Comments on: ABABABCBD

Question: ABABABCBD

minkll — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:36:02 -0800

Songs with great codas?

Any genre. I'm stuck at Layla and Hey Jude.

By: amyms

amyms — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:42:31 -0800

"Aquarius/Let The Sunsine In" from "Hair" (I like the version by the 5th Dimension)

By: amyms

amyms — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:47:53 -0800

Actually my answer was a bit confusing. The 5th Dimension version is a medley of the two separate songs (which weren't in medley form in "Hair" -- they're the opening and ending song, respectively), so my answer for the song that has a great coda is "Let The Sunshine In."

By: nicwolff

nicwolff — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:02:42 -0800

"I Am The Resurrection", Stone Roses

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:08:08 -0800

I've always been fond of that weird pseudo-Latin ending on "Fool In The Rain."

Also, "Sugar Magnolia," if you can stomach the Dead.

Paul Simon's "The Late Great Johnny Ace" has a coda by Phillip Glass of all people. It works surprisingly well — sends chills up my spine every time — but it isn't really the sort of soaring rock coda that your examples suggest.

Oh, and look at prog rock. Lots of hot coda action there. King Crimson's "Lark's Tongues in Aspic Part 1" and ELP's "Lucky Man" have two of my favorites.

By: friendlyjuan

friendlyjuan — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:08:46 -0800

"Sugar Magnolia & Sunshine Daydream" by the Dead. Great pairing.

By: friendlyjuan

friendlyjuan — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:09:35 -0800

Damn you non-preview! *shakes fist*

By: amb

amb — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:09:36 -0800

Sun Kil Moon - Lost Verses

By: Skot

Skot — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:27:25 -0800

Shearwater: The Snow Leopard

By: cali59

cali59 — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:17:42 -0800

I'm unfamiliar with the concept of a coda. Can someone please explain it better than wikipedia or at least to point to one of the songs mentioned and say "this is what we're talking about?" Thanks.

By: Think [Instrumental]

Think [Instrumental] — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:42:06 -0800

cali59, the title ABABABCBD explains it: if A is a verse, B is chorus, C is a bridge, it's a D here, an ending introducing new material (e.g: Naaaaa naa naa na-na-na naaaaaaah as a completely new part of Hey Jude). Also called outro.

By: TheSecretDecoderRing

TheSecretDecoderRing — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 01:58:42 -0800

I'm glad you did look it up first, unlike some other message boards...

I guess it's the end of a song, where it's not just the chorus played the same as in the rest of the song. And it usually either fades out, or builds to a big climax. It could be one or two lines sung over and over (like "Message in a Bottle"), a flashy guitar solo, or chanting vocals (like "Hey Jude," or Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop").

"Layla" ends with a slow piano tune that's almost like a whole different song.

Another example is when they layer two or more sets of lyrics. Off the top of my head I can only think of the Police's "Every Breath You Take."

And while I'm quite fond of my examples, I don't know if they qualify as great enough to submit them as responses to the original question. Hey, how about the guitar/sax at the end of "Baker Street"?

Or the end of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," although I'm not sure how much of it actually qualifies as the coda.

By: bunglin jones

bunglin jones — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:02:12 -0800

Teenage Fanclub - "The Concept"

By: dowcrag

dowcrag — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:46:24 -0800

'More than this', Roxy Music.

By: yclipse

yclipse — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:40:18 -0800

If you want to go back to Paul Simon, "Save the Life of My Child" ends with a two-liner:

"Oh, my grace,
I've got no hiding place"

By: ROTFL

ROTFL — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:51:59 -0800

Sunspots by Julian Cope. Actually, Cope's songs are full of wonderful and distinct codas. The Great Dominions contains another typical one.

By: yclipse

yclipse — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:00:27 -0800

Oh, and a classic:

Donovan's "Atlantis"

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:04:10 -0800

The Arcade Fire - Wake Up; Crown of Love

The Postal Service - Brand New Colony

By: cascando

cascando — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:36:38 -0800

Orange Juice : Consolation Prize " A sad heartsick little ballad.

By: fuse theorem

fuse theorem — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 05:47:50 -0800

Or the end of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic," although I'm not sure how much of it actually qualifies as the coda.

If I understand the concept correctly, yes, The Police and Sting have some good ones. Sting particularly likes the bit, "it's a big enough umbrella..." line from Every Little Thing. It's used as coda in more than one song (e.g., Oh My God and Seven Days).

By: mrmarley

mrmarley — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:07:22 -0800

you are looking for:
Oasis - '"All Around The World", "It's Gettin' Better Man" (which might not fit, but the refrain repeats for like 5 minutes), "Let There Be Love"

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:08:22 -0800

Inasmuch as Bo Diddley played guitar more like a drum than a guitar, I suppose any of his many songs with the famous 'Bo Diddley beat' might qualify as answers to your question, as well.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:10:28 -0800

Aww, hell. Ignore that last comment of mine. It was meant for this thread.

By: purplemonkie

purplemonkie — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:30:03 -0800

Modest Mouse, "Spitting Venom." Coda starts building at around 4:20.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:43:49 -0800

All You Need Is Love, sort of, kind of, with that toss in of She Loves You Yeah Yeah Yeah at the end.

By: anthom

anthom — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:50:15 -0800

Pretty much any song on Pink Floyd's Animals (aside from "Pigs on the Wing")
Muse's "Knights of Cydonia"

By: wabbittwax

wabbittwax — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:56:35 -0800

Dire Straits, On Every Street
The Rolling Stones, Can't You Hear Me Knockin'
Eric Clapton, Let It Grow
Jimi Hendrix, Axis: Bold As Love
Fleetwood Mac, The Chain

By: Sailormom

Sailormom — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:35:59 -0800

Blues Traveler - Stand
David Bowie - Memory of a Free Festival
The Velvet Underground - I'm Sticking With You

By: equalpants

equalpants — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:43:13 -0800

It's a very short coda, but good: Pixies, "Break My Body"

By: dyobmit

dyobmit — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:48:40 -0800

"Rocket Queen" - Guns N' Roses

By: biscotti

biscotti — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:52:32 -0800

FREEBIRD!!!!!!

By: ob

ob — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:17:54 -0800

Off the top of my head: Country Girl -CSNY.

By: drinkcoffee

drinkcoffee — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:00:25 -0800

Decemberists - Valerie Plame
Jason Falkner - Moving Up
Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. - Imaginary Friend

By: teraflop

teraflop — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:16:56 -0800

Porcupine Tree - Mellotron Scratch

By: Piscean

Piscean — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:15:57 -0800

Not sure if these fill the bill:

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room (LIVE VERSION) - John Mayer
More than a Feeling- Boston

By: Piscean

Piscean — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:22:33 -0800

Hmmm... maybe "Flake" by Jack Johnson is better than my previous examples of a coda, if we're going by "Hey Jude" as an example. The last part sounds like a whole 'nother song.

By: tmcw

tmcw — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:29:08 -0800

Us Ones in Between by Sunset Rubdown is by far my favorite.

By: penchant

penchant — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:57:06 -0800

all the wars by aloha.

By: abc123xyzinfinity

abc123xyzinfinity — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:56:20 -0800

Led Zeppelin had some wonderful guitar codas. Off the top of my head there's Rain Song, which is a long song with a very short coda. There's also a fabulous guitar rock coda at the end of Narcolepsy, by Third Eye Blind (yes, really).

By: _Skull_

_Skull_ — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:16:49 -0800

There's the ubiquitous Stairway To Heaven, although it reprises the original melody at the last lines.

By: Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam

Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:26:37 -0800

The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing
DJ Shadow - Stem/Long Stem and Blood on the Motorway

and the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (really the whole fourth movement, which is a miniature symphony in itself, with restatements of the themes of the first three movements)

By: ostranenie

ostranenie — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:28:56 -0800

Guns 'N' Roses, "Patience."

By: aka burlap

aka burlap — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:20:39 -0800

"Alec Eiffel" by the Pixies is the first thing that came to mind.

By: divabat

divabat — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 06:05:29 -0800

"To The Moon & Back" by Savage Garden has a cool instrumental at the very end.

By: indiewizard

indiewizard — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 07:41:51 -0800

David Bowie's "Memory of a Free Festival" fades out with this line and a "Hey Judean" chord progression:

The Sun Machine is coming down, and we're gonna have a party...

By: cgc373

cgc373 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:20:40 -0800

Little late, but Faith No More's "Epic" has a memorable piano coda after its crazed metallic rap majesty.

By: paleyellowwithorange

paleyellowwithorange — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:24:12 -0800

The Smashing Pumpkins, 'Drown'
The Beach Boys, 'The Trader'
The Beatles, 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)'
Grandaddy, 'He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot'

By: sprocket87

sprocket87 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:02:15 -0800

Jessica Lea Mayfield, I'm Not Lonely Anymore

The most beautiful coda/outro I think I've ever heard. It's a short song, I really urge you to give it a listen.