Sometimes it seems like some songs are following you. Or that you can’t ever shake them. They pop up in commercials, department stores, YouTube ads, or in any number of other places, and it seems like they will just be in your life forever. It’s not a bad thing—it’s just a fact.
Videos by American Songwriter
Here below, we wanted to highlight three songs, in particular. Three songs that we bet follow you around from place to place, year after year. Three one-hit wonders, in fact, that just seem to be as commonplace as corner stores and beer ads. Indeed, these are three one-hit wonders you just can’t seem to escape in your daily life.
[RELATED: 3 Energetic One-Hit Wonders That Are Perfect To Dance Along To]
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin from Simple Pleasures (1988)
This is a good thing. Just because something seems to be in your life all the time doesn’t make it a bad thing. A song can feel like a friend or even a family member and this track, whose positive message has been playing regularly throughout the decades, is an example of that. It’s a cozy song, seemingly one you’re equipped with at birth. Because really there is no other advice that can help you more day to day than to relax a bit, let go a bit and remember that joy is allowed in your life. Indeed, on the song, McFerrin sings,
Here’s a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don’t worry
Be happy
In every life we have some trouble
But when you worry you make it double
Don’t worry
Be happy, don’t worry, be happy now
“Jump Around” by House of Pain from House of Pain (1992)
This one is particularly true for sports fans. If you go to a basketball game or even just turn one on, you’ll likely hear this tune. But even more than NCAA or NBA games, we bet if you turned on the radio right now and if you started turning the dials, within a few minutes, you’d hear this song. Either on some throwback hip-hop station or even a classic rock station that just digs the beat. For a silly track with a repetitive chorus, this is a song that will never go away. And on it, the HOP rappers offer,
Pack it up, pack it in, let me begin
I came to win, battle me, that’s a sin
I won’t ever slack up, punk, ya better back up
Try and play the role and yo, the whole crew’ll act up
Get up, stand up
(C’mon) c’mon, throw your hands up
If ya got the feelin’, jump up towards the ceilin’
“Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot from Mack Daddy (1992)
This song from the Seattle-born rapper has a lot going for it. The track is a favorite among karaoke singers. It’s used in TV commercials seemingly multiple times a year. And its subject matter is about one of the most adored parts of the human body. Add some cheeky lyrics and sharp delivery and you have a song that is inescapable. You’d probably hear squirrels rapping it in the forest if you went to live off the grid. Indeed, Mix has made us all aware of the finer points of the posterior, rapping,
I like big butts and I can not lie
You other brothers can’t deny
That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist
And a round thing in your face
You get sprung, wanna pull up tough
‘Cause you notice that butt was stuffed
Deep in the jeans she’s wearing
I’m hooked and I can’t stop staring
Oh baby, I wanna get with you
And take your picture
Photo by Suzi Pratt/FilmMagic











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