Did you know that, in recorded history, over 2,000 songs have been written? Two thousand!

That’s a lot, and it partially explains why several of them have been called “I Love You.” If you have that many songs, a title (which can’t be copywrited, by the way) is on occasion going to turn up more than once, particularly if the sentiment that inspired the tune is a universal emotion. It’s easy to see why a lot of composers, soaring on the hurricane-strength air currents of new affection for a romantic partner, might well call a tune “I Love You.”

Not sure this reasoning explains why a Google search reveals there are four different songs that are titled “I Just Turned Bright Gray (and Sprouted Crab Antennae),” which seems an event — if true — less likely to serve as a source of creative energy that struck more than one songwriter in such a precise titular fashion. But who can say what goes on in the minds of sensitive artists?

It’s also fun and sometimes surprising to guess in which genre a song might fit based on its title. For example, if you think “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” is probably a punk tune, well, you’d be right. It’s by the Ramones — but hold on! It turns out there’s an old Call to Vespers from the 12th century called “Volo Aliquid Gluten Exsuflastis,” which in Latin means essentially the same thing. So we see where even peculiar song titles can cross the boundaries of genre.

Death metal is also a musical style wherein the song titles are pretty much what you’d expect. Who can forget “Chopped in Half” by Obituary? Or, wait! Is “Obituary” the song and Chopped in Half the band? Either way, I guess …

Prog rock, featuring complex song-cycles, elaborate suites and mini-operas, is a musical style that can hearten your belief in pomposity for the sake of it. And who doesn’t love the Yes toe-tapper called “The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn) and (When Do the Elves Come Out of Hiding?)” OK, you caught me. That “hiding elf” part isn’t in there, but the rest is real.

Country music has had more than its share of memorable titles, largely because a lot of words rhyme with “beer” or “truck” or “Spinoza.” But I’ll say this: country music has provided us with what I consider to be the finest song title EVER. It’s from David Allen Coe, who, it seems to me, is a true creep. But if you’re going to write a fantastic song title, it doesn’t get much better than his “Now I Lay Me Down to Cheat.”

I’ve saved the best for last, though. Classical music is brainy as hell, but its composers were truly lazy when it came to naming their work. Here are my top six favorite classical music titles:

Beethoven – “Symphony No. 7”

Grieg – “Violin Sonata No. 3”

Schubert – “Symphony No. 9 in C major”

Mahler – “Symphony No. 1 in D”

Bach – “Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543”

Mozart – “I Love You”