Songs Titles Involving Appendages

After hearing "Under My Thumb" by The Rolling Stones on an oldies station yesterday, I started to wonder about other songs that mentioned parts of the hands. I extended my list to include arms, which resulted in Journey's "Open Arms" to be stuck in my head all day.

I found my list insufficient, so I again extended it to include the leg and its various parts. My list got so large that I had to omit some pretty good songs, such as Bread's "Down on My Knees." Since there was another thumb song, I even had to bump The Stones from my list.

10. "Knee Deep in the Blues" by Marty Robbins: Gray skies, a heart flowing with tears, and a life not worth living are all images in the lyrics of this tear jerker. It sure is great to hear the wonderful voice of Robbins, but he always leaves me feeling sad.

9. "Red Right Ankle" by The Decemberists: This is a cleverly written tune about the loves of a girl's life, performed with the musical dexterity fans of the unique indie band have come to expect.

8. "Popsicle Toes" by Michael Franks: This is one of the many delightful tunes on his The Art of Tea album. The soft voice and mellow piano combine to make the song a relaxing experience.

7. "Found a Finger" by The Minus Five: Scott McCaughey here narrates a strange tale about Johnny Paycheck being arrested after police found a monkey finger in his reefer bag. The song has the typical catchy rhythm of most of the songs in the band's catalog.

6. "Lord of the Thighs" by Aerosmith: This is an early Aerosmith number from Get Your Wings. Not only is the song a play on the title of a famous novel, but so is the band's name.

5. "Into Your Arms" by The Lemonheads: When Evan Dando sings "I have a place where I can go, When I'm alone" he does it with a comforting, inviting tone. The song fits snugly with the rest of the tracks on Come On Feel, one of the best albums to come out of the early to mid 90s.

4. "My Two Feet" by The Old 97s: This rock song is sweetened with a touch of country that makes the Blame It on Gravity album just as enjoyable as Satellite Rides from the band's early career.

3. "Death at One's Elbow" by The Smiths: Morrisey's pleading voice is quite effective here amid the violence in his lyrics. He is one of the few songwriters could effectively pull off a line such as "There's somebody here, Who will take a hatchet to your ear."

2. "Just Like Tom Thumb;s Blues" by Bob Dylan: Fans of the rock bard have to wonder how this immortal track from Highway 61 did not make the top spot on this list. It has the great keyboard work that embellishes the rest of the album. It has Dylan's collage of images and innovative verses. If I had just included the upper appendages, this would be at the top of the list.

1. "Death on Two Legs" by Queen: This song that opens A Night at the Opera is Freddie Mercury's scathing attack on record executives. They suck his "blood like a leach" and who "have taken all (my) money." He accuses them of having fins on their backs, and Brian May's guitar work suggests a looming sound of an impending shark attack.