Were 70's music lyrics more repetitive than today?

Cafe Society
1

It seems to me that when I have on a “Classic Rock” type station, lots and lots of the songs basically end with the same lyrics repeated over and over again as they fade out.

Examples:

  • The Eagles’ “Take It To The Limit” one more time, one more time, one more time, yes I get it, please stop already…
  • Journey’s “Any Way You Want It” - this is the one, heard today, that inspired this thread. The last full 60 seconds of the song are the same words over and over again!

Now, I am certainly not immune to confirmation bias. But it certainly seems like you really don’t hear the repeated lyrics fading out thing much today. And I’m hardly trying to suggest that today’s songs are the zenith of lyrical mastery.

But was this just popular back then for some reason? Did songwriters think their lyrics were so unique and clever that they warranted repeating?

Other threads found here discuss the “fading out” ending as being mostly lazy songwriting, but I’m more interested in the “repeating the words ad nauseum” aspect, versus an instrumental fade-out.

2

Hiding’ on the ba-ack streets…
Hiding’ on the ba-ack streets.
Hiding’ on the ba-ack streets…

3

Name this fade-out:
I know.
I know.
I know.
Etc.

4

Someone’s knockin’ at the door
Somebody’s ringin’ the bell
Someone’s knockin’ at the door
Somebody’s ringin’ the bell

And the amazing thing is the fact that song works pretty well.

5

It only feels that way because of Paul Rodgers and Bad Company. Their song format:

Verse
Chorus
Verse
Chorus
Guitar Solo
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus

I swear to God the man just about ruined all the joy in the world.

6

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah Hey Jude.

Et cetera. My god. I do love this song and yes, I would agree that lyrics were much more repetitious. I blame pot. Now people do Ex or bath salts or meth or somesuch and they’re so freakin’ frantic 22 hours a day that they couldn’t remember the lyrics from the last verse if they were floating before their eyes on the Retina Display® of an iPad™.

You kids, you get offa my lawn !! :smiley:

7

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

I’ve got soul but i’m not a soldier…

(repeat until I change the channel)

8

Yes, by all means, let’s compare the best-of-the-best 1970s songs oldies stations play now with whatever crap just happens to be on top this week in modern music. There’s a fair comparison.

9

Dancing to that music in the gym on a Friday night, it sure didn’t seem repetitive.

10

I wanna rock and roll all night
And party ev–ery day
I wanna rock and roll all night
And party ev–ery day
I wanna rock and roll all night
And party ev–ery day

11

If by “best of the best” you mean the popular crap from the 70’s that topped the charts then. Comparing pop music from yesteryear to the pop music of today (or at least the last decade or so) is a fair comparison.

12

No, the stuff that oldies stations play is not at all the same thing as the popular crap that topped the charts in the '70s. Most of that stuff, nobody wants to hear again or is nostalgic for.

However, so far as I can tell what the OP is really complaining about is fade-out endings over vocal chants, which may (I don’t really know) have been more common in '70s music than they are now. It does not seem to have much to do with with the quality or repetitiveness of lyrics in general, which I very much doubt has changed very much.

13

I’ll send an SOS to the world
I’ll send an SOS to the world
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
I hope that someone gets my
Message in a bottle
Message in a bottle
Oh, message in a bottle
Message in a bottle

Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS
Sending out an SOS…

(The lyrics site I looked up simply said “Sending out an SOS X 24” at the end.)

14

You guys missed the most legendary example of the long, repetitive fade out:

I’m getting closer to my hoooooooooome…

15

If you listen to early blues music they repeated lines all the time.

16

Thanks for making me wrack my brains for 10 minutes to dig up “Ain’t No Sunshine”.

Yeah, 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 that wasn’t your reference and it isn’t the fade out, but you planted the damn thing in my head until I could root it out.

17

C’mon- the real repetitive stuff was the disco-

Ring my bell, ring my bell
More, more, more
How do you like it? How do you like it?
More, more, more
How do like it? How do you like it?

And many more I have blissfully blocked from my memory.

18

Da Da Da

19

That’s hardly their worst offense: Enjoy 90 seconds of “na na na na na”. They twist the knife with a little a capella at the end.

(When I saw “Journey” in your OP I thought for sure this was the song you had in mind. Laziest songwriting ever.)

20

I do think that the long fade-out was quite in vogue from around 1968 (Hey Jude", “Atlantis”) to sometime in the mid-70s.

But of course, as others have pointed out, it’s not hard to find repetitiveness these days either…
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say what you need to say
Say want you need to say and then STFU already!!!