Both an Ear Worm and Crowning Music of Awesome, Harry Belafonte's "Turn The World Around", which first premiered on the Muppet Show. Belafonte had just written the song before his appearance, and when he pitched the song to Jim Henson, Henson agreed to let him perform it on the show. The result is one of the most sublime musical moments in TV history.
The Kirk vs Spock fight theme. Seriously, take a listen to it folks... this was the best thing about the entire series.
The spinny cube music from "The Corbomite Manuver".
Star Trek: Enterprise: "I've got FAAAIITH of the HEARRRT! No one's gonna bend or break me! I've got STREEENGHT to BELIIEEEVE....I can do ANYTHINGGGGG!" Mock the song all you want. But it was MAXIMUM WIN! (But of course it was win, it was written by Diane Warren.)
Supernatural: "Oh mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long end of the law/Lawman has put an end to my running and I'm so far from my hooooome". Also counts as a Crowning Music of Awesome.
"Carry on my Wayward Soooon!/There'll be peace when you are doooone./Lay your weary head to reeeest./Don't you cry no more!"
"We will walk through the fire, the point of no return. We will walk through the fire and let it BUUUURN!! Let it BUUUUUURN!!! LET IT BURN!!!!
"Let me rest in peace! Let me get some sleep! Let me take my love and bury it in a hole six-foot deep!"
"She's not even half the girl she... OOWWWW!"]
I'm the how to swing. I'm the twist and shout. When you gotta sing, when you gotta let it out. You call me and I come a-runnin. I turn the music on, I bring the fun in.
I've got a theory.. that it's an earworm...
Wish I could laaaaay your arms down, and let you rest at last.
Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies IT MUST BE BUNNNNNIIIEEEHHHHEESSSS
Basically all the songs from Once More with Feeling could be classified as this.
Especially because they loop with relatively little effort when you don't know all the lyrics. "Am I crazy/Am I dreamin'/Am I marrying a demon/ We could really raise the beam on making marriage a hell/ I lied, I said it's easy...."
"Can't even shout, can't even cry, the Gentlemen are coming by. Looking in windows, knocking on doors, they need to take seven and they might take yours."
"Can't call to Mom, can't say a word. You're gonna die screaming, but you won't be heard."
"I know I can love you much better than this... It's better this way."
"They goooooot...the mustard....ooooooouuuuuut!"
Oh, don't deceive me/Oh, never leave me/How could you use a poor maiden so?
Xander, help Willow and try not to bleed on my couch I just got it steaaaaaaam cleeaaaned.
In-universe example: In the episode where Buffy could hear people's thoughts, she mentioned Principal Snyder had "Walk Like an Egyptian" stuck in his head.
The never-gets-old BTVS theme song.
The songs from LazyTown have a nasty, nasty way of doing this.
"You Are (Arr?) a Pirate" is the hands-down winner; even the closing theme hasn't got as much sticking power as that one.
Ya got mud on your face, you big disgrace, shovin' those sandwiches into your face, singin' WEEEEEEEE WILLLLLLL WEEEEEEEE WILLLLLLL ROWSDOWER! (bum bum) SING IT!
"These two girls they make quite the pair / they both come from your worst nightmare / they will haunt your soul forever / and so, when you see pink, you're gonna think / We're doomed...." (From the Circus On Ice short)
"Kim Catrall, Kim Catrall, Kim-Kim-Kim-Kim, Kim Catrall!"
"Sing the praises of pants!"
The Littlest Hobo: "Maybe tomorrow/I'll want to settle down/Until tomorrow/I'll just keep moving on."
The EUReKA Theme: "Da da da, dan da da da da da da dan da dan..."
The currently annoying "da da DAH dada dada" Chuck E. Cheese commercial, which is supposed to reflect the "where a Kid can be a kid" part of their jingle, but the whole family sings it slightly out of tune.
From ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: "Ugly ugly birdies in the sky/Rangers gonna get you/Watch the Tenga/Watch the Tenga/Watch the Tenga/Tenga Bye Bye!"
"(Doo-doo-doo-DOO, doo, doo-doo, DOO, doo, doo-doo!) Come on everbody and Mousercise!/Let the music move you 'till you're carried away..."
Kids Incorporated: KIDS IN-COR-POR-ATED! K! I! D! S, yes!!...note It's not a Disney Channel original, but it's where the show was most famous on.
Even Stevens: "We went to the moon, in 1969 . . ."
Shake It Up: I twist my hips (Watch me)! I pump my fist (Watch me)! I move like this (Watch me)!
A.N.T. Farm: Cause I am you are we are... Exceptional... Exceptional
Not to mention many others Such as Cameron Parks' "Space Cadet" from "ClarivoyANT".
China Anne McClain released a very catchy halloween-themed song called "Calling All The Monsters". It appeared in the A.N.T. FarmHalloween Episode.
Almost anything sung by China. It doesn't take a hard look to see why Executive Producer Dan Signer came up with the show by literally writing it around her.
"Calling All The Monsters" hasn't just appeared on A.N.T. Farm - it's been on Shake It Up Twice (once as an instrumental only though) and even on the Disney Channel original movie Girl Vs. Monster. It's also a playable track on Just Dance Disney Party.
"Tonight I'm a Soccer Ball".
The songs when they are "The Happy Fuzzy Friends".
'He said "Borrow or steal, I'll find a way to be with my lover upon Christmas Day. And I'll run and I'll roam. I'll cover the ground. This Christmas I'll see you. I'll be around."
"Now welcome folks/I'm sure you'd like to know/We're at the start of a great big circus show..."
In the Torchwood episode "Kiss Kiss, Bang, Bang," there an incredibly catchy electric guitar theme that starts playing whenever Captain John Hart enters a scene and starts being a Magnificent Bastard.
The Colbert Report's Show Within a Show, Tek Jansen, has its own theme tune. It is an earworm WMD. "Tek! Jansen! Wearer of starsuits! Surfing the comet - of danger!"
Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego: "DO IT, ROCKAPELLA! (Yeah!)" Based on personal experience, the first 11 or so seconds of it make a fine ringtone ("yeaaah", some "doo-wops", then the bass "da-bow", then "well she sneaks around the world"). Interesting trivia: They mistakenly included this theme song on the album Toon Tunes: Action-Packed Anthems when they meant to use the theme from Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
The Wire: A whistled rendition of "The Cheese Stands Alone".
Also, Way Down in the Hole sung by different artists in each season (including the original version by Tom Waits in the second season opening).
The Mighty Boosh. Particularly the first season, where nearly every single episode would leave you with a bizarre yet insanely catchy refrain stuck in your head. All together now...
We are the mutant race Don't look at my eyes don't look at my face We are the mutant people Don't look at my eyes don't look at my face
We are the mutant race You don't look alike me, I don't look a like you We are the mutant people We're gonna march ourselves right out of this zoo
"Ice! Flow! Nowhere to go! Ice! Flow! Nowhere to go!"
"Crimpety crimpety now now! Crimpety crimpety ask me how!" Please make it stop...
"Eels!"
"Bouncy bouncy, ooh such a good time! Bouncy bouncy, shoes all in a line!"
"Jean-Claude Jaquettie, with his jacket on. Jean-Claude Jaquettie, with his jacket off."
"Jacket on, jacket off."
"Trapped in a box by a cockney nut job, 'ave a cuppa tea! 'Ave a cuppa tea!"
"Don't be cynical! It's a follicle miracle!"
"Dun Dun Dun... PEACOCK DREAMS."
Surely the theme tune itself constitutes as this?
"The Mighty Booo-ooosh (Come with us to the mighty boooosh.)"
It really, REALLY sucks to be taking an eighth grade science test and all you can remember about inertia is that it's a property of matter. Also, science rules.
He had a lot of great songs, but for some odd reason "I'm a sole man, I'm a bass man, I'm a trout man, I'm a fish fan" just refuses to leave.
"The water cycle makes it RAIN! RAIN! Evaporation makes it RAIN! RAIN! Condensation makes it RAIN! RAIN!"
COPS: "BAD BOYS, BAD BOYS, WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU?"
Cops is filmed on location with the men and women of law enforcement. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Red Dwarf. Disgustingly catchy. And yet brilliant. The closing theme mainly, the ridiculously happy one.
Tongue Tied and the Rimmer Munchkin song?
Friends: "So no one told you life was gonna be this waaay... * clap-clap-clap-clap* "
"Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat. What are they feeding you?"
"I found you in my bed. How'd you wind up there? You are a mystery, little black curly hair. Little black, little black, little black curly haiiiiir."
Saved by the Bell: "When I wake up in the mornin', an alarm gives out a warnin', I don't think I'll ever make it on time..."
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: "Now this is a story all about how/My life got flipped-turned upside down/And I liked to take a minute, just sit down right there/I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air..."
Sharon Lois & Bram's Elephant Show: "Skinnamarinky-dinky-dink, skinnamarinky-doo..."note They often use this song to close their albums and concerts. It also appears on "Skinnamarink TV", a later show they did.
Cheers: Makin' your way in the world today takes everything you got...
I have absolutely no idea how this page has lived this long without the the theme to The Odd Couple. I was doing some work for my uncles when I was younger and for god knows what reason it popped into my head and I started whistling it. It can't have been 3 hours later and it seemed like the entire plant was whistling it, and nobody was pleased about it. Sucks for them, but I like the tune...
Smallville: "Somebody saaaaaaaaave meeeeeee, somebody save me And two warm hands break right through me Somebody saaaaaaaaave meeeeee I don't care how you do it." You're welcome!
I said a-bang,bang, bangity bang I said a-bang-bang bangity bang (bang bang bang)
"Are you free, are you free, are you free, are you free, are you free next Saturday?"
"Moist. (Beat) Moist. (Beat) Moist. (Beat) Moist." (Beat) And so on...
I'm not certain if this fits, but Swedish public service television SVT airs a show called Allsĺng pĺ Skansen ("Sing-Along at Skansen") whose entire premise is well, people singing along. It's insanely popular on summers, and most of the songs are a particular kind of songs everyone is likely to know, from 80-year olds and downwards. Not a single one is NOT an Ear Worm.
As mentioned above, Spitting Image attempted a direct parody of these sorts of tunes, in the form of the Chicken Song. They were so successful, that at least one of the creators has fled to Australia to escape this particular Ear Worm.
Seinfeld parody: Believe it or not, George isn't at home, Please leave a messaaaage at the beep, I must be out, or I'd pick up the phone, where could I be, Believe it or not, I'm not home.
Hell, the LOST theme noise doesn't even have a tune, but you just try getting that "BWOOOOOOOORRRRRRNG" out of your head.
The end credits song is a straighter example, specially with that "BAD ROBOT!" that follows.
That final beat at the end of every episode. Usually accompanied by a Big "NO!" from this editor.
BUT YOU'VE GOTTA MAAAAAAAAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC SING YOUR OWN SPECIAL SOOOOOOOONG MAAAAAAAAAKE YOUR OWN KIND OF MUSIC EVEN IF NOBODY ELSE SINGS ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG
YOU ALL EVERYBOOOOODY!
The full theme to America's Funniest Videos during the Saget era.
We've got laughs from coast to coast(Pause)to make you smile./We might look at each of you to capture all that style/for the red white and blue and those funny things you do! America, america, and this is you./ Stories from the friends next door (pause)they never told/you might be a star tonight so let that camera roll/ for the red white and blue, and those funny things you do America, America, and this is you.
The Eighties had sitcoms that had theme songs you'll have trouble escaping. Examples:
Family Ties: "What will we do, baby?/Without us? What will we do, baby?/Without us?"
Married... with Children: "Love and marriage, love and marriage/Go together like a horse and carriage/This, I tell you, brother/You can't have one without the other!"
Another theme song written by Jesse Frederick, the writer or the themes for Full House, Family Matters, as a well as a few other theme songs, which may or may not be ear worms.
Hands up, who else sings along to the theme for Gordon Ramsay's F-Word? "The F-Word's here but the F-Word's bad, cuss my mother and cuss my dad, but I love my mother and I love my dad, wanna have all that they never had..."
Dawson's Creek: "I don't wanna wait for our lives to be over..."
The Odd Couple: "On November 13th, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that someday he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his friend Oscar Madison. Several years earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?"
The OC: "California, here we come, right back where we started from...Caaaaaaliforniaaa..."
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: "Day Man! Fighter of the Night Man! Champion of the sun! You're a master of karate and friendship for everyone!"
Day Man! Uhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Another one without lyrics. The I Dream of Jeannie theme will take over your mind.
The Band of Brothers episode "Why We Fight". Specifically, the scene where the troops sing "Blood on the Risers." It's incredibly catchy, particularly the chorus.
Good Times: "Good tiiiimes! Anytime you make a payment! Good tiiiimes! Anytime you need a friend! Good tiiiimes! Any time you’re out from under! Not getting hassled, not getting hustled!"
Cleopatra 2525! Three women with the will to survive!!
Boy Meets World: "When this boy meets wooooooooorrrrrrrrld, boy meets world! Wandering down this rooooad that we call liiiiiiiiiiiiffffe..."
The original theme for Hockey Night in Canada. It's not referred to as Canada's unofficial national anthem for nothing.
Most of the musical numbers from Sifl And Olly qualify, and there were a lot of them, but...
Las Palmas, take Las Palmas to Colorado, take Colorado down to Tico... and that's how you get to llama school!
And of course "United States Of Whatever", which was catchy enough to become a One Hit Wonder for show co-creator Liam Lynch long after the show itself was canceled
Try listening to "Tingaling", the pause number from the 2009 finally of the Swedish trials for the Eurovision Song Contest. Tingaling, Tingaling, come on baby shake that thing...
Salute Your Shorts: "We run and jump, we swim and play/We row, we go on trips (rolls eyes)/But the things that last forever, are our dear friendships/Oh, Camp Anawana, we hold you in our hearts/And when we think about you . . . IT MAKES ME WANNA FART!!
"It's "I hope we never part!" Now get it right or pay the price!"
3-2-1 Contact "Contact is the secret, is the moment, when everything happens. Contact is the answer, is the reason, why everything happens. Contact. Let's make contact. 3, 2, 1 - Contact"
"Whenever there's trouble, we're there on the double, we're the Bloodhound Gang."
"Marshall, Will and Holly on a routine expedition met the greatest earthquake ever known. High on the rapids it struck their tiny raft and plunged them down a thousand feet below to the Land of the Lost."
Also the second OP ("Now Sigmund the Sea Monster and Johnny and Scott are friends/The finest friends that ever could be on the land or on the sea")
"You better run, you better hide/We gotta keep you out of sight/Be careful, Sigmund..."
"Step right up, take a look at the stars/You're leaving the world behind/Oh, step right up, you won't believe your eyes/At what those Far Out Space Nuts find...at what those Far Out Space Nuts find"
The Bugaloos. The Bugaloos. They're in the air and everywhere, flying high, flyihg loose, flying free as a summer breeze. Happy as a summer breeze..."
And for that matter, the songs they do in the show as well.
From Square 1 TV - "That's infinity. You can count forever. They'll always be one more. That's infinity. Count from dusk till dawn. You'll never reach infinity; you just go on and on and on and on...'
Two nights a week was all it took to burn ((BROKEN))this theme song into the ears of audiences in Singapore. And not just the Chinese-speaking ones, in some cases.
Blackadder has about half a dozen variations of the theme song over the course of the show, with and without lyrics, so at least one of them is bound to get stuck in your head at some point.
On that note, ALL of the Double Action songs! Or one of them that you hear more frequently than others. Such as Gun Form. (Get up get up, to get down!)
Kamen Rider, Takeshi Hongo, is a modified human. He was altered by Shocker, an evil secret society with aspirations for world domination. Kamen Rider fights against Shocker for the sake of human freedom!
"No income tax, no V.A.T.,No money back, no guarantee, Black or white, rich or poor, We'll cut prices at a stroke......God bless Hooky Street, Viva Hooky Street, Long live Hooky Street, C'est magnifique, Hooky Street,"
Xena: Warrior Princess: "In a time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings; a land in turmoil cried out for a hero."
DJ Talent, who was let through for the sole reason that his original call-and-response song had this quality.
Although finding it online can be difficult, the theme song for Australian (?) children's TV show In the Box will never leave your head. You see it briefly one morning and you remember it ten years later.
EverythingFlight of the Conchords sang on their show. But this takes the gâteau. It will crawl in your ear and lay eggs.
Those of us in Asia and who watch CNN International are subjected to a song called simply "Cat" from a Shanghai band called Muscle Snog. It's the theme song of CNNGo, and can be found here
Take a minute to look up the opening theme to The A-Team. Now count how many times you catch yourself singing that tune at random intervals over the next few hours. And if you speak French, there's a version with lyrics.
Welcome to Wild And Crazy Kids the game show that goes anywhere and does anything to find kids having fun! [2]
Are You Being Served?: "Chanson D'Amour/Rat-a-tat-tat/Play encore/Here in my heart/Rat-a-tat-tat/Chanson, Chanson D'Amour" Not original to the show, but very ear wormy.
The Sopranos: "Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun . . ."
A somewhat dark example: The German television series Blut und Ehre os a really creepy story about the indoctrination of children in Nazi Germany. A lot of it consisted of uniformed Hitler Youth marching around and singing...very catchy songs. "Es zittern die morschen Knochen" and "Vorwartz! Vorwartz!"
Freak the Freak Out from Victorious. It doesn't help that Nickelodeon plays it 100 times a day...
"You don't have to be afraid to put your dream in action, you're never gonna fade, you'll be the main attraction..."
"Take a hint, take a hint."
"Tell me that you love me"
"Beggin' on Your Knees"
"Finally Falling"
The songs of the show can be instant ear worms.
Hee Haw: "Gloom, despair and agony on me!/Deep dark depression, excessive misery!/If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all!/Gloom, despair and agony on me!"
"Where, oh where, are you tonight?/Why did you leave me here all alone?/I searched the world over and I thought I'd found true love/You met another, and PTHHHT you was gone!"
Don't get us started on Glee. Seriously. Don't. We'll be here all night.
Well its easy to just point you in the direction of their covers, but we should mention should their original songs. Of special mention is the theme from ((BROKEN))Fondue for Two.
I'm sure the original song 'Loser Like Me' warrants this.
'You wanna be, you wanna be a loser like meeeeeeeeeeee!'
Also the original song 'Light Up The World'.
Actually all their original songs are really catchy including 'Trouty Mouth', 'Big Ass Heart' and 'Hell to the No'.
Not to mention the song-and-dance number in Jeff's daydream that kicks off "Biology 101": "We're gonna fly to school each morning/We're gonna smile the entire time..."
"I can't count the reasons I should staaaaaay!"
Pretty Little Liars: "Got a secret, can you keep it, swear this one you'll save..."
The Partridge Family: "Hello world, there's a song that we're singin'/COME ON GET HA-PPY!"
The Courtship Of Eddie's Father: "People, let me tell you 'bout my best friend..."
EastEnders: "DUN. DUN. DUN DUN D-D-D-D- de de de di de dun de..."
Drew Careys Improvaganza: "Flippity Flap, Flippity Flap. Put a pancake on the stack, everybody Flap! My! Jack!"
The corny, and impossibly catchy theme to Camp Cariboo, a Canadian kids show.
Even TV station vanity plate fanfares can be mini-ear worms in their own right. Try to find the full-length versions of the Rediffusion London, Thames Television and 1982 Channel 4 fanfares.
The theme from Dexter. Bonus points if you follow the correct order of his routine while you hum.
BA-LA-MO-RY! (BA-LA-MO-RY!) What's the story in Balamory? Where would you like to go? What's the story in Balamory? Tell us where we will go!note Balamory is a preschool series from Scotland that had a brief run in the U.S. on Discovery Kids (now The Hub) and TLC.
A comedy duo, Katy Wix and Anna Crilly chose the theme tune for their comedy sketch series. Probably with cold calculating deliberation, they selected the utterly annoying earworm previously used as background music to a perfume advert, French band Stereo Total's broken-English-with-intermittent-whistling, I love You, Oh No. Used originally to demonstrate how irresistibly whimsical and kooky the girl in the perfume advert was, Anna and Katy, both large-ish mature ladies who won't see thirty again, perform an absurd dance routine to it. And it got a sxecond chance to hijack our ears.
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