Solution to Denial

by Joia Hertz & Cally Perry

The text entries are denials of claims or accusations made in song lyrics. In order of presentation, the titles of the songs being denied are the following:

  1. You're So Vain
  2. Run For Your Life
  3. You're the Top
  4. Put Down the Duckie
  5. Me & Bobby McGee
  6. Purple People Eater
  7. Do Your Balls Hang Low
  8. Clementine
  9. The Folk Song Army
  10. Edelweiss
  11. The Land of Oz
  12. Every Breath You Take
  13. Fame
  14. Short People
  15. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey
  16. You Can't Always Get What You Want
  17. You Never Give Me Your Money
  18. You Can't Stop the Beat
  19. Only the Good Die Young
  20. You Get What You Give
  21. Even Better Than the Real Thing
  22. We Are the Champions
  23. Born to Run
  24. Your Mama Don't Dance
  25. We Are the World

There is a unique way to enter the titles into the blanks. They end up in the following order with certain letters starred:

A  The Folk Song Army
R  You never give me your money
TI Clementine
ST Short People
TO You're the Top
WH You can't always get what you want
O  We are the champions
M  Me & Bobby McGee
ID Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except Me And My Monkey
SA You Can't Stop the Beat
YY Every Breath You Take
OU You're So Vain
DO Put Down The Duckie
N  Even better than the real thing
T  You get what you give
W  We are the World
A  Fame
N  Do Your Balls Hang Low
T  Purple People Eater
TO The Land of Oz
MO Your Mama don't dance
R  Born to Run
R  Run For Your Life
O  Only the Good Die Young
W  Edelweiss

The starred letters spell out:

ARTIST TO WHOM ID SAY YOU DONT WANT TOMORROW

The song I Want Tomorrow is by Enya, so ENYA is the answer.


2006 MIT Mystery Hunt