Songs With Spoken-Word Bridges

Ten songs where someone stops singing and just tells you.

Entries
10
Category
Music
Updated
  1. A large blue heart-shaped gem necklace lying on red Mars-like sand next to a dropped space helmet.

    10. Oops!... I Did It Again

    Britney Spears · 2000

    The bridge stops for a scripted chat in which a man hands Britney the Titanic necklace and she points out the old lady dropped it in the ocean. He went down and got it. Max Martin and Rami Yacoub wrote it. The most romantic deep-sea salvage operation in pop.

  2. A pink rotary telephone with its receiver off the hook on a bed covered in polaroids turned face down.

    09. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

    Taylor Swift · 2012

    Midway through, Swift gets on an imaginary phone and sighs that this is exhausting, like, ever. Written with Max Martin and Shellback in about 25 minutes after a friend's ex came up in the studio. It jumped from 72 to number one, her first Hot 100 chart-topper. Like, ever.

  3. A 1930s shellac record spinning on a wind-up phonograph beside an old rotary radio and a folded letter.

    08. If I Didn't Care

    The Ink Spots · 1939

    The template. Bill Kenny sings a chorus in a sky-high tenor, then bass Hoppy Jones recites the same lyrics in a deep speaking voice like a man reading a letter he regrets. The Ink Spots ran the format for 15 years. If it works, keep talking.

  4. An instant camera photo mid-shake blurred in the air above a vintage console TV and an acoustic guitar.

    07. Hey Ya!

    OutKast · 2003

    The breakdown is André 3000 talking to the room: who's cooler than cool, ice cold, then advice about Polaroids. The ladies answering him are assistant engineer Rabeka Tuinei, overdubbed. Polaroid said shaking does nothing. Nine weeks at number one did something.

  5. A black motorcycle parked on a rain-slicked street at night, a class ring hanging from its handlebar.

    06. Leader of the Pack

    The Shangri-Las · 1964

    Teen tragedy as radio play: the girls quiz Betty about Jimmy's ring in spoken dialogue, then a motorcycle revs and things go badly. Shadow Morton produced it, the BBC refused to play it, and it went to number one anyway. Nothing sells like a death on a wet road.

  6. A stack of glossy black-and-white vintage movie magazines on a marble floor beside a gold picture frame held up like a pose.

    05. Vogue

    Madonna · 1990

    Midway, Madonna stops singing and reads a roll call of Garbo, Monroe, Dietrich, DiMaggio, Brando and Jimmy Dean like a guest list. It was written as a B-side. Warner heard it, promoted it, and it topped charts in 30-plus countries. Strike a pose, sell six million.

  7. A grand piano at the foot of a snowy mountain range at sunrise, sheet music fluttering off the stand.

    04. Ain't No Mountain High Enough

    Diana Ross · 1970

    Ashford & Simpson rebuilt the Marvin and Tammi hit around Diana Ross talking over swelling strings. Berry Gordy hated the spoken parts and wanted it to start at the big finish. Radio made its own edits, the song hit number one for three weeks, and Gordy was wrong.

  8. An empty velvet chair on a dim theater stage under a single spotlight, a 1960s microphone stand beside it.

    03. Are You Lonesome Tonight?

    Elvis Presley · 1960

    Elvis stops singing to deliver a recitation borrowing the all-the-world's-a-stage idea from Shakespeare. It went to number one. In 1969 in Vegas he lost it laughing mid-monologue, and that take became a UK hit in 1982. Even the King couldn't keep a straight face.

  9. A baseball resting on the dashboard of a 1950s car parked by a lake at night, a transistor radio glowing beside it.

    02. Paradise by the Dashboard Light

    Meat Loaf · 1977

    Yankees announcer Phil Rizzuto calls a baseball play-by-play mid-song while Meat Loaf and Ellen Foley round the bases, so to speak. Rizzuto claimed he had no idea what it was about. Meat Loaf said he knew exactly. Jim Steinman originally wanted it 27 minutes long.

  10. A cracked tombstone in fog under a full moon, a vintage ribbon microphone standing in front of it on a mic stand.

    01. Thriller

    Michael Jackson · 1982

    Rod Temperton wrote Vincent Price's graveyard monologue in a taxi on the way to the session, and Price nailed it in two takes. The most famous horror actor alive, hired to talk over a dance track. The laugh at the end is doing more work than most choruses.

Honorable mentions

  • A pair of sneakers mid-dance on a polished wooden floor, confetti and a cheerleader pom-pom scattered around.

    Shake It Off

    Taylor Swift · 2014

    Swift's second spoken bridge in two years, a breathless gossip break about her ex-man's new girlfriend before the hand claps kick in. Same writers, Max Martin and Shellback. It debuted at number one. At this point the talking part is a franchise.

Dishonorable mentions

  • A half-empty champagne glass on a yacht deck rail at sunset, a passport and pearl necklace beside it.

    I've Never Been to Me

    Charlene · 1977

    Charlene pauses her life-of-luxury regrets to deliver a spoken monologue informing us paradise is a lie. It stalled at 97, then hit number three on a 1982 rerelease. Later ranked among the worst rock records ever. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert got the joke first.

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