# Songs that are too repetitive **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325 "2011-04-14T03:13:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/81 "2011-04-15T21:11:12Z")
Repetition is no problem for me–it’s a common convention of song lyrics. Unnecessary redundancy, on the other hand… The one that always bothered me was in the second verse of John Lennon’s “Imagine”: “…and no religion, too.” He’d just dealt with that in the first verse–there’s no need to throw it in again. It’s not as if “do” is such a tough word to find a rhyme for! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/82 "2011-04-15T21:23:48Z")
> [@Simmerdown](#): > > Same as it ever was > Same as it ever was > Same as it ever was > Same as it ever was Same as your other post Same as your other post Same as your other post Same as your other post ---
**Author:** ![Simmerdown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simmerdown/32/14859_2.png) [@Simmerdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simmerdown)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/83 "2011-04-15T21:30:16Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Same as your other post > Same as your other post > Same as your other post > Same as your other post 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/84 "2011-04-16T01:23:46Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > HIJACK RANT: Someone posted “Annie are you OK?” in the thread about my broken arm. Seeing it repeated in this thread made me google it. > > I am so fucking glad I never heard that song, and so fucking glad the singer is dead. I never liked Michael Jackson, and this song makes me want to murder him. Ouch! Actually, I never heard the Michael Jackson version. The only version I heard is from Alien Ant Farm. And I love it, despite how repetitive it is. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/85 "2011-04-16T01:53:21Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Repetition is no problem for me–it’s a common convention of song lyrics. Unnecessary redundancy, on the other hand… The one that always bothered me was in the second verse of John Lennon’s “Imagine”: “..and no religion, too.” He’d just dealt with that in the first verse–there’s no need to throw it in again. It’s not as if “do” is such a tough word to find a rhyme for! Well, as far as I can tell there is no heaven and there is no hell, yet there is plenty of religion. And even if people were living for today, i.e., recognized there was no Christian afterlife, there could still be a lot of nonsensical, supernatural religious belief. Why Don’t We Do It in the Road bothered me until I learned about the blues, and now it makes perfect sense. And at least “Same as it ever was X1000” makes sense poetically. I would like to submit my recent earworm: Now I’m feeling so fly like a G6 Like a G6, like a G6 Now I’m feeling so fly like a G6 itself repeated 5-6 times over ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/86 "2011-04-16T01:57:55Z")
Flesh is burning, nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh- NUH-NUH Flesh is burning, nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh- NUH-NUH Flesh is burning, nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh- NUH-NUH Flesh is burning, nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh- NUH-NUH (Fictional, but still . . . Free earplugs to the first person who can identify its origin.) ---
**Author:** ![Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee7513/32.png) [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kim_o_the_Concrete_Jungle)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/87 "2011-04-16T02:08:30Z")
_ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ Okay, we’re going for the big finish. Great! _ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ Oh, we’re repeating that? Jolly good. Carry on. _ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ Yes, I think I get the idea now. _ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ Four time’s for the win, hey? _ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ This is where we get the big fade out, yes? No? _ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ [Looks at watch.] I wonder what’s on TV. _ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ Oh come on. [Three centuries later…] _ **"Nah nah nah na-na-na-nah, na-na-na-nah Hey Jude."** _ Kill me now. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/88 "2011-04-16T02:55:21Z")
[You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DkaRUtp3w8) Damn, now I’m in dutch with Twickster for posting the entire lyrics to the song. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/89 "2011-04-16T15:24:06Z")
The thread got this far without a mention of Little Richard? _Tutti frutti, oh rutti, Tutti frutti, oh rutti, Tutti frutti, oh rutti, Tutti frutti, oh rutti, Tutti frutti, oh rutti, Wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom!_ It almost drives me crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/90 "2011-04-16T23:05:03Z")
The Fun Soul Brother wins. The end. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/91 "2011-04-16T23:07:00Z")
Train kept a-rollin’ all night long Train kept a-rollin’ all night long Train kept a-rollin’ all night long OK, we get it, Steven. Oh yeah, I just thought of an even more annoying one: [Chacarron, chacarron, chacarron ron ron](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnoaj8b2bGM) (X500, interspersed with various unintelligible ramblings in what may or may not be Spanish) ---
**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:** [April 16, 2011, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/92 "2011-04-16T23:22:12Z")
I had forgotten a song that used to drive me mad when I heard it on the radio: Archie Bell and the Drells “[Tighten Up](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wro3bqi4Eb8&feature=related).” ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/93 "2011-04-17T02:14:12Z")
Listen to the first 30 secs of this, then drag the slider onto random parts of it [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YCoSF-voHY) ---
**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:** [April 17, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/94 "2011-04-17T17:27:46Z")
Okay, Ebb & Kander, we know the basic story of _Chicago_: [He Had It Coming](http://www.pasiontango.net/articles.aspx?id=lyrics-cell-block-tango) & [We Both Reached For The Gun](http://www.metrolyrics.com/we-both-reached-for-the-gun-lyrics-chicago-the-musical.html). No need to belabor the points. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/95 "2011-04-17T17:35:56Z")
What, lyrics from stage musicals are fair game? Isn’t that the whole genre? ---
**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:** [April 17, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/96 "2011-04-17T17:39:04Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > What, lyrics from stage musicals are fair game? Isn’t that the whole genre? Hardly, but it is used a lot. Too much in some shows. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/97 "2011-04-17T20:19:50Z")
“I’ve Seen All Good People”, by Yes. Specifically, the second movement. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/98 "2011-04-17T22:25:49Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Remember, even repetitive lyrics can be copywritten. You mean copyrighted. I own the rights to all the songs I’ve written. Repetition per se isn’t at fault; it’s when it becomes dreary and drawn out and full of vocal emoting and overwrought histrionics that I switch the knob. I would submit that “Funk soul brotha/check it out now” is not repetition in the same way as the long outro to “Hey Jude.” Modern techno/dance music is composed of copy/paste samples meant to be repetitious but full of feet swingin’ energy. I like the song a lot - it’s a great dance tune. You might not like it but you can’t deny the infectious energy. The last 5 minutes of Hey Jude sound like a dope smoking church camp dirge. ---
**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:** [April 17, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/99 "2011-04-17T22:36:59Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > The last 5 minutes of Hey Jude sound like a dope smoking church camp dirge. Bible Camp would have been so much better with drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2011, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325/100 "2011-04-18T00:34:58Z")
To me repetitiveness in and of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s when you find it annoying that it’s bad. And of course, that is going to be subjective. There are songs listed here that the repetitiveness doesn’t bother me at all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-are-too-repetitive/578325.md?page=6)