Say What?
I sent this to a friend of mine who wanted to know what wibble was. Move your mouse over a bit of text, to see where it comes from. please note that this effect will probably only work with a standards compliant browser like Mozilla or Netscape 7. It doesn't work with IE, even IE 6, for reasons best known only to Microsoft.
Hey that's great it starts with an earthquake, there's birds, a snake
R.E.M.
The opening lines of It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M., a song notorious for the sheer amount of words crammed into it
and big dogs, big dogs landing on my face,
Good Morning Vietnam!
From the Robin Williams movie, Good Morning Vietnam!
your face, the face of God the holy father oh my father,
where's your mama gone (oh where's your mama gone?) far far away:
Middle Of The Road
Chirpy, Chirpy, Cheep, Cheep, by Middle of the road, a pretty dreadful Scottish musical group. This song is my earliest musical memory.
a dwop of golden sun, me: a name
The Sound of Music
from Doe A Dear, a song in the Sound of Music, the well known musical by Rogers and Hammerstein.
I call out but nobody hears me,
far a long long way to run, sow
The Sound of Music
from Doe A Dear, a song in the Sound of Music, the well known musical by Rogers and Hammerstein.
a needle and the damage done,
Neil Young
From The Needle and the Damage Done, by Neil Young
i caught you knockin' on heaven's door just like so many times before
Bob Dylan
Knockin' on Heaven's Door by Bob Dylan
i go to the valley below,
Bob Dylan
One More Cup Of Coffee - also by Bob Dylan
sweet chariot, coming to carry
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is a traditional Gospel song, also a favourite of the Rugby crowds. It was performed by Eric Claption on 461 Ocean Boulevard
me away ha ha he he! they're coming to
take me home, country roads to the place,
John Denver
From the chorus of Country Roads by John Denver
wherever I hang my hat, that's my home,
Paul Young and the Q-Tips
From Where-ever I Lay My Hat by Paul Young and the Q-Tips
sweet home alabama where the skies are so blue
Lynrd Skynrd
From Sweet Home Alabama, by Lynrd Skynrd
and raisin' arizona where skies were very big, and
Raisin' Arizona
From the hilarious movie Raisin' Arizona by the Coen Brothers
there were these little fluffy clouds but you don't see that
any more, you might still see it in the desert,
The Orb
From the Orb's single Little Fluffy Clouds, featuring the voices of Rickie Lee Jones and Levar Burton
and you could see all the colours in the rainbow, they're red and
goodbye, yellow sick toad
Elton John
Some pastiche of the Elton John song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
and they call me mellow yellow and
Donovan
The opening line of the song Mellow Yellow, by Donovan.
better red october than dead
Tom Clancy
A mix up of the book title The Hunt For Red October by Tom Clancy and the MacCarthyist slogan: 'Better Dead Than Red'
still they're beeping and they're flashing
Airplane II
Bill Shatner's lines from Airplane II
and they're blushing and they're
feeping and
God made Him a holy Jew and God made Him a Christian too,
paradoxes populate my car
Plastic Jesus
From Plastic Jesus, a very old song used in the movie Cool Hand Luke
(honk! honk! honky tonk woman, she give me, she give me, the honky tonk blues),
Rolling Stones
Part of the chorus from the song Honky Tonk Woman by The Rolling Stones
you know I don't care if it rains or freezes, as long as I got
Plastic Jesus
From Plastic Jesus, a very old song used in the movie Cool Hand Luke
my plastic pal who's fun to be with, fun to be with,
Douglas Adams
The slogan of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, from the Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy books written by Douglas Adams
fun fun fun till her daddy takes the t-bird away,
Beach Boys
Part of the chorus of Surfin' Safari, by the Beach Boys
awayoh, awayoh, awayoh, walk like an Egyptian, all the cops in the donut shop
say
The Bangles
From the song Walk Like An Egyptian, made famous by the Bangles
Hey! that ain't no way to treat a lady,
Commodores
From the song of the same name by the Commodores
that ain't no lady that's my wife, boom! boom!
Music Hall
This is an old music hall joke: "Who was that 'Lady' I saw you with last night?" "That wasn't no lady, that was my wife!".
Hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down.
Jimi Hendrix
Hey Joe is a traditional blues song made famous by Jimi Hendrix
FISH!
Surrealists
A scaly creature which lives in the water. Also the answer to the question: How many surrealists does it take to change a lightbulb?
If you haven't got a browser which shows all of the references, they're in the pile below, plus some links to
Amazon.com, if you want to pursue these links further:
- It's the End of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) by R.E.M. R.E.M. : The Best Of R.E.M. R.E.M.: Out Of Time
- Chiry Chirpy Cheep Cheep (Middle of the Road), Middle of the Road
- Doe a Dear (Sound of Music), The Sound of Music (DVD) The Sound of Music (VHS)
- Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young), Decade - Neil Young
- Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan), Bob Dylan: The Best Of Bob Dylan Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (Soundtrack)
- Valley Below (Bob Dylan), Bob Dylan: Desire
- Country Roads (John Denver), John Denver's Greatest Hits Poems, Prayers and Promises
- Wherever I lay my hat (Paul Young and Q-tips), Paul Young: From Time to Time, the Singles Collection. Paul Young and the Q-tips: No Parlez
- Sweet Home Alabama (Lynyrd Skynyrd), The essential Lynrd Skynrd
- Raising Arizona (Coen Brothers), Raising Arizona (DVD)
- Little Fluffy Clouds (Rickie Lee Jones and The Orb), Little Fluffy Clouds: Outlands Aftermath, by Levar Burton (One of the voices you don't hear) Rickie Lee Jones
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John), Elton John: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
- Mellow Yellow (Donovan), Donovan: Mellow Yellow
- Red October (Tom Clancy), ?
- Beeping and Flashing (William Shatner in Airplane II), ?
- Plastic Jesus, an old song used in the movie Cool Hand Luke, ?
- Honky Tonk Woman (Rolling Stones), ?
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), ?
- Fun Fun Fun (Beach Boys), ?
- Walk Like an Egyptian (Bangles), ?
- No Way to treat a Lady (Commodores?), ?
- Old Music hall Joke, ?
- Hey Joe (trad, Jimi Hendrix). ?
If you're curious about the hovering labels, it's all done with CSS. Each comment is a <span> element with some sub elements which define the title and the text. The element which contains the reference is a link and the <span> element is part of the a:hover property for that link, so it only shows up when being hovered over.