Here’s a short list of tracks on Spotify that you can listen to for hours or even days.
Spotify has some of the world’s longest songs, perfect for expanding your musical horizons.
However, finding these lengthy gems can be difficult with Spotify’s vast library of over 100 million tracks.
That’s why I’ve dug through Spotify and shared the five longest tracks, including interesting facts and stories about them!
1. Shri Ram Charit Manas, by Dr Pillai
- Listen: Shri Ram Charit Manas
- Song length: 138:41:20
- Genre: Spiritual
- Language: Awadhi (Indian)
According to the Guinness World Records, Shri Ram Charit Manas is currently the longest track in the world– clocking in at over five days of uninterrupted listening. Since the runtime is so long, it was uploaded to Spotify in 52 tracks (usually two hours each) and split across five albums.
The song is based on the epic poem Ramcharitmanas, widely considered one of the greatest works of Hindu literature.
The name means “Lake of the Deeds of Rama” and recounts the life of Lord Rama, from birth to his crowning as the King of Ayodhya. It consists of over 15,000 verses in the original Awadhi language, and it took Dr Pillai more than four years to record it.
The song was recorded and mixed in Varanasi, where the original poem was written and a spiritual hub for Hindu devotees. For Dr Pillai, the purpose of recording the Shri Ram Charit Manas wasn’t to break a record but to bring more attention to the city’s spiritual importance.
I enjoyed listening to it for relaxing background music, as the rhythmic vocals and minimal backing instruments can be calming. However, I think Indian people familiar with the language and story will enjoy adding this to their Spotify library the most.
2. Symphony of the Crown, by Earthena
- Listen: Symphony of the Crown
- Song length: 48:39:35
- Genre: Ambient
Symphony of the Crown was the previous Guinness World Record holder, and one full listen will take more than two full days. On Spotify, it is split into 25 individual tracks, each about two hours long.
The song’s length aims to make a point about the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the length is the same as one solar day on Mars and Earth combined, it symbolizes combining two worlds (pre- and post-pandemic).
Additionally, the song is divided into seven movements to represent a spectrum of the emotions experienced due to the pandemic.
Symphony of the Crown was released in 2021 by Earthena, an anonymous collective of artists who came together towards the end of the pandemic to create a musical representation of their experience.
I think this song is a great ambient track. There’s a nice mix of futuristic synths and more traditional strings, and each movement is distinct enough from the last to stop the piece from feeling static.
3. The Ring Cycle, by Richard Wagner
- Listen: Wagner: Ring Cycle – Solti
- Song Length: 14:00:00
- Genre: Opera
- Language: German
Der Ring des Nibelungen (often called The Ring Cycle) is a set of four German epic operatic dramas created over 26 years by Richard Wagner. The story is vast and complex, following gods, heroes, and mythical creatures struggling for the titular magical ring.
On Spotify, several versions of the Ring Cycle are available, but the one I prefer consists of 178 tracks and is 14 hours long.
As the track is an opera, the total runtime varies depending on the pace of the conductor, but it averages around 14-15 hours. The whole cycle is meant to be performed in a series and listened to over four nights.
Unless you know German, the track likely won’t be entertaining enough for four nights of dedicated listening. But if you like opera, the Ring Cycle will still be enjoyable. Each track builds on the last, creating a progression you can enjoy through the music, even without knowing the words.
4. The Rise and Fall of Bossanova, by Michael J. Bostwick
- Listen: The Rise and Fall of Bossanova
- Song length: 13:23:32
- Genre: Experimental
The Rise and Fall of Bossanova is the fifth album produced by Michael Bostwick for his musical project Pipe Choir Three (PC III). Though it was released as an album with five tracks, the longest of which is over four hours, it is intended to be one continuous song.
This song is an example of the Onistwave genre– a type of music developed by Bostwick, consisting of samples and loops from different genres with a heavy atmospheric treatment. He created PC III in 2013 to showcase his Onistwave compositions.
This track held the Guinness World Record for the longest song for four years, between 2016 and 2020.
I don’t think the Rise and Fall of Bossanova is for everyone, as it is pretty experimental and has a very electronic sound.
However, the track could be a hit for those who enjoy ambient music. There’s lots of layering and looping of instruments and vocals, which can be satisfying to listen to. Plus, Bostwick isn’t afraid to mix things up with tonal shifts when a section has run its course.
5. The Things They Did for Me Out of Love, by Yeule
- Listen: The Things They Did for Me Out of Love
- Song length: 4:44:00
- Genre: Glitch/Synth-Pop/Shoegaze
The Things They Did for Me Out of Love is an ambient track released in 2021 between Yeule’s first and second albums, collaborating with the producer Danny L. Harle. This is the longest single track on Spotify, clocking in at four hours and forty-four minutes.
Yeule is an experimental glitch/synth-pop and shoegaze artist. This track isn’t typical of their usual style, as the song doesn’t have clear vocals, though there are muffled speech and humming occasions. However, many tones and harmonies can create sounds reminiscent of their voice.
If you’re a fan of Yeule or synth-pop, this track is a more relaxing version of the genre, perfect for times when your favorite tracks would be too distracting. However, it might not be for you if you want something more melodic.
What Is the Longest Pop Song on Spotify?
- Listen: Apparente Libertà
- Song length: 1:16:47
- Genre: Pop
- Language: Italian
Apparente Libertà by Giancarlo Ferrari is the longest pop song in the world. It spans over 150 pages of sheet music and more than 700 lines of lyrics. Plus, it’s all written in Ferrari’s native Italian, tackling issues of racism, slavery, pollution, and disillusionment of the working class.
Ferrari started in music as the lead singer/songwriter in the gothic rock band Some Sad Clowns. However, in 1998, he was in a car accident that left him blind in one eye and with one leg shorter than the other. The band dissolved, and Ferrari became a recluse for several years.
In 2005, he started work on Apparente Libertà– his effort to get back into the public eye. It was released in 2008 as publicity for his new solo music and in an attempt to gain sponsors for his work, as he had never received money from his medical insurance for the crash, and his health was worsening.
This seems successful, as he continued releasing music until 2019, though he has released no public statements since then.
The track has remained the longest pop song worldwide for sixteen years since its release.
FAQ
- What is the longest Spotify playlist ever made?
- What’s the longest song to ever enter the Billboard Top 100?
- What is the longest song to make it to #1 on Billboard Top 100?
What is the longest Spotify playlist ever made?
Playlists on Spotify are limited to 10,000 tracks. However, there is no limit on the total playtime of the tracks. As a result, some playlists are millions of hours long, like the Longest Playlist on Spotify.
However, I found that any playlist labeling itself as the “longest playlist on Spotify” (and there are a bunch) artificially inflates its length. They’ll add 50+ copies of the longest songs on the platform to increase their length quickly.
What’s the longest song to ever enter the Billboard Top 100?
The longest song to have entered the Billboard Top 100 is I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album, But This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time (12:20) by André 3000, which peaked at 90 on the US charts.
The track took the title in December 2023, beating Tool’s Fear Inoculum (10:20) by about two minutes.
What is the longest song to make it to #1 on Billboard Top 100?
The longest song to take the #1 spot on the charts is All Too Well (10 Minute Version) by Taylor Swift (10:13). The track debuted at #1 in November 2021, taking the longest #1 song title from Don McLean with American Pie (8:36).