Formal structure of [147] "Piggies": Intro/Tag 0:00-0:05 Verse 1 0:05-0:21 Tag 0:21-0:26 Verse 2 0:26-0:43 Tag/Trans. 0:43-0:48 Middle 8 0:48-1:06 Break (verse) 1:06-1:21 Tag 1:21-1:26 Verse 3 1:26-1:41 Coda 1 extended tag 1:41-1:53 Coda 2 strings 1:54-2:00 sfx 2:00-2:03 Comments: Though everything else is pretty standard, the tag in "Piggies" is particularly interesting. This tag is brought back a total of five times throughout the two-minutes song, each time slightly varied, and with a different structural function. The first tag (0:00-0:05) is expository and, obviously, introductory. It prepares the verse that immediately follows. The second tag (0:21-0:26) is an iteration of the first with one tiny change in notes: The fourth note D-flat switches to an A-flat. The third tag, however, is quite different: It ends on a C7 instead of an E-flat the way the two previous tags had. This propels the music into the next structural section, the middle 8. The fourth tag (1:21-1:26), like the second, is nearly identical to the first, both in notes and function. Finally, the fifth tag starts similarly to all of the others, but is extended (four measures instead of two) through the use of mode mixture before concluding the first coda by cadencing on the dominant (E-flat). "Piggies" also uses two codas, something the Beatles had done previously in [120] "Hello Goodbye", and [126] "Don't Pass Me By".
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Formal structure of [146] "Birthday":
Intro/Tag (v) 0:00-0:22 A major Verse 1 0:22-0:43 A major Break (drums) 0:43-0:56 A major Transition 0:56-1:10 (E major) Middle 8 1:10-1:28 C major Tag (verse) 1:28-1:48 A major Break (guitar) 1:48-1:55 (transitional) Middle 8 1:55-2:12 C Major Verse 2 (ext) 2:12-2:35 A major Coda (ind.) 2:35-2:42 A major Comments: "Birthday" has an unusual and fascinating structure. The verses, which are often one of the primary formal sections of a pop song, in this case carry significantly less structural weight because the two verses (and really it's the same verse heard twice - the lyrics are identical each time) are heard first at the beginning and once again at the end, and nowhere in between. The only other Beatles song to date that do anything similar is [97] "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", but "Pepper" employed a very deliberate formal design (it's palindromic) while "Birthday" is anything but deliberate - the novel and unpredictable structure yields no obvious patterns, which helps provide the song with an improvisatory feel, much like [111] "All Together Now". Additionally, the second verse features a one-measure extension at the very end, that helps segue to the coda. Tonally, it uses two keys a minor third apart (A and C) - something the Beatles had done previously on [48] "Another Girl", [55] "You're Going to Lose That Girl", [91] "Here There and Everywhere", [96] "A Day in the Life", [103] "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", [122] "Lady Madonna", and to a much lesser extent [90] "Good Day Sunshine". In this case, the middle 8s are both in C major, while the rest of the song is in the "primary tonic" of A major. Bridging these sections, of course, are a series of transitions. After the first verse, a drum break leads to a transitional passage ("Yes, we're going to a party, party...") that culminates in the middle 8, with it's new tonality. That transition is implemented again but in a very different way at 1:48. This time instead of a drum break followed by a transition, the bass and lead guitar play the break. But despite the switch in instrumentation, the structural function is the same: they both lead to the middle 8. (Consideration of how these two transitions function tonally will be saved for a later harmonic analysis blog.) Partly in preparation for the debut of a new presentation at the Wethersfield Library (515 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT) on 13 February 2014 titled "A Hard Day's Night: The Music & The Movie", and partly due to a comment on my 25 October 2013 harmonic analysis of [28] "If I Fell" by Tommy Leonardi, this blog will be a detailed consideration and history of John Lennon's ballad "If I Fell". "If I Fell" was recorded by the Beatles in EMI studios on 27 February 1964, when they did 15 takes. Some time prior to that, however, Lennon recorded a home demo that in some ways is very similar to the finished product, and in other ways is very different. Comparing this demo side-by-side with the version found on the album, the demo is a half-step higher pitched (it's in E-flat) than the release (which is in D major). Why is anybody's guess. Accounting for that change of key, the last chord of the first verse is different (vi in the demo, I in the release). The last two beats of the middle 8 are different (referring to the words "So I", which in the demo use a pattern Lennon would use again some years later in "Imagine", which is entirely absent from the finished product). Lyrically, the two are almost identical (and the few differences, I suspect, are more the result of Lennon confusing different verses rather than any intentional revisions). And, lastly, the codas are very different. The demo coda uses the four chords that open each verse (E-flat, F minor, G minor, F minor) in a slightly altered rhythmic pattern, heard a total of four times, as Lennon (presumably) improvises vocals over those chords. The release, however, uses different chords (even accounting for the key change) and reprises the opening lyrics from the introduction (although melodically they are very different).
Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing the date on this home recording, although logic would suggest prior to 27 February 1964, given that that's the day the band recorded the tune in the studio. But even that is questionable due to the fact that the intro was absent from the first 10 takes (Lewisohn, page 40). If the intro was written before the studio recording of the song, why is it absent from the first 10 takes? Why take it out? The obvious answer would be that when they started work on the song, the intro had not been written yet, they realized it needed a little something that the beginning, and therefore wrote it in the studio between takes 10 and 11. But then what of Lennon's demo? It seems highly unlikely that John would have recorded a demo after finishing recording it in the studio - that would, after all, defeat the very purpose of the demo. I suppose the demo could be forged (this wouldn't be the first time), but I suspect it is legitimate. Further complicating things, Paul McCartney has recently claimed the introduction was his idea - not Lennon's (Q magazine, May 2013), which seems to support Lewisohn's observations, but contradict Lennon's demo. But at the same time, P McC is notorious for rewriting history. On the other hand, Paul used a half-step modulation in "And I Love Her" (from C-sharp minor to D minor) that is similar to the modulation between the introduction and body of "If I Fell" (E-flat minor to D major). Perhaps Paul, pleased with the half-step key change he had just used in "And I Love Her", reprised the concept (but inverted - going down rather than up) for the intro to "If I Fell". But there, again, how do you account for Lennon's demo? Bottom line: Unfortunately, the only conclusion that can be drawn given this evidence is that we simply don't know when the intro was written, nor who wrote it. CITATIONS Lewisohn, Mark. The Beatles Recording Sessions. Harmony Books, New York, NY, 1988. No Reply
I'm a Loser
Baby's in Black
Rock and Roll Music
I'll Follow the Sun
Mr. Moonlight
Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey
Eight Days a Week
Words of Love
Honey Don't
Every Little Thing
I Don't Want to Spoil the Party
What You're Doing
Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby
Formal structure of [145] "I Will": Verse 1 0:00-0:17 Tag 0:17-0:22 Verse 2 0:22-0:38 Tag (abbr.) 0:38-0:40 Middle 8 0:40-0:59 Verse 3 (ext.) 0:59-1:24 Tag (ext.) 1:24-1:34 Coda (m8) 1:34-1:45 Comments: The structure of "I Will" is very basic and clear. The tag's function is textbook in that it could easily be interpreted as part of the verse. With that in mind, verses 1 and 2 can be seen as contiguous, just as they were in [1] "Love Me Do", [7] "Do You Want to Know a Secret", [8] "Misery", [9b] "Anna (Go To Him)", [9c] "Boys", [9d] "Chains", [9f] Twist and Shout, [10] "From Me To You", [13e] "Till There Was You", [17] "Little Child", [19] "Not a Second Time", [23] "Can't Buy Me Love", [25] "And I Love Her", [26] "I Should Have Known Better", [28] "If I Fell'', [29] "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You", [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [31b] "Matchbox", [32] "I'll Cry Instead", [35] "Things We Said Today", [40] "I Don't Want To Spoil the Party", [41] "What You're Doing", [42] "No Reply", [43] "Eight Days a Week", [44] "She's a Woman", [44b] "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", [46d] "Words of Love", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [49] "I Need You", [50] "Yes It Is", [51] "The Night Before", [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [54] "Tell Me What You See", 56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", [56c] "Bad Boy", [57] "I've Just Seen a Face", [59] "Yesterday", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [68] "We Can Work it Out", [71] "Michelle", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [80] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Doctor Robert", [84] "Taxman", [88] "Yellow Submarine", [89] "I Want To Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [95] "Penny Lane", [96] "A Day in the Life", [99] "Fixing a Hole", [100] "Only a Northern Song", [101] "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", [105] "Within You Without You", [111] "All Together Now", [114] "All You Need Is Love", [116] "I Am the Walrus", [122] "Lady Madonna", [126] "Don't Pass Me By", [128] "Blackbird", [129] "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey", [135] "Sexy Sadie", [138] "Mother Nature's Son", [139] "Yer Blues", [140] "Rocky Raccoon", [143] "Dear Prudence", and [144] "Glass Onion". Also, notice how different in duration the tags are - the tag following verse 1 is 5 seconds, while the tag following verse 2 is abbreviated (just 2 seconds), and the tag following verse 3 is extended (10 seconds). The tag following verse 2 is half as long and the notes are slightly different (to reinforce the different harmonies) than the original. Conversely, the tag following verse 3 is twice as long as the original and, though clearly related, also uses different pitches to reinforce the underlying chords. Similarly, the third verse is also extended, which propels the song to its conclusion. These subtle, organic changes (to both the tag and the verse) prevent the very simple macro-scale formal structure from becoming too predictable or repetitive.
Lastly, a less common tactic employed in this tune is basing the coda on the middle 8, something only found previously in [15] "All My Loving", sort of in [67] "In My Life", and [142] "Back in the USSR". A Hard Day's Night
I Should Have Known Better
If I Fell
I'm Happy Just to Dance With You
And I Love Her
Tell Me Why
Can't Buy Me Love
Any Time At All
I'll Cry Instead
Things We Said Today
When I Get Home
You Can't Do That
I'll Be Back
Formal structure of [144] "Glass Onion": Verse A 1 0:00-0:18 Verse B 1 0:18-0:31 Verse A 2 0:31-0:48 Verse B 2 0:48-1:01 Middle 8 1:01-1:20 Verse A 3 1:20-1:38 Verse B 3 1:38-1:49 Coda (ind) 1:49-2:17 Comments: "Glass Onion" features two distinct verses, labeled above as verse A and verse B. The only other Beatles song to date to use two different verses in the same song was [116] "I Am the Walrus". The large-scale formal design is thus in three iterations of verse A + verse B, the second and third of which are separated by a middle 8, all of which is followed by a completely independent coda.
Even though there are two parts to each verse, verse 1 and 2 are contiguous, following many previous Beatles songs to use that same pattern: [1] "Love Me Do", [7] "Do You Want to Know a Secret", [8] "Misery", [9b] "Anna (Go To Him)", [9c] "Boys", [9d] "Chains", [9f] Twist and Shout, [10] "From Me To You", [13e] "Till There Was You", [17] "Little Child", [19] "Not a Second Time", [23] "Can't Buy Me Love", [25] "And I Love Her", [26] "I Should Have Known Better", [28] "If I Fell'', [29] "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You", [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [31b] "Matchbox", [32] "I'll Cry Instead", [35] "Things We Said Today", [40] "I Don't Want To Spoil the Party", [41] "What You're Doing", [42] "No Reply", [43] "Eight Days a Week", [44] "She's a Woman", [44b] "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", [46d] "Words of Love", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [49] "I Need You", [50] "Yes It Is", [51] "The Night Before", [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [54] "Tell Me What You See", 56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", [56c] "Bad Boy", [57] "I've Just Seen a Face", [59] "Yesterday", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [68] "We Can Work it Out", [71] "Michelle", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [80] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Doctor Robert", [84] "Taxman", [88] "Yellow Submarine", [89] "I Want To Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [95] "Penny Lane", [96] "A Day in the Life", [99] "Fixing a Hole", [100] "Only a Northern Song", [101] "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", [105] "Within You Without You", [111] "All Together Now", [114] "All You Need Is Love", [116] "I Am the Walrus", [122] "Lady Madonna", [126] "Don't Pass Me By", [128] "Blackbird", [129] "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey", [135] "Sexy3 Sadie", [138] "Mother Nature's Son", [139] "Yer Blues", [140] "Rocky Raccoon", and [143] "Dear Prudence".
It Won't Be Long
All I've Got to Do
All My Loving
Don't Bother Me
Little Child
Till There Was You
Please Mister Postman
Roll Over Beethoven
Hold Me Tight
You've Really Got a Hold on Me
I Wanna Be Your Man
Devil in Her Heart
Not a Second Time
Money (That's What I Want)
Formal structure of [143] "Dear Prudence":
Intro (coda, tag) 0:00-0:18 Verse 1 0:18-1:03 Part a 0:18-0:44 "Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play..." Part b 0:44-0:50 "The sun is up, the sky is blue..." Part c 0:50-0:57 "Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?" Part d 0:57-1:03 Tag Verse 2 1:03-1:48 Part a 1:03-1:28 "Dear Prudence, open up your eyes..." Part b 1:28-1:35 "The wind is low, the birds will sing..." Part c 1:35-1:41 "Dear Prudence, won't you open up your eyes?" Part c 1:41-1:48 Tag Middle 8 1:48-2:05 "Look around..." Tag 2:05-2:11 Verse 3 2:11-2:55 Part a 2:11-2:37 "Dear Prudence, let me see you smile..." Part b 2:37-2:44 "The clouds will be a daisy chain..." Part c 2:44-2:50 "Dear Prudence, won't you let me see you smile?" Part d 2:50-2:55 Tag Verse 4 2:55-3:39 Part a 2:55-3:19 "Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play..." Part b (aug) 3:19-3:30 "The sun is up, the sky is blue..." Part c 3:30-3:39 "Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play?" Coda (intro) 3:39-3:55 Comments: "Dear Prudence" uses one of the most interesting formal designs of any Beatles song. One on hand, it's structure very simple: 4 verses halved by a middle 8, all bookended by an introduction and coda. This results in contiguous first and second verses - a structural aspect the Beatles had used previously in [1] "Love Me Do", [7] "Do You Want to Know a Secret", [8] "Misery", [9b] "Anna (Go To Him)", [9c] "Boys", [9d] "Chains", [9f] Twist and Shout, [10] "From Me To You", [13e] "Till There Was You", [17] "Little Child", [19] "Not a Second Time", [23] "Can't Buy Me Love", [25] "And I Love Her", [26] "I Should Have Known Better", [28] "If I Fell'', [29] "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You", [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [31b] "Matchbox", [32] "I'll Cry Instead", [35] "Things We Said Today", [40] "I Don't Want To Spoil the Party", [41] "What You're Doing", [42] "No Reply", [43] "Eight Days a Week", [44] "She's a Woman", [44b] "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey", [46d] "Words of Love", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [49] "I Need You", [50] "Yes It Is", [51] "The Night Before", [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [54] "Tell Me What You See", 56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", [56c] "Bad Boy", [57] "I've Just Seen a Face", [59] "Yesterday", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [68] "We Can Work it Out", [71] "Michelle", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [80] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Doctor Robert", [84] "Taxman", [88] "Yellow Submarine", [89] "I Want To Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [95] "Penny Lane", [96] "A Day in the Life", [99] "Fixing a Hole", [100] "Only a Northern Song", [101] "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", [105] "Within You Without You", [111] "All Together Now", [114] "All You Need Is Love", [116] "I Am the Walrus", [122] "Lady Madonna", [126] "Don't Pass Me By", [128] "Blackbird", [129] "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey", [135] "Sexy3 Sadie", [138] "Mother Nature's Son", [139] "Yer Blues", and [140] "Rocky Raccoon". What is much less common is finding a Beatles song with contiguous verses other than verses 1 and 2. In fact, "Prudence" (in which verses 1 and 2 are contiguous, as are verses 3 and 4) is just the 11th such example, following [19] "Not a Second Time" (in which verses 1 and 2 are contiguous, as are verses 3 and 4), [31b] "Matchbox" (in which the first three and last two verses are contiguous), [56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" (in which verses 1-2 are contiguous, as are verses 4-5), [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows" (in which verses 1-3 are contiguous, as are verses 4-7), [80] "Paperback Writer" (in which verses 1-2 are contiguous, as are verses 3-4), [84] "Taxman" (in which verses 1-2 are contiguous, as are verses 3-4), [95] "Penny Lane" (in which verses 1-2 are contiguous, as are verses 4-5), [96] "A Day in the Life" (in which verses 1-3 are contiguous), [129] "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" (in which all three verses are contiguous), and [135] "Sexy Sadie" (in which verses 1 and 2 are contiguous, as are verses 3 and 4), and [140] "Rocky Raccoon" (in which verses 1-5 are contiguous, as are verses 6-7). On the other hand, contrasting with the macro-scale structural simplicity, each verse has a complex and sophisticated micro-structure that can be divided into 4 distinct sections: Part a, lasting eight measures and consisting of two phrases (each four measures, and each in turn two iterations of the same two-measure chord progression); Part b, lasting just two measures and using the same two-measure chord progression found in Part a, but increasing the energy with more lyrics (a greater rate of words sung per second), and (in the first verse only) through the addition of percussion; Part c, which repeats the opening lyrics of the verse (usually in slightly modified form) and also employs different chords; and Part d, an instrumental tag which requires its own separate discussion (see below). This micro verse structure is adhered to by verses 1 through 3, but verse 4 breaks the pattern by rhythmically augmenting Part b (it lasts four measures instead of two) and jumping to the coda in place of Part d. Lastly, the tag/intro/coda deserves special consideration. This is not a textbook use of the tag (it might be considered more of an ostinato) because it is heard throughout except for during verse 4 (tags are usually only heard between sections, during the intro, and/or during the coda, but not during the verse proper like this one). I classify it as a tag, however, because of its adhesive quality, which is a defining characteristic of the tag - it bridges and transitions from from formal section to another. In fact, with the exception of verse 4 (and its absence is hardly even noticed there due to the increased energy and density of instrumentation), the tag really never begins or ends because the music both fades in and fades out, although it does change to reflect the underlying chords and structure. More commentary on this when I reach this song in my harmonic analyses. "A/B Road" Tracks Comparison with Doug Sulpy's "Get Back" Catalog, Part 4 of 20: 1969.01.0711/4/2013 January 7 lines up pretty well between A/B Road and Sulpy's book. There are, however, a few notable discrepancies. Several #s are out of order, but most significant are the omissions. Sulpy #s 7.15, 7.16, and 7.17 are apparently missing from A/B Road, as are Sulpy #s 7.25, 7.26, and 7.27. The second part of Sulpy # 7.93 is also apparently not found in A/B Road. I suspect I may find these, as I continue my comparison, listed under different dates. ![]()
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