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| Song Title | Description | Categories | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abide with Me | Much-loved church hymn | ballad, moderately easy | |
| All Alone | One of Berlin's finest tear-jerkers | ballad, easy | |
| All of Me | Circles beautifully | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Am I Wasting My Time on You? | Great chances for emotional expression | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Anniversary Song | Jolson made this famous. Great to sing at wedding receptions | ballad, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| April Showers | Innovative second chorus variations. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Because of You | Remember Tony Bennet's recording of this from the 50's? Great love ballad. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Billy-a-Dick | Hoagy Carmichael's great tune. Finger-snapping, cute lyrics. | ballad, contestable, strongly rhythmic, difficult | |
| Blue Jeans | Henry Burr recorded this way back in the teens. Recalling teenage love back "in the hills of the old Cumberland." | ballad, contestable, easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Brigadoon Medley | All the great tunes of this musical - a tour de force and not for the light of lung. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, difficult | |
| Brown Eyes - Why Are You Blue? | Sing it soft and tender. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| By the Time I Get to Phoenix | Jimmy Webb favorite from the 70's. Strong bass pulse and neutral syllables, melody in baritone. | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, strongly rhythmic, moderately easy | |
| Candy | That's what I call my sugar! Easy swing, lots of echoes, patter and other rhythmic devices. | ballad/up-tune, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Carolina Moon | A great moon and state song | ballad, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Cheatin, On Me | Bluesy | ballad, easy | |
| Climb Ev'ry Mountain | Inspiration ballad from "Sound of Music" | ballad, moderately difficult, show opener or closer | View Sample (PDF) |
| Close As Pages in a Book | From "Up in Central Park." Beautiful love ballad. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep | Sentimental Berlin tune | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| Dear Heart | Henry Mancini's classic. Great love ballad. | ballad, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| Exodus | Stirring patriotic song. | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Fingerprints | May be too much of a tear-jerker for modern audiences. Very much like the Mid-States Four did it many years ago. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Galway Bay | Beautiful Irish tune, melody passed among all four. | ballad, not contestable, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Gee, But There's Class to a Girl Like You | Original verse. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Go With a Song in Your Heart | Great show closer,or end each rehearsal with it | ballad, easy, show opener or closer | |
| God Bless the Human Elbow | Barbershop in a Baroque harmonization. "If it bent too long we'd be dry, I fear; if it bent too short we'd be drinking through our ear" | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, easy | |
| Golden Barefoot Days | There will always be a memory of those.... Steeped in nostalgia. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Half-Way to Heaven | Fellow returns home to his girl: "Then she meets me half-way, half-way up the pathway, that's half-way to heaven and home." Very square. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Happy Anniversary | sing for anniversaries as well as birthdays | ballad, easy | |
| Have You Even Been in Heaven? | What a date with a beautiful girl can make you say. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Here's That Rainy Day | Definitely modern harmonization. | ballad, not contestable, difficult | |
| I Don't Know Enough about You | 30's-40's feel. Swingy. | ballad/up-tune, contestable, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| I'd Love to Fall Asleep and Wake Up (in My Mammy'S Arms) | Another back to Mammy in Alabamy kind of song. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| If I Could Only Make You Care | Simple love song. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| If I Had You | Passionate ballad, a paean to romantic love. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| I Hear Music | Bass must sing syncopated rhythms just right. | ballad/up-tune, contestable, strongly rhythmic, moderately difficult | |
| I Love You Just the Same Sweet Adeline | In the best of the barbershop tradition. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| I'm in the Mood for Love | Bass melody almost all the way. Got a bass who wants to project an Iglesias-type image? | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | View Sample (PDF) |
| I Miss You Most of All | Haunting ballad with emotional punch. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| I Walk with Music | One of the best songs Hoagy every wrote. Inspiring! | ballad, moderately easy, show opener or closer | |
| Ireland Must Be Heaven | For my Mother came from there. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Irish Blessing, An | The arranger's melody and harmony to the familiar poem ("May the road rise to meet you...") | ballad, not contestable, show closer, moderately easy | |
| Is It True What They Say About Dixie? | Does the sun really shine all the time? Unusual: a ballad about Dixie! | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| It Could Happen to You | Harmonies galore in this love song | ballad, moderately easy | |
| It Had to Be You | Typical 30's swing tune. | ballad/up-tune, contestable, moderately difficult | View Sample (PDF) |
| I Will Love You When the Silver Threads Are Shining Among the Gold | Simple, straightforward ... from 1911. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| I Wish You Love | Strong 3 against 2 feel ... definitely contemporary. | ballad/up-tune, not contestable, strongly rhythmic, moderately difficult | |
| June Medley | Just when you thought you'd heard enough of June/spoon/croon. Great intro and glue; combines "Did You Ever Get That Feeling in the Moonlight?" "Give Me a June Night," and "Give Me a Night in June." | ballad/up-tune, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Just a Dream of You, Dear | Strictly a song for barbershoppers, with gorgeous harmonies. | ballad, easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Just a Little Longer | Simple love ballad. Win a contest with it. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Just When the Lights Are Low | Old timey remembrance. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| King of the Road | Remember this Roger Miller tune? "I'm a man of means by no means." Great rhythm number, finger snaps, etc. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, strongly rhythmic, moderately difficult | View Sample (PDF) |
| Last Dance, The | We're still dancing and can't let go | ballad, moderately easy | |
| Let There Be Peace on Earth | ... And let it begin with me. Spiritually uplifting. | ballad, not contestable, show closer, easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Let the Rest of the World Go By | One of the most harmonizable songs ever written. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Little Man You've Had a Busy Day | Put away your toys, my son, it's time for bed. | ballad, contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Little Things Mean a Lot | Strictly for women. Tender love ballad. | ballad, moderately difficult | View Sample (PDF) |
| Lost in the Stars | Spiritually uplifting. Correct melody. | ballad, not contestable, show closer, moderately easy | |
| Love Letters in the Sand | Now my poor heart just aches ... Great chance for emotional projection. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Love Story (Theme from) | Great emotional impact if done well. | ballad, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Maharajah of Magador, The | Needs tenor with reedy voice who can project; lots of bass melody. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Makin' Love Ukelele Style | Have one or more play the uke - chord symbols provided. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| Man on the Flying Trapeze, The | Very easy.... make something of it! | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, easy | |
| May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You | Sing it right from the heart. | ballad, not contestable, show closer, easy | |
| May You Always | Great show closer with spiritual message | ballad, easy, show opener or closer | |
| Mean to Me | Why must you be ... Sentimental and sophisticated. | ballad, contestable, difficult | |
| Mickey Pretty Mickey | Beautiful song to a beautiful girl | ballad, moderately easy | |
| Milwaukee's Finest | A tribute to the beers that made Milwaukee famous ... familiar commercial melodies. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Mistaken in You | Heart-wrenching to have been so wrong about her. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| M-O-T-H-E-R | Perhaps the most famous of the mother songs. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| My Book of Broken Dreams | A lot like that old favorite: Bundle of Old Love Letters | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| My Mother's Rosary | Tribute to mother and her faith. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| My Old Kentucky Home | Familiar and much-loved Foster | ballad, easy | |
| My Yiddishe Momme | Very ethnic. Best tag ever written. | ballad, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Nothing Seems the Same Anymore | Feeling bad over a lost love. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Oklahoma Medley | All the great tunes from this classic musical. Be prepared to sing seven minutes straight. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, difficult | |
| Old Familiar Faces | Nostalgic ode to times past. Square. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Old Fashioned Locket | Sentimental—almost syrupy. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Old Man River | Bass melody most of the way. Got a bass who can do it justice? Rangy (bass low F to D). | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | View Sample (PDF) |
| On the Bark of an Old Cherry Tree | We carved our names there, but it was never to be. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Once in Love With Amy | Great bass propellants. Soft shoe. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Portrait of My Love | Tenor melody. Got a tenor with a solo voice? | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| Quiet Girl, A | Tenor melody. Sing it soft and gentle. | ballad, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| Remembering Time Medley | Consists of "Remembering Time," ("Where the blue of the night meets...) and "My Buddy." Great Glue. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Ring, Telephone Ring | Full of both anguish and gorgeous chords | ballad, moderately easy | |
| River, Stay 'Way from My Door | Chances for great emotional projection | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| Rosanne | Tenor melody. Beautiful, tender love song. | ballad, not contestable, moderately easy | View Sample (PDF) |
| Rose and a Prayer, A | Tender love ballad—old fashioned barbershop. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| Rose Of Tralee, The | gorgeous tribute to Ireland | ballad, moderately easy | |
| Somewhere | From "West Side Story." | ballad, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Standing on the Corner | ... Watching all the girls go by. Light and bouncy. | ballad/up-tune, not contestable, strongly rhythmic, moderately easy | |
| Sweetest Song in the World, The | Pure barbershop. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Sweet Little Mother of Mine | One of the best of the mother ballads. Great chance for pathos. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Tell Me Why | The great "campfire" song, perfect to harmonize. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| That Old Feeling | I saw you last night and .. | ballad, moderately easy | |
| That's What Friends Are For | Great way to say "thank you" | ballad, easy | |
| There's No You | Sweet nostalgia | ballad, moderately easy | |
| They Say It's Wonderful | From "Annie Get Your Gun" Great Berlin ballad—a sleeper. | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Thinking of You at Christmas | Undiscovered jewel of a Christmas Song | ballad, easy | |
| This Is All I Ask | Great for senior quartet ... nostalgic | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| Tie Me to Your Apron Strings Again | Inspired by the Four Teens version of 1952. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Tired Hands | The most beautiful "Mother" ballad I know. Pathos plus. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Tired of Me | Great chance for emotional expression. | ballad, contestable, moderately difficult | |
| True Love | Great love ballad. Remember Crosby and Kelly in "High Society"? | ballad, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| Twelve Days after Christmas, The | Spoof on the more familiar Twelve Days of Christmas. Clever. | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, easy | |
| Unchained Melody | Shows off the lead. Opportunities for stylizing. | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| Was There Ever a Pal Like You? | One of the best mother songs. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| What'll I Do? | One of Berlin's best ballads. Much loved. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| When I Lost You | Berlin's most beautiful | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| When the Bell in the Lighthouse Rings | Great song to show off your bass. Low E or E-flat required. | ballad/up-tune, novelty/show tune, not contestable, moderately difficult | |
| When Your Lover Has Gone | What lonely hours! | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| When Your Old Wedding Ring Was New | Very effective if recitation used second time through. | ballad, not contestable, easy | |
| Where Do You Start | Couple decides to split ... how? Heartfelt. | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| Where Is Love? | Tenor melody. Gorgeous song—great arrangement! | ballad, not contestable, moderately easy | |
| Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day | Lots of appeal to this golden oldie. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Where the River Shannon Flows | Pure Irish ballad. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| White Cliffs of Dover, The | One of the few WWII songs that works well for us. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| Wishing | It'll come true if you just ... | ballad, easy | |
| World Is Waiting for the Sunrise | Beautiful poetry | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| You Brought Ireland Right Over to Me | Title says it all. | ballad, contestable, easy | |
| You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To | Demanding and very sophisticated lyrically and harmonically. | ballad, not contestable, difficult | |
| You Grow Sweeter As the Years Go By | Simple ballad, great for Seniors quartet. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy | |
| You'll Never Walk Alone | Lead down to C and up to G. Very effective if done just right. | ballad, novelty/show tune, not contestable, show closer, moderately easy | |
| You Needed Me | Anne Murray's hit from a few years back. Demands lead with great voice. | ballad, not contestable, strongly rhythmic, moderately difficult | |
| You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To | Enchanting mix of major and minor | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| You're My Thrill | Very high seventh chord count | ballad, moderately difficult | |
| Young at Heart | Don't we all want to be? | ballad/up-tune, contestable, moderately difficult | |
| Your Eyes Have Told Me So | Absolutely gorgeous ballad. Could win a contest for you. | ballad, contestable, moderately easy |
Note: Questions about contestability of arrangements should be directed to a qualified Music category judge. Standards are constantly changing, so ask before you sing!
Updated 5/2008