->''"The song was a stab by Joel at the new music genres that were around in the early 1980s (punk, funk, new wave) and ironically uses a new wave sound."''
-->-- '''Website/{{Wikipedia}}''' on Music/BillyJoel's "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"

%% One quote is enough. Please move any other quote to the "Quotes" tab.

A song that is about whatever genre of music it's in. Note that this doesn't include songs that just include the genre in the title, like "Jingle Bell Rock"[[note]]It doesn't help that "Jingle Bell Rock" is about as much a "rock song" as "I'm a Little Teapot" is[[/note]]. It also doesn't include, say, metal songs that are about elements on the left side of the periodic table, blues songs that are about depression, or rock songs that are about stones.

Named partly because these are often metal songs, and partly because [[JustForFun/PunnyTropeNames the pun was too good to pass up]]. Compare RadioSong, about the medium of {{radio}}. Can potentially overlap with RockstarSong. Compare ThisIsASong, which is about songs that are at least partially about themselves. See also TheSomethingSong for song titles with "[topic of song] Song."

----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Metal]]
* "Heavy Metal" by Music/JudasPriest.
** Their song "Metal Gods" is, surprisingly, a subversion. Instead of being about the genre itself, it's about a RobotWar.
* Music/{{Metallica}} got "Metal Militia", "Whiplash" and "Hit the Lights" too. Then they must have decided three songs about metal itself was enough -- all of the listed songs were on their debut album (''Kill 'Em All''), and they never really wrote any more lyrics in that vein after that.
** In an interview, they said that the lyrics were an imitation of bands like the aforementioned Judas Priest; early in their career, they didn't know what to write lyrics about, so they just copied their idols.
* "Overkill" by Music/{{Motorhead}}.
* Music/{{Helloween}} with "Heavy metal (is the law).", "Are You Metal?" and "Metal Invaders". Also, in perhaps one of the strangest examples, "Heavy Metal Hamsters".
* "Goddamn Electric", "Power Metal", "Proud to Be Loud", "Metal Magic", "Heavy Metal Rules", "Onward We Rock" and "D.G.T.T.M." by Music/{{Pantera}}.
* Music/TenaciousD's "The Metal" and possibly "Tribute" also.
* Music/DreamEvil's "Fire! Battle! In Metal!" and "The Book of Heavy Metal". The latter borders on deconstruction.
** Dream Evil is in love with this trope. Some more examples are "Heavy Metal in the Night", "H.M.J." (Heavy Metal Jesus), "Made of Metal", "The Sledge", "No Way" ('Rock 'n Roll will never die'), , "Electric". Possibly also "Bang Your Head" and "Let's Make Rock".
* "Rock Is Dead" by Music/MarilynManson is a rather less positive viewpoint.
* Music/{{Sabaton}} includes a tribute song to metal greats in almost every album (excepting ''The Art of War'' and ''Carolus Rex'', and ''The Last Stand'' which has four [[CoverVersion covers]] as bonus tracks instead). These are:
** "Metal Machine" (''Primo Victoria'') has lyrics made up almost entirely of the names of metal hits. "Metal Crüe" (''Attero Dominatus'') name-drops metal bands instead, while "Metal Ripper" (''Coat of Arms'') borrows lyrics and guitar riffs.
** "Metalizer" (''Fist for Fight'', ''Metalizer'') is just generally about the PowerMetal genre, referencing fast, pounding drums and distorted guitars.
** "Masters of the World" (''Fist for Fight'') is more about the continual worries that rock and metal are being displaced by pop, disco, and hip-hop, and basically answers, "Yeah, right!"
** "Men of War" is specifically about the classic heavy metal band Music/{{Manowar}}.
* "Bonded By Blood" and "Metal Command" by Exodus.
* "Black Metal" by Music/{{Venom}} predates the BlackMetal genre, which was probably named after it.
* Almost everything ever done by Music/{{Manowar}} fits this trope, with a number of recurring topics: songs about general Heavy Metal (e.g. Metal Daze, Heart of Steel), true and false Metal (e.g. Blow Your Speakers), about Manowar (e.g. All Men Play on Ten), about Manowar fans (e.g. Hail to England, Metal Warriors), about biker/rocker lifestyle (e.g. Wheels of Fire), and many combinations of the above and of the above with fantasy.
--->'''"We alone are fighting for metal that is true!"''' -Warriors of the World United
* "DeathMetal" by Music/{{Possessed}}, [[TropeNamer perhaps the basis of the genre's name]].
* "The Human Factor" by Metal Church is about how unoriginal a lot of modern metal bands of the time were, and how they relied on producers to slick over their lack of talent.
* Saxon love doing this, with songs like "Denim and Leather", "And the Bands Played On" and, of course, "Heavy Metal Thunder".
* Of course, [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap Spinal Tap]] had to take a stab at this, with their classic anthem "Heavy Duty". And to a lesser extent, "Rock N' Roll Creation".
* Music/GammaRay has "Heavy Metal Universe" and "To The Metal", plus a cover of Holocaust's "Heavy Metal Mania".
* "Kill for Metal" by Iron Fire.
%% (ZCE) * "Living for Metal" and "Metal is Forever" by Music/{{Primal Fear|Band}}.
* "Heavy Metal-Powered Man" by ''Music/IronSavior''.
** "Made of Metal" could be seen as an oblique reference to this trope: "I am the Savior / My heart is made / of ''METAL!''" The album was indeed originally to be named after this song, but it was eventually changed to ''Dark Assault'' because it was decided it sounded "too much like a Judas Priest album", so it could be an attempt at avoiding this trope that ends up completely exemplifying it anyway.
*** Ironically, Rob Halford's (of Judas Priest) most recent solo album is in fact called ''Made of Metal''.
*** Although the Halford song "Made of Metal" itself is not about heavy metal at all; it's about NASCAR.
** Also, with The Landing coming out, "Heavy Metal Never Dies" obviously qualifies.
* "Metal is Forged Here" by a Russian PowerMetal band Ariya is a particularly tongue-in-cheek example of this trope. It's a long, hammy PowerBallad about awesomeness and badassery of those who create metal. The plot twist is that the song is about actual steel mill workers, not about musicians.
* "Metal Metal Land" by Music/{{Gwar}} is a particularly awesome example of this, demonstrating a world built on heavy metal itself. Choice verses include "Here in metal, metal land/Nothing ever dies/Except of course our enemies/And they're attracting metal flies," "Here in metal, metal land/Every day is night/Except of course when night is day/But then there is no light," "Bullet belts and denim jackets/Crystal meth in tiny packets/Witches, warlocks, demon seed/Booze and cooze and weed and speed," "Filthy hair and dirty faces/Flying V's and swords and maces/80's hair bands are still hated/No false metal tolerated" and "Heavy metal is the law/Weakness means a broken jaw/Everything is loud and fast/Metal up your fucking ass." Also, this land can only be reached by stolen car.
* "Cities on Flame With Rock n' Roll" by Music/BlueOysterCult.
** Subverted with "Heavy Metal: Black and Silver", Which sounds like it ought to be this, but is actually a song about a black hole being born.
* "Metal" by Music/ManillaRoad.
** Also "Out of Control with Rock and Roll" and "Heavy Metal To The World".
* A good 50-60 percent of Municipal Waste's output.
* "Battle Metal" by Turisas, although this does predate the use of it as a term for bands in a similar style.
* "Witching Metal" by Music/{{Sodom}}
* "Metal Storm" by Music/{{Slayer}}
* "Black Metal Sodomy" by Finnish black metal band, Horna
* "Christraping Black Metal" by Marduk
* "Unholy Black Metal," "Canadian Metal," and [[TakeThat I am the Graves of the 80's]] by Darkthrone
* "Deadly Metal" by Music/{{TNT|Band}}
* "Metal on Metal" by Anvil
* "Hidden Secret Song" by Anarchy Club, aside from referencing all hidden tracks in existence, is about a metal fan who "had a friend who played guitar and taught him a little thing or two". That "thing or two" is literally 2 chords, and the song is a 2 chord (mostly) song about how the rock-n-roll lifestyle is just ''the coolest''.
* "Deadly Sinners" by Music/ThreeInchesOfBlood
** The latest album by Music/ThreeInchesOfBlood is actually titled ''Long Live Heavy Metal''.
* "Far Beyond Metal" by [[Music/DevinTownsend Strapping Young Lad]]
* "Metal Brothers," "Heavy Metal Never Dies," and "Eternal Flames of Metal" by Cryonic Temple
* "Heavy Metal Mania" by NWOBHM band Holocaust.
* "Heavy Metal Breakdown", "Headbanging Man", "Back to the Roots", "We Wanna Rock You", "Get Ready for Power" and "Under My Flag" by Music/GraveDigger.
* "Shake Your Heads" and "Slaves to Metal" by Music/{{Accept}}.
* "Chains and Leather" by Music/RunningWild.
* "Heavy Metal Maniac", "Long Live the Loud" and "Pounding Metal" by Exciter
* "Metal Anarchy" by Warfare
* "God Hates Heavy Metal" by Music/{{Dio}}.
* "Heavy Metal Heart" by Phantom
* "Raw Energy" by Music/{{Rage|Band}}
* "Metalhead" by Music/{{Savatage}}
* "Power Thrashing Death" by Whiplash
* "Back In The Day" by Music/{{Megadeth}} counts, right?
** Yes, and "Rattlehead" is an excellent example of this trope, in the vein of "Whiplash" by Music/{{Metallica}} (the titles of both songs refer to headbanging)
* "Out of Control" by Music/WhiteWizzard.
* Music/NanowarOfSteel, parodying metal bands, fulfills this trope with songs like "True Metal Of The World (Ah-Ah)" and "Metal-La-La-La". And uses via LiteralMinded approach, so they got songs about, uh, the True Metal -- such as "Outrue" (Cuprum! Yttrium! Plutonium!). Even their website's title is "Nanowar Of Steel Website of Nickel".
* ''Music/{{Massacration}}'', another parody of metal bands (and Heavy Meta bands in particular), ''lives'' off this trope, even when they're not talking about metal. Song examples include "Metal Is The Law", "Metal Massacre Attack", "[[WordSaladLyrics Metal Milkshake]]" and "[[DepravedDentist Metal Dental Destruction]]". Their [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} Other Wiki]] [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacration entry]] explains it best.
* "Leather & Metal" by Cast Iron.
* "Stronger Than All" by Music/HammerFall.
* "Metallitotuus", "Vaadimme Metallia" and so much more from Music/{{Terasbetoni}}.
* "Heavy Metal Pirates" by Music/{{Alestorm}}.
* "Heavy Metal Fire" by Stormwarrior.
* "Black Metal Ist Krieg" and "Possessed By Black Fucking Metal" by Nargaroth
* Lee Aaron, "Metal Queen"
* "Heavy Metal Breakdown" by Bitch
* "Heavy Metal Is Forever" by Metal Law
* "Heavy Metal Rock 'n' Roll" by Rock Goddess
* "Heavy Metal Soldiers" by Iron Angel
* "Metallic Fury" by Brocas Helm
* "American Metal" by Lizzy Borden
* "Heart of Metal" by Ultimatum
* "Coup de Metal" by H-Bomb
* French speed metal band Killers have a number, including "Heavy Metal Kids", "Maitre du Metal" and "Longue Vie au Metal"
* "Total Metal" and "Pour the Metal In" by Atomkraft
* "Devil's Metal" by Death Angel
* "Thrasher" by Evile
* "Made In Hell" from [[Music/JudasPriest Rob Halford's]] first solo album.
* Almost anything by Debauchery (the Death'n'Roll band) that isn't about ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' and/or pure {{Gorn}}. For example "Hard Rockin'" or " New Rock".
* So many New Wave of Thrash Metal bands make songs about this it's not funny. One example is Music/GamaBomb's "Bullet Belt".
* "Metal Blessing" by Mortification
* "Metal Queen" by LeeAaron
* Music/ReverendBizarre's "The Goddess of Doom" name-drops literally [[ListSong dozens]] of DoomMetal bands.
* "We Have Arrived" by Music/DarkAngel.
* "Metal is for Everyone" by Music/{{FREEDOM CALL}}.
* "Metal's No Sin" by Slauter Xstroyes.
* Obscure German speed metal band bring forth one titled Heavy Metal, singing about all things heavy.
In fact it's what they almost invariably write about.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rock]]
* John (then Cougar) Mellencamp's "Cheap Shot" deconstructs the trope with the following lines:
--> The DJ's really hate the song
--> But they're in love with the hook, so...
--> Na na na, na na, na na, na na!
--> I bet you've heard this song before.
* "Rock and Roll All Nite" by Music/{{KISS}} and other arena rock songs like that.
* Music/ChuckBerry: "Roll Over Beethoven." The Music/{{ELO}} cover makes it twice as meta by adding in actual melodies from [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven's Fifth]].
** For an even better example, just lemme hear some of that "Rock & Roll Music", any old way you choose it!
* Music/VelvetUnderground: "Rock And Roll."
** "Rock And Roll Heart" by Music/LouReed, and "Dirty-Ass Rock And Roll" by John Cale.
* Music/DavidBowie: Quite a few songs on the ''Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars'' album.
* Music/XJapan: "Easy Fight Rambling."
** Pata solo: "Story Of A Young Man."
* Argent/KISS: "God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To You." Made even more meta when it was memorably covered by Music/{{Petra}}, a ChristianRock band.
* The Arrows/[[CoveredUp Joan Jett & The Blackhearts]]: "I Love Rock'n'Roll."
** The chorus is supposed to be ''part of the song they're singing in the bar,'' which implies that [[RecursiveCanon they're singing the song they're in.]] It just disappears into itself.
* Within-fiction example: A tract by [[ComicBook/ChickTracts Jack Chick]] features a "[[TheMoralSubstitute Christian rock group]]" (who later fall under Satan's power, apparently because [[TheNewRockAndRoll all rock music is inherently evil]]) who sing a song with the lyrics "[[{{Narm}} We're gonna rock, rock, rock with the rock!]]".
* "Rock and Roll High School", "Do You Remember Rock n' Roll Radio", AND "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" by Music/TheRamones.
* [[Franchise/HarryPotter Wizard Rock]] band Harry and the Potters had an album called "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!" (and a song with the same name). Many other Wizard Rock bands have referenced rock (or wrock) in song titles.
** 'Wizard Rock Heart Throb' by the Whomping Willows, 'Wizard Rock Twist' by the Remus Lupins, 'Transparent' by the Moaning Myrtles, and 'New Wizard Anthem' by Harry and the Potters are all examples of this trope, called meta-wrock within the community.
* Music/HelloProject examples:
** Mini Moni: Rock n Roll ~Kenchoushouzaichi Obochaina Series~.
*** "I Love Blues."
* "Long Live Rock and Roll" by Music/{{Rainbow}}.
* "Let There Be Rock" by Music/{{ACDC}}.
** Also 'Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution' and 'High Voltage'. The subject seems popular in general for the band.
** Can't forget "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)."
** And "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)"
** "Rocker" (from Dirty Deeds), "Can't Stop Rock And Roll" (Stiff Upper Lip), "Rock 'N Roll Damnation" (Powerage) "Rock 'N Roll Singer" (High Voltage), "Rock and Roll Dream/Train" (Black Ice), "She Likes Rock and Roll" (Black Ice), the list goes on.
** On why "rock and roll" shows up so often in titles and lyrics, Angus has declared that "Certain songs just seem to come to life when you add that phrase."
* "Radio Fodder" by Cloud Cult.
* "Rock Around the Clock" by Music/BillHaleyAndHisComets. Arguably TropeMaker.
* Music/{{Lordi}}'s "Hard Rock Hallelujah" and "This is Heavy Metal".
** Not to mention "Bringing Back the Balls to Rock."
** Or "Rock the Hell Outta You" and "Get Heavy".
* "One Chord Wonders" by the Adverts epitomizes this trope.
* "Rockabilly Rules OK" by the Stray Cats. It's about the song itself, which is about the genre.
** By the same band, "Rock This Town."
* "Sedan Delivery" by Music/NeilYoung.
** Also "Prisoners of Rock'n'Roll", "Born To Rock" and, in a subversion, "Are You Ready For The Country?"
** Don't forget "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)" and its variation "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)". ''"Rock and roll will never die..."''
* "The WASP (Texas Radio & The Big Beat)" by Music/TheDoors: specifically it references the high power Mexican radio stations that blasted into Texas in the 50s. Unrestricted by American regulations, they could broadcast up to 150 kilowatts: frontman Jim Morrison discovered his passion for the blues from these stations.
** The lines about coming ''out of the Virginia swamps cool and slow / with a backbeat narrow, and hard to master'' clearly reference the birth of rock from the (southern) primordial ooze of the blues. Also, the lines about some regarding it as ''heavenly in its brilliance'' and others ''mean, and ruthful of the Western dream'' could easily reference the differing attitudes people had for rock & roll, especially during the 1960s.
* "Halloween in Heaven" by Music/TypeONegative.
* "Back Street Kids" by Music/BlackSabbath.
* "Cities on Flame with Rock'n'Roll" by Music/BlueOysterCult.
** and "R.U. Ready to Rock.
** And "Let Go" -- ''not'' their finest moment.
-->You're a rebel and you got no friends;
-->We all know that it all depends
--> On rock and roll!
* "Burning" and "That's Rock 'n' Roll" by Music/{{Accept}}.
* "Speed King" by Music/DeepPurple
** This is a rather strange example, since the song itself is composed of other people's (mostly Little Richard's) lyrics put together in semi-random fashion, and the whole thing together ends up being this trope.
* Music/LedZeppelin: "Rock and Roll".
* The Spanish band Loquillo y los Trogloditas have a few examples, but "Rock'n'Roll Star" and "El Ritmo del Garaje" are pretty representative of this.
* Music/MeatLoaf: "Rock 'n' Roll Hero", "Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries", "Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through", "Everything Louder Than Everything Else".
* Music/BobSeger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" (about how the titular rock and roll is better than then-currently popular genres like disco.)
** Also from Bob Seger, "Rock and Roll Never Forgets", a reminder that, even if you're no longer a teenager, rock and roll will always be there for you to enjoy.
* "Brothers [in rock]" by Gamma Ray.
* "Rock America" by Danger Danger.
* "Rock and Roll Is here To Stay" by Danny and the Juniors.
* "Rock and Roll Music", originally by Chuck Berry, later covered by the Manic Street Preachers.
** and by The Beatles.
* Music/DefLeppard: "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)", "Let's Get Rocked", "Rock of Ages", "Rock Brigade", "Rocket", and they covered "Rock On" and "The Golden Age of Rock 'N' Roll".
* "R.O.C.K. in the USA" by John Mellencamp
* "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me" by Music/BillyJoel.
** Also "The Entertainer"
* "Heart of Rock and Roll" by Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews.
* Music/TheSmashingPumpkins had a few of them. "Bullet With Butterfly Wings", "I of the Mourning", "Cash Car Star" and "Age of Innocence"... Kinda. They got better.
* "Rock and Roll Tonight" by Grim Reaper.
* "If You Don't Like Rock N Roll" by Music/{{Rainbow}}.
* "I Wanna Rock" by Music/TwistedSister
* Tindrum's "I Was Made For Rock N' Roll"
* Triumph's ''Magic Power'' is about ThePowerOfRock, oddly enough.
* Rick Springfield's "Human Touch", a shot at the rampant use of synthesizers in TheEighties that relies heavily on synths itself.
* "Rock Rolls On" and "Rock and Roll to Death" by Music/{{WASP|Band}}
* "Bless My Soul (It's Only Rock 'n' Roll)" by Geordie
* "Rock and Roll" by Music/{{Dio}}.
** And "We Rock".
** "Metal Will Never Die": David Rock Feinstein ft. Ronnie James Dio.
* "Rock 'n' Roll Thunder" by Chateaux.
* "Gimme Just a Little Rock & Roll" and "Fighting for Rock 'n' Roll" by E.F. Band.
* "Rock and Roll Angel" by Heaven and Hell.
* "Rock 'n' Roll" by Music/{{Motorhead}}.
* "Rock 'n' Roll Rebel" by Music/OzzyOsbourne.
** "You Can't Kill Rock n' Roll" too.
* "Rock 'n' Roll Away" by Music/{{TNT|Band}}.
* Played with in Music/DireStraits' "Sultans of Swing," a rock song about an English Dixieland/Zydeco band. The lyrics point out that kids "don't give a damn about any trumpet playing band" because "it ain't what they call rock and roll."
** How about "Money For Nothing", a rock song about rock stars?
* "Juke Box Hero" by Music/{{Foreigner|Band}}.
* "Smoke On The Water" by Music/DeepPurple basically explains how it itself came into existence.
* "The Ballroom Blitz" by Music/TheSweet tells the story of a Sweet concert that got violent.
* "Rock And Roll (Part 1)" by Gary Glitter. Granted, it's a [[TheSeventies 70s]] GlamRock song about [[TheFifties 50s]] rock & roll.
* Inverted by Music/StatusQuo's "Rock 'n Roll", a gentle acoustic ballad about how nobody takes you seriously when all you do is play rock and roll.
* Music/{{Queen}} had ''Modern Times Rock and Roll'' on [[Music/Queen1973 the first album]] (which was essentially Roger Taylor's attempt to out-rock Music/LedZeppelin).
** Music/{{Queen}} actually had quite a lot of Heavy Meta songs, mostly written by Roger Taylor. "Sheer Heart Attack", penned by Taylor, is notably a TakeThat at the emerging punk scene... in the form of a punk song!
* "Happy With What You Have To Be Happy With" by Music/KingCrimson.
** Also, "Lament"
* "Rise" by Music/{{Disturbed}}, a pile-driving number about the energy of performance.
* The entire ConceptAlbum "Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die", by Music/JethroTull, but most especially the title track.
* "#1 Radio $ingle" by Psychostick is a parody of ear worm-driven pop-rock songs you hear on the radio all the time. The song is quite the departure from their usual HeavyMetal type music.
* Doro Pesch has quite a few, including "Homicide Rocker," "Earthshaker Rock," "Fight For Rock", "Lady in a Rock 'n' Roll Hell" and "Metal Tango" with Warlock, and "Rock On" and "Celebration" as a solo artist.
* "Outta Control" and "Stuck in Rock" by Canadian heavy metal band Sword
* Local H's "California Song" criticizes the overuse of HollywoodCalifornia and BigApplesauce as subjects of rock songs.
* "Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)?" by Barry Mann and the Haloes is about how WordSalad rock'n'roll lyrics led to the singer's girlfriend falling in love with him.
* Music/TomPetty and the Heartbreakers, "Anything That's Rock 'N' Roll" and "Baby's A Rock 'N' Roller."
* The Shazam have "Rockin and Rollin (With my Rock n Roll Rock n Roller)," presumably written on a dare.
* Music/{{Boston}}'s ''Smokin''' is about enjoying yourself at a rock concert. As the title implies, [[OdeToIntoxication this involves enjoying a certain illicit substance]].
* Music/{{Whitesnake}}'s "Children of the Night".
* Music/BonJovi's "Blame It on the Love of Rock & Roll".
* Music/TheyMightBeGiants has numerous songs about not only rock, and not even playing in a rock band, but also about the band itself.
* German ProgressiveRock band RPWL's "This is not a Prog song". Its lyrics consist mostly of quotes from the worst reviews they've had.
** And the title obviously is a shout-out to "This is not a love song" by Public Image Limited.
* Music/{{Scorpions|Band}} wrote a lot of them, for instance "Top of the Bill," "We Let It Rock...You Let It Roll," "Coming Home," "Can't Live Without You," and "Restless Nights." The most frequent theme in these songs is how much they love being on stage and playing for their fans.
* "Rock Show" by Music/{{Halestorm}} is exactly what it sounds like: a rock song about rock fans rocking out at a rock concert.
* "Telegram" by Nazareth is about arranging a concert, going on a tour, and finally playing after getting through all the non-glamorous details of a rockman's trade.
* [[Music/{{Eagles}} Joe Walsh]]'s solo hit "Life's Been Good" pokes fun at the misadventures of 1970s rock stars.
* The Tubes' debut single, "White Punks on Dope", also poked fun at 1970s rock star excess, right down to Fee Waybill's flamboyant on-stage persona Quay Lewd.
* "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll" by Music/TheKillers.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Country]]
* The list of CountryMusic songs about country music is off the charts. It's pretty much a prerequisite for most male country singers to sing about country music. Bonus points if Music/HankWilliams, Music/GeorgeJones and/or Music/MerleHaggard are name-dropped. In turn, songs with a "tropical country" feel (and subject matter) regularly namecheck Music/JimmyBuffett.
* "Country Music is Here To Stay" by Ferlin Husky (as his alter ego Simon Crum)
* "How To Be a Country Star" by The Statler Brothers.
* "Country Is" by Music/TomTHall.
* "Young Country" and "Come On Over To The Country" by Hank Williams Jr.
* "Mountain Music" by Music/{{Alabama}}.
** "If You're Gonna Play in Texas" is about regional preferences in country music, as expressed by a fan during a show.
* "Sweet Country Music" by Atlanta.
* "Teen Angst" by Cracker sarcastically repeats "what the world needs now is another folk singer/ Like I need a hole in my head"
* Music/DavidAllanCoe's "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" (with a demonstration of "the perfect country-and-western song" in the final verse). Ironically, "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" was actually written by Steve Goodman and John Prine (both folksingers) as a ''parody'' of country music.
* "Three Minute Positive Not Too Country Uptempo Love Song" by Music/AlanJackson.
* "Murder on Music Row" by Larry Cordle (covered by Jackson and George Strait)
* "Songs About Rain" by Music/GaryAllan, which name-drops several, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin songs about rain]].
* "This Is Country Music" by Music/BradPaisley is especially blatant, as he's openly praising the genre and how it tackles subjects that other genres can't/won't.
* Music/TraceAdkins' "Songs About Me".
* "Twang" by Music/GeorgeStrait.
* Robbie Fulks' "Countrier than Thou" blasts those who think they're 'country' but they're not.
* "You're Lookin' at Country" by Loretta Lynn.
* "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" by Barbara Mandrell and Music/GeorgeJones.
* "Don't Rock The Jukebox" (as in, play some country 'cause I'm not in the mood for rock) by Music/AlanJackson.
* "Country Must Be Country Wide" by Music/BrantleyGilbert basically says that country is popular in places other than the South.
* "Best Song Ever" by Katie Armiger is about how the singer has heard a song that she considers the "best song ever" because it parallels the crumbling relationship she's been in, and tells her that everything will be patched up ("You're gonna love me forever / According to this song, according to the best song ever").
* "Baby that is Rock and Roll", by the Coasters.
* "Put You In a Song" by Music/KeithUrban, about how he wants to write a song about his girl. Probably given a ContinuityNod in the followup, "Without You", which contains the line "And up until you came along / No one ever heard my song / Now it's climbing with a bullet."
* "It Goes Like This" by Music/ThomasRhett is similarly about a melody inspired by a woman whom the singer has met.
** "What's Your Country Song?" is a SongOfSongTitles abiut country music (including "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool").
* Maddie & Tae have "Girl in a Country Song", a criticism of the 2013-2014 trend of "bro-country" and the limited role of women in such songs. It also has an overbearing rock sounding production, as a possible nod to the subgenre.
* "Just Another Love Song" by Haley & Michaels, about exes lamenting that a once-special song has now become meaningless to them. In a variant, instead of just making vague references to a generic "offscreen" song, it heavily references Music/{{Lonestar}}'s "Amazed", and even features their lead singer Richie [=McDonald=] interpolating its chorus at the end.
* "Sad Songs and Waltzes" by Music/WillieNelson (later covered by alt-rock band {{Music/CAKE}}) is a sad waltz song about a guy who wants to write a sad waltz song.
* "I Could Use A Love Song" by Music/MarenMorris, asking for an optimistic tune to help recover from heartbreak.
* "Nineties Country" by Walker Hayes, which [[ShoutOut Shouts Out]] to dozens of songs in the lyrics.
* "Ladies in the Nineties" by Lauren Alaina, celebrating her influences from country and pop growing up.
* [=LoCash=] (formerly the [=LoCash=] Cowboys) declare that everyone's lives are collectively "One Big Country Song".
* "That's Country, Bro" by Music/TobyKeith, a ListSong of old-school country stars.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* Seemingly half of all hip-hop/rap songs (at least) are about the rap scene, other rappers, how hard it is to be a rapper, etc.
* Practically all dance songs are about dancing, unless if the term "dancing" is used as a [[IntercourseWithYou metaphor for something else]].
* Music/{{Korn}} came out with "Y'All Want A Single', whose lyrics and video lampshade the structure of pop singles The song also fits the structure to a T.
* "So you Want to Write a Fugue?" by Glenn Gould is a fugue about writing a fugue.
* 3rd Bass' hit "Pop Goes the Weasel" was [[TheDissTrack a slam]] against Music/VanillaIce. One of the subjects of criticism was him choosing a well-known pop song ("Under Pressure") as a sample and saying it was a cheesy thing to do. The song itself contains several well-known pop song samples. %% The name of the group is 3rd Bass, not Base.
* The concept of P-Funk.
* A lot of blues songs are about "the blues," and not in the sense of depression. "The Birth of the Blues" is one famous example.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF1uQGV-QgA The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)]]" by the Greg Kihn Band [[RecursiveReality is a break-up song that's about break-up songs]].
* Sugarhill Gang: "Rapper's Delight", the song that [[TropeMaker kickstarted]] HipHop.
* Bad Religion has "Punk Rock Song", describing widespread poverty and suffering. It alleges that society ignores this suffering and instead keeps "pushing on." It hence says that it is a "punk rock song" for those who do still see these problems.
** Bad Religion also have "The Forbidden Beat", which is about Hardcore Punk...Or heroin addiction.
** "You Don't Belong Here" is all about the punk scene at the time BR joined it, it name checks quite a few of their fellow performers.
* Music/{{NSYNC}}'s "Pop" is a pop song about pop songs as well as a [[TakeThatCritics Take That to their critics]].
* Bowling for Soup's "Punk Rock 101".
** "A Really Cool Dance Song" is about how they are going to sell out by making a Dance Song.
* "The Song That Goes Like This" from Theatre/{{Spamalot}}.
* Pop parody/Grindcore band Excrementory Grindfuckers have many songs with "Grind" or "Grindcore" in the title and their songs contain jokes on grindcore, a particularly hilarious example being "How II Make A Grind".
* Above The Law: "Murder Rap".
* "This Is the Song That Never Ends" and "I Know a Song That Gets on Everybody's Nerves" by countless schoolchildren everywhere.
* Is "Christmas {{Glurge}}" a genre? If so, "[[Series/TheColbertReport Another Christmas Song]]", which is so self-referential it's a Klein bottle.
* Music/WeirdAlYankovic does this with his polkas. As well as in "(This Song's Just) Six Words Long".
* Speaking of polkas, Frankie Yankovic has "Just Another Polka".
* "Caress Me Down" by Sublime mentions Reggae.
** It does it twice, actually: "''Me gusta me'' regga, ''me gusta'' punk rock..."
* "Rap Superstar" by Music/CypressHill. A sort of example is also their remix "Rock Superstar".
* "Hook" by Blues Traveler, about the hook in pop music. ''And the HOOOOOOK brings you BAAAAAAACK!''
* "Baby Pop" and "La guerre des chansons" by French ''yé-yé'' artist France Gall.
* "Title of the Song" by Da Vinci's Notebook. Also a shining example of TropeName.
* A rare mixed-genre example: Music/BobMarley's "Punky Reggae Party".
** Another Bob Marley example: "Roots Rock Reggae".
* The Limelighter's "Generic Uptempo Folksong" is, in fact, about how to construct one of the titular songs.
* "Silly Love Songs" by Music/PaulMcCartney is a {{silly love song|s}} that justifies the existence of silly love songs.
-->Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs\\
What's wrong with that?\\
I'd like to know\\
'Cause here I go\\
Again...
* Music/{{Blur}}:
** "Song 2" is a pisstake of grunge, which [[MisaimedFandom ironically]] became the band's biggest hit in America. It also happens to be the second track on their SelfTitledAlbum, and happens to be two minutes and two seconds in length.
** "Popscene" and "B.L.U.R.E.M.I." have lyrics directly critical of the repetitiveness and lack of creativity in modern music.
* "All Over the World" by Music/PetShopBoys is a pop song about pop songs.
-->This is a song\\
About boys and girls\\
You hear it\\
Playing all over the world
* Music/{{Cornershop}}'s "Brimful of Asha", all about the history of Indian music and its usage in films.
** Their "No Rock: Save in Roll" pays similar tribute to 70s British rock (songwriter Tjinder Singh grew up in the West Midlands of England, the cradle of British HardRock and HeavyMetal).
* The anthem of Carolina beach music is the Embers' "I Love Beach Music". The lyrics consist heavily of popular beach music titles.
* Music/TheWhiteStripes' "Rag and Bone" is about taking and reusing old stuff no one else wants, a transparent metaphor for Jack White's approach to making music.
* Music/LinkinPark's "Step Up" is a RapMetal song about RapMetal, specifically a criticism of all the Goatee Metal-Rappers at the time who [[PissTakeRap couldn't actually rap]].
* A borderline case is the cover of Dylan's ''Like a Rolling Stone'' by... the Rolling Stones.
** A straightforward example by the Stones, "It's Only Rock and Roll" ("But I like it, like it, yes I do!").
* ''Heart Songs'' by Music/{{Weezer}}, consists of the band members' favorite song titles, lyrics, and bands, as well as several lines dedicated to Music/{{Nirvana}}'s ''Music/{{Nevermind|Album}}'' album.
* "Number 3" by Music/TheyMightBeGiants.
* "70's Rock Must Die" by [[Music/JelloBiafra Lard]]. Their normal style is a mix of industrial rock and punk, but this particular song is a spoof of '70s HardRock and ArenaRock. This, of course, adds deliberate irony to the lyrical content, which is all about how that type of music was garbage from [[TheSeventies a garbage decade]] that people at the time (the late '90s/early '00s) were inexplicably [[NostalgiaFilter nostalgic for]].
* "Chickenshit Conformist" by Dead Kennedys is about the state of punk rock.
** Speaking of which, Wire's debut album ''Pink Flag'' is pretty much made of meta, with "It's So Obvious" (about the failure of punk's revolution ''before it even ended'') and "Brazil" (a subtly hilarious satire of The Ramones) being the shining examples.
*** Or any early punk or post-punk band of a certain inclination. Case in point: Subway Sect's ''entire recorded output'' prior to Vic Goddard's CreatorBreakdown (induced by ExecutiveMeddling) is either directly or indirectly about (post-)punk rock and its pitfalls.
* "Music/ShowBusiness", the song and the musical.
* "Authentic Klezmer Wedding Band" by Music/GeoffBerner is a song poking fun at Klezmer bands who whore themselves out to Hipster Gentiles who don't understand klezmer and just treat it like the fad of the week.
* The "[[TheSomethingSong C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G Song]]" by WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants ''must'' be about campfire songs, right?
* "Pop Muzik" by M.
* Every reggaeton song ''ever''.
* "We Found A Place" by Justin Sane of Anti-Flag
* "You don't belong" Bad Religion
* "Thurston Hearts The Who" by Music/BikiniKill, where they umm, read a review of one of their own performances.
* "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" By Duke Ellington.
* "Litmus" by Music/FiveIronFrenzy, a ChristianRock song criticizing Christian Rock.
** Five Iron was known for this. Other good examples are "Blue Mix" from ''Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo'' and "Four-Fifty-One" from ''All the Hype That Money Can Buy!'' This probably had something to do with why such a popular Christian band never made it onto a major Christian Label. Good example of StickingItToTheMan as well.
* Music/TheWho, Pete Townshend in particular, loves this trope; he often overlaps it with RockstarSong and extends it over entire albums. The single "Long Live Rock" is probably the best example.
** Addressing a more-specific subject over a much-longer format (double-LP in this instance), ''Music/{{Quadrophenia}}''. Combining memories of the band's [[ShoutOut early days]], a history of the Mods & Rockers rivalry, critiques of fashion and conformity: all wrapped up in the [[ComingOfAge first-person story]] of a British youth whose head is crowded with these issues and more, including a [[ItRunsInTheFamily difficult life at home]] and possible [[SanitySlippageSong mental illness]]. Complete with four {{leitmotif}}s, one for each member of The Who. Couldn't be any more [[PostModern Meta]] unless it was ShapedLikeItself.
* "Play That {{Funk}}y Music" by Wild Cherry is actually the band's [[OriginsEpisode retelling]] of a gig they once played where someone actually stood up and shouted "Play that funky music, white boy!" They weren't necessarily a funk-rock band at that time, but then they wrote the song and became a OneHitWonder.
* "Memphis {{Soul}} Stew" by King Curtis. Similarly, "What Is {{Funk}}?" by [=FunkFood=].
* "Song For Whoever" by The Beautiful South is a parody on generic, commercial love songs aimed at no-one specifically. The singer claims he wrote the song for that one particular listener, but he actually neither knows nor really cares what her name is, so long as she buys his record.
* Arthur Conley's "Sweet Soul Music" -- the one that spotlights on Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, and James Brown.
* Plenty of metal songs treat Heavy Metal and Rock 'n' Roll as one and same, like Rock Goddess' "Heavy Metal Rock 'n' Roll".
* "F.U.N.K." by Betty Davis. Nearly all of the lyrics are [[ShoutOut name-checks]] of her peers (Sly Stone, Funkadelic, etc.) or lifted from their songs.
* [[http://hyperreal.org/raves/spirit/vibe/JacksHouse.html My House]] by Rhythm Controll is a mythological/religious take on the creation and power of house music.
* TZDF by Faderhead is about the Industrial music scene: "This is a song about the German clubs", "This is a song for all the Rivetheads"
* "This is the Hook" by B.S.O.D (Also known as Music/Deadmau5), satirically gives instructions on how to make cliche House music. Ironically, it was also his first House hit.
* Music/SelenaGomez's "Love You Like a Love Song", a silly catchy love song which gets stuck in your head because it's lyrics are about a person who's just like a catchy love song which gets stuck in your head.
* [[http://www.songstowearpantsto.com/songs/its-too-loud/ "It's Too Loud"]] by Music/SongsToWearPantsTo is a hard rock song...that criticizes the hard rock genre.
-->''4/4 time is boring''\\
''And I'm so sick of'' \\
''the guitar licks you all play''
* Feven's "Dom tio budorden" ("The Ten Commandments") is a hiphop song like this, parodied as "Svensktoppens tio budord" ("The Ten Commandments of Svensktoppen"; Svensktoppen being the main radio chart in Sweden) as a dansband song, which is the type of music most featured there.
* The Axis of Awesome's "Four Chords" is all about how you can write a pop song using only four chords. Their [[ShownTheirWork evidence]] is pretty [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ convincing]]
** In another song, they also explain [[http://youtu.be/kdudKAMOz5s How to Write a Love Song]] ("yeah, a shitty, shitty, shitty, shitty love song!")
* "I Love Acid" by Luke Vibert is an acid techno song about acid techno.
* Another techno example; "Techno Vocals" by Marc Houle is about the style of vocals used on techno tracks: "Why are the vocals pitched down so low, low, low, low?/This is the way we make techno!"
* "Who Put The Mush (In The Mush-A-Ring-A-Do-Da)?" by The [=MacCalmans=] is a Scottish folk music parody of "Who Put The Bomp?", in which the singer's girlfriend ''leaves'' him because she prefers rock music.
* "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" by Music/IceCube.
* "Professional Rapper" by Music/LilDicky and Music/SnoopDogg enacts a faux job interview between the two. Snoop is the boss and Dicky is the aspiring employee who needs to show off he's tough to ascend in the rap game.
* "Do You Sing Any [[Music/BobDylan Dylan]]?" by Music/EricBogle, about the request a singer-songwriter ''doesn't'' want to hear.
** And "Plastic Paddy" about mock-Irish folk songs, done in the style of a mock-Irish folk song.
* Similarly, Creator/BillyConnolly's "Nine and a Half Guitars": "Hey, Jimmy! Gonnae gie us 'Ten Guitars'?"
* Music/{{Freezepop}}'s "Pop Music is not a Crime".
* Any of the numerous songs commissioned by {{Zumba}} Fitness LLC to have their trademark in the lyrics.
* The Music/EltonJohn song "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" is about...well, sad songs.
* Propagandhi's "Ska Sucks" is a ska song about what a stupid movement ska is.
* The Suburban Legends have a song called I Want More, which contains the line "It's not cool to play ska music", among others.
* Music/JasonMraz's "Wordplay" is about the singer being pressured to make a new song and writing a refrain full of nonsensical syllables.
* "Underground" by Music/BenFolds Five pokes fun at the post-grunge scene of the moment (mid-nineties). "And we'll be decked in all black / Slammin' the pit fantastic / Officer Friendly's little boy's got a mohawk..."
** Ben's solo single "Rockin' the Suburbs" is a slickly produced pop-rock song that pokes fun at slickly produced pop-rock songs.
*** The lyrics are more of a slam against white boy metal/rap bands like Music/{{Korn}} (they had recently slammed him in the press about his style of music). The music is meant to be a {{Take That}} of sorts at the nu-metal sound, in the stylings of Ben Folds. Still qualifies as meta tho.
** "One Down" is about being forced to churn out songs for soundtracks and the like.
* Good Moov's "Eurodance Era" is an eurodance song about eurodance.
* [[http://www.thefump.com/side.php?id=491 "Ap-ray"]] by Derwood Bowen is a rap song in [[PigLatin pig Latin]] about rapping in pig Latin.
* "Antmusic" by Music/AdamAndTheAnts is about how they have a whole new beat, and why you should "unplug the jukebox" and listen only to Antmusic.
* Music/TheDeadMilkmen's "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)", uses a very formulaic dance beat and this very trope to serve a big take that to dance music in general.
** Less obviously Music/TheyMightBeGiants does a similar, if more obscure thing with "Man, It's So Loud In Here."
* Music/{{Rancid}} has many songs about punk rock itself.
* Crass' "Punk is Dead". Enough said.
* Music/EazyE's "Imma Break It Down", about writing raps, performing and getting famous.
* Music/AnalCunt lived this trope. "Grindcore is Very Terrifying", "I'm Not Allowed to Like A.C. Any More Since They Signed to Earache", "Extreme Noise Terror Are Afraid of Us", "Chris Barnes Is a Pussy", etc.
* Comedian Creator/PattonOswalt has several stand up bits about stand up.
* Music/PaulWilliams' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG--QjJmNFs "Sad Song"]]
* A cappella group The Nylons' "Bop 'Til You Drop".
* The "Boring Song" by Status Quid. One guess who and what they are lampooning.
* Folk singer Music/{{Hamish Imlach}} wrote his own lyrics to "The Wild Rover". It's about a folk singer fed up with always being asked to play, well, "The Wild Rover".
* Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" is a new wave song about new wave music.
* Welsh parodic rap duo Goldie Lookin' Chain's breakout hit "Guns Don't Kill People (Rappers Do)".
* Similarly to Imlach's "The Wild Rover", folk singer (and friend of Music/EricBogle) Tony Miles wrote a pastiche of "And the Band Played 'And the Band Played "Waltzing Matilda"'", about a folkie who tours Australia and finds that, wherever he goes, all anyone can talk about is the bloody Bogle song. Apparently he wrote this after he happened to go on tour two weeks after Eric and hit most of the same venues.
* There's also a parody of Bogle's "No Man's Land" by Crawford Howard, where the singer protests he doesn't know it, and the pub drunk responds that in that case ''he'll'' sing it.
* Norwegian pop duo ''Ute til lunsj'' (''Out to lunch'') did this as a take on how to get around the censorship of the Norwegian Broadcastin Corporation (NRK) in the eighties, after being shut out from radio broadcasting because of a hit containing multiple references to (what could be interpreted as) commercializing. ''This'' particular song was called "A song that can be played in NRK'', containing this amusing line:
---> "This song is actually only about itself, we don´t have anything we wish to say anyway..."
* Dick Gaughan's "A Different Kind of Love Song" is a politically-charged folk song about why he writes politically-charged folk songs.
* Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine's "No Choir" is about singer Florence Welch BreakingTheFourthWall and exploring the tropes she used to further her career.
* Music/DJEarworm:
** The intro and the chorus of "United State of Pop 2009 (Blame It on the Pop)" focus on the many different genres and music styles.
** The aptly-titled "United State of Pop 2010 (Don't Stop the Pop)" is about having fun at a party with the dance-pop music that dominated the year.
** "Beautiful Mashup", the Sean Kingston mashup, uses lyrics from "Beautiful Girls" to make the lyrics about it being a mashup itself.
* "You Will Be My Song" by Christian singer Music/DonMoen refers to {{God}} as one's song worthy of singing praises of, "even when a melody won't come/even when my words are not enough".
* Creator/DanielThrasher: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmZB36csdRA When you write a song about hip hop]]" is about Hoodie Guy writing an EducationalSong about Hip-Hop. [[SubvertedTrope The twist?]] It's an upbeat, not Hip-Hop song where you FollowTheBouncingBall that you'd picture the WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} singing.
* The traditional English Christmas carol "Here We Come A-wassailing" is about going [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassailing wassailing]] and is sung while wassailing.
* Music/{{Eminem}} often writes songs about MusicIsPolitics and the music industry in general. Early in his career he liked to make fun of the pop music industry, but over time he progressed to writing albums about hip-hop.
[[/folder]]

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