic episode "A Bird in the Hoof," Fluttershy realizes, "I'm late! For a very important date!" Bonus points for her being reminded by a rabbit with a pocketwatch.
 * Referenced on Hey Arnold his grandma says he "was born on the backseat of a Greyhound Bus, going down Highway 41." Grandpa Phil says that what she said is from an old hippie song.
 * On an episode of Squidbillies where Krystal wins the lottery and Dan Halen pretends to be in love with her to get to her money.
 * "Krystal, I want to know what love is, I know you can show me. I feel like making love to you. Love in an elevator, lovin' up as I'm goin' down."