I’ve made an iPod playlist of ten songs arranged alphabetically by title. The paragraph below is a mashup of lyrical segments from the songs in playlist order. Can you identify the songs and the theme of the playlist? Feel free to guess songs explicitly in the comments, but only one correct guess per person; I will edit the initial comment to add correct guesses. To guess the theme please use ROT13 in comments or contact me privately.
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Don’t tell me it’s not worth fightin’ for. I can’t help it ’cause this land’s the place I love. And here I’ll stay out in the forest where I might get eaten by a bear. Break free from the chains! Yeah I know that there is pain but that won’t make me nervous, wondering what to do. Please accept my apology, but love is blind and your kisses, sweeter than honey! And guess what? So is my money! You can rely on the old man’s money. Don’t stop it…*b-b-b-b-b-b-b-buh* *b-b-b-b-b-b-b-buh* *scritch-scritch scra-atch* *Scri-scruh-scritch scra-atch* Yeah, but in your head, baby, I’m afraid you don’t know where it is.
life as a puzzle 
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(Everything I Do) I Do It For You – Bryan Adams (JZ)
Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey – Gerry & the Pacemakers (Eric Maddy)
Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah – Allan Sherman (Squonk)
Hold On – Wilson Phillips (JanglerNPL)
I Want a New Drug – Huey Lewis and the News (David Croson)
Respect – Aretha Franklin (Alex)
Rich Girl – Hall & Oates (bsideboston)
Rock-It – Herbie Hancock (Matt J.)
Somebody to Love – Jefferson Airplane (Bencoe)
The unidentified song is “I’m Sorry” by Brenda Lee. The playlist theme, appropriate for Independence Day weekend, is songs performed by artists and groups with names that include a surname of a Declaration of Independence signer. Several readers identified the theme correctly either in comments (with ROT-13) or in private messages. Eric Maddy was the first to confirm the correct answer. Congratulations, everyone!
Everything I Do, I Do It For You (by Bryan Adams)
Correct
What the hell, I’ll date myself — I think “this land’s the place I love and here I’ll stay” is Ferry ‘Cross The Mersey
Correct
In Your Eyes?
Incorrect
Rich Girl (Hall & Oates)
Correct
Is it too early to guess the overall meta?
Feel free to guess, but either in ROT13 or private message
“won’t make me nervous, wondering what to do” — Huey Lewis and the News, “I Want a New Drug”
Correct
Hold On — Wilson Phillips
Correct
Are you perhaps missing a “from” in line 3? I have another guess, but I’m sticking to the one-per-person rule.
“from” added. Thanks,
Respect – Aretha Franklin
Correct.
“Hold On” is the one that I think might be missing a “from,” unless there’s a “break free…the chains” link that connects two songs in that UNBROKEN chain 🙂
Ooh La La (the “love is blind” line)
Incorrect
vaqrcraqrapr?
That’s somewhat the theme, yes.
Hold On (Wilson Phillips)
OK, since somebody beat me to it…. Rockit (Herbie Hancock)?
Correct, and I’m not surprised that you were able to interpret those “lyrics”
Hello Muddah Hello Fathah
Correct
The bear line is from hello muddah hello faddah (letter from camp Grenada) by Alan Sherman. Please forgive spelling.
Pre-dating myself? “out in the forest where I might get eaten by a bear” = Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, by Allan Sherman
I really want the bbbbbbbuh one to be milli vanilli “baby don’t forget my number” but it is not exactly alpha order.
Dang tinhorn you snuck that in while I was writing 🙂
Squonk beat us both. I blame LA holiday traffic, as I posted right when I got home.
Theme: fvtaref bs gur qrpynengvba bs vaqrcraqrapr
Correct!
I almost could have gotten it with just the 3 or 4 songs I knew (not saying which) but one of the others sealed it. Nice one!
Nobody for “Please accept my apology”? Man, I AM old.
The last line of the lyrics is from Jefferson Airplane’s “Somebody to Love.”
Correct