About that song running through your head. You know it’s there.Sometimes they call it an earworm- uggh.

It may be the result of a catchy tune you heard, by the Beach Boys, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Puccini, Wagner, Handel- or the master- Mozart! And if you happen to catch a bit of The Blue Danube on the radio- I challenge you to not have that with you for at least a day.

A Google search reveals there is all kinds of science about what makes a catchy song and why a song can get stuck in your head.

But I have these songs that are there anytime no other catchy song is present and without explanation. They’re like the default settings, as if a computer program is running in the background over which I have no control. (Science Fiction fans will recognize this from Battlestar Galactica when the secret Cylons all figure out what they are because they are all hearing Bob Dylan in their heads.)

First Song: Overture from Tannhauser. Now I’ve only seen Tannhauser once. It’s not something that pops up on the radio very much. So, I can only assume this is a Bugs Bunny thing programmed in my brain when I was like four, because it does sometimes come with those lyrics. 

Second Song: Jerusalem. I find myself humming this, when I am not paying attention, all the time. I don’t even properly know the words and really I do not come into contact with this song in life at all, but it’s definitely there.

I’m not English. Don’t even hear the tune at church running with some different lyrics as they do…

So what is your system default song?

And if it’s the overture to Tannhauser or Jerusalem get in touch – maybe we’re secret group and there is more to us than we know! Beware!

Pictured, The Tannhauser’s Redemption Bracelet. Click to see more.