# Songs that go on way too long **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 22, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687 "2006-08-22T02:03:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/1 "2006-08-22T02:03:28Z")
Some songs are way longer than they need to be. My nominations are: Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way Eagles - Take it to the Limit (great song, but if they say “Take it to the limit, one more time” one more time I’m gonna shoot the speakers.) ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/2 "2006-08-22T02:37:16Z")
Eric Clapton’s “Layla.” It’s got a whole other song appended to the end. It’s a nice piano instrumental, but what’s it doing _there_? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/3 "2006-08-22T02:37:20Z")
Stairway to Heaven. In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/4 "2006-08-22T02:39:11Z")
Closer To Home. It’s nice that you’re getting closer to your home, but could you please just get there already? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/5 "2006-08-22T02:41:24Z")
Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” Steely Dan “Hey Nineteen” Both of those songs take about five minutes to fade out, or so it seems. ---
**Author:** ![St\_Ides](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@St\_Ides](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St_Ides)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/6 "2006-08-22T02:50:29Z")
Kind of obvious: FREEBIRD! ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/7 "2006-08-22T03:38:10Z")
Hey Jude was what immediately came to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/8 "2006-08-22T05:07:19Z")
It took me way to long to find this, but: “Ain’t no Sunshine” by Bill Withers. I love the rest of it, but I think we can all do without the scintillating insight of “And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know” ---
**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:** [August 22, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/9 "2006-08-22T05:12:27Z")
I thought of one song that doesn’t go on long enough: Alice’s Restaurant. That song is a minimum of 17 minutes, I’ve heard it go on for as long as 27 minutes, and I could listen to it if it went on for an hour, it’s that funny. This list will automatically be invalidated if someone says it goes on too long. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/10 "2006-08-22T05:13:47Z")
[QUOTE=Diceman] Eric Clapton’s “Layla.” It’s got a whole other song appended to the end. It’s a nice piano instrumental, but what’s it doing _there_? [/QUOTE] Representing bliss? I’m surprised that an Eagles song has already been nominated, and it’s NOT Hotel California. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/11 "2006-08-22T05:34:06Z")
Any song on the soundtrack to **Led Zeppelin** ’s _The Song Remains The Same_. Also, all **Pink Floyd** ’s post-Barrett songs, regardless of length, just because they suck so much. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/12 "2006-08-22T05:35:44Z")
Let me also add the entire discographies of jackass prog bands like **Yes, Jethro Tull,** and **Emerson, Lake & Palmer**. I pity anyone who was a teenager in the early-mid 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/13 "2006-08-22T05:47:02Z")
By going on so long, The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” really pisses away all the momentum that it had built up. The kazoo-ish singing is the last straw. I know Sonic Youth loves its feedback, but their song “Mote” is a nifty little song with about four minutes of garbage tacked onto the end. Thank God for readily available music editing software that lets me cleave the track in twain! ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/14 "2006-08-22T05:48:53Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I’m surprised that an Eagles song has already been nominated, and it’s NOT Hotel California. [/QUOTE] They have another song? ---
**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:** [August 22, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/15 "2006-08-22T05:49:22Z")
What, nobody thinks “MacArthur Park” and “American Pie” go on too long? In the olden days, late night deejays used these when they needed a bathroom break (or some other excuse not to be in fron **t** of t **h** e mi **c** rophone for an extended period, if you catch my drift). ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/16 "2006-08-22T10:00:32Z")
Sweet Child of Mine by Guns and Roses just pisses away what limited good vibes it cranks out in the begining by wandering off into some matubatory corner for, what seems like, ever. You can’t throw out entire discographies – that’s just a lame way to say you don’t like them to begin with. While Tull, Yes, and ELP had a larger helping of too much of a mediocre thing than most, they also have some true gems in their catalog. I mean I could say The Spin Doctors only wrote one song (that’s the way it sounded to me) that just changed tempos slightly. So, by that definition their entire discography went on too long. I liked “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” but they seemed to perform it over and over again, making it seem too long. That however doesn’t belong here – this belongs in a “Spin Doctors Suck” thread somewhere. If you think 70’s progressive rock sucked, start a thread and you will find a following – without the drugs it is kind of boring now. But some of it is still good – even without the drugs. Man that was a weird rant – sorry, I’ll just go back to bed. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/17 "2006-08-22T10:33:03Z")
Oasis - Do you know what I mean Led Zeppelin - You Shook Me Stone Roses - I Am the Resurrection ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/18 "2006-08-22T11:20:28Z")
[QUOTE=woodstockbirdybird] Let me also add the entire discographies of jackass prog bands like **Yes, Jethro Tull,** and **Emerson, Lake & Palmer**. I pity anyone who was a teenager in the early-mid 70s. [/QUOTE] I think you must not have actually listened to Jethro Tull albums other than Thick As A Brick. Many of their albums consisted of fairly concise songs. They even had a few AM radio hits. Here is the track listing from one of their most popular albums, Aqualung (1971): 1 Aqualung 6:31 2 Cross-Eyed Mary 4:09 3 Cheap Day Return 1:23 4 Mother Goose 3:52 5 Wond’ring Aloud 1:56 6 Up To Me 3:18 7 My God 7:10 8 Hymn 43 3:18 9 Slipstream 1:13 10 Locomotive Breath 4:25 11 Wind-Up 5:42 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/19 "2006-08-22T11:35:56Z")
I’d add Rare Earth’s cover of _Get Ready_. The parts of the song that actually have anything to do with the actual SONG are great, but does it really need a five-minute drum solo? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687/20 "2006-08-22T11:46:43Z")
> [@](#): > > It took me way to long to find this, but: > > “Ain’t no Sunshine” by Bill Withers. I love the rest of it, but I think we can all do without the scintillating insight of > > “And I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, > I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, > I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, > I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know” I _run_ to change the station any time this comes on. I loathe it. If I’m stuck with it, I yell out “Somebody hit Bill Withers. He’s stuck!” at the “I know” part. But kids these days don’t get it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-go-on-way-too-long/369687.md?page=2)