A List Of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago

A HELPING HAND? SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS? From the same part of my brain that wanted to know if there was a more stirring emotional crescendo in soft rock history than the ending of Air Supply's "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All", this question that's been vexing me for years:

So, what is the deal with the bridge in Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me"?

You remember the song, I'm sure, from the soundtrack to the 1985 Gregory Hines/Mikhail Baryshnikov dancing spy thriller White Nights. A slow romantic ballad, with a warm, if somewhat unintelligible chorus:

Say you, say me; say it for always
That's the way it should be
Say you, say me; say it together
Naturally

Slow, slow, slow, and then, out of nowhere, we go uptempo for the bridge:

So you think you know the answers -- oh, no!
'Cause the whole world has got you dancing
That's right -- I'm telling you
It's time to start believing -- oh, yes!
Believing who you are
You are a shining star

And back to the chorus.

Tell me it's not just me thinking it's weird, but that, yes, you agree, there are no weirder, less natural-sounding transitions in all of pop music. (If there's worse, let me know.) Tell me if you've ever heard Lionel Richie -- or anyone else -- explain the thought process here.

A preemptive answer to the inevitable Lionel Richie followup question: the consensus is "Tom bo li de say de moi ya/ Yeah, Jambo Jumbo/ Way to parti' o we goin'/ Oh, jambali/ Tom bo li de say de moi ya/ Yeah, jumbo jumbo!" So now you know.