Watch too many old Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts and you'll get the opening and closing music stuck in your head.
There is one old Daffy Duck cartoon (in color, but when he was still actively daffy) where Daffy sang this theme. It's called "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down."
I remember there was this one Bugs Bunny episode where he was interviewed about his past... and it featured this short song of him with three other people that made me laugh everytime. The only line I can remember is... "Now it's time to goooooooooo!"
It got transcribed in a FoxTrot strip once. It went like this:
Oh, we're the boys of the chorus We hope you'll like our show We know you're rootin' for us But now we have to goooooooooo!
It seems impossible to find, but those seven notes that play whenever the minah bird (the one who does nothing but hop along) appears are unbelievably catchy.
Is it me, of does that song sound suspiciously similar to Tom Lehrer's "The Irish Ballad"?
They're simply written in the same rather common metre; the best known example is probably the Nightmare Song from Iolanthe.
They parodied "The Macarena" with "Macadamia Nut". Some might say a little too well...
And, of course, the President Song.
"Be Careful What You Eat." Once you realize, that that's the frickin' can can, it just won't ever leave.
Cuckoo clock/ Tick-tick-tock/ Piece of chalk/ Key and lock/ Oh, du schöne/Oh, du schöne/ Oh, du schöne/ Schnitzelbank!
Let us introduce ourselves O people of this land!/ We are the Warner Brothers/ With Sister close at hand!/ I bet you all our wondering who is this young unknown?/ And why am I inheriting the Anvilanian throne?
What are We: Maybe we are dogs/ Cute little dogs/ With ears/ And little tails that we can wag/ Hey! Let's go fetch his slippers and play tag!
In-universe, Invisibo's theme proves to be this. ("Where did he go? That Invisibo?"). It's sung to the tune of "It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing".
"You're a meany, nasty Lobe/You're as bad as villains get..."
The theme for Duck Dodgers. This troper doesn't even like the show, but used to flip to it just to hear the theme song. It was catchy AND addictive.
You think you can defeat me? Oh, how very droll! Well, Titans, one thing you should know. I am the one with magic powers 'round here, I am the one who runs the show!
"When there's trouble you know what to doooooo, CALL CYBORG! He can shoot a rocket from his shoooooe, 'CAUSE HE'S CYBORG!"
Nagare nagare te kita mon da, kita kara nishi e kake nuke te kite, tadori tsui ta koko wa ittai dokoooooo...
He could mean "I'm a Goofy Goober yeah! You're a Goofy Goober yeah! We're all Goofy Goofy Goofy Goobers yeah!" It certainly qualifies.
This is a little ditty I call, The Campfire Song Song.
Let's gaaather round the campfire and sing our campfire song—Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song...
Dun, dun , DUUUUUUUN.
The Krusty Krab Pizza, Is the Pizza, For you and Me!
The best time to wear a striped sweater.......is all the time.....
"Take a penny and some magic..."
"It's shaping up to be a wonderful holiday..."
And of course - Sweet, Sweet Victory.
"The jelly-elly-elly-elly fishing song! * clap!*
Round and round, the record spins all day, so listen to our musical way! Do do do do dodo do do DO do, from an episode called "Ear Worm", of all things.
This cover somehow managed to make that one even MORE infuriatingly catchy. "Ear Worm", indeed.
For that matter, anything Iroh sings. "Little Soldier Boy", "The Girls of Ba-Sing-Se", "All Seasons For Love", etc.
You mean, any song in the entire series. "Big bad badger moles, coming to get me, come on guys, help me out...?"
Yes. Yes indeed.
Agni help you if you get "Little Soldier Boy" stuck in your head. People will assume something's seriously wrong if you can't stop crying for no apparent reason.
ANYTHING from the guys at Flappy Bob's Learnatorium. "I'm Peppy Happy Gary!/I'm Peppy Happy Betty!/WE'RE PEPPY HAPPY PEPPY HAPPY PEPPY HAPPY HAP!"
Witchdoctor from the Rugrats movie (though originally it was Alvin and the Chipmunks).. This troper still starts singing that song whenever she sees a monkey. "Oo ee oo ah ah ting tang wall walla bing bang!"
Any song from the Musical Episode
It's the Rugrat Rap
And despite being full instrumental the theme song counts
That song somehow combines Ear Worm -ness with a rather strange set of mondegreens for this troper, who, when first hearing it, remembered certain parts as "... and stuck itself upon his wrist with secret solitid" and "fighting as heroes from outer space!"
This troper remembers when that series came out, Neopets did a sponsor game for it (some Memory-esque matching game), with the theme song on a loop. Grahhhhh! Years later, when she finally gave the series a shot, she was glad the theme song for the sequel was purely instrumental.
Speaking of Robot Chicken, what about the ending theme? Sure it's just them saying "bawk" to a little tune, but it's so catchy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrBplRjbgSw
And from the 3rd Star Wars special, Palpatine explains what the other 65 orders are.
Scratch that, any songs in Foster's are bound to work their way into your brain and stay there for years to come. Especially that god damn theme song. Are... they playing kazoos?
Usin' The Power in your face, Sendin' you back to your place, DON'T LOOK AT OUR CROTCHES WHILE WE SYNCHRONIZE OUR WATCHES!
"Summertime Luh-huh-uhvin, lovin' in the Summertime!" (Which actually DOES get stuck in Rigby's head, and even manifests itself into the real world so it will never leave)
"AW SNAP, AW SNAP! COME TO OUR MACARONI PARTY AND WE'LL TAKE A NAP!"
The Pebble and the Penguin: If you're into pain and agony, (agony,) if you love the great indoors, welcome to the Good Ship Misery! The misery's all yours!
Look how we get along together...
Whoever composed or wrote songs for the Woody Woodpecker cartoons must have had a keen taste in music-a lot of the older ones had a great mix of both instrumental and lyrical songs, from the opening "Crazy" song of Woody's first solo cartoon, Woody Woodpecker (AKA The Cracked Nut) to the song of the short Ski For Two, The Woody Woodpecker Song, and even The Woody Woodpecker Polka. And as for the Barber of Seville short? That belongs in a section all its own.
Oh yes. This troper's MOTHER sings that one out loud, frequently.
Let's face it; that was the only good bit from the 1960s series.
This Troper thinks more of the Ramones version of the 60s theme than any other (even the original song itself). It's one of the biggest Ear Worms he's ever caught. And it's Badass.
The Simpsons Movie gave us this just-as-catchy variation: "Spider-Pig! Spider-Pig! Does whatever a Spider-Pig does..."
Spider-Pig is so much of an Ear Worm that it gets into your head without even hearing it. The creators decided to Throw It In because they couldn't stop singing it while working on the movie.
Everybody's got a water buffalo, yours is fast but mine is slow...
Keep walking, but you won't knock down our wall. Keep walking, but your plans will surely fall. It's plain to see your brains are very small if you think walking will be knocking down our wall.
Schoolhouse Rock. If you are only a bill, sitting at conjunction junction, thinking about getting your adverbs from Lolly's, you know what I mean.
Suffering for Suffrage and Mr. Morton plague this troper frequently.
This troper had the entire liberetto of Schoolhouse Rock LIVE! playing through her head for months after performing in it.
This troper's mother frequently breaks out into "Conjunction Junction" at odd intervals. For me, "Interplanet Janet" is a guaranteed Ear Worm.
When you're in the dark and you want to see you need... SEIZURE CAUSING FLAS- I mean, ELECTRICITY E-LEC-TRI-CITY.
Multiply 7 times 1, I got 7 days to get that problem done.
The songs from Money Rock aren't as well known, but "Tyrannosaurus Debt" is damn clever.
When this troper was in 9th grade, back in the 80s, her teacher in Civics class announced one day that the class was assigned to memorize the preamble of the Constitution. After a few beats of us all looking at each other, we all ((BROKEN))broke into song....
My 5th grade class had to memorize it in the late 90s. The only rule: we couldn't sing it to the teacher.
This Troper can't sing the Hallelujah Chorus. I was once at a choir rehearsal. This was all I could sing. I eventually ended up not singing at all, because all I could sing was the "Hallelujah"s.
Otherwise known as that "Nah nanananaaah" song from Ferngully, Wilson's Pickett's "Land of a Thousand Dances" is very, very catchy.
"Yo, the name is Batty/The logic is erratic..."
"They used and abused me, battered and bruised me"... This troper can't stop listening to it.
"I rock and I ramble, my brain is scrambled..." If this keeps up, this troper suspects the entire song will be quoted.
"Filthy brownacid rain/Pouring down like egg chow mein..."
Four Teenage Turtles surfed in/On a wave from the past,/It’s like the future’s a party/That these brothers just crashed./Don’t know when they’ll go home,/How long the good times will last,/But just stick around and see/These Turtles go...
Hercules, people are safe when near him. Hercules, only the evil fear him. Softness in his eyes, Iron in his thighs, Virtue in his heart, Fire in every part, Of the Mighty Hercules!
Oh dear lord. That thing has been earwormed for me since I was 5 years old. Hear it here, folks. (The worst part is... those aren't quite the lyrics I remember. Neither are the slightly-different lyrics sung over the end-credits. Do I just have lyrics from a later season earwormed? Aaaugh!)
"Now that you're stinking rich, we'll gladly be your bitch!"
"Here's the plain situation! There's no negotiation with the fellas at the Freakin' FCC!"
"J-j-j-j-just like the bad guy/from Lethal Weapon 2/I got diplomatic immunity/so Hammer, you can't sue."
"All cartoons are fucking dicks, they get their kicks from being pricks, it's a quirk they just can't fix... because all cartoons are fucking dicks."
"A bag o' weed, a bag o' weed, everything is better with a bag o' weed..."
I said the bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word. I said the bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word. I said the bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word. I said the bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word. Have you heard about the bird? I said the bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word. I said the bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word. I said the bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word...
How annoyed the other Griffins get with Peter singing the above song could be considered a Lampshade Hanging.
This Troper wishes the damn bird would eat this Ear Worm...
It's a wonderful daaaaayyyy for piiiiiee... You can ask all the birds in the sky...
A vasectomy's a medical procedure, one that makes you half a man (you're half a maaaaaaaaaaan)...remember when you twisted up your garden hose? Well essentially that is the plan (that is the plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan)!
You ain't heard nothing until you've heard the theme to the crappy 1960s cartoon. It even found its way into the movie as the big, brassy background number in the casino, and as Tony's ringtone on Rhodey's phone.
Iron Man Tony Stark makes you feel, he's the cool exec with a heart of steel.
"Come gather around me, space travellers, surround me... " If you're Canadian, odds are you've already recognized it.
But we're not Canadian. So identify it for the rest of us.
We're the ones on the run/We're the girls, we're the diamond dolls/It's a ravenous world/And the ceiling is very tall/do do do do do do do-ahhhhhhhhhh... Been wriggling in my ear for over two decades now.
In particular, I once knew someone who still remembered the theme songtwenty years after last seeing the show. Watch at your own risk.
The mini-music videos from each episode are often earworms too, with the added bonus of being impossibly 80's. Of note are The Stingers, relatively minor characters with ditties like Perfect Match.
Sesame Street will put songs into your head through ink and paint, too:
Heathcliff, Heathcliff, no one should...terrify their neigborhood...
God that song is powerful. I completely forgot about that show even existing, it has been at least five years... and now it stuck in my head. TVTROPES THANK YOU VERY MUCH
The French one is just as catchy. It even has the same melody ("Isidore le citadin. Dans le ville. Crie victoire..."). By the way, "Isidore" is Heathcliff's French name.
During a game of Truth or Dare, this Trouper got to listen to someone sing the opening "La la la la la" for the Daria theme, and it's still stuck in his head.
Don't forget the musical episode. "MORRRNNNNNINGGGGG IN THE 'BURBS!"
"Just a little homework tonight!/ Just a little homework tonight!"
"I Love to Singa...about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a... I love to singa... about a sky of blue-a or a tea for two-a, anything-a with-a swing-a to an I-Love-You-a, I-I love-a to, I-I love-a to siiiiiiiiing!"
You will never, ever get "Let's Go Band/Blue" out of your head if you were in band and played it over.... and over.... and over... and then had to listen to the Beginning Band play it for two more insufferable years. Its like its traumatized you (kids can and will scream "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" when seeing it on the program).
A little known movie called "The Water Babies", has this little gem: "High, high, high, high, high cockalorum! High cockalorum! Happy to be you're company..."
HEY-O! HEY-O! HEY-O! HEY-O! HEY-O! (There are actual lyrics to it, but this part is the most prominent, although it's only actually sung near the end.)
"Uh-oh! Sylvanians! All your troubles soon will melt away..."
"Felix the Cat. The wonderful, wonderful cat. Whenever he gets in a fix, he reaches into his bag of tricks..."
"They call him Jabber Jabber Jabber Jabber Jabber Jabber Jabberjaw (The most futuristic shark you ever saw! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk...)"
"When in Rome, you do what the Romans do, you play like the Romans play together. You're all invited, right this way, you're gonna, meet The Roman Holidays..."
"I'm Popeye the Sailor Man (*toot*), I'm Popeye the Sailor Man (*toot*), I'm strong to the "finach", 'cause I eats me spinach, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man (*toot* *toot*)!"
"...his bank account is as rich as his name. That's rich! Richie Rich!*
"Ev'rybody's got a part to play/To start each day in a beautiful way/Ev'ry morning when the night goes away/Ev'ry morning is a brand new day!"
"Making brand new friends.....brings a shining light to ev'ry face/Shines for all to see/To make the world a brighter place/Rainbow Brite and me..."
From "Butterballs" of South Park: "Let's all join together and make bullying kill itself. Bullying is an ugly thing, and lets shove its face in the dirt and make bullying kill itself."
