I’ve always had a bit of trouble with topical songs when they’re on the serious side, mostly because I find them cheesy and trite.  But that’s just me.  A lot of songwriters whom I’ve met over the years are inspired by world events (think 9/11, for instance) and immediately pull out the guitar and the writing pad and do their thing.

Now the recent Swine Flu outbreak is certainly a serious event, but I was amused to hear about the number of (mostly funny) songs that have popped up on YouTube as a result of it.  The above is just one example and I’m guessing as this outbreak continues, there will be more arriving.

Here’s another one that’s very cleverly written called “My Baby Gave Me The Pig Flu”:

I like that he used “pig” in his title…it’s just as funny, but it also sets his song apart. He’s a good writer and knows how to tickle the keys too 🙂

And last, but not least, “I don’t know how, I’ll find the sow, that gave me that swine flu”:

Of course, there are all kinds of liberties taken with the subject. Swine flu does not come from pigs and a lot of people don’t really have the facts right, but the idea of something called “Swine Flu” is just too tempting to avoid. We didn’t get the same response (if any, actually) in terms of songs written for the Avian Flu…the word Avian just doesn’t conjure up anything funny!

I’ve written a few funny songs and I appreciate people who can take a subject and find all kinds of great lyrical twists or word plays.

So, as an exercise, how about writing your own Swine Flu song? Sure, it’s already been done, but can you do better than the ones in these videos? Can you come up with something they haven’t? If you do, why not join the forum and post it there?

Go ahead, be a ham 🙂
IJ