History Main / HypocriticalSinging

[[folder:Films--Animated]]

[[folder:Films--Live Action]]

* Creator/FredAstaire's "I Won't Dance" number in ''Roberta''.

** "Never Say Never"

* Meg's "I Won't Say I'm In Love" from Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}''.

* Famously, Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" takes this [[UpToEleven to the point of logical paradox]] -- it's impossible for the lyrics ''not'' to be hypocritical. By definition the song is about the "you" to whom it's addressed, and while it might indeed be vain for them to ''assume'' [[ItsAllAboutMe its about them]], it doesn't change the fact that [[JerkassHasAPoint they happen to be right]].

* Music/{{Genesis}}'s 1991 album ''Music/WeCantDance'' provides two instances of this trope: "Jesus He Knows Me" is about an EgocentricallyReligious televangelist who says "Won't find me practicing what I'm preaching/Won't find me making no sacrifice", as well as a verse about how "I believe in family" while cheating on his wife with both men and women. Later, there's "I Can't Dance", a very catchy song about how they have no musical talent.

* This is a recurring trope in CountryMusic, where it is PlayedForLaughs. It's almost always a break-up song that starts with the singer assuring their ex that they're doing ''fantastically'' since they were dumped, only to go into detail about all the ways they're not.

* ''Music/{{Genesis}}'s'' song "I Can't Dance" is a very catchy song about how they have no musical talent.
* Famously, Carly Simon's "You're So Vain" takes this [[UpToEleven to the point of logical paradox]] - it's impossible for the lyrics ''not'' to be hypocritical. By definition the song is about the "you" to whom it's addressed, and while it might indeed be vain for them to ''assume'' [[ItsAllAboutMe its about them]], it doesn't change the fact that [[JerkassHasAPoint they happen to be right]].

* "Jesus He Knows Me" by Music/{{Genesis}} is about an EgocentricallyReligious televangelist who says "Won't find me practicing what I'm preaching/Won't find me making no sacrifice", and also has this:
-->I believe in the family,\\
With my ever loving wife beside me,\\
But she don't know about my girlfriend,\\
Or the man I met last night.

* "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid'' is a slight variation in that Ursula, while trying to get Ariel to make a [[DealWithTheDevil deal]] with her, sings of how she [Ursula] uses her powers to help people. The song's hypocritical in that Ursula makes herself seem to come off in the very best light. While she does help people, she compares herself to a saint, but she also always has something to gain from her deals, and she goes out of her way to make sure that those under contract will fail to uphold their end of the bargain.
* Meg's "I Won't Say I'm In Love" from Disney's ''Disney/{{Hercules}}''

* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', the EarWorm song "Ain't Got Rhythm" is about librarian and former rockstar Swampy saying that he lost his ability to make rhythm after he fell asleep in a metronome factory... despite making a spontaneous and incredibly catchy improvised rhythm as he sings this. [[LampshadeHanging Phineas even points out how clearly untrue this is.]]

** "[[IWouldSayIfICouldSay I'll Never Tell]]", in which Anya and Xander list all the secrets they're keeping from each other. This plays around with the MusicalWorldHypothesis; in an "All In Their Heads" musical these could have been counterpoint {{soliloquy}}s (and it's possible that characters think they ''are'' at the time), but they can in fact hear each other.

Hypocritical singing is [[ShapedLikeItself like singing,]] [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin but with]] [[CaptainObvious hypocrisy.]]

* Film/SinginInTheRain has dignity. A lot.

* Or in ''TheSimpsons'' during the all-singing clip show when Homer says, 'Singing is the lowest form of communication." Marge says, 'But you sing all the time," and Homer replies, "No I don't, I hate to rhyme."

** "I'll Never Tell", in which Anya and Xander list all the secrets they're keeping from each other.

Sounds to me like you've got rhythm to spare\\
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFV1uT-ihDo The Ollie North song]] from WesternAnimation/AmericanDad is about the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair Iran Contra affair]]. The lyrics at some point says that "North volunteered to take the blame/to save Reagan from presidential shame" while the video shows Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush ditching Oliver North, leaving him to deal with mess and the press.

Sounds to me like you've got rhythm to spare

* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', the EarWorm song "Ain't Got No Rhythm" is about librarian and former rockstar Swampy saying that he lost his ability to make rhythm after he fell asleep in a metronome factory... despite making a spontaneous and incredibly catchy improvised rhythm as he sings this. [[LampshadeHanging Phineas even points out how clearly untrue this is.]]