# Songs that don't have enough lyrics **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287 "2013-01-06T22:09:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/21 "2013-01-08T13:45:48Z")
For its length I’ve always thought Hey Jude could do with significantly fewer na na na nas and more actual lyrics. But, you know, they’re the Beatles so I should probably hush my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/22 "2013-01-08T18:36:06Z")
There are many **White Stripes** lyrics that fit the bill of the OP, but in a good way I think. The choruses are seldom repeated just for repetition’s sake, and are sometimes very short, but satisfying. Get the point across, then end the song. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/23 "2013-01-09T00:04:09Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > For its length I’ve always thought Hey Jude could do with significantly fewer na na na nas and more actual lyrics. > > But, you know, they’re the Beatles so I should probably hush my mouth. Hush Your Mouth! Seriously, Hey Jude is probably the most filled-out song in the Beatles canon. Three full verses, 2 different bridge lyrics, and a closing stanza that is a variant of the first. And then a whole bunch of na-na-na’s. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/24 "2013-01-09T00:36:00Z")
“Crown of Creation” by _Jefferson Airplane_: You are the crown of creation, You are the crown of creation, You are the crown of creation, And you’ve got no place to go! That is a great opening, but the lyrics fall apart after that. Also, _The Beatles’_ “Girl” starts out with a wonderful first verse (the wonderfulness is mostly due to the melody and and John’s vocal, but the lyric does not get in the way), but goes to pot after that, largely because the lyrics become cliched and misogynistic (although the middle eight is uncharacteristically horrible musically too). The lyrical quality makes a bit of a comeback in the final verse, but it is too late by then. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/25 "2013-01-09T01:45:04Z")
When “Electric Avenue” came out, I said to myself that the verses were just blah-blah filler excuses to get back to the killer chorus. One, I think, consists of “Oh no!” repeated three or four times. ---
**Author:** ![bytheway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bytheway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bytheway)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/26 "2013-01-09T04:38:52Z")
Colour My World - Chicago. Supposedly Sinatra called Jimmy Pankow and ask him to write another verse so he could record it. Pankow thank him, but said no, saying it would take away from the song. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/27 "2013-01-09T13:59:51Z")
“Walk Right Back” by Sonny Curtis, as recorded by the Everly Brothers: Curtis was in basic training, and had a weekend pass and met up with the Everlys and the Crickets in a recording session and sang them the first verse of his new song. They told him that if he wrote them a second verse, they’d record it. So he went back to his post, wrote a second verse and put it in the mail. It crossed with a letter telling him they’d already recorded it – having no second verse, they simply sang the first verse twice. It was #7 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K. These eyes of mine that gave you loving glances once before, / change to shades of cloudy gray. I want so very much to see you, just like before. I’ve got to know you’re coming back to stay. Please believe me when I say, / “It’s great to hear from you.” But there’s a lot of things a letter just can’t say, oh me. Walk right back to me this minute;/ bring your love to me; don’t send it. I’m so lonely every day. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/28 "2013-01-09T17:05:45Z")
Tim Hardin - If I were a carpenter Covered by many other artists, note that he has to repeat the whole song to make it long enough. Basically the song is finished in 1:30 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA0IGlvDDPY) Tim Hardin - Reason to believe, Covered by many other artists, note that he has to repeat the whole song to make it long enough. Basically the song is finished in 1:20 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-bW6VZi0ICs/hqdefault.jpg ""Reason to Believe" Tim Hardin") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bW6VZi0ICs) How about this execrable offering Dead or alive - You spin me round - count the number of times he repeats his lines, maybe he should reduce the lyrics to zero [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PGNiXGX2nLU/maxresdefault.jpg "Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGNiXGX2nLU) T.Rex - Metal Guru Talk about the extended fade out - the song is finished well before 1:30 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EpA-7dNuobU/hqdefault.jpg "T.Rex - Metal Guru") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpA-7dNuobU) ---
**Author:** ![alphamatix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@alphamatix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphamatix)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/29 "2013-01-09T23:53:41Z")
**Your Mother Should Know** by The Beatles \*Verse 1: Let’s all get up and dance to a song that was a hit before your mother was born Though she was born a long, long time ago Your mother should know Your mother should know Sing it again \* This verse is then repeated verbatim, followed by a verse that substitutes “Lift up your hearts and sing me a song” for the first line but is otherwise identical. The last verse goes the “da da da da” route. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/30 "2013-01-10T00:46:21Z")
I’ve sung the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ “Ding-Dong Daddy of the D-Car Line” several times in karaoke. It’s lots of fun, except that there are only two verses of lyrics separated by the longest instrumental bridge in any pop-song ever, and I just have to kind of stand around waiting. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/31 "2013-01-10T00:56:56Z")
Pretty much every disco song had this problem. I personally despise More More More by Andrea True, but I guess the winner in this category is Fly Robin Fly\* by the Silver Convention \*This is not only the title, but along with the line “up up to the sky” it constitutes ALL the lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/32 "2013-01-10T01:14:43Z")
_Henry the VIII I am I am._ They just have the chorus (which strangely they call _the verse_) and no verses. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/33 "2013-01-10T03:39:27Z")
I absolutely hate the fact that they don’t say “Silent Lucidity” one last time at the end of the song. It feels unfinished. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/34 "2013-01-17T01:29:44Z")
Thought of one: _The Trees_ by Rush. One more verse describing the conflict would not detract from the story and would still leave time for many minutes of uninterrupted music. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/35 "2013-01-17T02:47:16Z")
As I just mentioned in the Stevie Wonder thread: _Sir Duke_ could use another verse and more jamming. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/36 "2013-01-17T03:03:02Z")
One of Jimi’s biographies claims that there were five or six additional stanzas to _Purple Haze_, lost to the mist of time. It might be interesting to see them, but otoh, knowing how trips go, I suspect there is a good chance they are not worth the trouble. Curiosity may well be more interesting than actually knowing in this case. ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287/37 "2013-01-17T17:18:10Z")
To me, “Rich Woman” from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant doesn’t have very many. God bless you and them always!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Holly (a fan of Alison since 1994) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-dont-have-enough-lyrics/646287.md?page=1)