Greensleeves - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org

Not just a song that can be found in the archives, but one that almost everyone can hum, even today.

(Somebody asked what was meant by “today’s…” Throw whatever you want out, somebody tossed out “Love me tender” as being a tune from in the 1860s.)

    • Zeratul@lemmus.orgEnglish
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      4 months ago

      I never knew twinkle twinkle little star and the alphabet song were put to the same melody. Thank you!

  • Dr. Bob@lemmy.caEnglish
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    4 months ago

    Happy Birthday has the kind of universal recognition you’d be looking for. Maybe in 300 years there’ll be a lyrical shift towards something more interesting. I know multiple versions of Greensleeves. The Cuckoo is the other song that I can think of with a long history. The wiki article doesn’t fully capture it. I’ll stick something in here later.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo_(song)

    • pyre@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      i don’t think so considering your the first and the only one who has even mentioned the song in the last 65 years.

      • Tikiporch@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Unfortunately, that’s entirely untrue. I don’t think you’ve put any effort into this exercise at all.

  • lenz@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    Happy Birthday, Pop Goes the Weasel, Auld Lang Syne, Here Comes the Bride are obviously here to stay. Lots of Christmas music has potential as well: Jingle Bells, and POSSIBLY Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano, as well as All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey.

    But I also think Barbie Girl by Aqua has a decent chance of being practically universal. In that vein, maybe the Hampster Dance too, but idk. Dragostea Din Tei?

    I think the real answer though is that most of the popular songs are probably ones that are connected to specific uses outside of the song itself. Pop Goes the Weasel is used in like, every pop-goes-the-weasel type toy, and even in movies when something scary is about to pop out at you. Happy Birthday is literally sung at every birthday. (That reminds me of For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow as well.) Auld Lang Syne is a popular New Years song across the world at this point. Here Comes the Bride at every wedding, etc. Maybe National Anthems will also hold the test of time, depending on if the nation lasts long enough and doesn’t change its anthem.

    The point is, if it’s a practical and traditional tune it’s more likely to last, I think.

    Oh. I forgot Reveille which is the military wake-up call bugle song lmao

    • pingveno@lemmy.mlEnglish
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      4 months ago

      Dragostea Din Tei

      I don’t think that one outlasts the next couple decades. Yeah, it’s fun and the lyrics are weird, but Romanian isn’t all that widely spoken, so the vast majority of the world population cannot sing it.

      • cheers_queers@lemm.eeEnglish
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        4 months ago

        IDK, i was obsessed with that song as a teenager and learned to enunciate the whole song without knowing what it said. but, i have 99 Luftballons on my personal playlist so maybe i just like catchy foreign songs lol

        • pingveno@lemmy.mlEnglish
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          4 months ago

          Oh, I totally get it, I loved it too. I just don’t think it will stick in quite the same way when people don’t have lyrics to attach to the song. Like, I can’t play it at karaoke night.

  • RBWells@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Based on what I hear playing, my money is on Mr. Brightside.

    Gershwin’s Summertime is my real answer. It has been covered by so many artists already, it might keep going.

  • Wahots@pawb.social
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    4 months ago

    It’s not new, but this tune will keep being reused for a billion years. It’s got religious adaptations, too, providing incredible staying power. It will probably be used for many more years, as it’s one of those “golden” tunes that people will never quite forget.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Mountain_Thyme

    If you went to Mass, you have probably heard it. Here’s a modern, secular cover of it:

    https://youtu.be/LFw81n_nD1s

  • The Menemen!@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Imo Greensoeeves mostly endured because it can be perfectly whistled by everyone and still be played by professional musicians in a way that awes the audience.

    This will probably not be th reason why current songs will stay arround. If society doesn’t break down, I assume that every popular melody, be it from the US, China or Lebanon, will stay around and get reused every ~30 years to crab some quick money.