Repetitive One Line choruses

Subject: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: Johnny J
Date: 09 Mar 14 - 09:18 AM

One of pet irritations these days is the ubiquity of one line choruses especially in pop and rock songs. Instead of adding one or more lines with different words or attempting to make a rhyme, most modern choruses now seem to consist of one line of words which is repeated ad nauseum albeit with a slightly different emphasis on the syllables on rare occasion.

At one time, this might have been considered to be quite an innovative departure from the norm and I certainly wouldn't advocate returning to something as naff as rhyming "moon" with "June" in chorus construction. However, this "one line" thing has become a bit of a cliché.

I don't know if this style of song construction has caught on in "folkie" circles as yet. Do you know of any examples and what are your general thoughts about this?

Subject: RE: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: BobKnight
Date: 09 Mar 14 - 09:56 AM

Sheer laziness. :)

Subject: RE: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: Bert
Date: 09 Mar 14 - 05:09 PM

A couple of folk songs that do this are Dead or Alive and Hey Riley.

John Peel is about halfway there.

Subject: RE: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: GUEST
Date: 10 Mar 14 - 08:05 AM

We're fine ones to talk with all the wanky-diddles. Where did they come from, busking till ready while desperately trying to remember the words to the next verse?

Subject: RE: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: Mo the caller
Date: 10 Mar 14 - 09:56 AM

I thought the essence of a chorus was repetitiveness.
So that we could all join in.
And a short chorus does that better than an ALevel chorus.

Subject: RE: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 10 Mar 14 - 11:24 AM

Ha! Chorus? If something's a chorus, there's got to be verses, and verses are WORK. I've been forced to listen to worse than that - one line, repeated ad nauseum.

"Give me the people and free my soul, I wanna get lost in rock 'n roll mumble mumble blah blah"

Do it 32 times, and you've got a modern classic. But perhaps I shouldn't say 'Do it 32 times,' because I suspect the singer just sang it once and the sound engineer pushed REPEAT 31 times.

It seems to me that if the singer actually sang it 32 times, then some natural variation would occur and I would be able to figure out something in the mumbled part. But no, the mumbling stays exactly the same throughout.

I try not to listen to it, but my nervous system is attuned to music, and I can't make it stop.

Subject: RE: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: GUEST,Bizibod
Date: 10 Mar 14 - 11:36 AM

Doobie Brothers
Give me the beat boys to free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock 'n' roll and drift away

Is it that one ?

Subject: RE: Repetitive One Line choruses
From: GUEST,Stim
Date: 10 Mar 14 - 11:08 PM

Really? Is that all you've got to complain about? You've had a much easier life than the rest of us.