Comments on: The ‘List’ Song – Part 1

By: CJ James

CJ James — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 14:31:40 +0000

In the NO BUTS catagory, I’ve gotta throw in Train’s ‘Ways to Say Goodbye. Uniquely imaginative & without being a ‘but’ song (you should pardon the easy pun). Also the great Paul Simon’s ’50 Ways.’ A lotta rhymes, no buts.

By: mernitman

mernitman — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:39:17 +0000

I’ll semi-facetiously add Jay-Z’s “99 Problems,” which I’ll posit is a Conceptual List Song (i.e. not a literal list in execution). Though the List technique may be, in theory, something now generally intrinsic to rap song construction.

By: Russ Rogers

Russ Rogers — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 19:27:48 +0000

I think the ultimate LIST SONG is “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” -Billy Joel 1989 (The “But” comes at the end of the chorus.)

Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray,
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio,
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe,
Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, “The King and I” and “The Catcher in the Rye”
Eisenhower, vaccine, England’s got a new queen,
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye

We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it