My sister and I had a dispute over Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again.” She claims that when he gets to the part
that this is the bridge of the song, I say its the chorus. She backs her argument up with something about the bridge usually rising an octave above the verse/chorus. I am simply going by my gut, that it sorta feels like a standard verse/chorus/verse/chorus format (the verse being the opening lines of the song). Wikipedia is vague enough that we can’t declare a winner. Can someone help?
Generally, a chorus is repeated several times, and a bridge is not, or if it is, only once. A chorus is the “hook” or best-remembered part of a pop song. A bridge is a “relief” or change in pace before resuming the primary part of the song.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy of that particular song at my fingertips, and can’t remember the details, so you’ll have to apply my rules to find the answer, or wait until someone else comes along, as I’m sure they will…
Here is the full song. I have added the labels in bold, as I think they are:
verse
On the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
(lyrics edited to avoid copyright violation- Rico)
“On the Road Again” is in E, if I recall. The part of the song to which you refer shifts to the key of A for a few bars — a perfect fourth higher — then back down to E. That would qualify as a bridge under Wikipedia’s definition:
So musically, it’s likely to be a bridge, regardless what the lyrics are.
The way I read those lyrics, the first four lines are the chorus, since they embody in words what the song is about and repeat throughout; the second four lines are either the one and only verse or, more probably, an alternate chorus.
'Course, while I love me some Willie Nelson, it ain’t exactly the most well-defined song structure he put together here.
I’d say it’s a bridge, but an unusual one in that it is repeated, while it only has one verse. It could also be called a refrain.
Chorus:
On the road again
Just can’t wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin’ music with my friends
And I can’t wait to get on the road again
(Lyrics edited to avoid copyright violation - Rico)
It’s a middle eight – a kind of bridge within an AABA song structure. In this kind of structure there really is no proper “verse.” It’s just chorus/chorus/bridge/chorus. It’s a form that used to be more popular in the 50’s and 60’s than it is now. Early Beatles songs used it lot.
That’s hardly a requirement. I think of a bridge as a “relief”. Something different, then back to the familiar. A key change (or pseudo-key-change) is common. The harmonic or melodic pattern is often different. In an arrangement, the instrumentation might be different. Anything to give a little variety, but the bridge isn’t intended to be that part you go home humming; that’s the chorus.