Top 5 Songs about Dogs

Inspired by the latest Contrast Podcast theme – quadruped meaning ‘A four-footed animal’, the following is my top 5 songs about my favourite four footed animal, the trusty canine.

1. Super Furry Animals – Golden Retriever
   
   

   A song from a band chin-high in animal references (see also – Fuzzy Birds, Hometown Unicorn, Mwng – Welsh for mane, Foxy Music and pretty much all their artwork). It’s a fuzzy rock’n’ roll stomper. Singer Gruff had this to say about it – “The golden retriever is a very special dog in my life, my girlfriend’s got two of them – a male and a female. The song’s written from the perspective of the male dog. Funnily enough the golden retriever is the second most popular dog in the USA. But the black Labrador is number one.” Could also be about a woman or if you believe the interweb refers to the way Tony Blair was led astray on the war in Iraq because of the the country’s ties with the USA.

2. Led Zeppelin – Bron-y-aur Stomp
   

   It’s well documented that Led Zeppelin’s lyrics have connotations to the Lord of the Rings, so It’s no surprise that this song is about Robert Plant’s Dog – Strider (see?). Without listening to the lyrics too closely, you would assume it’s a song about an old flame who Plant is reminiscing about – “Ah caught you smiling at me, That’s the way it should be, Like a leaf is to a tree, so fine.” . In the end it’s a sweet paean to the relationship between one man and his dog. “You’re the finest dog I knew, so fine.”

3. Johnny Cash – Dirty Old Egg Sucking Dog
   

   Leave it to the Man in Black to ruin the canine celebrations, This is NOT a song to play to children. “Egg-suckin’ dog , I’m gonna stomp your head in the ground “

4. The Fiery Furnaces – I Lost my Dog
   

   Cute and weird at the same time, Fiery Furnaces’ Elanor spins a tale about her lost dog. “I went to the church that Wednesday night, The guest preacher said I bark but I don’t bite; I saw my dog, but he’d seen the light: My dog was lost but now he’s found.”

5. The Futureheads – Hounds Of Love
   

   The Futureheads cover of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love turns this 80’s song into an energetic gem. The song deals with the uncertainty of being loved by someone, the ‘hounds’ being a metaphor for that. Check out the Wolf at the Door – Phones Remix of this as well. It’s bleedin great.

Anybody got any more good songs about Dogs? There is a full list on Wikipedia here.

Related Tags:
Super Furry Animals
Led Zeppelin
Johnny Cash
Fiery Furnaces
Futureheads
Songs About Dogs