# Songs with a long version & short version that each get airplay **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140 "2014-05-10T19:22:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/41 "2014-05-12T01:49:21Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I would have put it the other way around: the monolgue “Late Lament” is a separate song, but it is part of the same track on [the album on which the song appears]([Days of Future Passed - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Days_of_Future_Passed#Original_track_listing%5C)). > > (Oh, and it’s “Nights,” not “Knights.” Are you really picturing knights in white satin?) back then people wanted to break down social barriers. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/42 "2014-05-12T02:51:49Z")
I’ve heard versions of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” with and without the middle section with the screeching guitar solo. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/43 "2014-05-12T17:50:10Z")
Genesis, Tonight Tonight Tonight. In 1986-87, the Genesis Invisible Touch album tracks could be heard on both Top 40 stations as well as rock stations. The top 40 stations would play a version shortened by a couple minutes of the instrumental break in the middle of the song. There was a noticeable edit and then a jump to, “You keep telling me…” Mama, from the Genesis album, also had an edited version. That song didn’t really catch on with pop stations. ---
**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 12, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/44 "2014-05-12T19:00:21Z")
:o Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana” has at least two shorter versions, both edited pieces of the break between verses two and three. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/45 "2014-05-12T19:19:42Z")
**The Whispers** song “_ **And The Beat Goes On** _” has a single and an extended track one of which is 3:35 and the other which is 7:12. The 7:12 version was used by Djs who needed to take a bathroom break and be able to get back in case the album or track skipped to avoid dead air. Most of the time anymore, you’ll only hear the shorter version. The late great duo of **McFadden and Whitehead** have THREE versions of their 1979 hit “_ **Ain’t No Stopping Us Now** _.” One is 3:38 (single),7:02 (album cut) and 10:45 ( the disco cut). The disco cut is usually only heard on oldies stations and at clubs which play 70s hits. The usual version is the 7:02 album cut, which was also a “bathroom break” song for radio DJs. **Funkadelic’s** _**(Not Just) Knee Deep**_ has two versions one of about 5 minutes and change, and the other is 15:21 in length. Oddly, the shorter version is almost never played on radio and it’s difficult to find in many places. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/46 "2014-05-12T19:48:24Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Have I or have I not heard a short version of “Radar Love?” There’s also a long and short version of “Twilight Zone”, the short version cuts out most of the instrumental interlude. I think the DJ plays the long version when he needs to pee. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/47 "2014-05-12T20:05:55Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > I think the DJ plays the long version when he needs to pee. 🙂 And when he needs to go #2, that’s when “In-a-Gadda-da-Vida” comes on. 😉 Come to think, wasn’t there a shortened version of IAGDV? It was released as a single, but I don’t recall ever hearing it. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/48 "2014-05-12T20:12:51Z")
there is a shortened version of In-a-Gadda-da-Vida; but I haven’t heard it too many times on the radio (nor the long version for that matter). Blinded by the Light (Manfred Mann’s version) has a long and short version. That’s the one I immediately thought of. ---
**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:** [May 12, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/49 "2014-05-12T20:22:11Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > there is a shortened version of In-a-Gadda-da-Vida; but I haven’t heard it too many times on the radio (nor the long version for that matter). I once heard a DJ play a version that was cut down to about 30 seconds: Opening organ fanfare, a couple of cycles of the riff, two lines of lyrics, closing organ fanfare. Cracked me up at the time. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/50 "2014-05-12T20:23:20Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > :o Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana” has at least two shorter versions, both edited pieces of the break between verses two and three. _There was blood and a radio edit, but just who cut whom?_ ---
**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 12, 2014, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/51 "2014-05-12T20:46:33Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > _There was blood and a radio edit, but just who cut whom?_ Your grammar surpasses BM’s. Take a bow. 🙂 And now…EVERYBODY SING!! ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/52 "2014-05-12T20:49:44Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > “Stay” by Jackson Browne. I have the shorter version on my iPod, prefer extended version. Indeed! It just seems to lose all context without the lead-in of _The Load-Out_. There’s at least three versions of Heart’s _Crazy On You_ that are commonly played. The earlier radio version typically started out with the fast guitar strumming that sounded like a TV western soundtrack (the posse’s ridin’ out at sunrise…); the longer version would include Nancy’s classical-style acoustic guitar introduction. An even longer version starts with Silver Wheels, which segues nicely into Nancy’s intro to the longer _Crazy On You_. The original radio version of Heart’s \*Magic Man \*tends to drop out about half of the instrumental middle, leaving out a chunk of synthesizer noodling. The longer version includes the extra synth stuff. \*Blinded by the Light \*by Manfred Mann & His Earth Band (which Sigene mentions) was originally aired with a hefty chunk of the middle dropped out. The counter-verses of the final chorus get cut shorter (or dropped out as well). There’s some odd stuff in the counter-verses that mention “buckshot” and “forget-me-not” and some other stuff. I always thought those were referring to whole verses that got left out of the short and longer versions, but I’ve been told they’re just extra words thrown in to the background counter-verse. I’ve heard two versions of Bon Jovi’s Lie To Me. The longer one includes a lead guitar middle, a bridge, and shifts back into the chorus. The bridge starts with “It’s a bitch, yeah life’s a rollercoaster ride!” The shorter one, which I’ve heard on Muzak radio in restaurants, cuts out the bridge – perhaps because someone thinks people eating dinner don’t want to hear such a pessimistic message. –G! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/53 "2014-05-13T03:51:47Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > \*Blinded by the Light \*by Manfred Mann & His Earth Band (which Sigene mentions) was originally aired with a hefty chunk of the middle dropped out. The counter-verses of the final chorus get cut shorter (or dropped out as well). There’s some odd stuff in the counter-verses that mention “buckshot” and “forget-me-not” and some other stuff. I always thought those were referring to whole verses that got left out of the short and longer versions, but I’ve been told they’re just extra words thrown in to the background counter-verse. No, they’re verses that are in the song. Manfred Mann’s version is a cover of Bruce Soringsteen’s original song from “Greetings From Asbury Park, New Jersey.” Manfred Mann left out some of the verses and switched around the order of some of the others. [Here are the lyrics as Bruce wrote them.](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/brucespringsteen/blindedbythelight.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/54 "2014-05-14T14:44:13Z")
There is a longer version and a slightly shorter version of My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade,” but I’m not sure if I ever heard the longer one on the radio. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/55 "2014-05-14T14:46:09Z")
Before “Free Bird” became an FM radio staple and concert cliche, there were a number of radio edits that excised either the long jam at the end, part of the piano intro, or the second verse. They were all pretty awful. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2014, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/56 "2014-05-14T15:12:53Z")
There are two versions of Ike and Tina Turner’s cover of **Proud Mary**. The single (which my mom bought back in the day) cut out the “cleaned a lot of plates in Memphis…” verse in both the “easy” and “rough” sections. Both versions are played on oldies radio these days. ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/57 "2014-05-15T21:33:22Z")
Are there 2 versions of Meatloaf’s **Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad**? On the CD the song is about 7 minutes long ---
**Author:** ![racepug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@racepug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racepug)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/58 "2014-05-15T21:55:58Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Perhaps the best-known example is The Doors’ “Light My Fire,” where the 7-minute version with the prolonged organ solo gets played on the radio quite often, but sometimes they play a shortened version instead. Don Henley’s “Heart of the Matter” is another. Sometimes they leave in the bridge that begins, “I’m learning to live without you now…” and other times a shortened version without the bridge gets played. Semisonic’s “Closing Time” is a third example. What are some others? You mean the **real** version and the rip-off? Personally I HATE when radio stations do that. There’s a local station that plays some really good stuff but it often plays the rip-off versions of classic rock songs and that REALLY sticks in my craw. Another example? My Sharona by The Knack. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/59 "2014-05-15T22:46:16Z")
> [@67java89](#): > > Are there 2 versions of Meatloaf’s **Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad**? On the CD the song is about 7 minutes long Yeah, there are two versions of that song. The short version leaves out the bridge, which is: “You’ll never find your gold on a sandy beach You’ll never drill for oil on a city street I know you’re looking for a ruby In a mountain of rocks But there ain’t no Coupe de Ville hiding At the bottom of a Cracker Jack box” and also cuts the last verse down to: “There’s only one girl that I will ever love And that was so many years ago And though I pleaded and I begged her Not to walk out that door She packed her bags and turned right away” Finally, the short version fades out, leaving out the last two lines, “Baby, we can talk all night, but that ain’t getting us nowhere.” The short version clocks in at 3:50, as opposed to the album version’s 5:27. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140/60 "2014-05-16T01:22:48Z")
Roundabout by YES. Long FM cut from the album and a cut down version, which sucks IMHO. Re:Freebird. Oddly I watched the 1976 ( pre crash ) lineup perform it in a concert on YouTube 2 Days ago. Before it was a cliché, it was a tightly played smokin’ piece. And this from someone who dislikes Skynrd. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-with-a-long-version-short-version-that-each-get-airplay/688140.md?page=4)