# Great songs that are just too damned short **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774 "2020-05-31T04:03:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/61 "2020-06-06T23:44:07Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > “The Star Spangled Banner” “The Star Spangled Banner” cannot be too short. Hurry up and start the ballgame already. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/62 "2020-06-06T23:54:51Z")
Some of the best hard rocking songs by The Minus Five end prematurely. “Lies of the Living Dead” cuts off at 2:31 in the middle of a note. “Original Luke” is just getting started on a rampaging instrumental break when the song ends. _Original Luke was a careless man Heart as hard as the Grand Coulee Dam With silos tall over great north gorge A shadow in each hand A shadow 'cross the land_ ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/63 "2020-06-07T03:28:40Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “The Star Spangled Banner” cannot be too short. Hurry up and start the ballgame already. [Respect the classics, man!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teJgUKsYToc) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ric62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/64 "2020-06-07T04:28:37Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > There are some days I wish 4’33" was 12 hours long. Some weekends I like to listen to nothing but this. ---
**Author:** ![ric62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/65 "2020-06-07T04:30:53Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > “The Star Spangled Banner” cannot be too short. Hurry up and start the ballgame already. It actually has three more verses that never get played. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/66 "2020-06-07T08:42:44Z")
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise). Lennon-McCartney should have expanded this 1:20 sec bumper to \>3 minutes. It rocks! More-so than the parent piece. Chopin [Prelude No. 7 in A major op 28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Pbbcfjw4c): Beautiful melody, but at under 1 minute, not enough meat to fill you up. Étude Op. 10, No. 5: Chopin should have lengthened it a bit by using more than 1 white note! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2020, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/67 "2020-06-07T10:27:43Z")
“April Come She Will” by Simon & Garfunkel is such a beautiful song, but way too short at 1:51. All verses, no chorus, no bridge. Always ends way too quickly for me. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/68 "2020-06-08T00:29:05Z")
Alice’s Restaurant! ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/69 "2020-06-11T02:08:35Z")
“Runaway” by Del Shannon (2:20) ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/70 "2020-06-11T17:23:36Z")
> [@SingleMalt](#): > > I always thought that “A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procul Harum sounded like it needed at least one more verse. It just kind of… ends. There is another verse. I don’t know why it wasn’t recorded but it does kind of move the song along. Lyrics are at [www.azlyrics.com](http://www.azlyrics.com) ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/71 "2020-06-11T23:33:33Z")
[James Taylor - Jelly Man Kelly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjNteHSCCSg), under 2 mins ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/72 "2020-06-12T02:16:42Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > Étude Op. 10, No. 5: Chopin should have lengthened it a bit by using more than 1 white note! 🙂 While it is the black key etude, all the white notes (though not throughout all the octaves) do get played in it. ETA: Oh, yes, with the right hand, the only white key is an F natural. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/73 "2020-06-12T13:22:26Z")
Del Amitri’s [“Roll To Me”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSEnw-WZ_jA) is not the greatest tune ever (although I think it was maligned more than it deserved), but is just so freakin’ catchy that it’s too short at 2:12. On the other hand, I don’t know what more could be done; a long instrument break just wouldn’t fit, there’s really nothing more to say lyrically, and I like the short, snappy ending to the song. So, I usually just repeat it once or twice when it comes up in a playlist. I feel the same way about The Knack’s, [“Good Girls Don’t,”](https://youtu.be/vV_1gqyaPwQ) but at 3:09 it’s a damn near perfect pop song so, again, I just replay it once or twice. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/74 "2020-06-12T13:46:26Z")
“Leaves from the Vine” is only eight bars long in the original performance. And still heart rending. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/75 "2020-06-12T13:58:15Z")
**Warren Zevon’s** _Lawyers Guns and Money_ should have had at least one more verse. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/76 "2020-06-12T14:03:55Z")
The Eagles _Seven Bridges Road_ is one of the most beautiful songs they’ve sung, but at 3’06" it really needed one more verse. [Eagles - Seven Bridges Road [w/ lyrics] - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hufU6MIS2vw) ---
**Author:** ![CelticKnot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/celticknot/32/3392_2.png) [@CelticKnot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CelticKnot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/77 "2020-06-12T14:37:16Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > \*I have to say, the vast, vast, vast, vast majority of songs would benefit from greater brevity rather than any increased length. \* > > snip (emphasis mine) Yes. My latest pet peeve is a song played by the local “classic hits” station which plays pop/rock from the 70’s and 80’s. You think with 20 years worth of songs they’d have a bigger playlist. They play an instrumental piece that is more jazz than rock because it’s mostly improvisation. They almost never announce titles and artists, so I have no idea what it is. Every time I hear it I keep expecting the introduction to finally stop and the actual song to begin. Instead, what seems like the introduction just goes on and on and on. I’m not a big fan of jazz, but even I can tell it’s not that good because the “improvisation” is repetitive and unimaginative. If there’s any song I wish was longer, it’s Wendy Carlos’ electronic version of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #3, 3rd Movement, Allegro. I could just listen for hours, focusing on one part over and over and then another, and another. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/78 "2020-06-12T14:58:30Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Third movement in Beethoven’s 7th Symphony - while it technically might not be short for time-length for most movements, for some reason it always zips past me way more quickly than I expect it to. I’m exactly the opposite - it’s a perfectly nice movement, but it’s got the misfortune of being surrounded by three _awesome_ movements. Well before the third movement is over, I’m ready to move on to that kick-ass final movement. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/79 "2020-06-12T16:47:58Z")
> [@campp](#): > > **Warren Zevon’s** _Lawyers Guns and Money_ should have had at least one more verse. Yes! I knew there was another one that I’ve always thought this about, but my mind just blanked. Completely agree. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774/80 "2020-06-12T16:57:45Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’m exactly the opposite - it’s a perfectly nice movement, but it’s got the misfortune of being surrounded by three _awesome_ movements. Well before the third movement is over, I’m ready to move on to that kick-ass final movement. The 2nd movement is my favorite. The buildup of strings, particularly cellos, is mesmerizing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-songs-that-are-just-too-damned-short/854774.md?page=3)