# Pop songs that drag on and on **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123 "2009-10-17T04:27:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/1 "2009-10-17T04:27:23Z")
I can think of a couple rock songs off the top of my head that just seem to drag on and on: “Yellow Ledbetter” by Pearl Jam and “Can’t You See” by Marshall Tucker Band. They aren’t necessarily longer than most other songs, but they just have no real rhythm to them and move very slowly. Trying to listen to them is a very tedious task. What other songs fit these criteria in Dopers’ minds? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/2 "2009-10-17T04:32:16Z")
[Grand Funk Railroad - _I’m Your Captain/Closer To Home_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8MYsii4DZY) Endless. Just get there already. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/3 "2009-10-17T09:02:14Z")
I Believe by The Buzzcocks. Awesome song, but we get it. There is no love in this world anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/4 "2009-10-17T09:27:11Z")
That new Alice in Chains song is awful, and seems to last forever. Stairway to heaven probably takes the cake for awful songs that never end, though. ---
**Author:** ![in\_hiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@in\_hiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/in_hiding)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/5 "2009-10-17T10:33:12Z")
**The Times They Are A-Changin’** seems to last forever, even though it’s actually pretty short. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/6 "2009-10-17T10:34:41Z")
Good Riddance(Time of your life ) I sing this daily. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/7 "2009-10-17T10:53:07Z")
**Candlebox** - _Far Behind_ Goes on and on, sounding like some drunk ex-boyfriend 2 AM call. ---
**Author:** ![Stretch2m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stretch2m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stretch2m)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/8 "2009-10-17T11:06:07Z")
Here’s a couple that would be tolerable at \*half \*their length: “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” - Billy Joel “American Pie” - Don McLean ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/9 "2009-10-17T11:17:53Z")
In ancient times when I used to make mix cassette tapes by recording songs off the radio I would often stop recording a song that went on too long with no additional content. If the verses and or lyrics stopped and the “do-wops” went on and on for more than 10 seconds it was cut time. I would trade tapes with my brother and this would drive him nuts. Like the Kenny Loggins Top Gun song “Danger Zone”, after the third recitation of “Highway to the Danger Zone” at the end of the song that was enough, I don’t need nineteen of them. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/10 "2009-10-17T11:21:07Z")
Anything by Bad Company. I swear to God Paul Rodgers never learned a song format other than: Verse Chorus Verse Chorus Instrumental Break Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus I’m not kidding. Think about it next time you here something he did. Anything by Bad Company, Free, The Firm, what-have-you is in that format. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/11 "2009-10-17T13:12:28Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > **Candlebox** - _Far Behind_ > > Goes on and on, **sounding like some drunk ex-boyfriend 2 AM call**. Truly! 🙂 > [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Anything by Bad Company. I swear to God Paul Rodgers never learned a song format other than: > > Verse > Chorus > Verse > Chorus > Instrumental Break > Chorus > Chorus > Chorus > Chorus > Chorus > Chorus > Chorus > Chorus > Chorus > I’m not kidding. Think about it next time you here something he did. Anything by Bad Company, Free, The Firm, what-have-you is in that format. Without a doubt. I hate Bad Company. I always felt that Phil Collins song “In The Air Tonight” (or whatever it’s officially called) dragged on…forever…and ever… ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/12 "2009-10-17T13:57:45Z")
**Harry Chapin** -_Taxi_ ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/13 "2009-10-17T14:26:29Z")
**Layla** by Eric Clapton (or “Derek and the Dominos” or whatever.) Gah, I’ve never understood the adulation for this song. Endless, just endless. I suppose the full-length version of “Ina-Gadda-Da-Vida” (23 minutes) doesn’t count as ‘pop’? ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/14 "2009-10-17T14:34:50Z")
**The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald**. Just sink, already. ---
**Author:** ![Ferd\_Burfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@Ferd\_Burfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferd_Burfel)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/15 "2009-10-17T17:24:22Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > In ancient times when I used to make mix cassette tapes by recording songs off the radio I would often stop recording a song that went on too long with no additional content. If the verses and or lyrics stopped and the “do-wops” went on and on for more than 10 seconds it was cut time. I would trade tapes with my brother and this would drive him nuts. Like the Kenny Loggins Top Gun song “Danger Zone”, after the third recitation of “Highway to the Danger Zone” at the end of the song that was enough, I don’t need nineteen of them. You must have hated “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. It’s like 2 minutes of actual verses and 5 minutes of “Na…na…na-nanna-na naaaaa…” ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/16 "2009-10-17T17:46:08Z")
> [@koeeoaddi](#): > > **The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald**. Just sink, already. Quote of the week. (Granted, I like the entire song, but still, I LOLed.) Can’t think of any songs specifically. I just have an issue where more than a third of the song is the ending. One example: _Silver Blue and Gold_ by Bad Company; an otherwise decent song, but the ending starts about five minutes long, but the ending start at the three minute mark. An extreme example … again by Bad Company, _Run With The Pack_. 5:24 long, but the ending begins at 2:00, with a 40+ second fade out. _Run With The Pack_ is about 65% ending. I wonder if the long ending is a Southern rock trademark. A good portion of the Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special libraries are songs whose endings just seem to go on and on. _Fantasy Girl_ by .38 Special is more than half ending; 4:04 long, ending starts at 2:17, with no lyrics after the 2:51 mark. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/17 "2009-10-17T18:05:46Z")
> [@Ferd\_Burfel](#): > > You must have hated “Hey Jude” by The Beatles. It’s like 2 minutes of actual verses and 5 minutes of “Na…na…na-nanna-na naaaaa…” And I was coming here to add that very song to the list 😛 It’s not a bad song. But there is no reason on this good green earth for it to run to seven freaking minutes. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/18 "2009-10-17T19:04:51Z")
Seconding American Pie. MacArthur Park. What a dirge! ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/19 "2009-10-17T19:08:30Z")
I want to say up top that I love Pearl Jam’s “Yellow Ledbetter” and do not consider it a tedious drag at all. The OP’s mileage obviously varies, but I think it’s a great song…despite the lyrics being largely incomprehensible. I’m with **koeeoaddi** ’s on “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”, though. I have my alarm set to the radio option, and I was once late for work because when my alarm went off “Edmund Fitzgerald” was on. It woke me up and put me back to sleep again. I have a 30 minute commute to work and usually just listen to the radio in the car. The songs most likely to make me go “Oh hell” and fumble for the CD button are “Edmund Fitzgerald” and Meatloaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”. I don’t \*hate \*the latter song, but it’s freakin’ long and gets quite repetitive. One that annoys me less but that is still extremely repetitive is Golden Earring’s “Twilight Zone”. The shorter version is more common on the radio and even that seems like they ran out of lyrics and had to keep repeating the same ones, but the full version is about 8 minutes long and includes a lengthy instrumental section then returns to what is essentially the first few minutes of the song over again. Then the singer repeats “When the bullet hits the bone” many many times for good measure. Thanks in part to the time I spent living in Japan I have a lot of experience singing karaoke, and there are plenty of good songs whose repetitive endings don’t bother me as a listener but that can get pretty tedious when you’re singing them. I’ve sometimes been surprised by how long I had to keep going on repeating the same lines. The Elvis song “Suspicious Minds” is a good example. I eventually threw in “Caught in a song / That goes on too long / Because I love you too much baby…” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123/20 "2009-10-17T19:37:54Z")
> [@in\_hiding](#): > > **The Times They Are A-Changin’** seems to last forever, even though it’s actually pretty short. How funny. My roommate started watching _Watchmen_ just now, and I was watching the opening credits with her. As soon as I saw this thread I came in to post exactly this. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pop-songs-that-drag-on-and-on/514123.md?page=2)