Great moments in rock and roll: the chorus-verse switch

There are countless ways to go from the chorus back to the verse. Sometimes, you hang out for a few bars before starting up the verse. Or, you go into a guitar solo. Or, you go into a bridge before coming back to the verse. This blog post will celebrate some of the more creative solutions:

Overlapping with a tail
The Mamas and the Papas - "Dedicated To The One I Love"
At 0:55, the chorus ends with the tail: "This is dedicated to the one I love" but the word "love" becomes the first word of the ensuing verse: "Love can never be exactly like we want it to be." Brilliant, and no time wasted between the chorus and the verse!

The Beach Boys - "Let Him Run Wild"
The tail comes, almost awkwardly, after few bars of instrumental contemplation. We hear "Guess you know I've waited for you girl" (1:27) and before we can wonder, "What the hell was that?" it leads right into the familiar verse.

Instrument in place of singing
The Kinks - "Do You Remember Walter?"
At 0:47, we are tricked into thinking the song has turned into an instrumental. But no, the organ's only playing the first notes of the verse before the vocalist picks up the melody mid-line. Someone deserves a gold star for this moment.

Disguise the verse
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Rich"
The instrumentation during the final verse (1:55) is completely different from the first verse, despite having the exact same vocal melody and lyrics.

When all else fails
Herman's Hermits - "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am"
Just say, "Second verse, same as the first!"