# What is a "bridge" in a song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 12, 2021, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787 "2021-02-12T20:59:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/42 "2021-02-17T02:50:22Z")
The Byrds turned one verse of Dylan’s “All I Really Want to Do” into a bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/43 "2021-02-17T08:10:43Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > That definition is specific to jazz. . . Not just jazz, but also Tin Pan Alley songs, most of which have 32-bar choruses. One example is Over the Rainbow. In that song, the bridge starts with “Someday I’ll with upon a star” and ends with “That’s where you’ll find me.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/44 "2021-02-17T15:51:34Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > Pop often has ABABCAB ABACAB? It isn’t anywhere. Look up on the wall There on the floor Under the pillow Behind the door Where’s that confounded bridge? ---
**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:** [February 17, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/45 "2021-02-17T21:58:36Z")
I like instrumental bridges (is it still called a bridge in that case?). _Julia Dream_ by Pink Floyd has a nice bridge as does David Gilmour’s _Murder_. _Murder_ bucks the rock trend by not having a chorus. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/T1N84wemDNk/hqdefault.jpg "David Gilmour - Murder") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1N84wemDNk) ---
**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:** [February 18, 2021, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/46 "2021-02-18T00:33:51Z")
Strawberry Fields Forever has an intro based on the verse, and begins with the chorus. ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/47 "2021-02-18T03:36:24Z")
Ironically, one of the great versions of that song. Oh Memory! ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/48 "2021-02-18T04:02:01Z")
As mentioned above, many Broadway musical numbers/Tin Pan Alley songs have a verse and a chorus, the verse being an introductory piece or narrative section, but several songs return to the verse when seen on stage. Here’s _Lady Be Good_ from the sheet music: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/iWNDKFDB1Uk/hqdefault.jpg "Oh, Lady Be Good (1924)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWNDKFDB1Uk) Most jazz versions of standards skip the verse and play the chorus, such as Lester Young and Count Basie: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3PoMKdWhdSk/hqdefault.jpg ""Lady Be Good" (1936) Lester Young") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PoMKdWhdSk) They’re not trying to set up a song; rather the song is a vehicle for improvisation. Most jazz versions dispense with the verse and start at the refrain, but some performers do know them: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uFkLUBBJzO4/hqdefault.jpg "Ella Fitzgerald - I'm Old Fashioned") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFkLUBBJzO4) And if we want to discuss _Stardust_, sure it wanders about—but what a great song, if not the greatest. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2021, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/49 "2021-02-18T07:47:58Z")
The Who - “Bargain” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ka_pPf7OqiE/hqdefault.jpg "The Who - Bargain") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka_pPf7OqiE) XTC - “Making Plans For Nigel” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s29RKnB7l7o/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGHIgZSgpMA8=&rs=AOn4CLDlfs8ko5YgCBSs85HOxAMk3Nhegg "XTC - Making Plans For Nigel") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s29RKnB7l7o) Another Quick Who One - “Long Live Rock” (good n’epically rockin’, this bit - one of the band’s high points, IMO) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BQHZ7nvBSLY/hqdefault.jpg "The Who -- Long Live Rock") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQHZ7nvBSLY) Talking Heads - “Take Me to the River” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/v4azbl96BJY/maxresdefault.jpg "Take Me to the River (2005 Remaster)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4azbl96BJY) The Police - “Every Breath You Take” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OMOGaugKpzs/maxresdefault.jpg "The Police - Every Breath You Take (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOGaugKpzs) ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2021, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/50 "2021-02-19T03:12:45Z")
rattle off a few more - Elvis Costello - “Shabby Doll” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RH005P1NvcA/hqdefault.jpg "Elvis Costello & The Attractions, "Shabby Doll" - Imperial bedroom, 1982") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH005P1NvcA) For any Ozzy freaks out there, this is one is from his heart _(kinda pounding left side too hard)_, in “I Don’t Know” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JNm6bucMPmY/maxresdefault.jpg "I Don't Know") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNm6bucMPmY) Found one more Elvis - “Watching the Detectives” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/k1Qnt5bx1OI/maxresdefault.jpg "Elvis Costello - Watching the Detectives") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1Qnt5bx1OI) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/51 "2021-03-06T13:34:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > [@CookingWithGas](#): > > > > Pop often has ABABCAB > > ABACAB? It isn’t anywhere. First, you quoted me wrong. Second, listen to Ticket To Ride (which repeats the bridge twice in this type of form) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/52 "2021-03-06T14:20:13Z")
…wasn’t he just riffing on a Phil Collins lyric? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/53 "2021-03-06T15:17:35Z")
Oh, now I hear the whooshing sound. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/54 "2021-03-06T15:51:12Z")
🙂 Though to be fair, I never knew why ABACAB was named the way it was until this very thread. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/55 "2021-03-06T20:54:47Z")
It’s where Macio takes you. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2021, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/56 "2021-03-06T21:56:21Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > And some songs are nearly impossible to figure out where the bridge is. An example is a very old hit song called _Stardust_ . It just seems to wander from verse to verse. > > Is there even a bridge? There is the “introductory verse”, then ABAC. Right, not every song has a bridge. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/57 "2021-03-10T05:42:03Z")
Just adding another song with the classic structure, ABABCB, with the bridge in a different key. Bridge is bulleted. Six o’clock already I was just in the middle of a dream I was kissin’ Valentino By a crystal-blue, Italian stream But I can’t be late 'Cause then I guess I just won’t get paid These are the days When you wish your bed was already made It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah) I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah) 'Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah, woah, woah) My I don’t have to run day (Woah, woah) It’s just another manic Monday Have to catch an early train Got to be to work by nine And if I had an aeroplane I still couldn’t make it on time 'Cause it takes me so long (Oh, oh) Just to figure out what I’m gonna wear Blame it on the train But the boss is already there It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah) I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah) 'Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah, woah, woah) My I don’t have to run day (Woah, woah) It’s just another manic Monday - Of all my nights - Why did my lover have to pick last night - To get down? - (Last night, last night) - Doesn’t it matter - That I have to feed the both of us? - Employment’s down - He tells me in his bedroom voice - C’mon honey, let’s go make some noise - Time it goes so fast - (When you’re having fun) It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah) I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah) 'Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah, woah, woah) My I don’t have to run day (Woah, woah) It’s just another manic Monday (Woah, woah) I wish it was Sunday (Woah, woah, woah, woah) 'Cause that’s my fun day (Woah, woah) It’s just another manic Monday [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SsmVgoXDq2w/maxresdefault.jpg "The Bangles - Manic Monday (Official Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsmVgoXDq2w) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2021, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/58 "2021-03-10T09:15:19Z")
In “Psycho Killer”, not only does the bridge change up the key (from A minor to Bm↔G, he starts singing lyrics in French: Ce que j’ai fait, ce soir-là Ce qu’elle a dit, ce soir-là Réalisant mon espoir Je me lance vers la gloire… ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/59 "2021-03-12T19:09:46Z")
Wow, that was absolutely fantastic. How is it that I have not seen this video at any time in the last 35 years? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/60 "2021-03-13T02:24:37Z")
Would like to see (an admittedly impossible to compile) stat on the ratio of bridged to non-bridged Top 40 songs over, say, the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s; see if maybe there’s any trend going one way or another, over time. I think I might stand corrected on an earlier post about “Watching the Detectives” - what I thought was a bridge was simply another verse, but with overlapping vox. (I _think_) This (Stones) bridge I’m a bit more sure about: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_lNP-x94-SE/hqdefault.jpg "Rolling Stones - Rocks Off (1972)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lNP-x94-SE) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787/61 "2021-03-15T15:41:02Z")
Maybe, in case you are British, because the B.B.C. determined that > the video’s split-second editing technique could possibly trigger “epileptic fits” in viewers. > **[BANNED VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Wang Chung's...](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-11-ca-3634-story.html)** > > BANNED VIDEO OF THE MONTH: Wang Chung's video of the group's hit, "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," has been an MTV staple for the past couple of months. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-bridge-in-a-song/932787.md?page=2)