Do you know how to whistle? If you can, then consider yourself to have learned such a skill. No one is born knowing how to whistle. But everyone can learn it to some degree if one can practice consistently. However, according to a New Yorker article, the whistle has been the native language of people living in a town in Northern Turkey.
This clearly shows that whistling can be learned or an acquired skill by someone who practices it. What makes whistling exciting is that we can do it along to our favorite tune. No wonder a lot of singers have incorporated whistling into their songs whether for dramatic effect or just to add a little embellishment or extra to their songs.
Here’s a list of 20 songs with whistling in them.
Best 20 songs with whistling in them.
1. Moves Like Jagger- Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera
This is a modern electro-pop track song with a modern disco style that is a tribute to Mick Jagger’s signature dance moves. Jagger even admitted that upon hearing the song, it puts pressure on him when he goes out dancing. The lyrics talk about the ability of a man to impress someone he loves with his dance moves compared to Jagger’s dance steps.
Expert Tip: This brilliant song incorporates a whistle to a great effect making it more fun to be used as an accompaniment for dancing.
2. Two of Us- The Beatles
The Beatles are considered one of the best music groups and even consider the best ever. This beautifully tender ballad song was sung by Paul and John which left most people in suspense as it was not clear who it was about. Either it refers to the writer Paul and his wife Linda or about Paul and John’s tandem or might be both.
Whoever was this song about, one thing that makes it special is that it was recorded towards the end of The Beatle’s career. This song has a gentle lifting melody which was rendered with an acoustic guitar. At the end of the song, it was climaxed with tuneful whistling.
3. Wind of Change- The Scorpions
This song got one of the most famous whistling introductions. Right from the start of the song, it already left a trademark that’s easy to be remembered and even to whistle along with. This is also the most famous song that talks about social and political reform.
It is a song that sends a message about everyone wanting to live in peace so that we will all be together. The whistle part during the intro has transformed the song from the outset as it gives life and personality to the song and will never be the same song without it.
4. Walk Like an Egyptian- The Bangles
The 80s was all about the rave and this song takes us back to that time. It was surely a hit by then and has been considered classic by music lovers. The melody of the song was whistled by the band for a soulful effect. People commented that the whistling part might be due to a lack of words or laziness.
But if you listen intently to the song, it was wonderfully incorporated giving justice to the whole song. Whistling really played an important role in the beauty of this classic walking song as a whole.
5. Don’t Worry Be Happy- Bobby McFerrin
This is one of the top songs that was made with whistling. From the title itself, it is the best song choice when you need hope while dealing with a tough situation. It is sometimes referred to as a carefree song of hope, simple yet powerful. The video of this song includes some cameo appearances including the late Robin Williams.
The whistling was spread throughout the song which transcends it into something soulful. A message this song wants to reach is that we need to make a conscientious effort to be happy despite any negative situation.
6. Me and Julio Down in the Schoolyard- Paul Simon
This is an upbeat Paul Simon song whose whistling part was introduced halfway through this masterpiece. It is a song that left people puzzled about what mama pajama saw. Since the last part has questions that were left unanswered, it surely made the people wonder or ponder.
Expert Tip: This song was accompanied by a percussion sound created with a Brazilian instrument we usually hear in samba music, called cuica.
7. Golden Years- David Bowie
This song is an American R&B music that was well received in the States (despite his European heritage), the reason why Bowie had some appearances on the TV show Soul Train. Bowie was inspired to create this sensational song as he himself is an ardent fan of this kind of genre. The whistling part appeared at the outro of the song.
8. Love is a Battlefield- Pat Benatar
When it came out, it did rank in the pop chart as it was one of the top trending songs. It is a classic song that made a hit during the 80s, taking the 70s and 80s kids back to their youthful days.
The whistling part adds wonder to the song making it even better despite the whistle coming only towards the end of the song. The title of the song clearly emphasizes that in romance, described as a battlefield, there is a very strong possibility of you getting heartbroken.
9. I Got You- Jack Johnson
In recent years, this song has become the best love song because this is just one of the many songs that Jack Johnson has dedicated to her wife Kim. It has a melodic whistle well integrated into the song making it one of the perfect love songs most loved by today’s generation.
Jack also used the accompaniment of guitar sounds using B flat giving it a unique distinctive effect. This kind of tuning has been used by Jack too in many of his songs.
10. The Stranger- Billy Joel
This song is all about keeping secrets and becoming a stranger even to yourself. Thus in the intro. Billy Joel did not have any instrument which takes us to the center stage. The lonesome whistling part as an intro eases the people into a mood that is about to witness a great show. Then adding a few notes at the end gives a lasting impression that listeners will never forget making it a placeholder.
11. Home- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
This duet song has a lot of whistling and has made whistling a prominent use. In total, it lasts almost 3 minutes of whistling throughout the song. It opens up with a whole chorus of whistles. Dedicating this song to a loved one is a good choice since the whistle sounds especially in the intro serve as a precursor to the song making it a cool and a gold standard kind of music.
This is the most popular track by Edward Sharpe which uses a lot of metaphors to describe the love story they have to the listeners which offer a beautiful atmosphere if you are into daydreaming about love and adventure.
12. Jealous Guy- John Lennon
As one of the greatest singers of his time. John Lennon always pours out his heart into every song he sings. To give a lovely touch to this song. John integrated well the whistling part to convey the message he wants to present. He showed through this song that even a popular and successful person like him still has some room for insecurities.
The whistle part adds to the lovely rendition of this jealousy song with the accompaniment of the strings in the background.
13. White Christmas- Bing Crosby
It’s Christmas time! And every Christmas, this song has been played all over again. This classical Christmas song from 1942 can still be heard being popularly played at stores and houses, especially during holiday seasons.
Expert Tip: Crosby’s whistling in the song harmonizes well with the chorus sung by females. This is not the only song of Crosby incorporated whistling, even his popular song “Singing in the Rain” also featured some whistle parts.
14. Daydream- Loving Spoonful
A song that is all about love on a summer day. This song serves as a foundation for the Vaudeville thing as this is one of the first songs that introduced it. Later, it was adopted already by several performing bands including The Beatles. In this song, the whistle plays a big or integral part of the song as it was cheerfully whistled with big pronouncements.
15. Centerfold- J. Geils Band
This song earned major success after being on the spot touring with the Rolling Stones. The song’s message is about a boy having a big crush on a high school girl who years after he found to be in the centerfold of a girly magazine.
But instead of feeling proud about what she achieved, he even felt disappointed with the lines “my blood runs cold” and “memory has been sold”. The whistling part blends well with the repetitive line during the chorus part and it becomes more audible at the fading part of the song.
16. Always Look On the Bright Side of Life- Monty Phyton
This song appears at the end of the movie Lie of Brian, which was sung by Eric Idle. Considered one of the most uplifting songs, its lyrics suggest that when you are feeling down or the odds are against you you should whistle.
The popular line of the song “you’re feeling in the dumps, don’t be silly chumps, just purse your lips and whistle”, shows just what you need to do as you whistle. The whistle part adds a joyous jolly beat to the tune of the song.
17. Twisted Nerve- Bernard Herrmann
Bernard has gained a remarkable portfolio when we talk about movie soundtracks. He has produced some of the best and most remarkable soundtracks like Taxi Driver and Psycho.
This twisted Nerves song was featured in the movie with the same name in the year 1968 which was later used in some movies like Kung Fu movies and American horror stories series. As the song starts, the whistle already sets the mood for some eerie and thriller-suspense scenes in the movies.
18. Good Life- One Republic
In recent years, this song became famous as one of the best pop music. What made it stand out is the whistling part of the song. The beautiful sound was made by Ryan Tedder, the lead singer, who shared that the whistle tune came around first then the whole song was just made around the whistle tune.
The whistle part is the second chorus, yet it was hard to get it right so it took a lot of takes before finally perfecting it.
19. Games Without Frontiers- Peter Gabriel
Blasting back to the 80s with this song, where Pong is the most played video game and mullet hair is the trending hairstyle for men. This song has Kate Bush singing “Jeux sans Frontieres” on backing vocals, usually misinterpreted as “she’s so popular”.
The whistling was done by Gabriel himself with the producers, Steve Lilywhite and Hugh Padgham.
20. Patience- Guns N’ Roses
Mostly sung during karaoke nights, this superb slow bluesy song talks about patience as an important thing in a relationship. A guitar works by Slash added a gorgeous tone to the song while whistling sets the song nicely for Axl Rose to step into the scene leaving it pretty epic.
Expert Tip: This is a trendsetter song due to its all-acoustic instrumentation used, a safe zone for hard rockers to display their vulnerability.
Conclusion
Listening to these songs with whistling in them convinces us that whistles really add value and impact to the song. It transcends the song to a different level making it distinct and would help convey different moods depending on the song’s message being emphasized.
Lastly, it’s a good addition to achieving the song’s easy retention among listeners and contributes to the song’s popularity across all time.