# Melodramatic, over-the-top songs. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2018, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489 "2018-01-12T20:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/21 "2018-01-12T22:44:31Z")
Never mind, it’s not that good. Every teen in the 90s was hopelessly misunderstood and nobody had ever felt that way before. I love 90s music but I have to cop to our legacy as the most melodramatic generation. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/22 "2018-01-12T22:45:44Z")
Also, because we’re talking about Steinman and musical theatre, people might not know that he did use “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in a musical. It’s called _Dance of the Vampires_, and it tanked on Broadway. According to him, he wrote it years ago as a “vampire love song”, and stuck it in the show when he ran out of time to write the score: “[For the original production] in Vienna, I had only a month and a half to write this whole show and we needed a big love duet… But with Total Eclipse of the Heart, I was trying to come up with a love song and I remembered I actually wrote that to be a vampire love song. Its original title was Vampires in Love because I was working on a musical of Nosferatu, the other great vampire story. If anyone listens to the lyrics, they’re really like vampire lines. It’s all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love’s place in dark. And so I figured ‘Who’s ever going to know; it’s Vienna!’ And then it was just hard to take it out.” ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/23 "2018-01-12T22:49:57Z")
Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/24 "2018-01-12T22:52:32Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler is certainly up there as one of the most bombastic songs ever written, not to mention performed > [@NDP](#): > > We could pretty much list every song Jim Steinman’s done and call it day for this thread. His album **Bad For Good** , Meat Loaf’s albums, and Bonnie Tyler’s albums all make up the core of my playlist called “Fantastic Bombastic”. It is my favorite musical subgenre. 🙂 Honorable mentions: “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” and “Tonight is What It Means to be Young”. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/25 "2018-01-12T22:54:50Z")
To write one of these songs, you simply follow this [formula](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=734wnHnnNR4) ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/26 "2018-01-12T22:58:45Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.”? Oh, God yes. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/27 "2018-01-12T23:01:22Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Also, I can’t, off the top of my head, think of any men who belong here. Oh, that’s an easy one. George Michael and Elton John doing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/28 "2018-01-12T23:01:45Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > Morris Albert’s _Feelings_ was way overplayed in the day, but it fits this category. I hope to never hear it again. I always point to this song when this topic comes up in my world, so I’ll contribute any other sappy 70s “message” songs, including, but not limited to, _Sometimes When We Touch,_, by Dan Hill (for some reason, I wanted to write “Dan Wheldon”, but that’s not right. And RIP Mr. Wheldon). Another is _All by Myself_ by Eric Carmen. I could also include Debby Boone, and…and…and… ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/29 "2018-01-12T23:04:11Z")
Anything by U2. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/30 "2018-01-12T23:10:45Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Oh, God yes. B-but at least he knows he’s free! ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/31 "2018-01-12T23:21:17Z")
[OMG, look what I found! A 12 year old Dana Carvey!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mXIL_LKvvI). I remember the SNL skit version of this song really getting into the “chopping broccoli! _chopping broccoli. **CHOPPING BroCColi!!!** _” part. P.S. Do you think this was a Carvey audition video? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/32 "2018-01-12T23:26:10Z")
It’s not the song, it’s the singer. Just to be clear, consider [Dolly Parton’s original version of I Will Always Love You.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDqqm_gTPjc) ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/33 "2018-01-12T23:38:06Z")
Would Bobby Vinton’s [Dick and Jane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPk5GhTkJCI) qualify? It’s more understated than most of these, but it makes up for it in emotional manipulation. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/34 "2018-01-12T23:56:18Z")
[Wind Beneath My Wings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAzMRKFX3c), Bette Midler ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/35 "2018-01-13T00:07:32Z")
[Angel of the Morning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTzGMEfbnAw), Juice Newton [I Can’t Make You Love Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW9Cu6GYqxo), Bonnie Raitt Trying to decide if Elton John, Candle in the Wind (either version) would count. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/36 "2018-01-13T00:10:08Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > [Wind Beneath My Wings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iAzMRKFX3c), Bette Midler I was going to post [The Rose](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxSTzSEiZ2c) but hearing it again made me realize it was its placement in the movie that made it seem overly dramatic. Wind Beneath My Wings is a much better example. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/37 "2018-01-13T00:15:16Z")
Anything by Michael “Suck the Soul Outta This Song” Bolton, especially, “How am I Supposed to Live Without You,” which was barely tolerable from the late Laura Brannigan. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/38 "2018-01-13T00:18:28Z")
Debby Boone-- “You Light Up My Life” Michael Bolton–well, anything, really, but “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” And it’s going back a long, long way, but you can’t beat Gene Pitney’s [“I’m Gonna Be Strong”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtBabso8OBA) for over-the-top, chest-beating vocals. Great voice, though. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/39 "2018-01-13T00:19:46Z")
Oops! Biggirl beat me to it on Bolton. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/40 "2018-01-13T00:32:12Z")
Current example: Kesha’s [Praying](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Dur3uXXCQ). And I actually LIKE Kesha and I totally understand why she’d write that song, but … put it side by side with, say ‘Fighter’ and there’s a pretty clear melodrama-winner [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489.md?page=3)