# Otherwise good songs that are ruined by the bridge (or other elements) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2007, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688 "2007-12-30T08:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/1 "2007-12-30T08:14:00Z")
The first song that comes to mind for me is “I’d Like That” by XTC. I first heard it in _Me, Myself and Irene,_ downloaded it, and fell in love with the song. Great guitar strumming and bass line - perfect music for a country drive in the summer. But when the bridge comes along, I just cringe: _“I’d smile so much my face would craaaack in twooooo… and you could fix it with your kisssssssiiiiing gluuuuue… I’d like thaaat…oh yes I’d liiiiiiiike thaaaaaat…”_ It’s like Paul McCartney at his absolute worst. Are there any other songs that you feel would be truly excellent were it not for a shitty bridge or any other element of the song you feel wrecks it? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/2 "2007-12-30T09:03:34Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Are there any other songs that you feel would be truly excellent were it not for a shitty bridge or any other element of the song you feel wrecks it? [/QUOTE] “Down With The Sickness” by Disturbed. Excellent song - until the whole part about his mommy hitting him. Blech. It’s one of the only songs that is HELPEd by the radio edit. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2007, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/3 "2007-12-30T10:30:18Z")
I have a great one. ‘‘Hush, Hush, Hush’’ by Paula Cole. A haunting, vocally-driven tale about a man dying of AIDS in his father’s arms. Completely and utterly ruined by the bridge, in which some old man starts singing, ‘‘oooooh maybe next time you’ll be Henry the VIII!’’ It completely destroys the mood of the song, and it’s also stupid. This song could have been so great, without that part. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/4 "2007-12-30T11:14:49Z")
“Hush hush” brings to mind 80s one-hit wonder Til Tuesday and their song “Voices Carry”. Screamed at the very end, before the fade-out: “He said shut up! He said shut up! Oh god, won’t you keep it downnnnn!!!” ---
**Author:** ![yelimS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/54ee81/32.png) [@yelimS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yelimS)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/5 "2007-12-30T11:37:47Z")
I can’t think of any songs ruined by the bridge at the moment, but the words “silence like a cancer grows” gives me the shivers. Also, I hate it when good songs, especially by studio purists such as Steely Dan, who should definitely know better, end in a fade-out. End your songs properly, like Squarepusher’s Problem Child, or something! ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/6 "2007-12-30T12:00:23Z")
Everybody Here Wants You - Jeff Buckley. The damned bridge sounds like it belongs to a completely different song. It just jars. And while I’m at it, Sometimes You Can’t Make it On Your own, from U2. That bloody slide guitar in the bridge. Like balls on a dog. Just doesn’t work. Is it even in the same key? M ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/7 "2007-12-30T14:05:41Z")
[QUOTE=BACI] Like balls on a dog. Just doesn’t work. [/QUOTE] What doesn’t work about balls on a dog? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/8 "2007-12-30T14:24:19Z")
_Say You, Say Me_ by Lionel Ritchie is a nice little ballad except for the jarring up tempo bridge Similar thing with _Englishman in New York_ by Sting with the drum solo in the bridge ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/9 "2007-12-30T15:48:02Z")
I think that Damien Rice’s _“O”_ is darn near perfect. And I heard the song _“Cold Water”_ from that CD at the end of a movie, and that clinched it for me to pick it up as soon as I could. I hadn’t realized, though, that the movie cut off that song just before the Gregorian Chant started, which completely ruined the song for me. I would love to hear a remix of that song with all that nonsense removed. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/10 "2007-12-30T16:23:01Z")
I think the bridge in Rush’s _Working Man_ is way too long. Does the song really have to be seven minutes long? ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2007, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/11 "2007-12-30T22:46:34Z")
[QUOTE=Gail] I think the bridge in Rush’s _Working Man_ is way too long. Does the song really have to be seven minutes long? [/QUOTE] That’s not a bridge, that’s a guitar solo. And long guitar solos were standard procedure for guitar bands during that era (though, granted, most bands saved the extended solos for their live performances). A “bridge” is usually a sung section that is not a verse and is not a chorus, and is musically different from either. The bridge is commonly inserted before or after an instrumental section/solo. A good example is in the Doobie Brothers “China Grove” - this part here is the “bridge”: But every day theres a new thing comin The ways of an oriental view The sheriff and his buddies With their samurai swords You can even hear the music at night And though its a part of the lone star state People dont seem to care They just keep on lookin to the east (I don’t know how correct those lyrics are - I just snatched them from a random lyric site) But on the topic of Rush, my all-time favorite band … they went through a phase in the '80s where they just didn’t seem to know _when_ to end a song. An especially egregious example is the song “Grand Designs” from _Power Windows_. I really love the song, and it’s a lot of fun to play on the bass. This 5:07 song would have been better as a 3:45 song. But the last minute and a half of the song is just variations on the same riff played over and over and over and over, with Geddy singing “Oh oh oh oh …” over top of it. That’s just one example; they’ve had a number of other songs with the same problem. ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/12 "2007-12-31T00:29:06Z")
[QUOTE=It’s Not Rocket Surgery!] “Down With The Sickness” by Disturbed. Excellent song - until the whole part about his mommy hitting him. Blech. It’s one of the only songs that is HELPEd by the radio edit. [/QUOTE] Whoosh? I would say its an excellent song until that “Ooh AH AH AH AH” chimpanzee yell. Well, no, the guitar part before that sucked too. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/13 "2007-12-31T00:34:25Z")
[QUOTE=Soapbox Monkey] Whoosh? I would say its an excellent song until that “Ooh AH AH AH AH” chimpanzee yell. Well, no, the guitar part before that sucked too. [/QUOTE] Meh, I agree with the quoted poster, love the song except for the screaming-at-mommy bit. OTOH, I disagree with **olives** ’s recommendation and like “Voices Carry” as-is. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/14 "2007-12-31T00:41:44Z")
[QUOTE=Koxinga] “Hush hush” brings to mind 80s one-hit wonder Til Tuesday and their song “Voices Carry”. Screamed at the very end, before the fade-out: “He said shut up! He said shut up! Oh god, won’t you keep it downnnnn!!!” [/QUOTE] I love that part! I was just telling my sister that that’s the quintessential 80s song ending. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/15 "2007-12-31T01:17:22Z")
[QUOTE=Ferret Herder] Meh, I agree with the quoted poster, love the song except for the screaming-at-mommy bit. OTOH, I disagree with **olives** ’s recommendation and like “Voices Carry” as-is. [/QUOTE] :smack: Wrong hush-hush song. It was **Koxinga** who nominated it. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/16 "2008-01-07T19:40:28Z")
…it’s not a bridge, and maybe not even a coda, but the end of Chicago’s “Hard to say I’m sorry” kills the song…you’re dancing a slow song and instead of ending with a chance to kiss her or look her in the eyes you start dancing away… ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/17 "2008-01-07T19:46:46Z")
The Killers’ “When you were young” might have been one of the greatest pop singles of this decade if not for the part after the breakdown where the chorus comes back and then there’s a one-off jokey, stupid, “jklol” falsetto wail of the words “talks like a gentleman” that turns it into a sub-Weird Al fart joke. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/18 "2008-01-07T19:53:08Z")
[QUOTE=monstro] I love that part! I was just telling my sister that that’s the quintessential 80s song ending. [/QUOTE] Me too. It’s so melodramatic. And the video was awesome. She’s a cool street punk inexplicably dating this rish guy who keeps trying to make her over. But, no way man, she’s not gonna conform to society’s stifling rules. She’s gonna stick to her indie street cred and wear her funky ear thing and overly bleached spikey do… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/19 "2008-01-07T19:58:33Z")
[QUOTE=Phase42] Rush[…snip…]This 5:07 song would have been better as a 3:45 song. [/QUOTE] Speaking of which, _The Trees_ seems pretty empty for a 5~ minute song. I know there’s scads of fairly popular songs with an intro(and/or/verse)-extended musical solo-outro(closing verse) in the late 60’s-early 80s era, some of which manage to work (_Echoes_ and _Light My Fire_, for instance,) but most don’t\*, and _The Trees_ is no exception. Could it have killed them to add another verse in there, the story’s pretty sparse. \*Even by bands I like such as Led Zeppelin (this format made Mody Dick a lesser work) and Pink Floyd (sure, there’s Echoes, but Interstellar Overdrive = boring.) While we’re at it, ditto for YYZ. I haven’t heard Innagaddadavita enough to know if the extended interlude adds or subtracts from the work. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688/20 "2008-01-07T20:35:51Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Speaking of which, _The Trees_ seems pretty empty for a 5~ minute song. I know there’s scads of fairly popular songs with an intro(and/or/verse)-extended musical solo-outro(closing verse) in the late 60’s-early 80s era, some of which manage to work (_Echoes_ and _Light My Fire_, for instance,) but most don’t\*, and _The Trees_ is no exception. Could it have killed them to add another verse in there, the story’s pretty sparse. [/QUOTE] To me, that’s kind of a different case. During that era of Rush music, the band was taking something of a “show, don’t tell” approach to their storytelling songs, where they sort of treated the songs as little “audio movies”, painting a picture with sound rather than paint (ala Mussorgsky’s “[Pictures at an Exhibition](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictures_at_an_Exhibition)”). In this case, the instrumental section attempts to first create the impression of a peaceful forest; the 5/4 guitar solo section depicts the growing tensions between the Oaks and Maples, and then the intense, odd time signature progression that follows depicts the outright conflict between the two. They tried to do something similar with _Jacob’s Ladder_ on the next album. It was originally intended to be an instrumental number that depicted a thunderstorm building up to a climax and then breaking, followed by the sun peeking through the clouds. The sparse lyrics were added as an afterthought, when they decided that a lot of people wouldn’t “get it” as a straight instrumental. I’m not sure what you’re referring to in _YYZ_, unless you mean the laid-back, half-time section in the middle. My biggest problem with _YYZ_ (aside from its being insanely difficult to play on bass) is that it’s kind of repetitious. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/otherwise-good-songs-that-are-ruined-by-the-bridge-or-other-elements/431688.md?page=2)