# What time signature is this song in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 28, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929 "2017-11-28T04:48:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929/21 "2017-11-29T07:09:21Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > More like Joe Cocker has swing rather than Ringo’s perfectly square version. Not swing, really. Joe Cocker’s people too the Beatles version, which did swing by the way, or a shuffle really, and converted it into a very slow 12/8. The result feels more like waltz time. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2017, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929/22 "2017-11-29T17:01:12Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > More like Joe Cocker has swing rather than Ringo’s perfectly square version. No, he’s right. Cocker took a 4/4 song and turned it into a slow 3. Now, whether it’s 12/8 or 3/4 is up to interpretation, but either way it’s definitely more than just adding a swing. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2017, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929/23 "2017-11-29T17:50:49Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > Not swing, really. Joe Cocker’s people too the Beatles version, which did swing by the way, or a shuffle really, and converted it into a very slow 12/8. The result feels more like waltz time. Yeah, I’d definitely call it either a slow 12/8 or 6/8. And, as you note, the Beatles version definitely has a swing to it. It is not played in straight eighths. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929/24 "2017-11-29T18:08:15Z")
For the OP’s song, I’m getting a bar of 5/4, followed by a bunch of 11/8 bars (2+2+2+2+3) and then I lose interest. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929/25 "2017-11-30T02:13:28Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > …One of my favorite things about the original recording of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” is the weak gasp of laughter at the end from one of the musicians who was so relieved that they finally made it through the piece without a mistake. That’s “Unsquare Dance” actually. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929/26 "2017-11-30T03:00:18Z")
> [@K364](#): > > That’s “Unsquare Dance” actually. I’m actually surprised, as neither are particularly difficult time signatures. Unusual in Western pop? Yes. Difficult? Not really with a little bit of acclimation. But perhaps I’m speaking from a position many decades onward where these time signatures have been more “normalized” for lack of a better term (i.e., they’re not quite “normal,” but not as exotic as they perhaps once were.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-time-signature-is-this-song-in/802929.md?page=1)