A good comedy song often seeks to do one thing: make you laugh. As long as it accomplishes that, the track has done its job.
Sometimes, though, the comedian/artist/band leaves it all out on the table and crafts a hilarious tune that turns out to be way better than it has any business being. Allow me to offer some examples.
“DADDY COP” by ZANDER HAWLEY
To be fair to Zander Hawley, he’s not a comedian. He’s an incredible singer-songwriter who just so happens to be pretty damn funny.
In Season 5 of The Rookie, Hawley played a musician whom Nathan Fillion’s Officer John Nolan runs into on the job. In one scene of the show, Hawley and his band come up with a little ditty on the spot, all about Nolan and his partner, mostly taunting them.
Singing, “Arrest me, but make it sexy,” Hawley tickles our funny bones. Also, the song is so well written and arranged that it’s a straight-up, certified banger. Like, Hawley is a phenomenal songwriter, so there’s no reason that this song should be as hilarious as it is, and yet, here we are.
“Turtleneck and Chain” by The Lonely Island
The Lonely Island’s whole thing has always been that they do comedy hip-hop very well. Like, the attention to detail is on par with what a lot of accomplished rappers put into their music production.
So, from “Lazy Sunday” to “I’m On a Boat” to the entire Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping soundtrack, these dudes have been putting in WORK.
Even still, a true standout is the title track from the trio’s sophomore album, Turtleneck and Chain. The beat is just absolute fire, the guys’ lyrical flow is on point, and I don’t think they even told Snoop Dogg that the song was a bit because he comes correct.
Maybe my favorite line in the whole song is: “Got more chains than the snow patrol / every one razor thin like an insect stripper pole.” I mean, it just goes SO HARD.
“Country Song” or “Panderin’” by Bo Burnham
Bo Burnham is known for incorporating a lot of music into his stand-up comedy and one-man shows. It dates back to his days as a young YouTuber, before he even released his self-titled debut comedy album in 2009.
My personal favorite of his specials was his first Netflix special, Make Happy, which takes you on quite the journey. I was lucky enough to see this set live in Nashville, which was made even better by his performance of “Country Song”. The tune satirizes the way”stadium country” has taken over a once deeply respectable genre, and I got to see him do it in full rhinestone cowboy gear.
Frankly, Bo does such an incredible job that his “Country Song” is better than most modern radio country songs. At the very least, it sounds exactly like them, which means he f***in’ nailed it.
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