Songs who's verses are more iconic then the chorus?

[rainie]

Most songs are better known by their choruses then their verses -- however there are certainly exceptions to this. What are some examples of songs better known by their verses rather then their choruses?

[Deleted]

Ludacris - Runaway Love?

[Leaf]

How about Mr. Brightside?

[Harx]

"Thrift Shop"?

[fearlessarrow]

Dido - "Thank You" (thanks to Eminem)

[Dylan :)]

Taylor Swift - "Out Of The Woods"

[ClevelandRox]

Britney - Hold It Against Me
Taylor - Ready for It?

[shrk314]

Lose Youself and Rap God

[Deleted]

I would say some Drake songs without a chorus but idk if that would count. I would say Tik Tok.

[Normi]

Argument for 'Where have you been' - Rihanna

Also it bothers me that the thread title is incorrect - I think it should be 'whose verses'

[janinho]

Photograph by Nickelback

[Dreams]

Sept 28, 2017 12:24:54 GMT -5 Normi said:

Argument for 'Where have you been' - Rihanna

Also it bothers me that the thread title is incorrect - I think it should be 'whose verses'

...and "than" instead of "then".

[willapted33]

I don't think either the chorus or verses are well known on this song but I'd argue False Alarm by The Weeknd has amazing sounding verses and the chorus throws the song out a bit

[Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ]

Uptown Funk
E.T.
Radioactive

[janinho]

Smash Mouth - All Star

[harvie]

Sept 28, 2017 18:08:25 GMT -5 Ｓｏｕｎｄｃｌ🕤ｃｋ said:

Uptown Funk
E.T.
Radioactive

I think Uptown Funk is a great example! I like the chorus but LOVE the verses! E.T. is another good one!

[tanooki]

Welcome to the Black Parade

[chillpill]

"Can't Get You Out of My Head"

or are the "La La La" parts the chorus?

[Deleted]

His palms are sweaty
Knees weak
Arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already
Mom's spaghetti

Seriously, ask anyone on the street and they could probably rap that verse themselves. Not that the chorus is forgotten or anything, but still.

[leonagwen]

OutKast Hey Ya, Eminem Lose Yourself.

[rainie]

I just randomly thought of a huge example of this -- Every Breath You Take by the Police.

Also How You Remind Me by Nickelback.

[leonagwen]

Jan 7, 2018 21:00:47 GMT -5 rainie said:

I just randomly thought of a huge example of this -- Every Breath You Take by the Police.

Also How You Remind Me by Nickelback.

What lyrics of Every breath you take are you talking about?

[rainie]

Jan 7, 2018 21:09:30 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

Jan 7, 2018 21:00:47 GMT -5 rainie said:

I just randomly thought of a huge example of this -- Every Breath You Take by the Police.

Also How You Remind Me by Nickelback.

What lyrics of Every breath you take are you talking about?

Every Breath You Take/Every Move You Make etc is technically the verse no?

[jenglisbe]

Jan 7, 2018 21:46:58 GMT -5 rainie said:

Jan 7, 2018 21:09:30 GMT -5 leonagwen said:

What lyrics of Every breath you take are you talking about?

Every Breath You Take/Every Move You Make etc is technically the verse no?

"Every Breath You Take" is an interesting example in a lot of ways. I've never thought about its structure until now, but it is very unique.

[EvanJ]

Some songs have a very short chorus or just one line repeated, which helps make the verses more iconic. Examples are Green Day's "Holiday," Paramore's "The Only Exception," Red Hot Chili Peppers's "Californication," and Collective Soul's "Shine" (the chorus has two lines if you count "wo o" as its own line).

[Choco]

The Old Taylor line from Look What You Made Me Do.

The Blink-182 song line from Closer.

"Hello, it's me" from Hello, duh.

"Got a long list of ex-lovers", because of the whole "Starbucks lovers" thing from Blank Space.

[greentoo]

Jan 10, 2018 14:42:36 GMT -5 Choco said:

The Old Taylor line from Look What You Made Me Do.

The Blink-182 song line from Closer.

"Hello, it's me" from Hello, duh.

"Got a long list of ex-lovers", because of the whole "Starbucks lovers" thing from Blank Space.

The long list of ex lovers is in the chorus

[Walking Contradiction]

I think you could make an argument for "Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world" being more iconic than the chorus of "Don't Stop Believin'"

Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now", the title line is probably more well known than the repeating "It's gonna be a bright sunshiny day".

Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl" - the parts where the title is sung are technically the verses, right? Same goes for Blondie's "One Way Or Another".

Maybe Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On", since you always hear the beginning of the song start up when things heat up...

Styx's "Come Sail Away" - the opening "I'm sailing away..."

[deGonzz]

Oct 2, 2017 20:10:04 GMT -5 chillpill said:

"Can't Get You Out of My Head"

or are the "La La La" parts the chorus?

Cathy Dennis snapped when she wrote that song.

So this part should be the chorus, but it kind of stands as and sounds like a verse...
"I just can't get you out of my head
Boy, your loving is all I think about"

...followed by the chorus? hook?
"La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la"

...then followed by the verses? (which has different lyrics the second time around...for a second verse?) Which really stand as and sound like pre-choruses?
"Every night
Every day
Just to be there in your arms"

...then followed by another chorus? (which has different lyrics the second time around...for a second chorus?)
"Won't you stay
Won't you stay
Stay forever and ever and ever, ah, ah"

...then evidently followed by the hook?
"La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la"


As Cathy herself explained:
"None of the sections in the song conform to the typical verse-chorus structure. They’re misplaced sections that somehow work together, and that’s because we didn’t try to force any structure after the event. The seeds were watered and they very quickly sprouted into something bigger than any of us" talking about her and producer Rob Davis who confirmed that the song indeed "breaks a few rules", even confusing his publisher at the time.
- M-Magazine -

I think all the sections are basically just hooks.

[Au$tin]

Pocketful of Sunshine