Songs Without Choruses

[Joe Gahona]

Hearing the band FUN on endless repeat on (terrible) terrestrial radio reminded me that some bands try to pull off the no-chorus thing with poor results (the two songs I've heard by them are garbage). Another terrible song without a chorus is "Youth Against Fascism" by Sonic Youth. The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" is a clear example of a song that needs a chorus -- it gets tiresome about a minute in.

What are some examples of songs with no chorus that do work? Here are a few of my favorites:

"Mississipi" by Bob Dylan
"Rainy Night in Soho" by the Pogues
"Yesterday" by the Beatles

[NeedMoreLike84]

Haven't listened to terrestrial radio in years. Sirrius and Pandora/Spotify for me. Wouldn't know FUN in a lineup of one.

[hueytaxi]

Frank Sinatra singing Mack the Knife
Glen Campbell with By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Several by Harry Chapin

just quickly off the top of my head.

[zimm]

Pulp's "Wickerman."

i'm not sure that it was ever supposed to "work" like a regular song, but Morphine's "The Jury" lacks a chorus.

although they both contain a short line that is repeated a couple of times, i've always considered Morrissey's "Girl Least Likely To" and Jane's Addiction's "Then She Did" to be essentially chorus-less.

[ScrubBeaterUpper]

Pearl Jam's "Corduroy" and Radiohead's "Paranoid Android" come to mind.

[Yoda]

"Dogs" - Pink Floyd
"Is There a Ghost" - Band of Horses