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

Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"

 

Favorite bridges in songs

 

Any John Lennon song with a bridge.
What was it about him that he was so good at writing bridges that do exactly what they are supposed to do?

 

The bridge in Yes' Close to the Edge....it is certainly one of the longest on record and that makes it the best. To be able to keep up the musical tension for that long is incredible.

 

I always liked this -

Your backstage pass and black sunglasses
Make you look just like a queen
Even the fans, they know your face
From all of the magazines,

From Do You Love Me by Kiss

 

And from "Got it Made" by CSNY

When you came to save the world I caused your
Dreams to fade,
I couldn't do what you did and rained on your parade.

 

Is this a Bridge? I don't know - But from Artie's Travelling Boy

Take my place out on the road again,
I must do what I must do,
Yes, I know we were lovers but a drifter discovers
A travelin' boy and only passing through,
But one who'll always think of you.

 

What are you thinking is the bridge?

 

Tom Petty wrote great bridges. “And you just can’t creep up behind her...” in Listen To Her Heart, “Baby we ain’t the first...” in Refugee, “Don’t let em kill you babe..” in The Waiting, and “Cause somewhere deep down inside, someone is saying...” in Don’t Do Me Like That.

 

"Do I Love You?" - The Ronettes

 

Another song that pulls off the trick of having no bridge and no chorus, only a refrain, yet which also succeeds in being a masterpiece of songwriting, is Abba’s “The Day Before You Came”. In both songs the point is the sheer unrelieved monotony of the lives being lived yet of course the refrain of each introduces a tension or contrast that makes a repetitive musical structure seem anything but lifeless.

I prefer to think of the bridge as a pre-chorus that bridges the verse to the chorus but since that isn't the definition for the purposes of this thread, how about one of my favourite songs of all time: “I saw her walking on the water as the sharks were coming for me / I felt Mandy pull me up, give me the kiss of life, just like the girl in Dr. No ...” (10cc, “I'm Mandy Fly Me”) Equally you could have “Rubber Bullets” (“Sgt. Baker started talkin’ with a bullhorn in his hand ...”)

Another one that came to mind is “Boxing” by Ben Folds (“Sometimes I punch myself hard as I can ...”) but I've got a feeling that any great songwriter could furnish pretty much a thread's worth of fantastic examples.

 

I know where it is. Would you like me to tell you where it is?

 

A pre- chorus is very different from a bridge. A bridge is not a pre-chorus....in most cases. Look at the cadences. That will tell you the difference between a pre-chorus and a bridge.

 

Accurate how? You still haven't answered my question. My comment was about as 'negative' as yours.

 

Hayward was a master of this...'Lovely To See You', 'Land Of Make Believe' in particular.

 

*Nudge*Nudge* Wink*Wink*

 

Neil Finn - Fall At Your Feet
“The finger of blame has turned upon itself
And I'm more than willing to offer myself
Do you want my presence or need my help
Who knows where that might lead”
Brilliant lyrics as well...

 

Great post and song choice.

 

Hate to be that guy, but Careless Whisper doesn't actually have a bridge.
You're probably thinking of the "Tonight the music seems so loud" part, but all George does is change the vocal melody.... The rest of the song sticks to the same chord structure of the previous verses.

 

I love the bridge on the Who's "Bargain".

 

R.E.M. - "So. Central Rain" and "Pretty Persuasion."

 

Couldn't have said it better myself!

 

Great minds must think alike! It's definitely a great one.

 

Ok, the best bridge ever is Eric Carmen, "My Girl", starting with:
We'll stick together like the moon and the nighttime...

If you find that bit in Rachmaninov, then I surrender.

 

Love the bit in Scruffy the Cat's "Moons of Jupiter" where the bridge is a quote from "I Think We're Alone Now."
I love Scruffy the Cat--criminally forgotten '80s band.