Parody?!

Have you ever wondered about musical parodies? I heard one this morning – and while I expected it to be American Pie, it was not. I loved it, and I had to listen to it again- if you want to debate the merits of this song versus the movie I am up for it!

But as far as music goes, what makes a parody allowed? Obviously it’s very much the same music with different lyrics in this case, but sometimes a parody is also the same lyrics but with a different musical style.

Parodies are used in many ways: parodies of earlier music, parodies of musical and performing styles, and parodies of particular performers. This can be for serious or comical purposes. How many different parodies came out to express our feelings during the early COVID days? How many have existed for years and we might not even know the original because we just haven’t run into it?

I know sometimes we’d sing parodies on the way to school from different hymns or other works. But they were school songs, not religious tunes. Parodies are important and they’re protected under the fair use of copyright. It is definitely about the social commentary of the time or the humorous vision of the performers. Think about what parodies you’ve run into and what always surprises you about these things.

Here are the originals of both songs.