Sometimes music is just a really good joke. You know those moments when you’re deep into an artist’s discography—serious, profound, legendary—and then bam, out of nowhere comes a tune that sounds like they swallowed a whoopee cushion and chased it with pure chaos? Those moments are gold.
So in the grand spirit of wait, what did I just hear?, here are 20 of the funniest songs ever written—from artists you’d never expect. Legends. Hitmakers. Guitar gods. Poets. Icons. All showing us that when the mood strikes, even they can be absolutely ridiculous just like us.
1. “They’re Red Hot” – Robert Johnson (1936, but released posthumously in the ’60s)
The OG Delta blues master who supposedly sold his soul to the devil… also sang about hot tamales. At lightning speed. Seriously.
2. “Detachable Penis” – King Missile (1992)
Philosophy majors in a band. Add a deadpan monologue about losing one’s genitalia at a party? Instant cult classic.
3. “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are Ugly” – Loretta Lynn & Conway Twitty (1978)
Country royalty roasting each other in a marital duet. It’s hilarious, biting, and weirdly wholesome.
4. “Coconut” – Harry Nilsson (1971)
Put the lime in the coconut and call me in the morning? A groove so smooth, you almost miss the medical absurdity.
5. “Maximum Consumption” – The Kinks (1972)
Ray Davies wrote rock operas about British life… and then penned an entire song about eating too much. With a tuba solo.
6. “Muskrat Love” – Captain & Tennille (1976)
Two muskrats fall in love. That’s the plot. There are sound effects. This was a hit song.
7. “Cook of the House” – Wings (1976)
Paul McCartney lets Linda take the mic to sing about… kitchen appliances. There’s sizzling bacon in the mix.
8. “Big Balls” – AC/DC (1976)
They play it straight, but this is the most juvenile pun-fest in hard rock history. The punchline is the entire song.
9. “The Blue Nun” – Donald Fagen (1982, The Nightfly sessions)
Smooth jazz meets fake wine ads. Fagen flexes his love for lounge lizard satire with full commitment.
10. “Rural Route” – Eminem (2003, unreleased freestyle)
Yes, Eminem is usually wild, but this freestyle is peak absurdist Eminem. He impersonates Forrest Gump while rapping about chickens.
11. “Mr. Grieves” – Pixies (1989)
Starts with some doomsday existentialism… then breaks into a chorus that sounds like a demented polka. Unhinged in the best way.
12. “King Herod’s Song” – Jesus Christ Superstar Soundtrack (1970)
From a serious rock opera about Christ’s final days comes a vaudeville showstopper featuring Herod taunting Jesus like a game show host.
13. “I’m On A Boat” – T-Pain & The Lonely Island (2009)
The only time T-Pain’s auto-tuned glory meets yacht rock satire. He commits. Hard.
14. “Polka Face” – “Weird Al” Yankovic (2011)
Yes, “Weird Al” is known for funny songs, but his polka medleys—especially this one covering modern pop—are masterworks of parody orchestration.
15. “Insects” – Ash (2004, B-side)
Britpop alt-rockers go full-on surreal punk about… bugs. “I don’t like spiders, but I like you.”
16. “Onion Song” – Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (1969)
From two of soul’s most passionate vocalists… a socially conscious track that compares civil rights struggles to onions. Layers, man.
17. “Yoga” – Janelle Monáe ft. Jidenna (2015)
From an Afrofuturist sci-fi visionary comes a track that includes the lyric “You cannot police me, so get off my areola.” Empowering and hilarious.
18. “A Spaceman Came Travelling” – Chris de Burgh (1975)
A prog-pop Christmas ballad… where the angel Gabriel is an alien with synthesizers. Just trust the journey.
19. “Man’s Not Hot” – Big Shaq (2017)
A parody that somehow became a global grime anthem. The joke became real. “The ting goes skrrrahh.”
20. “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” – Elmo & Patsy (1979)
Because even novelty songs can chart—and traumatize generations of children every Christmas.
