# Songs that have no discernible melody, hummable tune or chorus line **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195 "2017-05-09T13:10:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/41 "2017-05-10T04:52:13Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > When I saw the OP, I had a suspicion about what he meant, but wasn’t sure beause I was unfamiliar with Coyote. So I looked it up on YouTube, and it was in fact reminiscent of what I thought the OP was describing, which is a song without balanced phrasing, a regular meter, or rhyme structure, but rather through-composed (if you can call it that, since I doubt much composition goes into it; it’s probably improvised.) > > Jackson Browne did this a lot, as did Paul Simon, on _Graceland_ and subsequent albums. > > Another example is “Foolish Love” by Rufus Wainwright, until he finally gets to the chorus. I’m pretty sure that coyote was very well thought out and written before recording. It has all the things that you mention. But you might not hear it on first listen. After all it was the “single” on the record. She’s not beating you over the head like a bubblegum tune. As Michael Franks once said of her: “When God gave out rhythm, he sure was good to you…” ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/42 "2017-05-10T06:26:24Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If the tune’s catchy, the words only need to be marginally sensible for it to be a hit. If you really can knock out a good tune that easily, then you should hook up your talents with some musicians and lyric writers. It’s not difficult to string chords that make sense together. But to make something catchy–you may have a skill that is useful and marketable. (Unless that is what you already do for a living.) It’s not _that_ catchy. I can write stuff that I enjoy playing and enjoy listening to, but it’s no hit single. My point is just that it is easy enough to put some notes together and come up with something that is melodic and makes musical sense in a way that the Joni Mitchell song didn’t, that doesn’t make it a hit or anything, just tuneful. If I ever find myself coming up with something that is _really_ catchy, chances are it’s already been written by someone else and I’m unintentionally plagiarising it. Obviously not everyone can bang out a tune, but I think for anyone musically inclined, it’s not that difficult, certainly not the most difficult part of writing a song. Edit: I think if you can improvise a musical solo, then you can write a melody and chorus. Just improvise for a bit, wait for something catchy to bubble out of the strings, snip the rubbish off each end of the catchy bit and fit some chords to it if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/43 "2017-05-10T07:51:14Z")
Seems we’ve proven that real, True Scotsman music is TV jingles. They’re among the most hummable tunes. Demolition Man was right all along. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/44 "2017-05-10T08:54:45Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > The whole Hejira LP is sublimely melodic. One of the milestones of all time. It’s intimate and subtle. > … It is indeed a superb album and the title track is one of my favourite songs of all time. I do wonder if it’s hummable however. Technically, yes : it’s neither spoken words nor random noises, but the melody is very restrained and doesn’t cover a wide range, except in a few places. There’s nothing particularly salient about it, nothing which jumps at you. But it fits so perfectly with the haunting, hazy-dreamy imagery of the lyrics and the whole soundscape (those weird, low arpeggios) that it results in a gem of a song. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/45 "2017-05-10T09:41:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > If the tune’s catchy, the words only need to be marginally sensible for it to be a hit. If you really can knock out a good tune that easily, then you should hook up your talents with some musicians and lyric writers. It’s not difficult to string chords that make sense together. But to make something catchy–you may have a skill that is useful and marketable. (Unless that is what you already do for a living.) If the songwriter is only shooting for the “your love takes me to heaven above / in the night it’s gonna be alright” level of lyric writing, then yeah, no doubt. People will put up with an awful lot of crap in their lyrics if they like the music. I think Joni Mitchell was holding herself to a slightly higher standard. The OP caused me to listen to ’ Coyote’ which I too had not heard before. For that I thank them. It’s a great song. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/46 "2017-05-10T11:48:37Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Seems we’ve proven that real, True Scotsman music is TV jingles. They’re among the most hummable tunes. > > Demolition Man was right all along. “H- E -Double NI- G- A- N spells Hennigans” ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/47 "2017-05-10T11:51:44Z")
Diamanda Galas doesn’t count, right? ---
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/48 "2017-05-10T12:00:22Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve heard songs like this on the Christian stations. > > If you can’t write a decent song yourself, just sing the classics if you want to keep your audience’s interest, mmmkay? Yes indeed, christian stations get a perverse kick out of subjecting their listeners to tuneless monstrosities. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/49 "2017-05-10T12:06:36Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > Diamanda Galas doesn’t count, right? If so, I’ll nominate Screaming Jay Hawkins for _Constipation Blues_. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/50 "2017-05-10T13:27:59Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > Just tested this. Yep, new song with fairly catchy tune including melody, bridge, chorus, chords etc in a few minutes. It’ll be gone by tomorrow unless I choose to keep playing it to embed it in my memory, but for now it exists. No words though. Yep, totally agree. I can write the music to a traditional “song” in a major or minor key in ten minutes. Pay attention to a few of the rules, and presto, it all works. Heck, I could probably write ten blues songs in 20 minutes. The song’s framework is already there, you just have to put in your rhythmic/stylistic flourishes. Coming up with something that’s musical but innovates is the hard part, and usually requires a lot of work. You have to figure out how to break some of the aforementioned rules without driving people away. I happen to love a lot of songs that fit the description complained about in the OP. Hummable or not, they get stuck in my head. So, here’s a few that popped in while reading this thread: Sonic Youth: [Brother James](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DaTqtNcJuI) King Missile (Dog Fly Religion): [Take Stuff From Work](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIXz_vzROrw) György Ligeti:[Atmospheres](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CYO9vkAQbc) John Lee Hooker:[Boogie Chillun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM3PuXDpKiA) (Only one chord for most of the song, and it’s anything but lazy.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/51 "2017-05-10T13:57:57Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > If the songwriter is only shooting for the “your love takes me to heaven above / in the night it’s gonna be alright” level of lyric writing, then yeah, no doubt. People will put up with an awful lot of crap in their lyrics if they like the music. I think Joni Mitchell was holding herself to a slightly higher standard. Well, yes. I don’t disagree and nothing I said would disagree with that. The point was not about Joni Mitchell, but a response to **Richard Pearse**. I don’t disagree that banging out a three-chord song is not too difficult. Making it interesting and composing something musical that is worth listening to or is catchy _is_. For me, as a sometimes musician, it’s more difficult than the lyrical writing part. Then again, I tend to listen to music where I don’t even know what the lyrics are. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/52 "2017-05-10T14:07:25Z")
On the other end of the spectrum, we have singer-songwriter songs where the music is (IMHO) generally boring and predictable, but the lyrics hold the interest. In that case, no, you can’t get away with writing a lyrically generic song, since the interest of the song is almost entirely in the lyrics. (And, yes, we have people who do both well, too.) ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/53 "2017-05-10T15:14:55Z")
Suzanne Vega, “Tom’s Diner” (sorry, can’t link right now) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/54 "2017-05-10T15:34:18Z")
> [@jerseymule](#): > > Suzanne Vega, “Tom’s Diner” (sorry, can’t link right now) That song is all melody, though. Absolutely hummable. ---
**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:** [May 11, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/55 "2017-05-11T02:36:29Z")
According to Billy Preston, “Will It Go Round In Circles,” ain’t got no melody. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2017, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195/56 "2017-05-11T04:54:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > That song is all melody, though. Absolutely hummable. Not just hummable either. It’s hummed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-that-have-no-discernible-melody-hummable-tune-or-chorus-line/786195.md?page=2)