Music is such an ubiquitous part of our lives that we often don’t notice how frequently it enters our consciousness. (All the more reason to support arts education and pay working musicians what they’re worth, but that’s a whole other article.) One perfect example of the big role music plays is how often we sing to ourselves, sometimes in the most delightful and hilarious ways.
Writer Jonathan Edward Durham shared that he sings “La-un-dry” to the tune of The Cranberries’ “Zombie” every time he does the wash, and that admission launched a chorus of people sharing how they, too, sing to themselves with altered song lyrics to make chores or mundane life tasks more interesting or fun.
Try to read through these “silly little song” responses and NOT sing along.
“When I take my dogs outside, sometimes I sing ‘Come on doggies, let’s go potty’ to the tune of ‘Barbie Girl.’” – Lindsay
“I sing ‘I’ve got to shower’ to the tune of the 90s Snap song ‘(I’ve Got) the Power.’” – Tracy
“‘Simply haaaving a wonderful breakfast time’ to my dog as I get his breakfast ready.” – Candice
“When making mojitos (or similar non-alcoholic lime-based beverages), I like to sing, ‘Macerate good limes, come on.’” – Marion
“As I drive past a delivery driver standing on the pavement, I sing ‘Stand. By. Your vaaaaan…’” – Lara
“Coffee coffee, you’re the one. You make morning somewhat fun. (Sung to rubber ducky tune.)” – Charell
“I sing ‘Med-i-cate the dog’ to the tune of ‘Celebrate’ twice a day when…medicating the dog. There are verses. It’s a work of genius.” – Anna
“Instead of ‘Rock the Casbah’ I sing ‘Sift the Catbox.’” – Heather
“C is for coffee, that’s good enough for me. Coffee coffee coffee starts with C.” – Judy
“My laundry song is to the tune of All of Me…’Laaauuuundery, I’ll laaauunder you…then I’ll take you to the dryer, like a warm and cozy fire.’” – Ruthie
“1) Every time I put on sweatpants, I sing ‘Sweat-Pants’ like David Bowie sings, ‘Let’s Dance.’ 2) When my cat Jasper has climbed up somewhere I don’t want him to be, I sing, ‘Get down, get down, get down, get down, get down’ from the end of KC and the Sunshine Band’s ‘Get Down Tonight.’” – Jen
There were more. People on Instagram chimed in with even more examples, and it’s apparently something so may of us do it’s nearly universal, but most of us do these things when we’re alone, so who knew?
“When my kids were little and I was giving them baths, I would sing ‘Everybody (yeah), Wash you body (yeah), Everybody, Wash your body right, Bath time’s back alright!’ to Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody.’ My daughter thought I made up the song and was shocked when she heard the real version on the radio one day not too long ago.”
“‘Pruning my hydrangea’ to the tune of Losing my Religion.”
“Every time I realize I have forgotten to drink water, I always (mostly in my head) sing ‘Why’d you have to go and make me so de-hy-drated?’ like Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated.’”
“I sing ‘I have to go pee-ee’ to Queen’s I Want to Break Free.”
“When I have to go to the bathroom but I have to wait until I finish doing whatever I’m doing or for someone to get out of the bathroom, I sing ‘I’m about to pee my pants, up in here, up in HERE’ like DMX.”
“Anything that has the right syllables to the Muppets Manamana. ‘Banana bread… doot do de do do.’”
“Every time I say ‘Pasadena’ I have to stop myself from singing, ‘Passss A Den Yaaaa’ like I’m in The Lion King. Often, I am not successful.”
In all seriousness, though, making up song lyrics to make boring tasks more fun or simply to add a little humor to your day is a super solid coping mechanism. Life isn’t easy. Finding ways to eke more joy out of life, even in small ways, can add up to big shifts in our well-being.
Humans are delightfully quirky, especially when no one’s looking. We need to share these things more with one another so we know we’re not alone in our silly little sing-songy habits.
