Thanks to you all for all those wonderful short songs you’ve been posting.
There are rather a few wonderful YT clips. And I’d definitely like to see and hear some more.
I’m going to kick off PART TWO with a mention of the American Graffiti soundtrack. 41 pop gems from the 1950s and early 1960s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/41_Original_Hits_from_the_Soundtrack_of_American_Graffiti
It was a real ear-opener for me in 1973.
Here’s one of the shortest songs on the American Graffiti LP.
And here’s Del Shannon with another Graffiti Goodie.
Randy Newman is a master of pithy, short songs.
Alan Price had a hit with Randy’s dancing bear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgjU6kPV_MA&list=RDIgjU6kPV_MA&start_radio=1
Political Science feels eerily topical in 2026-
Please accept, Fatz, this haunting 1969 Bert Jansch classic at 1:35…
…and this marvellous prelude by Focus from 1974, ‘Delitae Musicae’, at 1:13.
…and finally, from me, this Jethro Tull classic from a 1971 EP, ‘Nursie’, at 1:35.
One of my favourites…
What a triptych of treasures you treated us to there @colin-h You are really on a roll this weekend.
Of course, the shortest of all Mahavishnu masterpieces is the 20-second ‘Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love’ – which fits perfectly into the running order of the ‘Birds of Fire’ album:
Surprisingly, a bit of Gong…
I think 2 or more YouTube links per post breaks something. At least with my phone
Me too @dai. Extremely irritating
It’s not that for me, just any thread with loads of embedded videos. I tend not to bother with ‘list’ threads at all for that reason*. It’s been mentioned before on here but the lure of youtube is too great, it seems.
*and yet here I am. Yes, I know.
Yes I find that with my phone, and it’s a relatively new one. I save the list threads for the desktop, where I am now, avoiding work…
With the list threads, I also look through all the comments on my laptop when I get home. There’s been a rich and varied harvest on this one…
Fine on my tablet but I’m not sure why we have two threads on the same subject.
Someone pointed out that long threads with clips caused the thread to crash. KFD took that on board and started a volume 2…
Some of the longer operatic arias can be 13 or 14 minutes long. Dicky Wagner is a prime offender.
Clocking in at 2 minutes, this one by Puccini is probably the shortest.
The studio version of Modern Times Rock ’n’ Roll is 1:48, but this slightly longer live clip from Queen’s March 1974 concert at the Rainbow is livelier.
Similar time (1:51), different style – Lazin’ On A Sunday Afternoon
It’s not all punk, you know. ( Did I mention that?)
Motörhead – getting to the point fairly briskly…
Then there’s Elvis…
Another short one from Brian Eno.
Short cockney.
Start a revolution
They Might Be Giants did a lot of short songs for kids.
Thanks for all these wonderful contributions. I’m going to listen to them all properly tomorrow.
A few duets before bedtime…
From Rio
From Stockholm
From Glasgow and New York
From the Jazz Band Ball…
From Paris
From Cap Verde and Lisbon
Almost all of David Gates’ songs for the 1969-72 Bread albums were under 3 minutes, or just a few seconds over, including the ones that seemed like whole novels within apparently leisurely songs like ‘If’, ‘He’s A Good Lad’, ‘Baby I’m-A Want You’, ‘Mother Freedom’, ‘Diary’ and ‘Everything I Own’.
Here’s one Gates-written Bread fave, ‘Dismal Day, at a mere 2:19:
James Griffin, the other writer in Bread (though rarely on their 45s), could also do it – masterpieces in two minutes. Here’s his fabulous ‘Just Like Yesterday’ (2:15).
To add to Volume 2 Part Deux here’s two under two from RT.
See also –
https://youtu.be/bhjOpm-KL-A?si=JrZZjrEgADcISvUA
I first heard this by Joni Mitchell.
Annie Ross singing Twisted reminds me of this…
Here’s Annie at the Beeb.
The audience are so stony-faced. Jazz was a very serious business in 1964
Miss Annie also did this
That was a surprise @Mychael.
Annie Ross sigs the King Crimson Songbook.
It led me to this excellent article about lyricist, Peter Sinfield.
https://pleasekillme.com/peter-sinfield-king-crimson/
What is the first song @Hubert- rawlinson? It’s blank here in Sweden.
It’s Mary and Joseph from Henry the Human Fly.
The first youtube clip I put on didn’t show for me so I changed it to this youtube clip.
Odd
A nice short 1m33s ditty from Roy Harper
“Davey”, from Flat Baroque And Berserk.
Snappy sweet shitkicking country rock from the Byrds
Lovely song @slotbadger.
It reminded me of the Byrds singing this David Crosby composition….
The Vaccines do brevity as well as anyone else:
Wreckin Bar (Ra Ra Ra) – 1:24
Norgaard – 1:38
A forthright rhetoric that transcends its own limitations whilst defiantly examining the very nature of its content.
Eh? Can’t see it, Gary – what was it?
That’s odd. I think that’s happened before. Maybe cos of different dimensions and stuff. It was (and still is, on my computer) “It’s That Sound” by Splodgenessabounds.
I’ll try another one. This one is genuinely one of my favourite short songs: Optimism/Reject by Patrik Fitzgerald. I like the lyrics. I like the way he injects a smile in his delivery of the enigmatic line “My leg look bendy toy grow more”.
What a fascinating bloke @Gary. I had to read a little more about him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrik_Fitzgerald#:~:text=Patrik%20Fitzgerald%20(born%20Patrick%20Joseph,an%20originator%20of%20folk%20punk.
He has gone his own way for years.
A few more wonderfully short, dreamy songs that leave this listener longing for more…
Norwegian folk singer Iselin, Olav och Kari.
From Edinburgh, Vashti Bunyan, Diamond Day
From San Sebastian in the Basque Country, Le Mans with Con Peru en la playa
Linda Perhacs from California Hey, who really cares
Frank Zappa – no don’t go away, this is an immaculate little instrumental that only lasts 2 minutes 18 seconds.
And in case you’re wondering, the double bass player whose saucy slide introduces the piece, is one Max Bennett, famed L.A. session musician, formerly Peggy Lee’s musical director.
Oh and the drummer is John Guerin, former bandmate/bedmate of Joni Mitchell.
…and, while we’re in Mothers territory…
…and also tae as well…
It is not so easy to find short jazz tracks, but this guy, jazz pianist Noah Bermain, has a few excellent suggestions.
http://noahjazz.com/top-10-tracks-under-2-minutes/
Anton Webern composed many short works and movements. His entire published output from Opus 1 to Opus 31 has been twice issued by CBS/Columbia on 4 LP boxed sets, the first in mono under the supervision of Robert Craft, and the second a stereo set under Pierre Boulez. In both cases the final side had to be filled with non-opus material such as orchestrations of works from other composers. The 2nd LP of both sets contained 48 different movements split across 12 different works.
Here’s one recording of his set of 6 Bagatelles for String Quartet.
Superb. I’d also recommend Cleveland/von Dohnányi – wonderful performances, if not complete.
Lots and lots of Erik Satie short pieces.
Esquisses Bitonales 1-5, Caresse, Berceuse, Bourrée, Le Champagne etc.
Many thanks to you, @JQW, @fitterstoke and @Mike-H, for nudging this thread off in a very interesting new direction.
A short Pink Floyd song? Oh, my!
…and some art school Wire…
Keep them coming @fitterstoke. The further the thread goes, the more interesting things that get rememberedl
Like this little beauty.
Like Britten’s splendid SERENADE FOR TENOR, HORNS AND STRINGS.
Some Dagmar Krause – a bit disturbing….
The mighty Kevin Coyne!
Monk – under 3 minutes!
(I’d better stop now…)
(Maybe just one more…)
Is tv theme music cheating, since it’s designed to be short?
No, that’s not cheating at all @fitterstoke.
You are really on a roll this evening. Please keep them coming. You made me think of this wonderful spoof…
I really enjoyed that Clifford T Ward clip and the ones with Kevin Coyne.
Wonderful to see all those old favourites making a reappearance…..
Roy Harper
Unites States of America
Blodwyn Pig
Another tv theme – man, I looove this..
Jazz in under 3 minutes
I see Roy Harper is mentioned above. I had thought of putting Mr Harpic’s songShort and Sweet alas it isn’t short.
But this is.
2 minutes of JJ Cale
Has anyone mentioned this yet?
And another.
How short is short? Shortenin’ bread short.
Slightly longer shortnin bread, but so lovable.