What's the best "bridge" you've heard in a song?

What song has your favorite bridge? In case anybody doesn't know, the bridge is the part of the song that's not the verse or the chorus, and it's only sung once, usually before the last round of the chorus. My personal favorite is the bridge in the Beach Boys "Wouldn't It Be Nice", pure heaven in my opinion.
"Maybe if we think, and wish, and hope, and pray, it might come true..."

Lots of Steely Dan songs as well, such as "Sign In Stranger",

"Love or leave her, yellow fever
Sure, it's all in the game
And who are you
Just another scurvy brother..."

 

a couple of my favorites are

Jeff Buckley everyone here wants you

The Smiths, Frankley Mr Shankly

 

the one I love is in Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter

 

If I thought about it I could probably come up with one I like more, but “Ticket to Ride” springs to mind.

 

That guitar theme in the Cream song "Bridge"........or is it "Badge"....


Seriously......
I like the "Moving on is a chance that you take every time".....bit
from Billy Joel's "Say goodbye to Hollywood"

 

The Zombie's "Tell Her No" - For the music not the lyrics, but the words are below

I know she's the kind of girl
Who'd throw my love away
But I still love her so
Don't hurt me now, don't hurt me now

 

Oh will ya excuse me
I'm just trying to find the bridge
Has anybody seen the bridge?
Please
Have you seen the bridge?
I ain't seen the bridge!
Where's that confounded bridge?

 

"Best" is such an overused word. Besides, there are far too many for me to pick just one. To make things interesting, I'll pick a good one nobody thinks about.

The Girl Is Mine - Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney

Why? The song plods along and is rather boring but then the bridge kicks in, the song becomes alive and takes off! Nicely written stuff and clever, too. Even nice how it goes back into the next verse. But then, I remember how the rest will be super boring so I stop it.

 

From ELO's Turn to Stone - YesI'mturnintostonecauseyouain'tcominhomewhyain'tyoucominhomeifI'mturnintostoneyoubeengoneforsolongthatIcan'tcarryonyesI'mturninI'mturninI'mturnintostone....

 

Many great ones. One of my favorites is Deep Purple - Never Before. So cool!

 

The harmonies on the bridge of Cheap Trick's "Mandocello" are chillingly beautiful.

 

Under Pressure

 

Love the bridge to "fall on me" R.E.M.

 

I really like this one.

 

Heaven or Las Vegas - Cocteau Twins

Carnivals...

 

Something - The Beatles

 

Supertramp Poor Boy (the bridge kicks in at 2:27) from Crisis? What Crisis? is one I always liked.

 

Lennon-McCartney were masters of the bridge or middle eight as they used to say, often using a bit of key modulation to make it more interesting. From Me To You and I Want To Hold Your Hand are marvellous early examples. Ticket To Ride is also an excellent one, as mentioned above.

But for me the very best is You're Going To Lose That Girl. The modulation from E to G gives it an extra level of excitement which is further enhanced by the strong rhythm and vocal attack. It takes the song to another level.

 

Ignoring the Beatles for a moment, one of the greatest bridges has to be the one James Brown creates in Sex Machine. He certainly let's you know it's coming and when it does it's perfect!

 

Take Em As They Come by Springsteen.

I know your heart is...

 

Don't Let Me Down

I'm in love for the first time
Don't you know it's gonna last
It's a love that lasts forever
It's a love that had no past

The time signature change, the melody.......brilliant!

 

The Pound is Sinking by Paul McCarney!

 

All I've Got to Do

 

Even though it´s not a bridge by definition (the song does not return to the original section/motto):

Ryan Adams - Cherry Lane

I like it to the point that I nearly hate the rest of the song, but I consider the 2:10 build up to be near perfect.

Cherry Lane - Ryan Adams