# 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:** 3
**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, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/41 "2018-01-13T00:55:51Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > 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 Wow! This is going on my Fantastic Bombastic playlist (thanks, **gigi** ). ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/42 "2018-01-13T02:28:01Z")
Nights in White Satin. Cause I Love You Cause I Love You dammit. Ohhhhhhh. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/43 "2018-01-13T03:07:00Z")
And no one’s mentioned Emerson Lake and Palmer yet? Or the Nice? Keith Emerson did bombast whenever he sat down the play. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/44 "2018-01-13T03:14:24Z")
“Sometimes When We Touch” by Dan Hill, who emotes the song like he’s getting a prostate exam from a proctologist with a hook for a hand (HT to Dave Barry). ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/45 "2018-01-13T03:41:08Z")
For some reason [this old C-Pop song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNT1AThOgME) popped into my head. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/46 "2018-01-13T04:02:39Z")
Jar of Hearts by Christina Perry My Man by Streisand ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/47 "2018-01-13T05:50:53Z")
Billy Joel has got a few of these: “This is the Time”, “Goodnight Saigon”, “Honesty”. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/48 "2018-01-13T12:04:07Z")
**If you Go Away** by almost anyone - Scott Walker, Shirley Bassey, [Marc Almond](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqdsjOQ8634)… Or here he is again singing one called [Just Good Friends](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgN1eYpRge0) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/49 "2018-01-13T12:20:39Z")
Bobby Goldsboro’s [Honey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKAeeGnAYBo). Just a \*little \*over-the-top, methinks. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/50 "2018-01-13T12:33:29Z")
> [@biggirl](#): > > _ **i really ned you tonight!!!** _ > > eta:tried all caps forgetting we are not allowed to scream in such a fashion her on the sdmb. > > Another edit to say-- wow, that filter takes away all the capital words! x **I REALLY NEED YOU TONIGHT!!!** ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/51 "2018-01-13T12:35:53Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Billy Joel has got a few of these: “This is the Time”, “Goodnight Saigon”, “Honesty”. I’ll raise you _We Didn’t Start the Fire_. ---
**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, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/52 "2018-01-13T13:59:19Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I’ll raise you _We Didn’t Start the Fire_. I think we are losing the plot here a little. None of these Billy Joel songs are over-the-top melodramatic. And while Honey is pretty sappy, it isn’t bombastic. Focus, people! ---
**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, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/53 "2018-01-13T16:17:56Z")
“Live and Let Die” ---
**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 13, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/54 "2018-01-13T16:34:54Z")
[Billy Don’t Be a Hero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX-JeV37Uqw) Especially this video, with its MTV-like story, the band backed by an orchestra, and its overly sentimental lyrics. It’s astonishing what we considered (pop) culture in those days. (Slightly off-topic, but keeping with the theme of that last thought, it still amazes me that Starland Vocal Band, based on one song, got a TV show, even if it was just a summer show. And that the song was based on having sex. But then again, Jim Stafford’s _Wildwood Weed_ was also immensely popular, and he also had a TV variety show. Just goes to show what hypocrites Americans can be.) ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/55 "2018-01-13T18:38:34Z")
Bobby Goldsboro’s Honey Jim Steinman wrote the lyrics for Whistle Down the Wind, and Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music. The musical never hit Broadway. youtube at your own risk (though it did include the song Annie Christmas) ---
**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:** [January 13, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/56 "2018-01-13T18:58:24Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > We could pretty much list every song Jim Steinman’s done and call it day for this thread. > > Along the same lines, here’s “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “[Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSA7kKNu2Y)”. > [@Spoons](#): > > A lot of 70s and 80s Styx would fall into this category, I think. Songs like “Lady,” “The Grand Illusion,” and “The Best of Times” seem to fit the requirement of “beating one’s chest with a fist and then dramatically flinging an arm skyward.” I happen to really like all of these. I suspect that if Steinman and Dennis DeYoung had teamed up on Broadway, Andrew Lloyd Webber would have been an also-ran. I also think that if they could have successfully made two musicals out of ABBA songs, they could put “Kilroy was Here” on Broadway. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/57 "2018-01-13T19:35:37Z")
I’m surprised that, this far into the thread, I’m the first to mention Springsteen’s “Born In The USA”. He definitely should have gone with the low-key “Nebraska”-style version of that one. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/58 "2018-01-13T23:16:48Z")
All this talk about audio bombast and we haven’t mentioned the Godfather of melodramatic over-the-top pop, Phil Spector. Some examples: - “[Be My Baby](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV5tgZlTEkQ)” - The Ronettes - “[Just Once in My Life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UISH5j6yxQ)” - The Righteous Brothers - “[River Deep, Mountain High](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLl-X5sWMLc)” - Ike & Tina Turner. Another example: Levi Stubbs, lead singer of The Four Tops. his over-dramatic style pushed nearly every song into near-melodrama. Cases in point: - “[Standing the Shadows of Love](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08rtqgr2BwA)” - “[Bernadette](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQpYb7FQwwY)” - “[7 Rooms of Gloom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSZsm2EBoLE)” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/59 "2018-01-13T23:18:01Z")
Foreigner - “I Want To Know What Love Is.” Just shoot me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489/60 "2018-01-13T23:29:21Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > We could pretty much list every song Jim Steinman’s done and call it day for this thread. > > Along the same lines, here’s “Weird Al” Yankovic’s “[Stop Forwarding That Crap to Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSA7kKNu2Y)”. Oh, Wierd Al. I haven’t heard that before. He’s a genius. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/melodramatic-over-the-top-songs/806489.md?page=4)