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I Didn’t Think Animal Songs Mattered Until One Random Night Changed My Mind

John Ahya

June 20, 2025

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I’ll be honest, I used to skip over those playlists with animal-themed song titles. “Dog Days Are Over,” “She Wolf,” “Cat Scratch Fever”… they always felt a bit gimmicky. Cute titles, maybe a fun beat, but not something I ever thought would hit me emotionally.

But then came a long night, a bad mood, and a YouTube autoplay rabbit hole.

I Thought It Was Just Background Noise… But Then “She Wolf” Hit

It started with Shakira’s “She Wolf.” I wasn’t even paying attention at first, but something about it the beat, the howl in her voice made me stop. It wasn’t just a catchy track. It was clever. The wolf wasn’t just an animal; it was freedom, wildness, something hidden and raw.

That’s when I realized: these animal songs weren’t just surface-level fun. They were full of metaphors and emotion, hiding in plain sight.

I Went Down the Animal Song Rabbit Hole (No Regrets)

That night, I started exploring songs with animals in their titles, and I mean listening.
Here’s what I found in my favorite ones:

• “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin has raw energy and tension
• “Buffalo Soldier” by Bob Marley: pain and pride in resistance
• “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd is an ultimate escape anthem
• “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I is strangely addictive and oddly emotional
• “Panda” by Desiigner, okay, maybe just chaos, but still fun

And it wasn’t just the serious songs that caught me. Some were weird in the best way, like “Disco Duck” or “Rock Lobster.” Silly? Totally. But oddly unforgettable.

I Started to Feel Something in These Animal Metaphors

There’s something about using animals to say what we can’t.
A lion becomes powerful.
A bird becomes free.
A dog becomes loyal or heartbroken.
A cat becomes cool, distant, or dangerous.

I didn’t expect that. I didn’t expect to feel emotional over “Cats in the Cradle” or “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” But they hit harder than a lot of the so-called “deep” music I’d been listening to.

One Song That Made Me Pause

I remember hearing “Black Sheep” by Gin Wigmore and just sitting there in silence after it ended. There was something about the confidence, the grit in her voice, the idea of being different, unwanted, wild that got to me.

And then you get a song like “Year of the Cat” that feels like a dream, soft and cinematic. I started realizing that animals weren’t the them, they were the vehicle for something more human.

What Started as a Joke Became My Go-To Playlist

I created a playlist “Animal Instincts” half as a joke. But now? It’s my favorite. When I’m working, walking, driving, whatever, I throw it on and I’m instantly in a mood.

Some days I feel like a fox (clever and chaotic). Other days, I feel like a dog (loyal but tired).
There’s a song for every version of me.

Final Thoughts

I used to laugh at the idea of animal-themed songs. I thought they were just novelty tracks. But after a few nights of really listening, I found something deeper, something that made me feel.

Whether it’s the sadness in “When Doves Cry,” the swagger of “Honky Cat,” or the pain in “Dog Days Are Over,” these songs use animals the way good writers use metaphors to show what we’re too scared to say directly.

So next time you hear a track with an animal in the title, don’t skip it. You might hear something that finally puts your mood into words.

🎧 Full Playlist: 100 Songs With Animals in the Title

Here’s the complete list that started it all, from wolves to crabs, swans to snakes:

1. She Wolf – Shakira
2. Black Dog – Led Zeppelin
3. Dog Eat Dog – Ted Nugent
4. Love Cats – The Cure
5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Gene Autry
6. Cat Scratch Fever – Ted Nugent
7. Swine – Lady Gaga
8. War Pigs – Black Sabbath
9. White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
10. The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?) – Ylvis
11. Blind Pig – Emmi
12. Shake Me Like a Monkey – Dave Matthews Band
13. Shock the Monkey – Peter Gabriel
14. Black Swan – Andrew Stockdale
15. (How Much is) That Doggie in the Window – Lita Roza
16. Black Sheep – Gin Wigmore
17. Peace Frog – The Doors
18. Monkeys on My Back – Aerosmith
19. Bat Out of Hell – Meat Loaf
20. Roger Rabbit – Sleeping With Sirens
21. Have You Fed the Fish? – Badly Drawn Boy
22. Hey Bulldog – The Beatles
23. Law Dog – The Doobie Brothers
24. Union of the Snake – Duran Duran
25. Crocodile Python – Rick Ross
26. Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
27. Black Cow – Steely Dan
28. Monkeys Gone to Heaven – Pixies
29. Crocodile Rock – Elton John
30. Little Red Rooster – The Rolling Stones
31. Orchestra of Wolves – Gallows
32. Cat Pack – AJ Tracey
33. Disco Duck – Rick Dees
34. I Love My Dog – Cat Stevens
35. Fox on the Run – Sweet
36. A Horse With No Name – America
37. Young Lion – Vampire Weekend
38. Wild Horses – The Rolling Stones
39. Year of the Cat – Al Stewart
40. Cat and Mouse – Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
41. Bulls on Parade – Rage Against the Machine
42. Cats in the Cradle – Harry Chapin
43. When Doves Cry – Prince
44. Seagull – Bad Company
45. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway – Genesis
46. Free Bird – Lynyrd Skynyrd
47. I’m Like a Bird – Nelly Furtado
48. Dig a Pony – The Beatles
49. Buffalo Soldier – Bob Marley
50. Honky Cat – Elton John
51. March of the Crabs – Anvil
52. Oysters – Tori Amos
53. Scat Cat – Toby Keith
54. Butterfly, How Long It Takes to Die – The Flaming Lips
55. Mama Lion – Crosby & Nash
56. Panda – Desiigner
57. Dog and Butterfly – Heart
58. Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine
59. The Lion Sleeps Tonight – Lebo M
60. Dancing With a Wolf – All Time Low
61. Mad Dog – Black Lips
62. Puppy Love – Paul Anka
63. Surfin’ Bird – The Trashmen
64. We Are the Pigs – Suede
65. Rock Lobster – The B-52s
66. How Does a Duck Know? – Crash Test Dummies
67. Cool for Cats – Squeeze
68. Rabbit Hole – AViVA
69. Dance Monkey – Tones and I
70. Birds – Imagine Dragons
71. Zebras and Airplanes – Alicia Keys
72. Walking With Elephants – Ten Walls
73. Three Lions – Baddiel, Skinner & The Lightning Seeds
74. Too Many Puppies – Primus
75. Only the Horses – Scissor Sisters
76. Slow Cheetah – Red Hot Chili Peppers
77. Big Bad Wolf – Fifth Harmony
78. My Pet Snakes – Jenny and Johnny
79. Karma Chameleon – Culture Club
80. True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes – Red Hot Chili Peppers
81. Running Bear – Johnny Preston
82. And Dream of Sheep – Kate Bush
83. Monkey – George Michael
84. The Bull – Kip Moore
85. I Am the Walrus – The Beatles
86. Octopus’s Garden – The Beatles
87. Paper Tiger – Beck
88. The Elephant Riders – Clutch
89. Fishin’ in the Dark – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
90. Dark Horse – Katy Perry
91. Imma Dog Too – Toni Romiti
92. No Horses – Garbage
93. New Pony – The Dead Weather
94. Neon Tiger – The Killers
95. Poor Cow – Donovan
96. Rocky Raccoon – The Beatles
97. Run With the Wolves – The Prodigy
98. Very Ape – Nirvana
99. Cheetah Tongue – The Wombats
100. Anaconda – Nicki Minaj

That’s all! You can also check out 25+ Best Karaoke Songs for Women of All Time (Easy) and 15+ Best Songs About Suicide (Easy Lyrics).

John Ahya

John is the Senior Content writer at BandMag. With 8+ years experience in content writing and SEO, he loves talking about content creation, SEO and his dog.