What is the longest song ever made?
Everybody loves a good song, despite anomalies such as ex-England legend Paul Scholes claiming, “I don’t like music. I’m not arsed”.
Music unites and divides us equally, whether it be pop, rock, metal or dance. It evokes passion in people willing to give themselves up to it. Duly, a wide assortment of music festivals has fans rushing to their entrances every year, from grassroots projects to those in major cities that boast the most prominent acts on the planet.
In many ways, a song makes the world go round; without it, life would be incredibly bleak. From national anthems to rousing pop numbers such as Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ or Queen’s ‘We are the Champions’, the compelling moments that the form of the song has delivered are almost innumerable.
There’s an innate freedom about the form of the song that has meant that people from all walks of life have poured themselves into it, creating an array of different styles, genres and purposes that have kept music at the forefront of our imaginations. Aspects such as the production, dynamics, and genre have helped make it a multifarious field that never loses relevance.
Another factor that has made the form of the song so fascinating is the length. Notably, British grindcore pioneers Napalm Death hold the world record for the world’s shortest song, with 1989’s ‘You Suffer’ clocking in at a remarkable 0:01. Elsewhere, on the other end of the spectrum, everyone from prog-rock acts to electronic outfits has extended the form, taking listners on heady aural journeys that leave an indelible mark and last longer than an entire album.
This begs the question…
What is the longest song in history?
The answer depends largely on how one defines a “song”. Throughout modern music history, artists have continually tested the boundaries of length and structure, with some compositions stretching far beyond the traditional three-to-five-minute format associated with popular music. Progressive rock, ambient, and experimental artists in particular have embraced extended runtimes as part of the listening experience itself.
As recording technology evolved and digital platforms removed many physical limitations, musicians gained even greater freedom to create works on an almost unimaginable scale. What began as lengthy album tracks eventually developed into sprawling compositions lasting hours — and, in some extraordinary cases, several days.
There have been a few different pieces to take the crown. From 2016 to 2020, the Guinness World Record for the longest officially released song was held by the new age act PC III, with their work ‘The Rise and Fall of Bossanova’, clocking in at 13:23:32.
Not exactly accessible, the longest recorded pop song comes in the form of ‘Apparente Libertà’ by Giancarlo Ferrari, which is 76:44, smashing the previous record held by ‘The Devil Glitch’ by Chris Butler at 69:00. Elsewhere, performances of John Cage’s piece ‘Organ²/ASLSP’ have been recorded lasting up to 70 minutes.
However, the aforementioned cuts were overtaken by a leviathan of a piece released in October 2021. It comes from the new age genre again, in the form of Earthena’s ‘Symphony of the Crown’. It clocks in at an astounding 48:39:35. The song is available to listen to on Spotify but has been split into pieces due to its size.
Then, on December 1st, 2021, Earthena were knocked off the top spot by the current holder of the Guinness World Record for the longest officially released song.
Written and released by UK group Mark Christopher Lee and The Pocket Gods, per the organisation’s website, the track doesn’t have a name and is impossible to find online. Still, it runs for 115:45:00. Evoking the new age genre again, the group said of the track: “This one is a spiritual song about quantum physics and the meaning of life – it’s a meditative look at all the beauty in this life and will allow your mind to feel free.”
