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May 12, 2026 12:36 pm  #1


Songs That Feature Spelling

This topic may prove to be more challenging.

How many songs can we list that have words spelled out in the lyrics?

Here are a few to get started:

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N  - Connie Francis

RESPECT - Aretha Franklin

BABY BLUE  - The Echoes

 

May 12, 2026 10:40 pm  #2


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

D-I-V-O-R-C-E by Tammy Wynette has a number of words that are spelled out.

 

May 13, 2026 7:03 am  #3


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

This one has the nine-letter word "happening" spelled out, which I believe is the longest one so far. It was the theme song of the Canadian tv show It's Happening

 

May 14, 2026 6:47 am  #4


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

In Give Him A Great Big Kiss (The Shangrilas). Mary Weiss emphatically states at the beginning of the song:

"When I say I'm in love, you best believe I'm in love:  L-U-V"

     Thread Starter
 

May 14, 2026 7:21 am  #5


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

Here's another one with some creative spelling, by Canadian artist Ronney Abramson.


 

 

May 15, 2026 8:40 am  #6


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

Gloria - Them
S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y Night - Bay City Rollers
Trouble - Elvis
American Woman - The Guess Who. On the album version of the song, Burton Cummings does a scat intro, and he spells out A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N.

 

May 15, 2026 10:46 pm  #7


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

In 1964, Sly Stone (then known as Sylvester Stewart) and Thomas Coman wrote Bobby Freeman's dance hit C'mon And Swim. They then came up with this song as the followup.

 

May 16, 2026 8:38 am  #8


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

M-O-T-H-E-R (A word that means the world to me) - Eddy Arnold

     Thread Starter
 

May 16, 2026 10:06 pm  #9


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

Bobby Vinton's L-O-N-E-L-Y takes the same approach as M-O-T-H-E-R, with each letter being used to reference another word that begins with the same letter.

 

May 18, 2026 8:06 am  #10


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

R-O-C-K - Bill Haley And His Comets
R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A. - John Cougar Mellencamp

 

May 19, 2026 9:39 am  #11


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

There was no spelling in the original Henry The Eighth I Am (Herman's Hermits), but when Peter Noone does it in concert, he has this audience participation shtick where he gets them to spell out H-E-N-R-Y.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=redFiT-n8uk

     Thread Starter
 

May 19, 2026 10:42 am  #12


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

GrimsbyFan wrote:

There was no spelling in the original Henry The Eighth I Am (Herman's Hermits), but when Peter Noone does it in concert, he has this audience participation shtick where he gets them to spell out H-E-N-R-Y.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=redFiT-n8uk

Actually, he does spell it once in the song. It comes right at the end of the tune.

 

May 19, 2026 8:53 pm  #13


Re: Songs That Feature Spelling

L-O-V-E - Nat King Cole
L-O-V-E (Love) - Al Green
The Message Is Love - Arthur Baker And The Backbeat Disciples Featuring Al Green; Green ends the song by spelling out l-o-v-e, in what is almost certainly an allusion to his previous hit

 

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