Nearly every song in Schmigadoon! is a Homage to or parody of one or more specific songs from classic musicals:
Season One
- The title song "Schmigadoon!" is a tribute to the same from Oklahoma!, beginning with an extended note and ending with the spelling of the title.
- Danny's solo, "You Can't Tame Me", is a send-up of songs like "I'm a Bad, Bad Man" from Annie Get Your Gun, in which a rake boasts about how we won't be tied down to one woman, combined with "If I Loved You" from Carousel, in which he denies his attraction to the heroine but hypothesizes what would happen if they got together. It even begins the same way as "If I Loved You", with Danny accusing Melissa of trying to get him to fall for her the same way Billy accuses Julie of trying to get him to marry her.
- The reprise "You Done Tamed Me" has a section wherein he worries about how he'll support his and Melissa's hypothetical child, and vows to get money even if he has to steal it. This is exactly what Billy sings about in his solo "Soliloquy".
- "Corn Puddin'" is a parody of silly crowd songs about food, like "That Was a Real Nice Clambake" from Carousel.
- "Somewhere Love is Waiting for You", in which a gentle older man comforts the heroine about her trouble finding love, references "More I Cannot Wish You" from Guys and Dolls.
- "He's a Queer One, That Man o' Mine" borrows from songs like "Something Wonderful" from The King and I, though its central joke is playing on "You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan" from Carousel.
- "With All of Your Heart", in which a schoolteacher gives valuable advice to a room full of adorable children, is reminiscent of "Getting to Know You" and "I Whistle a Happy Tune" from The King and I.
- "Va-Gi-Na," Melissa's sex-education song, is a very-direct homage to "Do-Re-Mi" from The Sound of Music, even set among the mountains.
- "Tribulation" riffs on The Music Man's "Ya Got Trouble", where one character induces a moral panic in the townsfolk by warning them of incoming corruption and devious activities.
- "I Always, Always, Never Get My Man" shares the same verse structure as Kiss Me, Kate's "Always True To You In My Fashion".
Season Two
- Season 2 begins with "Welcome to Schmicago," which borrows heavily from Pippin's "Magic to Do".
- The tempo and framing (a line of showgirls leaning on a rail on a nightclub stage) of "Do We Shock You" references "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity
- "Kaput" is more or less a love letter to "Mein Herr" from Cabaret: nightclub setting, star performer in a black leotard and bowler hat singing about her many romantic pursuits (with a touch of Gratuitous German) while her backup dancers accompany her with chair-based choreography. Fitting, given that the singer is a clear Expy of Sally Bowles. As the song wraps up, it borrows riffs from "When You're Good to Mama" from Chicago.
- Also from Pippin, "Doorway to Where" in episode 2 draws heavily from "Corner of the Sky."
- "I Need to Eat," the audition song in episode 2, is a direct homage to "I Hope I Get It" from A Chorus Line; the spoken interludes are based on the same musical's "At the Ballet", and Melissa's verse is based on "The Music and the Mirror".
- "Bustin' Out" is a homage to "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" from Company. Structurally, the use of a nightclub song thematically connected to the action of the plot (rather than having the characters participating in the action sing the song) is borrowed from Cabaret.
- "Everyone's Gotta Get Naked" starts out as a homage to "Good Morning Starshine" from Hair, while also lampooning Hair's notorious nude scene; musically the song resembles "Light of the World" from Godspell.
- "Worst Brats in Town" combines the music of "Worst Pies in London" from Sweeney Todd with the meaning of "Little Girls" from Annie
- "There Was a Butcher" is a direct homage to "The Barber and his Wife" and "Poor Thing" from Sweeney Todd.
- "Bells and Whistles" combines the style and structure of "Dance Ten, Looks Three" from A Chorus Line with the content of "Razzle Dazzle" from Chicago; Bobby's patter section in the middle is a parody of "Getting Married Today" from Company.
- "Two Birds With One Stone" borrows elements from "This Jesus Must Die" from Jesus Christ Superstar and "Johanna (Mea Culpa)" from Sweeney Todd.
- "Talk to Daddy" is similar to "Rhythm of Life" from Sweet Charity, with choreography resembling "The Rich Man's Frug" from the same musical.
- "Good Enough To Eat" starts as a clear pastiche of "A Little Priest" from Sweeney Todd, before evolving into a upbeat Annie-style number with a chorus of cheerful orphans, quoting "It's the Hard-Knock Life" and "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" and also reminiscent of "Food, Glorious Food" from Oliver!. The choreography at the end of the song resembles "Turkey Lurkey Time" from Promises, Promises.
- "Maybe It's My Turn Now" homages "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret, in music, setting and general sentiment.
- "Famous as Hell" and "You Betrayed Me" both send up several songs from Jesus Christ Superstar Particularly "Heaven on Their Mind" & "Simon Zealotes" for the former and "The Last Supper" for the latter. This is set up with Josh washing the feet and "healing the lame" of the tribe and contains a riff on the Jaded Mandarin line.
- "There's Always a Twist" is a homage to songs from Promises, Promises such as "A Fact Can Be a Beautiful Thing" and "Promises, Promises". The costumes of the backup singers are another reference to "Turkey Lurkey Time".
- "Over and Done" references the R&B Girl Group style of Dreamgirls.
- While "A Happy Beginning" isn't based on any song from any of the musicals referenced in this season, the song was clearly inspired by "Rainbow Connection" in The Muppet Movie due to Oscar The Leprechaun starting the song with a guitar solo and having an optimistic tone despite how it deconstructs a certain cliche song topic like wishing on a star or, in Schmigadoon's case, happy endings.
