One of the most common sequences used for song titles starts with a noun or verb followed by the preposition “in,” the definite article “the” and then the object of the prepositional phrase. The arrangement appears like this: _________ in the ______________.
Jethro Tull themselves used that grammatical order in the titles of three of their most popular songs. “Bungle in the Jungle” was the group’s biggest hit from Warchild. The other two songs were both title tracks, “Living in the Past” and “Minstrel in the Gallery.”
Here are 25 of the best songs that conform to the __________ in the ___________ sequence of song titles.
“Tomato in the Rain” by the Kaiser Chiefs (indie band’s droll sense of humor is evident here)
“Reelin’ in the Years” by Steely Dan (How can something this sharp come from a band’s first effort?)
“Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum (one-hit wonder still gets ample airplay)
“Man in the Moon” by REM (nice tribute to comic-actor Andy Kauffman)
“Toys in the Attic” by Aerosmith (title track to band’s breakthrough album)
“Whiskey in the Jar” by Metallica (clever take on the traditional folk ballad)
“Houses in the Field” by John Gorka (folk singer’s lament about so-called progress)
“Stranger in the House” by Elvis Costello (the punker pays homage to his classic country influences)
“Living in the USA” by Steve Miller Band (they were admired for blues rock long before The Joker made them pop icons)
“Laughter in the Rain” by Neil Sedaka (few love songs have imagery as rich as this tune)
“Wild in the Street” by British Lions (Mott the Hoople without Ian Hunter could still create quality British rock)
“Back in the USSR” by The Beatles (kicks off the follow-up to the much-heralded Sergeant Pepper)
“Shot in the Arm” by Wilco (best song from Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett’s sophomore album)
“Night in the City” by Electric Light Orchestra (Jeff Lynne shows the allure as well as the danger of the city)
“Down in the Sewer” by the Stranglers (punk band explores the bottom of society)
“Back in the Saddle” by Aerosmith (Steven Tyler takes a modern look at singing cowboy Gene Autrey’s motto)
“Saturday in the Park” by Chicago (beautiful imagery makes this one of the pop band’s finest)
“Waiting in the Weeds” by the Eagles (Long Road Out of Eden was the band’s comeback)
“Crying in the Rain” by Ambrosia (drummer Burleigh Drummond penned and took over lead vocals on this highlight from One Eighty)
“Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen (the video introduced Courtney Cox to the world)
“Crying in the Chapel” by the Orioles (Don McLean did an excellent cover on his follow-up to American Pie)
“Rolling in the Dough” by Sheep Skates (Cincinnati band placed this one on local station WEBN’s fifth album project)
“Island in the Sun” by Weezer (the hip,hip throughout the song is nearly as mesmerizing as the guitar work)
“Writing in the Margins” by John Gorka (title cut shows the folk-singer’s anti-war feelings without being preachy)
“Fire in the canyon” by Fountains of Wayne (pop-rock band is comfortable exploring country music)