"Far From The Home I Love" from Fiddler on the Roof

Music by Jerry Bock. Original London Cast Recording.
In this song, Hodel is trying to explain to her father that she is moving away to be with Perchik. I am mostly going to address the structural phenomena in the piece because that's what keeps this song from being simple and boring.
The constant shifting of tonality between the keys c minor and C major is significant in keeping things interesting. The first 8 measures are in c minor, and then we have 8 more measures of the melody in C Major. At the bridge, it remains in C Major for 8 more measures. When the melody returns, we return to c minor for 8 measures, back to C Major for 4 measures, and then the last 7 measures are in c minor.
Another important use of structural phenomena is the changing meter between common time and cut time. This helps to vary the rhythm a little bit and keeps the song from getting too predictable. It is especially effective at the climax of the song during the bridge. The meter switches to common time, and it is in 4, so it slows down slightly, helping the phrase to stand out as important as Hodel sings, "Helpless now I stand with him, watching older dreams grow dim."
The melody is very simple and mostly stepwise, and because it is simple, it is memorable and easy for the listener to get into his or her head. My only problem with this song is that it never really goes anywhere. It's biggest climax is at the end of the bridge... and really the only exciting this that happens is the vocal line is held at a D above middle C and the meter changes. But, this is typical of most of the music in Fiddler. It is very simple, but very memorable.