Verse without chorus form

- The verse without chorus form is akin to…traditional strophic song form, and, as a result,…we see it frequently in folk music and popular songs…that derive from folk music.…Typically, songs that are a series of connecting verses…will make use of a refrain as an anchor.…In this way, the refrain serves as a chorus,…something for the listener to come back to.…Many of the songs of Bob Dylan…utilize the verse without chorus form and have a refrain.…Some famous verse without chorus forms that have refrains…are Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water,"…Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe,"…and Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line."…One of the hardest forms to execute properly…is the verse without chorus form…that does not have a refrain.…

Without a chorus or bridge to provide variation…or a refrain for the listener to pin their hat on,…these forms put a supreme focus and pressure on the lyric.…One brilliant example of this form is…Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix."…He uses the same melody and chord sequence three times…