This Is a Song



"Joss, that song had no content. It wasn't even about the movie, it was about itself! That's like breaking the ninth wall!"

- Jed, Ten Dollar Solo, Commentary the Musical

A song that is, at least partially, about itself.

When Medium Awareness meets music. There are quite a few songs in which the lyrics explicitly reference the fact that... well, it's a song. However, since listing every example that does this would be practically impossible, this trope limits the range to songs that don't just break the fourth wall, but, in fact, are pretty much all about the fact that they're songs.

Generally Played for Laughs. Closely related to The Something Song. Compare Self Demonstrating Song. Sometimes Breaking the Fourth Wall. See also Trope Name, Post Modernism and Heavy Meta.

Anime and Manga
"You know us as Team Rocket, and we fight for what is wrong.
 * Whenever Pokémon's Team Rocket decide to forgo their usual motto in favor of a song:

We're tired of our motto, so we thought we'd try a song."

Film
"You're watching Spy Hard.
 * The Title Theme Tune from Spy Hard. Of course, given the artist who wrote it and the type of film it is...

It's the theme from Spy Hard."

"This is the song that comes under the credits, These are the credits, so this is where it goes."
 * 'The Credits Song' from the Veggie Tales movie Jonah and the Big Fish.

"There should be a rule that the song under the credits, remotely pertains to the movie's basic plot! But that's not the case!"
 * And then later:


 * In The Sound of Music, the song Do Rei Me is about singing the song Do Rei Me. The scene is a Training Montage as the characters learn how to sing.
 * In A Colbert Christmas, the first song is "Another Christmas Song," which is about how he wrote a christmas song and intends to make lots of money off of it.

Live Action TV

 * The Song That Never Ends from 'Lamb-Chop's Play House'.
 * MST3K made one for Fugitive Alien: This is the song written for the train chase...
 * The Title Theme Tune of Its Garry Shandlings Show.
 * Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down...

Music
"I may have made it rain
 * In Markoolio's song Nostalgi, the verses are about nostalgia. The refrain, however, is an argument where Markoolio sings that he want the song to have a refrain - and the chorus sing a They Just Didn't Care message about how he shouldn't bother because they can just record one later.
 * "Just a Song About Ping Pong" by Operator Please.
 * Tim Minchin's "Dark Side".
 * Also, his song "The Fence".
 * Jon Lajoie's "Radio Friendly Song".
 * Leonard Cohen' "Hallelujah" spells its own chord progression.
 * "Don't Download This Song" by Weird Al Yankovic.
 * Molly and the Tinker's "The Anti-Singalong Song" is a song about the act of singing "The Anti-Singalong Song". Or rather, about refusing to sing it.
 * "So Far, So Bad" by Five Iron Frenzy. "They won't play this song on the radio. (So far, so bad. That's how it goes.) They'll pull our record from the shelves."
 * Britney Spears - Everytime

Please forgive me

My weakness caused you pain

And this song is my sorry"

"Now here's the part of the song where you'd expect to find a little
 * I Write the Songs by Barry Manilow is the Trope Codifier.
 * From I'm Lucky by Jim's Big Ego:

IRONY!

About how I'd really much rather have you back

SORRY!"

"This is a song,
 * Chicken and Corn by Annihilator:

All about...

The best darned food in the world,

It's called Chick-Chick-Chicken and Corn."

"And you can tell everybody
 * Naturally, Your Song by Elton John:

This is your song."

"I've taken enough of your time with this stuff,
 * Lampshaded to hell and back in the self-explanatory This Song's Just Six Words Long by Weird Al Yankovic.
 * In fact, Weird Al does this all the time, throughout his repetoire.
 * Shel Silverstein's 26 Second Song, designed as a Take That to all who thought his usual songs were too long.
 * DaVinci's Notebook's song Title of the Song is made of this trope.
 * Dave Soroka pushes this to another level in Thief Of Hearts

And all without a change of key.

The intention here was to try and help make it clear

Not to start crying pity for me."

"This may be the last thing
 * The Last Song by All American Rejects:

That I write for long.

Can you hear me smiling

When I sing this song,

For you and only you?"

"It's the last song I'll ever write for you
 * Similarly, the earlier Last Song by Edward Bear:

It's the last time that I'll tell you

Just how much I really care

This is the last song I'll ever sing for you

You'll come looking for the light

And it won't be there"

"I couldn't tell you that I was wrong,
 * Barenaked Ladies, What A Good Boy:

Chickened out, grabbed a pen and a paper, sat down and I wrote this song."

"Second verse,
 * Tenacious D does this frequently, from advising all male listeners to pay close attention at the start of their song, Fuck Her Gently, to making tributes to other songs.
 * Lagwagon's Falling Apart:

The same as the first.

I forgot the words again."

"Well, I thought I'd write a little song,
 * Lemon Demon's Holy Bison Breaks is about songwriters block.

So I wrote a little song.

Then I tried to write some lyrics,

But I didn't last too long.

So I figured: why not sing about me

Trying to write a song an' stuff,

And I decided to keep on singing 'till I had had enough."

"You prob'ly think this song is about you."
 * Tony Mason, author of Barney's on Fire, did an entire album of this, with tracks such as Title Track, Hit Single and The Song You Skip.
 * Carly Simon presents a Logic Bomb in You're So Vain.

"There's only two songs in me, and I just wrote the third.
 * Frank Sinatra, I Sing the Songs
 * They Might Be Giants, Number Three:

Don't know where I got the inspiration or how I wrote the words.

Spent my whole life just diggin' up my music's shallow grave

For the two songs in me, and the third one I just made."

"''Don't worry what this song would say,
 * Five Iron Frenzy, "So Far, So Bad":

you'll never hear it anyway.

They won't play this song on the radio.

So far, so bad, that's how it goes.''"

"This is a song about boys and girls
 * Ringo Starr, "This Be Called a Song".
 * Pet Shop Boys' "All Over The World":

You hear it playing all over the world"

"So now you know the words to our song,
 * Pulp's "The Fear":

Pretty soon you'll all be singing along.

When you're sad, when you're lonely & it all turns out wrong."

""So with the angst of a teenage band
 * "Kill The Director" by The Wombats

Here's another song about a gender I'll never understand

Here's another song about a gender I'll never understand""

"I'm writing a song all about you
 * "Track #10" by the Procussions. The lyrics consist solely of variations on "This is track number ten!"
 * "The Song Of No-involvement" by Skyclad.
 * Anything by Fall Out Boy
 * "Sad Songs and Waltzes" by Willie Nelson (or CAKE), although it's not necessarily talking about itself.

A true song as real as my tears

But you've no need to fear it, 'cause no one will hear it

Sad songs and waltzes aren't selling this year"

"This is the part of the song where I talk about emotions
 * Subverted by "This is Not a Song, It's a Sandwich" by Psychostick. Which is not a song, it's a sandwich.
 * But played straight later in the same album with "#1 Radio $ingle", which actually IS a song about itself.

And this is the part of the song where I sing about how I feel so cold inside

And this is where my producer told me

To say "Yeah!" (yeah!)"

"This song ain't bad or good and as far as I know
 * "Only A Northern Song" by The Beatles, which is actually more about the dissonance in the song than the song itself.
 * George Harrison wrote "This Song" while legal action was underway regarding "My Sweet Lord/He's So Fine", saying in part:

Don't infringe on anyone's copyright so

This song we'll let be"

"This, this is our new song
 * Radiohead's "My Iron Lung", which was about Fan Dumb audiences who wanted to hear "Creep" and only "Creep". It's up to interpretation whether the song is talking about itself or a hypothetical song, though, in the relevant part:

Just like the last one

A total waste of time

My iron lung..."

"Here is my song for the asking
 * Simon and Garfunkel's "Song for the Asking"

Ask me and I will play

So sweetly I'll make you smile

This is my tune for the taking

Take it, don't turn away"

"I was twentyone years when I wrote this song
 * Also "Leaves That Are Green"

I'm twentytwo now, but I won't be long"

"Now it is time for the breakdown.
 * "This is the Hook" by Deadmau5, which sounds something like an electronica-backed DJing lesson.

The breakdown allows the track to really break the repetition.

Let's filter the hi-hat, let's filter the chords, let's filter the bass.

I like the filters. I like the grooves, but I digress."

"And I can tell now by the way that you’re looking at me
 * "When Did You Fall" by Chris Rice:

I’d better finish this song so my lips will be free."

"This ain't a song for the broken-hearted"
 * "This Song for You" by Chris de Burgh, although it's not entirely self-referential.
 * "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi:

"This ain't no love song
 * Trace Adkins' "This Ain't No Love Song" is somewhere between this and Suspiciously Specific Denial:

I just felt like gettin' my guitar on

And singing a tune, singing about you

Yeah feeling good and tapping my shoes

And all this stuff I’m making up

Well, you probably wont be hearing it on the radio

But then you never know

So baby, if you want, you can sing along

But this ain’t no love song"

"'Cause they market this song to young, impressionable, and insecure teenage girls
 * "Pop Song" by Jon Lajoie"

'Cause all you gotta say is "ooh baby, I love you" and "girl, I need you in my world"

Yes, they market this song to young, impressionable, and insecure teenage girls

'Cause all they gotta do is find a sexually attractive man that can sing all the words


 * Darryl Rhoades and the Hahavishnu Orchestra's "This Song is Boring" lampshades itself with not only the words repeated ad infinitum but the same guitar riff over and over."

"And when at last I find you,
 * "This Is My Song," written by Sir Charles Chaplin for his 1966 movie A Countess From Hong Kong and performed by Petula Clark.
 * This portion of the last verse from The Beatles' "I Will":

This song will fill the air

Sing it loud so I can hear you, make it east to be near you"

"'This is a great big opening song...'
 * Chicago's "25 Or 6 To 4" was about the song writer's bout with writer's block.
 * 'West End Musical' by Mitch Benn is three of these put together.

'This is a very simple tune...'

'This is the song you've already heard...'"

"This iiisss - the Very Happy Ending Song !
 * And in The Now Show Pantomime (2010), he completed things with The Very Happy Ending Song

It's a happy, clappy ending song, it's a bit too long,

But it has to go right here !"

"So this is a song about nothing (Nothing!)
 * "Song About Nothing" by <3

This is a song about nothing at all

Some other bands try to write serious songs

But we'll just have a ball"

"And when I have some words
 * Dragon Road song -- not Akira Kushida's, Dungeons and Dragons themed filk one ("It was on the first of August...").
 * Sparks' "Strange Animal" is about someone escaping the police by somehow walking into a song, although it's never quite specified that it's the song you're now hearing. At one point he begins to criticize the very song he's now part of ("But this song lacks a heart \ comes off overly smart"), and in the end it seems that he murders everyone else in the song and tries to change it into something more to his liking ("You're in need of a fix \ of a total remix \ so I must kill you all").
 * The lyrics to King Crimson's song "Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With" from their album "The Power to Believe" is filled with this trope. Here is a sample:

This is the way I'll sing -

Through a distortion box

To make them menacing

Yeah, then I'm gonna have to write a chorus

We're gonna need to have a chorus

And this seems to be as good as any other place to sing it till I'm blue in the face"


 * Hook by Blues Traveler is entirely about itself, describing how the hook brings you back, confessing that he doesn't mean any of what he is singing, and how the lyrics affect the listener, among other things.
 * Wild Swimming by Martha Tilston contains a verse in which she tells the person to whom the song is directed, that she plans to write a song about him, in which she will compare him to wild swimming. That song is, presumably, the one being sung.
 * Vanessa Amorosi: "Heres your fucking song" on "I Thought We'd Stay Together".
 * Taylor Swift has done this at least a couple of times. 'Dear John' and 'Our Song' are the ones that spring immediately to mind.

Theatre
"''The first line of the blues is always sung a second time
 * Several songs in Spamalot fall under this, most notably The Song That Goes Like This.
 * "Poppa's Blues" from Starlight Express.

First line of the blues is always sung a second time

So by the time you get to the third line you've had time to think up a rhyme.''"

"''It's the opening song
 * "Untitled Opening Number" from Title of Show is mostly one of these.

It doesn't have a title, no

And it's not very long

But it's the starting point for our musical''"

Web Comics
"* this is a ringtone song... ringing all the--*"
 * In El Goonish Shive, Sarah's cellphone has this little gem:

Web Original

 * Homestar Runner has "Secret Song", the secret song on the Strong Bad Sings CD, which is a love song sung by Homestar directed toward... the secret song.
 * Half the songs on Commentary the Musical, but particularly Ten Dollar Solo, as seen in the page quote.
 * A snippet of Deadpool's ringtone from I'm a Marvel And Im ADC

Western Animation
"This is the theme song for Jimmy Neutron."
 * My Life As a Teenage Robot has This is the Song That Goes On Forever, in a parody of the aforementioned Song That Doesn't End.
 * The final line of the Title Theme Tune of Jimmy Neutron is:

"This is the Fireside Girls song!
 * Phineas and Ferb has the Fireside Girls:

And it's not too terribly long."


 * SpongeBob Squarepants's "The Campfire Song Song".
 * I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes...
 * I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes...
 * I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes...
 * I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes...
 * I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes...
 * This is the song that never ends/ And it goes on and on my friends/ Some people started singing it not knowing what it was/ and now they keep on singing it forever just because...
 * I know a song that gets on everybody's nerves, and this is how it goes...