A six-pack of school songs

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MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Roger Waters performs Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' at MTS Centre. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

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The Ramones (GEORGE DUBOSE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES)

With school back in, our thoughts don't turn to reading, writing and SSRqrithmatic, but music.

School has inspired countless songs about education and everything that goes with it, from illicit affairs to countless reasons why class flat-out sucks.

What doesn't suck are these seven scholarly songs, so why not add some of these to your playlist, crank SSRqem up and just think: in 10 months it will be time for School's Out by Alice Cooper again.

1. RAMONES, ROCK 'N' ROLL HIGH SCHOOL:

Who wouldn't want to go to the Ramones' version of high school and cruise around with Joey in his GTO? The New York punk bruddas' classic anthem is fun, fun, oh baby.

Sample lyrics: "Well I don't care about history/'Cause that's not where I want to be/I just want to have some kicks/ I just want to get some chicks."

2. PINK FLOYD, ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL, PART II:

Roger Waters' rallying cry against the British school system set to a disco beat on the autobiographical album The Wall is arguably Pink Floyd's most famous song.

Sample lyrics: "We don't need no education/We don't need no thought control."

3. CHUCK BERRY, SCHOOL DAYS:

Hail, hail rock 'n' roll: this 1957 cut details a day in the life of a student and includes one of Berry's most famous riffs -- it was so good, he reused the melody for No Particular Place to Go in 1964.

Sample lyrics: "Up in the mornin' and out to school/The teacher is teachin' the Golden Rule/American history and practical math/You studyin' hard and hopin' to pass."

4. BEACH BOYS, BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL:

Brian Wilson and Mike Love pledge allegiance to their alma matter, Hawthorne High School, in this 1963 rave-up that features the same melody as the University of Wisconsin fight song and was parodied by Twisted Sister years later as Be Chrool to Your School.

Sample lyrics: "So be true to your school now/Just like you would to your girl or guy/Be true to your school now/And let your colours fly."

5. THE POLICE, DON'T STAND SO CLOSE TO ME:

Former teacher Sting examines a lustful situation between a student and teacher. Van Halen would take a completely different approach to the subject on Hot for Teacher.

Sample lyrics: "Her friends are so jealous/You know how bad girls get/Sometimes it's not so easy/To be the teacher's pet."

6. MC5, HIGH SCHOOL:

The Motor City 5 bow at the altar of Chuck Berry and the Beach Boys on this scorcher about kids kicking out the jams and getting out of hand. The pom-poms-in-the-air-worthy chorus apes the classic cheerleader "rah rah rah, sis boom bah" chant.

Sample lyrics: "The kids know what the deal is/They're getting farther out every day/We're gonna be takin' over/You better get out of the way."

And that's just the beginning of the school-centric music lesson. Here's the best of the rest:

Rolling Stones, Summer Love; Boomtown Rats, I Don't Like Mondays; Reigning Sound, Time Bomb High School; Supertramp, School; Brownsville Station, Smokin' in the Boys Room; Dead Kennedys, Straight A's/Life Sentence; .38 Special, Teacher, Teacher; Spinal Tap, Bitch School; Dirty Rotten Imbeciles, Yes Ma'am; Pink Floyd, The Happiest Days of Our Lives; The Jam, Art School; The White Stripes, We're Gonna Be Friends; Pearl Jam, Jeremy; Guided by Voices, Big School; Van Halen, Hot For Teacher; The Replacements, F**k School; The Kinks, Schooldays; Rough Trade, High School Confidential; Jerry Lee Lewis, High School Confidential; Nirvana, School.

rob.williams@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 15, 2012 E2