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Longest Songs Ever Written (Top 10)
Top 10 Longest Songs Ever Written- In this article, RNN highlights the longest songs ever composed. Shockingly, some are over 24 hours long.
Some of the longest songs ever written are over 24 hours long! Shocking right?
Seeing the effort people put into writing songs and recording them is beautiful. Some of these songs took over one year to write and it’s just amazing how so many songwriters think outside the box to create something so mind-blowing.
Let’s delve into the list of the top 10 longest songs ever written without further ado.
10. Garden of Dreams- The Flower Kings (59:25)
Garden of Dreams is a 59-minute song by Swedish progressive rock band, The Flower Kings. The song is divided into 18 parts as a result of its long duration. This division consist of different emotions that go back and forth to create various moods for the listener.
The lyrics of the song tells the story of life generally and the singer speaks of choosing a life of peace and love instead of warfare and weapons. It has a similarity to the biblical story of Adam and Eve.
9. Light of Day, Day of Darkness- Green Carnation (60:06)
“Light of Day, Day of Darkness” was produced by Norwegian progressive metal band, Green Carnation. It was then released in November 2001 by “Prophecy Productions”.
The founding member of the band, Terje Vik Schel, also known as Tchort, made great contributions to the song as he wrote, arranged and composed the song. The final part of the song features the tragic story of Tchort’s daughter who kicked the bucket.
The musical composition of “Light of Day, Day of Darkness” is unique for a metal band as it combines other musical instruments not common to the metal scene.
8. The Devil Glitch- Chris Butler (69:00)
“The Devil Glitch” was the longest pop song until it was dethroned by Giancarlo Ferrari’s “Apparente Liberta”, which is equally cited in this article. It was released in the year 2000 with an impressive duration of one hour, and nine minutes under the genres, progressive pop and art pop.
People called the song “The Devil Glitch” because of the repetition that makes it look like its cursing the listener. In the song, the singer gives the listener some piece of advice that sound either destructive or mischievous.
7. Apparente Liberta- Giancarlo Ferrari (76:44)
“Apparente Liberta” is not just one of the longest songs ever written, but also the longest pop song ever as of December 2022. The Italian artiste, Giancarlo Ferrari composed the piece of music in 2005 before releasing it as a CD copy in the year 2008.
The song’s title derives the its meaning from history. It refers to how people shape history into strange beliefs. In this song, “Apparente Liberta” means “pollution, racism, the working class, slavery, politics, and mass media.” It has repetitive tones and includes trackers and sequencers.
Ferrari was the frontrunner and founding member of “Some Sad Clowns”, a goth band that existed between 1992 and 1996.
6. The Whirlwind – Transatlantic (77:54)
“The Whirlwind” ends the list of longest songs ever written in the “minutes” category. The other songs that follow are in “hours”. Before we delve into that, let’s talk about this genius piece by Transatlantic.
In order for it to fit into one album, “The Whirlwind” was divided into parts. It was released on October 23, 2009, as the third album from Transatlantic. Beginning with Overture/Whirlwind and ending with Whirlwind Reprise/Dancing with Glory, there are twelve sections in the album.
The Whirlwind” was released in three different versions- a standard, a deluxe, and a double-disc special edition. The deluxe edition features a video explaining the process of making the song. The video is 105 minutes long.
5. Opus Clavicesmbalisticum- Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (4:00:00)
“Opus Clavicesmbalisticum” was completed by the English composer, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji on June 25, 1930. For a long time, it was dubbed the longest piano piece in the world until other songs like “100 Transcendental Studies” came into the limelight.
The song notably requires a great deal of mental strength and very complex techniques to perform. This is why Sorabji is given so many accolades for this song. The composer reportedly discussed his exhaustion but satisfaction upon the completion of the song. He referred to the last parts of the song as containing “biting harmonies similar to nitric acid and counterpoints with slow but inevitable divine retribution”.
4. The Rise and Fall of Bossanova – PC III (13:23:32)
“The Rise and Fall of Bossanova by PC III” has a striking duration of 13 hours, 23 minutes, and 32 seconds. You’ll need to sacrifice a little over half of your day to listen to this song in its entirety. Like some other songs on this list, this piece is equally divided into a few parts to aid listeners who may be discouraged by the length of the entire song.
It was released on November 1, 2016, by Michael J. Bostwick who created the song, with Creative Commons independent label Pipe Choir.
Musician Wave claims that “everyone” thinks the song is “very good and provides different emotions and an action-packed musical experience”. You can enjoy “The Rise and Fall of Bossanova” by just playing it in the background and going about the day’s activities.
The likelihood of having another 13-hour song from any artist in the world is very slim. But again, nothing is impossible.
3. The Ring Cycle- Richard Wagner (15:00:00)
The Ring Cycle is a four-part German music drama composed by Richard Wagner. We however know it as “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of Nibelung),” “Wagner’s Ring,” or “The Ring.” This 15-hour piece took Wagner 26 years (1848 to 1874) to perfect.
Although Wagner created the music to be performed together, it is mostly performed in four bits titled: “The Rhinegold,” “The Valkyrie,” “Siegfried,” and “Twilight of the Gods.” Facts.net claims that “The songs are loosely based on legends in Germany with Nordic legends and the concept of the Nibelungenlied”. They equally claim that Wagner got additional inspiration from The Song of the Nibelungs, a Middle High German poem that was created in the 1200s.
2. 7 Skies H3 – The Flaming Lips (24:00:00)
It’s quite interesting how the aforementioned songs look “too long” until you realize that the list goes on and on. You just may be shocked to see that longer songs will emerge in the coming years. Nothing is impossible.
Of all the songs on this list, The Flaming Lips’s “7 Skies H3″ stands out as the most impressive. This is because the 24-hour-long song is a continuous piece that goes all the way (no breaks). It is not impossible for the artist to have recorded all through. However, while that is not stated, we’ll just go ahead to applaud this impressive piece of music.
It is believed that “7 Skies H3” may stand as the longest continuous song for a long time with no rival anytime soon.
1. Symphony of the Crown – EARTHENA (48:39:35)
Finally, the longest song in the world- Symphony of the Crown! The song has a duration of 48 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds. This is probably a song that would take one week to listen to, seeing that almost no one would play a song for 48 hours straight. How possible would it be to sing along to such a song?
Nonetheless, the writers deserve some accolades for this incredible body of work. The Guinness Book of Records has reportedly acknowledged “Symphony of the Crown” as the longest song ever written to date.
On Spotify, Earthena released the song as an album, dividing it into various parts with the final parts lasting up to 39 minutes, and 35 seconds. The song was released on October 1, 2021, in King City, Ontario, Canada. It is also reported that the composition of “Symphony of the Crown” took over a year to finish.
Top 10 Longest Songs Ever Written (Summary)
Here’s a list of the top 10 longest songs ever written as highlighted in this article.
- Symphony of the Crown – EARTHENA (48:39:35)
- 7 Skies H3 – The Flaming Lips (24:00:00)
- The Ring Cycle- Richard Wagner (15:00:00)
- The Rise and Fall of Bossanova – PC III (13:23:32)
- Opus Clavicesmbalisticum- Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (4:00:00)
- The Whirlwind – Transatlantic (77:54)
- Apparente Liberta- Giancarlo Ferrari (76:44)
- The Devil Glitch- Christ Butler (69:00)
- Light of Day, Day of Darkness- Green Carnation (60:06)
- Garden of Dreams- The Flower Kings (59:25)