Question

Is there any common elements between portions of "Pass Me By" from the movie Father Goose and the Hogan's Heroes Theme Song. In particular the section from Pass Me By in the first verse with lyrics starting "I've got me ten fine toes to wiggle in the sand.
Lots of idle fingers snap to my command." I am reminded of those words strongly in the Hogan's Heroes theme.

Answer 1

Short answer: yes — they can sound alike to a listener, but not necessarily because one copied the other. They share some common, simple pop-music ingredients (rhythmic feel and a small melodic motif) that make them feel familiar, yet the melodies, harmony and orchestration are different on a note‑for‑note level.

A bit more detail on what probably makes you hear the resemblance

- Rhythmic feel: both passages have a jaunty, bouncy, slightly syncopated rhythm that emphasizes off‑beats and short, repeated rhythmic cells. That kind of “skipping” rhythm is very recognizable and can make different tunes feel related.
- Short repeated motif: both use a compact melodic figure (a short rising or falling cell that repeats or returns) rather than long, flowing lines. Listeners strongly register those small repeated shapes.
- Contour and accents: the “ten fine toes…” line has a playful, falling/rising contour with accents on unexpected syllables; the Hogan’s Heroes theme likewise plays with off‑beat accents and a jaunty contour. Similar accent patterns can create a sense of kinship even when the pitch content differs.
- Common harmonies and idioms: both pieces live in the same mid‑20th‑century popular/TV-music vocabulary (simple diatonic progressions, bluesy or modal touches, brass/percussion color), so they reuse the same building blocks.

Why that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re the same melody
- If you look at the actual pitches and chord progressions, they are not identical (Hogan’s Heroes theme is a distinct TV theme melody; “Pass Me By” is a song verse with different phrase endings and harmony). Many pop tunes share short motifs and rhythms without being the same tune.
- Musical memory is very sensitive to rhythm and contour — these are often what make two different melodies feel similar.

If you want a definitive, technical comparison
- I can compare them precisely if you can (a) upload short audio clips or (b) paste or type the melody in notation or note names (e.g., G4 A4 B4 …) or (c) tell me timestamps of the recordings. I’ll then show interval-by-interval and rhythm-by-rhythm similarities and differences and note any identical sequences that might be significant.