Name that tune! Mocking U.S. Republicans, #GOPSongs goes viral on Twitter

[December 16, 2015]  By Angela Moon and Melissa Fares
 
 NEW YORK (Reuters) - From "Hey Rude," a play on The Beatles classic devoted to Donald Trump, to "You Gotta Fight Far to the Right," a dig at the presidential nomination process inspired by the Beastie Boys' "You Gotta Fight For Your Right," Twitter lit up on Tuesday with playful twists on pop songs targeted at Republicans.

The hashtag #GOPSongs was a top trender on Twitter, with thousands tweaking famous song titles and lyrics as the hours counted down to the fifth Republican presidential TV debate, set for Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

The trend kicked off late Monday when Comedy Central's late night show "@midnight", hosted by Chris Hardwick, tweeted: "It's time to loosen your red tie and play #GOPSongs with us! Check out the examples and play along!" The hashtag was soon trending worldwide.

Many of the posts took aim at the controversial stances on immigration taken by Trump, front-runner to be his party's nominee in the November 2016 election. Trump has taken a tough line on immigration and last week stirred wide outrage with his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country.

"Hello... is it me that you're looking to deport?" was one of around a dozen offerings from @whisper2scream, riffing off the newest smash hit from British singer Adele.

Bruce Springsteen's anthem "Born in the U.S.A." was another favorite associated with Trump, with altered verses like "Born in the U.S.A., or Get Out."

Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas who recently surpassed the billionaire developer in opinion polls in early-voting state Iowa, was taking hits too. "I'm Bringing Sexist Back" was trending, a play on Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack."

Meanwhile, U2's 1987 hit "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" morphed into "I Still Haven't Found Who I'm Voting For."

"I like Big Banks and I Cannot Lie" was also trending in reference to Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back".

"Goodbye, Rubio Tuesday" was trending with a nod to Florida Senator Marco Rubio, a play on the 1967 Rolling Stones song "Ruby Tuesday."

One of the most trending jokes was dedicated to a Republican who is not running in this year's race: former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. A verse from Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" was tweaked as "Mitt Me Baby, One More Time!"

(Reporting by Angela Moon and Melissa Fares; Editing by Dan Burns and Frances Kerry)

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