Doctors in popular songs

What are the best songs in popular music in regards to lyrics about physicians? My wife, Nadine, and I pondered that question last year when planning the ceremony for my inauguration as AMA president, which occurred in June.

By tradition, each incoming president of the AMA chooses entertainment for that ceremony. I chose the Haslett High School Men's Chorale from our hometown in Michigan. Conducted by Erich Wangeman, the group has received many awards and honors, including a prestigious invitation to perform at the 2005 convention of the American Choir Directors Association in Los Angeles. In 2006, members of the choir performed at the Carnegie Hall National High School Chorale Festival. Our three sons performed with the choir at the inaugural ceremony—Jared on the guitar and Evan and Connor in singing.

Early on, I asked Erich if he might be willing to work into the program a song with "doctor lyrics," and I suggested Good lovin', a 1966 hit by The Young Rascals. Erich happily agreed, and his colleague, Benjamin Henri, rearranged the song for a very creative and humorous rendition (Good carin') by the choir at the inaugural ceremony. The original lyrics of that song begin with the following:

I was feelin' … so bad.
I asked my family doctor just what I had.
I said, "Doctor, Mr. MD,
Now can you tell me,
What's ailin' me?"

While searching for songs with "doctor lyrics," I found a few others that were less attractive than Good lovin'. The Beatles sang a song called Doctor Robert, which does have nice lyrics about this doctor:

Day or night he'll be there any time at all, Doctor Robert. …
He helps you to understand.
He does everything he can, Doctor Robert.
If you're down he'll pick you up, Doctor Robert.
Take a drink from his special cup, Doctor Robert.
Doctor Robert, he's a man you must believe.
Helping everyone in need,
No one can succeed like Doctor Robert.

However, the music in the song was woefully uninspiring, perhaps explaining why it may be one of the Beatles' least famous songs. Interestingly, claims have surfaced that Doctor Robert was a physician or dentist who dispensed drugs to the rich and famous, and that "Doctor Robert" was a reference to John Lennon himself, who admitted that he "carried all the pills on tour ... in the early days." If any of that is true, one might wonder why the lyrics go on to tell us, "My friend works for the national health, Doctor Robert."

I like Jackson Browne's song Doctor My Eyes. But the meaning of the lyrics is obscure, and there is no explicit reference to health care except for the word "doctor" (if this does indeed refer to a health care professional). We're not told what kind of doctor this is, and the lyrics are more consistent with the doctor being a psychiatrist than an ophthalmologist.

The lyrics in Robert Palmer's song Bad Case of Loving You have similarly cryptic references to a doctor:

I need you to soothe my head,
Turn my blue heart to red.
Doctor, doctor, give me the news.
I've got a bad case of lovin' you.
No pill's gonna cure my ill.
I've got a bad case of lovin' you.

Is this doctor a psychiatrist who soothes people's heads? Is the singer (narrator) a patient in love with his doctor? Or is "doctor" an artistic device that has nothing to do with medicine?

The Danish dance/pop group Aqua—best known for the song Barbie Girl—had another pop hit called Doctor Jones. This "love song" has inane lyrics, which are notable here for one reason—they mention "Doctor Jones" 28 times. However, it is likely that "Doctor Jones" in this song refers to the Indiana Jones character (an archaeology professor) in the series of films bearing his name.

Are you aware of other popular songs that mention or feature doctors? Do you have a favorite? Or is there one you find annoying?

Please send comments, questions, and replies to amaprez@ama-assn.org.