UKC

I am curious to hear if anyone else's head does this, but any time I'm in any real danger when climbing, my brain goes into a weird mode where I get little tunes, or short sections of tunes, stuck in there looping. They are almost always annoying tunes and impossible to get rid of.

As an example, I've had "Baby Monkey Riding On A Pig" looping in there on multiple occasions, and it was slightly bemusing to think that if I blew it completely that could be the last tune I'd ever have in my head.

"Baby Monkey Riding on a Pig" always pops in to my head when I'm climbing. It was also in my head when I was running a marathon for the majority of it. 

What IS it about that bloody tune? 😆

Pleased to say I’ve never heard it.

Count yourself lucky. Or... scratch that itch, find out, and come to the dark side!

I can't say I'm familiar with that particular tune, but I've definitely noticed that I start humming or singing, or talking to myself, when I'm not in a happy place.

Would you rather die to the tune of Baby Monkey Riding on a Pig, or Brown Girl in the Ring?

This could be your brain deciding to distract your inner voice (articulatory process) from screaming, "WE ARE GOING TO DIE!" by playing brain muzak. 

Or you could just be a properly bad mentalist.

The lark ascending would be more my thing.

I don't get tunes in that situation. I get a calm voice (my own) either asking "Am I going to hit the deck / to die?" or saying "You're going to die" (not kidding)

Not when I’m climbing but I had an idles song on repeat in my mind when I was running a fell race the other which I found quite ironic. 

Definitely a thing. I often climb with Beyonce, Kylie and Bieber.

I'm reminded of Touching the Void, where Joe Simpson had Boney M going round and round his head, but it's not quite the same as your scenario!

It's weird, the one thing I find common between any tunes that stick in my head in those circumstances is that they are annoying. It must be some sort of coping mechanism, but could it not pick something actually acceptable? 😆

When I'm bricking it (all too often, hence the username) it's normally this:

youtube.com/watch?v=0Hkn-LSh7es&

Which definitely fits with your 'annoying' hypothesis.

When I'm only a little bit nervous, it's often Gallows Pole by Led Zeppelin, which is much more acceptable

As to why it's these particular songs, I have absolutely no idea

Didn't the chap in Touching the Void get a terrible Boney M song stuck on loop in his head?

I've read that a cure for earworms is mental arithmetic... but who wants to die doing sums?

I get this all the time, its normally poppy shite. Many years ago I remember totally pumping out thinking I was about to die (I wasn't) to the tune of Jennifer Lopez jenny from the block, not helpful. 

I had a good one last year - Ella Vos with "going down in flames' as my brain dribbled out of my ears trying to work out the crux of Prana (E3 5c). Fortunately it wasnt prophetic and I didn't.

Whilst quite significantly run out on the shelterstone last summer, I found myself (internally) singing Every Time We Say Goodbye

I say something to myself out loud along the lines of "This would be a particularly bad place to lose your nerve ..."

usually does the trick

For some reason the song that was stuck in my head when I was climbing at my best in 1983 was 'Heart of Glass' by Blondie. (I think it was on one of my car music cassettes). I would hum it in nervous snatches when I was on a crux. Actually, it really did help calm the nerves.

For a while the lines I had on loop when I was gripped were 'Everey day, when I wake up, I thank the lord I'm Welsh' by Catatonia. I'm not even Welsh...

I actively tried to stop doing it, because I was worried that by replaying the lines I was reinforcing the idea that I was currently gripped.

Always the A-Team tune. I think because you can sing any words to it.

Oh making up words for tunes always works a treat too. In my case they are usually extremely offensive.

Definitely had it before. Can't remember the route but I had Elton John Tiny Dancer going round my head.

"Singing in the rain" is my resident earworm.  He likes it in there - he's been there for years

I've tried that too. 50% of the time it works and I focus, calm down, recover, and move on. And 50% of the time it results in leg trembles and panic

I normally get a bar or two of the Wallace and Gromit theme tune...

I've asked some other mates as well and it appears that all of them get it to some extent. I wonder why that is, what happens in one's thought processes that results in annoying ear worms looping over and over? Could it be a consequence of suspending whatever part of your thinking that would allow a freak out, in a situation where freaking out would be an entirely plausible reaction?

Interesting - I get songs stuck in my head *constantly*, and it’s been remarked on that when I do ARC training I’m often whistling songs or even singing to myself without realising it. But when the chips are down and I’m run out that’s when the earworms seem to go away. Weirdly, I think I’d rather have it your way round…doing endurance training with “baby shark” stuck between your ears is no fun at all. If it was a coping mechanism to avoid death I think that would be more tolerable somehow. 

Usually I go very quiet and concentrated but on one occasion, this tune popped into my head

youtube.com/watch?v=VLnWf1sQkjY&

How about this one anyone?

youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ&

Can Bieber belay?

Bro..

Like Brown girl in the ring? From touching the void?

Bro.

Don'r know that one.

Baby, baby, belay!

You say belayer, I say Belieber!

Always used to get this - I fondly remember Rocker's Revenge at Avon to the tune of the Flight of the Conchords' "Sugar Lumps" -  youtube.com/watch?v=ZQZP5358fmc&, my other most favourite was topping out Arch Slab at Three Cliffs Bay with an absolutely belting trance track "Jupiter" going through my head, still not managed to track that down on the youtubes, shame.

Chirpie Chirpie Cheep Cheep

I don't remember doing anything like this when climbing but I've been working on my cardio & general fitness again lately and have found myself singing popular songs in exaggerated regional accents.

E.g. "these boots were made for walking", Chas And Dave remix:

"Awwww, these-a boots were made fa wawkin', ayyyyynd that's-a just wot they'll doooo-a" etc.

Seems to help.

the only sum I'm doing is the difference in my runout rope and the height up the wall, plus rope stretch...

But to answer OP yes I've had something similar happen a couple of time

Not so much when run out and stressed, but when exhausted from bushwhacking, paddling into headwind for hours or breaking trail through deep snow: Eutaw, Alabama by OCMS.

Absolutely no idea why!

CB

Mr Marleys three little birds is a classic

Me too sometimes.  Or something riffy like One Week of Danger.

youtube.com/watch?v=SgTB_1McAuE&