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They’ve released two studio albums, four soundtrack albums, and two compilation albums. Yep, no doubt that The Simpsons is one of the most musical shows out there. Here are some of our favourite musical moments from our favourite Springfield family.
“Those Were the Days”
Homer: Bart was feeling mighty blue.
Marge: It’s a shame what school can do.
Apu (outside the window): For no reason, here’s Apu.
Homer, Marge, and Apu: Those were the daaaaaaaaaaaaays!
A parody of the theme song for All in the Family, this song showed us how Lisa got her saxophone.
“We Put the Spring in Springfield”
Homer: You could close down Moe’s or the Kwik-E-Mart
And nobody would care
But the heart and soul of Springfield’s in
Our Maison Derrière . . .
It’s too bad Marge missed this spontaneous song and dance, because it was super convincing.
“Cut Every Corner”
Shary Bobbins: If there’s a task that must be done,
Don’t turn your tail and run,
Don’t pout, don’t sob,
Just do a half-assed job!
Springfield’s answer to Mary Poppins has all kinds of useful advice. And like Poppins, she puts a lot of it to music.
“Meet the Flintstones”
Homer: Simpson, Homer Simpson.
He’s the greatest guy in history!
From the town of Springfield,
He’s about to hit a chestnut tree.
Not every great musical moment has to be big. This one is just one verse followed by Homer smashing into a chestnut tree he somehow noticed enough to put into his song but not enough to avoid.
“Trash of the Titans”
Homer: Who can take your trash out?
Stomp it down for you
Shake the plastic bag and do the twisty thingy, too
The garbage man!
Homer’s great at coming up with musical extravaganzas to make his point. He can’t, however, run a municipal waste system. Also, U2 is in this song.
“The Monorail Song”
Wiggum: The ring came off my pudding can.
Lyle Lanley: Take my pen knife, my good man
I swear it’s Springfield’s only choice
Throw up your hands and raise your voice.
Famously written by Conan O’Brien, this song is frequently cited as the very best musical moment in the whole series. And since you’ve seen the original a bunch of times, here’s a live version.
“See My Vest”
Burns: See my vest, see my vest,
Made of real gorilla chest.
Is Burns a bad guy? Yes. Is he also a guy who can sing a catchy tune? Oh yes.
“Flaming Moe’s”
Singer: But don’t throw in the towel,
’Cause there’s a place right down the block
Where you can drink your misery away.
If you weren’t watching TV in the nineties, it’s hard to overemphasize just how ubiquitous Cheers was. So naturally, The Simpsons parodied it.
“We Do (The Stonecutter’s Song)”
Stonecutters: Who controls the British crown?
Who keeps the metric system down?
We do, we do!
They’re a pretty powerful group, considering all they really do is wear robes and eat ribs.
“Plow King”
Linda Ronstadt: Mr. Plow is a loser,
And I think he is a boozer.
How did Barney get Linda Ronstadt for his commercial? Apparently they were looking for a project to do together for a while. And they left it at that.
“Union Strike Song”
Lisa: Come gather round, children,
It’s high time ye learned
’Bout a hero named Homer
And a devil named Burns.
Coming up with a folky strike song is one of the most on-brand things Lisa has ever done.
“Can I Borrow a Feeling?”
Kirk van Houten: Can I borrow a feelin’?
Could you lend me a jar of love?
Hurtin’ hearts need some healin’,
Take my hand with your glove of love.
Kirk wasn’t always a loser—but he was after this musical disaster.
“Round Springfield”
Lisa: One more time!
Bleeding Gums Murphy: Oh, come on, Lisa. I got a date with Billie Holiday.
Not so much a funny song as a poignant one, Lisa’s hero, Bleeding Gums Murphy, teaches the most precocious Simpson an important lesson about grief and jazz.
“Do the Bartman”
Bart: Everybody, if you can, do the Bartman.
Do the Bartman.
Shake your body, turn it out if you can, man.
Front to the back, to the side if you can, can.
Here’s a deep cut. In 1990, this song topped a bunch of charts and received a lot of radio airplay in the US. But a lot of younger Simpsons fans might not know it exists because this song wasn’t in any of the episodes—except when Bart sings a bit of it in “Simpsons Tide” to try and take away attention from Milhouse’s new earring. Ralph quips, “That is so 1991.”
