A bridge is the part of the song where you do something different musically so as to distract the listener from realizing that the music used in the verse or verse/chorus section is starting to get boring.

In the golden days of songwriting, somewhere between 1949 and 1950, when all the songs were written by Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and the Gershwins, the bridge was initially called a relief... as in it relieved the listener from the mounting musical tension created by the previous verses.

But with the subsequent outpouring of new songwriters in later years (as of the 2000 census, there are now more songwriters than people living in most states), they decided to change the terminology to bridge when it was discovered that the true relief for the listener came at the END of most songs.

The rule of thumb is, do something twice, add a bridge, and then finish up once with what you previously did twice (as evinced in the venerable AABA form that arose when somebody realized AAA was better suited to dry cleaning and automotive services).

If you find yourself getting to a bridge after doing something only once, well... you don't understand song structure... or your verse/chorus music is REAAAALLLY boring... or what you're calling a bridge isn't truly a bridge, merely an allegedly clever device that you've convinced yourself works because, after all, you're a great songwriter and don't need to constrain yourself in such an artificial manner to standard song forms.

Does every song NEED a bridge? Well, yes and no. That's one of the hard and fast rules that all songwriters are morally obligated to follow, and which was strictly enforced during the Middle Ages by the Catholic Church... which explains why nowadays most of the best songwriters are Jews and Protestants.

Bridges can be short and sweet, like those favored by composers in Madison County, or the songwriter can really display his prowess and write a bridge long enough to require a toll booth, in lieu of royalties.

Hope this helped!


[This message has been edited by RobertK (edited 01-06-2006).]