Songs that seemingly never end

[Laggard]

A staple of 70s AOR. Songs that drag on and on seemingly without end.

The one that gets to me is The Police's Message In A bottle. "Sending out an SOS" is repeated 138 times before it mercifully fades out.

On a less mainstream note, the Pixies Gigantic drags on 20 measures too long also.

[Gangster Octopus]

The final chord on "A Day in the Life" lasted for 40 seconds.

[buddha_david]

It's heresy, but:

Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude

(one more time!)

Na na na...

[Shagnasty]

Freebird!

[Morbo]

Originally Posted by buddha_david

It's heresy, but:

Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude

(one more time!)

Na na na...

Ringo certainly thought so...

[Laggard]

Originally Posted by buddha_david

It's heresy, but:

Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude

(one more time!)

Na na na...

Oh yes. Olympic organizers were forced to cancel a couple events when McCartney could not find the end of the song.

[It's Not Rocket Surgery!]

"November Rain" by Guns 'N Roses ends sometime in mid-December.

[CalMeacham]

Ain't no Sunshine When She's Gone. Bill Withers



26 "I Know"s in a row.


This link wants you to buy it as a ringtone. Just what I need -- a ringtone that goes "I know...I know...I know...I know...I know...I know...I know...I know..."

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/b..._sunshine.html

[pulykamell]

Layla is the one that bugs me.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Layla is the one that bugs me.

Not only that it's too long, but that it's that self-indulgent twaddle of a solo at the end that makes it too long.

[Procrustus]

Originally Posted by CalMeacham

Ain't no Sunshine When She's Gone. Bill Withers



26 "I Know"s in a row.


This link wants you to buy it as a ringtone. Just what I need -- a ringtone that goes "I know...I know...I know...I know...I know...I know...I know...I know..."

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/b..._sunshine.html

I change the station every time that song gets to that point. It's not a bad song otherwise.

[Shooby]

Originally Posted by buddha_david

It's heresy, but:

Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude

(one more time!)

Na na na...

I've liked the song enough to have played it on guitar, but even I can't stand listening to it now. What were they thinking?

[Leaffan]

You'd think a song called "The End" would actually, you know, have one.

[Dr_Doom]

Originally Posted by jayjay

... self-indulgent twaddle...

I think that really could be a pretty decent description of the common issue with all these cited examples.

[Dr_Doom]

Originally Posted by Shooby

What were they thinking?

"Man, that is some fiiiiiine weed! We sound amazing!"

[Malthus]

"Now lets put on the extra loooooong version of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida ... "

[CalMeacham]

What were they thinking?

Speaking of which, folksinger Christine Lavin has a song entitled "What was I thinking", one point of which is that the siong goes on forever after it's supposed to be finished, and has no end. Her comments over the endlessly repeated chorus are hilarious, and if you turn up the volume as it fades out you can hear her say "What? Are you still listening? You have the hearing of a dog!"

[Smapti]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Layla is the one that bugs me.

Heresy. The outro is what makes the song.

A few additions of my own;

- Feliz Navidad. There's about 15 seconds worth of song, and it runs for about 20 minutes.
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. Same deal.
- Sympathy for the Devil. Goes on for about a minute and a half longer than it needs to.
- Aerosmith's version of "The Train Kept A-Rolling". The song ends, and then it starts over again from the beginning.

And before anyone gets any ideas, I'd just like to mention a few songs that don't overstay their welcome;

- Macarthur Park. You can't cut a single second of it without losing something.
- I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That). Ditto.

[MrSquishy]

Originally Posted by Leaffan

You'd think a song called "The End" would actually, you know, have one.

"Her Majesty" doesn't seem to.

[pulykamell]

Originally Posted by Smapti

Heresy. The outro is what makes the song.

Sorry. Can't stand that damn tag at the end that sounds like a completely different song grafted onto a great rocker. And I play piano/keyboards, so you'd think I like it. I just find it utterly boring and repetitive. But I'll the same about the "Hey Jude" outro, too.

[Leaffan]

Originally Posted by MrSquishy

"Her Majesty" doesn't seem to.

Ha. Different song. But you knew that......

[Barkis is Willin']

Crazy Game of Poker - OAR

I think it might have just been a jam session recorded on the fly because eventually the singer sings something like "But now I'm just struggling, I don't even know what to say anymore..." and then they just keep on jamming.

[cochrane]

"I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you."

[Vinyl Turnip]

Originally Posted by Laggard

The one that gets to me is The Police's Message In A bottle. "Sending out an SOS" is repeated 138 times before it mercifully fades out.

They're actually repeat offenders.

I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing
I can't, I can't
I can't stand losing...

[Diceman]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Sorry. Can't stand that damn tag at the end that sounds like a completely different song grafted onto a great rocker.

Agreed. It's a very nice piano melody, but it's way out of place.

[Laggard]

I too hate the ending to Layla. Should have killed it when the rockin' part ended.

[CalMeacham]

Originally Posted by cochrane

"I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you."

But I don't mind Weird Al Yakovic's parody of it, This Song is just Six Words Long.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by cochrane

"I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you.
I got my mind set on you."

Or, as Weird Al aptly put it, "This song is just six words long/this song is just six words long/this song is just six words long/this song is just six words long..."

Although, of course, he was wrong. Even the original is seven words long...

[tanstaafl]

This is the song that never ends.
It goes on and on my friends.
Some people started singing it not knowing what it was,
Then they couldn't stop because.....

[Laggard]

Liz Phair's Supernova has a ending where it sounds like the needle is stuck.

[TriPolar]

A Horse with No Name

[Zebra]

Originally Posted by Malthus

"Now lets put on the extra loooooong version of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida ... "

Sometimes, the DJ, needs to drop a deuce. OK?

[cjepson]

I think "Hey Jude" and "Atlantis" started the endless-coda trend. Bowie picked up on this with "Memory of a Free Festival" and used it (to good effect, IMO) on a number of other songs, notably "Starman". (I was in the car with my daughter last night and was flipping through the stations and caught the end of this song... she said "Real meaningful song there" and I explained about 1970s endless codas.)

[MissSwitac]

I can't stand Creedence Clearwater Revival's Susie Q. That same guitar lick over and over and over again with the same four completely boring lines sung over and over again with the words Susie Q interlaced within the lyrics approximately 760 times. Well, at least it feels like that much. I don't know how long the song is and I'm too lazy to check, but with how repetitive it is, it seems to never end.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I heard one just today and had the same thought.

I'm getting closer to my home...


mmm

[Rollo Tomasi]

Originally Posted by jayjay

Although, of course, he was wrong. Even the original is seven words long...

The lyrics might have seven words, but the title is just "Got My Mind Set on You." And Weird Al's is "This Song's Just Six Words Long." At the risk of sounding terribly uncool, the Harrison song was the first song I can remember considering to be my favorite song. I listened to the cassette single over and over again until it somehow got "lost." (I still suspect my dad of destroying it so he didn't have to hear it anymore.)

I'm so glad to hear that there are other people who don't like the end of "Layla." It seems like everyone I know prefers the code, probably because of its association with Goodfellas.

[typoink]

After listening to it a million times, I somehow only recently noticed how repetitive the ending of TMBG's "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is.

[chacoguy]

She's a Brick, House....

[bmoak]

I Need a Lover That Won't Drive Me Crazy

[ioioio]

Foreigner’s Cold As Ice.
Back when it was getting a lot of airplay, I had a friend who’d add his own jams during the endless end. He always had me in hysterics.

You’re as cold as ice [so cold so cold]
You’re as cold as ice [soooo fuckin' cold]
You’re as cold as ice [you freezin’ baby]
You’re as cold as ice [popsicle love]
You’re as cold as ice [feet like cubes]
You’re as cold as ice [hand me my gloves]
You’re as cold as ice [my teeth are chatterin']
You’re as cold as ice [no fire, just ice]
You’re as cold as ice [I scream for ice]
You’re as cold as ice [brrrrrrr]
Etc.

[Accidental Martyr]

Originally Posted by It's Not Rocket Surgery!

"November Rain" by Guns 'N Roses ends sometime in mid-December.

Followed by "A Long December" by Counting Crows which continues for the rest of the month and part of January.

[Ulf the Unwashed]

Originally Posted by buddha_david

It's heresy, but:

Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude
Na na na nanana na, nanana na, hey juuude

(one more time!)

Na na na...

It's not heresy. It's not a very good song. AND IT REPEATS ITSELF ONE HUNDRED BILLION TIMES.

[Khadaji]

Prince's I would die for you

[installLSC]

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Can't stand that damn tag at the end that sounds like a completely different song grafted onto a great rocker.

It basically is a different song. Clapton wrote and recorded the first part but felt like it sounded unfinished. He overheard another member of the band playing a piano piece they were working on, and Clapton decided to put that at the end.

[TreacherousCretin]

Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer"
never one of my S&G faves anyway, but the extended coda seems even longer than it is.

[Leaffan]

Originally Posted by Ulf the Unwashed

It's not heresy. It's not a very good song. AND IT REPEATS ITSELF ONE HUNDRED BILLION TIMES.

Damn those Beatles for doing something out of the ordinary that hadn't been done before. I really wish they would have just stuck to the ordinary and never pushed the limits on rock-and-roll. What a terrible concept to push the envelope and take chances.

[Seanette]

Originally Posted by Zebra

Sometimes, the DJ, needs to drop a deuce. OK?

Dave Barry said something similar about excessively long songs, that their major purpose is to give radio DJs time to go to the bathroom.

[JKellyMap]

The original MTV theme song uses a clever chord sequence to give it an "endless loop" feel. I to flat VII, repeat, then modulate up a whole tone, so the flat VII of the new key is the same as the I of the old key. The transition that closes the loop at the "end" is smoothed out by the riff of the last measure (played twice) ending on the first note of the first measure. And the "endless forward movement" feel is helped by the measure just before the modulation being a half-measure.

Way to go, Jonathan Elias and John Petersen!

[Senegoid]

Dishonorable mentions for:
-- We Are The Champions
-- Delta Dawn

[Voyager]

"Going Home" by the Stones, in which you hear Jagger frantically trying to think of something to kind of sing while the band goes on and on and on and on.

And in the recording studio, "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" went on slightly longer than the backing musicians, in Nashville, thought it would - though not too long for me.