# Songs that change completely (and stay that way) somewhere in the song. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2014, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310 "2014-11-22T02:34:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/61 "2014-11-24T03:16:34Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > > [@GESancMan](#): > > > > Yes - “I’ve Seen All Good People” > > I have “The Yes Album” in my car’s CD player right now! Don’t forget “I’ve Seen All Good People/Your Move” Erm… > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > and “Perpetual Change.” My favorite “switch” is the one in “Perpetual Change” at 7:22. “Perpetual Change” returns to its original melody, though, which isn’t what the OP is looking for. ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/62 "2014-11-24T04:08:01Z")
“Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” by Billy Joel. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/63 "2014-11-24T05:16:06Z")
Okkervil River, “John Allyn Smith Sails”. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/64 "2014-11-25T05:46:38Z")
Now I must listen to Yes’s Perpetual Change ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/65 "2014-11-25T07:08:36Z")
Roxy Music: [If There Is Something](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay4v7mhEh54) ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/66 "2014-11-25T17:21:33Z")
“Promises in the Dark” by Pat Benatar starts out all torchlit and ends as a rock tune. “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” starts out very slow and sombre and ends violently after the 233rd verse when the listener blows his brains out. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/67 "2014-11-25T17:35:30Z")
Over the Hills and Far Away by Zeppelin. Starts as a nice mellow guitar-y song and then BOOM. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/68 "2014-11-25T17:54:59Z")
Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon of Kentucky” was a popular bluegrass waltz. Elvis Presley recorded a jumped up 4/4 version for the flip side of his first record, “That’s All Right Mama.” Elvis & his band performed at the Grand Ole Opry & some were looking forward to Bill Monroe’s anger at what Elvis did to his song. Nope. He enjoyed it. Thereafter, whenever the Bluegrass Boys played “Blue Moon of Kentucky” they started out in stately 3/4 time–then switched to 4/4 halfway through… ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/69 "2014-11-25T18:08:30Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” starts out very slow and sombre and ends violently after the 233rd verse when the listener blows his brains out. The old timers say, she would have made Whitefish Bay, if she put 10 more verses behind her. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/70 "2014-11-25T18:50:17Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > “Promises in the Dark” by Pat Benatar starts out all torchlit and ends as a rock tune. > > “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” starts out very slow and sombre and ends violently after the 233rd verse when the listener blows his brains out. Speaking of which…has anyone ever survived an entire rendition of The Star Spangled Banner? ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/71 "2014-11-25T22:07:22Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > FIRST > > [Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DupyAkOZLYA) > > Protip: Stop listening after Uncle Albert. > [@Eddie\_F](#): > > So, let me see if I get this straight: Stop listening as soon as the song gets really good? My thoughts exactly Eddie. Queen certainly have several songs to fit the OP, first one I thought of was The Millionaire Waltz. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yh7hwAo8L68/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGCcgYShlMA8=&rs=AOn4CLD7npyzTWJLvK-rnLEq94cuyiaWyw "Queen- The Millionaire Waltz") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh7hwAo8L68) ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/72 "2014-11-25T22:18:53Z")
adam sandler somebody kill me please [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LTnq268y2ms/hqdefault.jpg "adam sandler - somebody kill me please - wedding singer") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTnq268y2ms) ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/73 "2014-11-26T06:29:05Z")
The Doobie Brothers’ “Black Water”. ETA-Although I don’t remember offhand if it stays that way or not. ---
**Author:** ![bytheway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bytheway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bytheway)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/74 "2014-11-26T07:03:57Z")
Come Sail Away by Styx ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/75 "2014-11-26T07:07:00Z")
Hitch a Ride, by Boston. ---
**Author:** ![Aghris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecccb3/32.png) [@Aghris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aghris)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/76 "2014-11-26T09:53:01Z")
Mr. Blue Sky - ELO. The outro is a completely different tune and has no relation to the rest of the song. I always wondered what the reasoning behind it was. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/77 "2014-11-26T10:14:44Z")
The Load Out / Stay - Jackson Browne. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/78 "2014-11-26T15:19:22Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > The Load Out / Stay - Jackson Browne. They’re unthinkable without each other at this point, but they are definitely two songs stuck together. The Load Out was newly written by Jackson Browne, and Stay is a cover of a Maurice Williams song from 1960. [Stay was also released separately as single,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Load-Out)and the two were combined and not-combined in various permutations at the time they came out. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/79 "2014-11-26T16:59:28Z")
> [@Aghris](#): > > Mr. Blue Sky - ELO. The outro is a completely different tune and has no relation to the rest of the song. I always wondered what the reasoning behind it was. On ELO’s “Out of the Blue,” the four songs _Standing in the Rain_, _Big Wheels_, _Summer and Lightning_ and _Mr. Blue Sky_ are, collectively, **Concerto For A Rainy Day** (there’s a vocorder snippet at the beginning saying it) and I suppose JL had to have a big flourish for the ending. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310/80 "2014-11-26T18:44:32Z")
Sometimes I will decide that, because there is no significant downtime between two tracks on an album, they are the same song. Examples include: _Suite: Judy Blue Eyes_\* and _Marrakesh_ by Crosby, Stills, and Nash; and _Hazy Shade of Winter_ and _At the Zoo_ by Simon and Garfunkel. My insistence on this point is so great that I shout at the radio for ending the song too early whenever the second song isn’t played right after the first. Also, I shouted at a Bangles record when they included a track of _Hazy Shade of Winter_ as though it were a stand-alone song. \*This song qualifies for the conditions of the thread anyway. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-change-completely-and-stay-that-way-somewhere-in-the-song/705310.md?page=5)