4 Goofy Songs From the 1960s I Can’t Help but Sing Along To

Goofy songs might not be the first thing you think of when you consider the greatest musical compositions of all time, but they have a way of getting inside your head and staying there. Even if I don’t go out of my way to put on these goofy songs from the 1960s—in fact, for some, I would make a point not to—I still find myself singing along to them.

“They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” by Napoleon XIV

The way “They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” gets stuck in my head makes me feel like they really are coming to take me away. Jerry Samuels, billed as Napoleon XIV, released this novelty record in 1966, and decades later, the shifting vocals and siren noises still get lodged inside of my head for at least a few days after I hear this song.

“Surfin’ Bird” by The Trashmen

Would I ever put on “Surfin’ Bird” if I had the aux cord on a road trip? Unless I was purposefully trying to be annoying (possible!), the answer is no. Nonetheless, I can still sing along to The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” with the best of ‘em. I feel like I ought to give partial credit for that ability to Family Guy, which made a running gag out of the song.

“Do-Wacka-Do” by Roger Miller

Roger Miller was a master at crafting songs that were silly and sentimental all at once, and the goofy songs he released in the 1960s, like “Do-Wacka-Do”, are no exception. Even if you don’t really know what Miller means when he says “do-wacka-do, wacka-do, wacka-do,” the rest of the lyrics around it make you feel like you do.

“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” by The Beatles

While the storyline behind The Beatles’ “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” isn’t exactly lighthearted, it’s hard not to call a song like this goofy when you imagine The Beatles standing in Abbey Road Studios, clanging on anvils with hammers. Indeed, only Paul McCartney could find a way to make a song about a hammer-wielding serial killer sound goofy and lighthearted in his folky, poppy, 1960s kind of way.

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