3 Songs That Sound Like Jokes but Were Actually Real

April Fool’s Day has passed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still listen to joke songs. Or, at least, songs that sound like they would be total fever dreams but were actually very real. Here are three songs that, on first listen, sound like jokes, but have huge cult followings regardless.

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“And Then I Noticed That She Was A Gargoyle” — Nanowar Of Steel

Released in 2018, this song is about a guy who meets a girl in an online chat room, falls in love with her, and then realizes that she’s an actual gargoyle. That’s not a metaphor, she’s a literal gargoyle. This lyric backs up the narrative: “Is it true love or is it just a crush on 12th century French sculpture?” Nanowar Of Steel is a comedy heavy metal band that satirizes the genre, especially the way metal tends to take itself way too seriously. So, on first listen, “And Then I Noticed That She Was A Gargoyle” may seem bizarre. However, it’s pretty par for the course when it comes to Nanowar Of Steel.

“Where’d The Cheese Go?” — Ween

This song came about because Ween was asked to write a song about stuffed crust pizza for Pizza Hut in 2002. They responded with “Where’d The Cheese Go?”, a humorous little tune that repeatedly asks the titular question. However, Pizza Hut wasn’t impressed. To the company, it was simply a joke song, and they fired Ween. This led the duo to release the song online, along with a dirty version known as “Where’d The Motherf—in’ Cheese Go At?” It’s a beloved tune for Ween fans, who have requested it at live shows in the past.

“Scatman” — Scatman John

“Scatman” seems like a joke song when you take into account that the subtitle “(Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)” is just scatting spelled out. However, Scatman John, a.k.a. John Paul Larkin, was a true master of scatting. “Scatman” was released in 1994 and has since become a well-known meme. Still, it peaked at no. 3 on the U.K. Singles Chart, and no. 1 on charts in at least 10 countries. “Scatman” is more than a joke song. It’s a true novelty and even transcended novelty for some critics. It’s more like a national treasure.

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