Formal structure of [58] "I'm Down":
Verse 1 0:00-0:06* Chorus 0:06-0:21* Verse 2 0:21-0:27 Chorus 0:27-0:41 Solo 1 0:41-0:59* Verse 3 0:59-1:06 Chorus 1:06-1:19 Solo 2 1:19-1:36* Chorus 1:36-1:55 Chorus 1:55-2:12 Chorus/Coda 2:12-2:32* Comments: Begins with verse, like [15] "All My Loving", [19] "Not a Second Time", [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [42] "No Reply", and [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby". Dual solos, like [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [38] "I'm a Loser", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", [46e] "Honey Don't", and [56b] "Dizzy Miss Lizzy". Verse and chorus combine to form a 12 bar blues pattern (though the chorus is extended through repetition of the final two measures, so it's actually a 14 bar blues). The final chorus fades out, and thus functions as a coda.
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Formal structure of [57] "I've Just Seen a Face":
Intro (ind) 0:00-0:11 Verse 1 0:11-0:23 Verse 2 0:23-0:35 Chorus 0:35-0:44 Verse 3 0:44-0:55 Chorus 0:55-1:03 Solo 1:03-1:15 Chorus 1:15-1:23 Verse 4 1:23-1:35 Chorus 1:35-1:43 Chorus 1:43-1:51 Chorus/Coda (verse) 1:51-2:05 Comments: I debated long and hard about calling the contrasting section a middle 8 or a chorus. Clearly it does contrast the verse (the primary characteristic of a middle 8), but it's not unheard of to substitute the chorus as the contrasting section. Middle 8s also frequently employ a harmonic shift (different or unusual chords) to emphasize their contrasting nature. In this case, I do not find a sufficient degree of harmonic contrast to justify calling this section a middle 8. Moreover, the section is used so frequently that the term chorus seems better suited to its structural function (middle 8s are generally heard twice per song - not six times, as is the case in this one). Formal structure of [56c] "Bad Boy":
Intro (ind) 0:00-0:07 Verse 1 0:07-0:42 Verse 2 0:42-1:17 Solo 1:17-1:39 Verse 3 1:39-2:14 Coda 2:14-2:20 Comments: Each section except the intro is a 12 bar blues pattern. Perhaps the shortest coda of any Beatles song: a single chord. Formal structure of "Dizzy Miss Lizzy"
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:22 Verse 1 0:22-0:43 Verse 2 0:43-1:04 Solo/Break 1:04-1:25* Verse 3 1:25-1:47 Solo/Break 1:47-2:08* Verse 4 2:08-2:29 Verse 5 2:29-2:57 Comments: Two solos. The only other Beatles recordings to date to use multiple solos are [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [38] "I'm a Loser", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to be My Baby", and [46e] "Honey Don't". Formal structure of [56] "Help!":
Intro (chorus/ind) 0:00-0:11* Verse 1 0:11-0:31 Chorus 0:31-0:51 Verse 2 0:51-1:11 Chorus 1:11-1:32 Verse 3 1:32-1:52 Chorus 1:52-2:10 Coda (chorus/ind) 2:10-2:20* Comments: Very clear structure - no ambiguity. Introduction is partly based on chorus and partly independent: It shares the same chord progression (reduced in duration by 50%), but the words are independent (not found anywhere else in the song). Coda functions as an extension of the chorus, but with unrelated musical components. Formal structure of [55] "You're Going to Lose That Girl":
Chorus 0:00-0:09* E Major Verse 1 0:09-0:23 E Major Chorus 0:23-0:30 E Major Verse 2 0:30-0:45 E Major Chorus 0:45-0:56 E Major Middle 8 0:56-1:10* G Major Solo 1:10-1:25 E Major Chorus 1:25-1:36 E Major Middle 8 1:36-1:49* G Major Verse 3 1:49-2:03 E Major Chorus 2:03-2:12 E Major Coda 2:12-2:20 E Major Comments: Begins with chorus instead of an introduction (like [12] "She Loves You", [14] "It Won't Be Long", [23] "Can't Buy Me Love", [34] "Any Time at All", [36] "When I Get Home", and [48] "Another Girl"), though in this case sans drum set (but with hand percussion). Also like "Another Girl" is the Middle 8 - in which both songs modulate to the lowered submediant (A Major to C Major in "Another Girl"; E Major to G Major in "You're Going to Lose That Girl"). This is the same modulation that the Beatles often use, and will culminate in the Abbey Road Medley (which uses that particular modulation extensively). Formal structure of [54] "Tell Me What You See":
Intro (ind, verse) 0:00-0:04* Verse 1 0:04-0:32 Verse 2 0:32-1:00 Ext & trans 1:00-1:14* Verse 3 1:14-1:42 Ext & trans 1:42-1:56* Verse 4 1:56-2:25 Ext & Coda 2:25-2:38* Comments: The intro is similar to the backing of the verses, but all on the tonic chord (which is different from the verse's chord progression). Thus, the intro is somewhat based on the verse, but also somewhat independent. All but the first verse is followed by an extension and transition. This may be considered a middle 8 (it is, after all 8 measures long), but it uses the same chords as the verse and thus does not provide the harmonic contrast that usually defines a middle 8. And given that the lyrics “Tell me what you see” are used in each verse, when they reappear immediately after the verse they feel more like an extension of the verse rather than a contrast to it. An abbreviated version of extension functions as the coda. Formal structure of [53] "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away":
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:02 Verse 1 0:02-0:39 Chorus 0:39-0:55 Verse 2 0:55-1:32 Chorus 1:32-1:48 Coda (ind) 1:48-2:09 Comments: Very straight-forward structurally - no ambiguity at all. Formal structure of [52] "You Like Me Too Much":
Intro (coda) 0:00-0:10 Verse 1 0:10-0:31 Verse 2 0:31-0:53 Middle 8 0:53-1:04* Verse 3 1:04-1:26 Solo 1:26-1:42* End of verse 1:42-1:48* Middle 8 1:48-1:58* Verse 4 1:58-2:25 Coda (intro) 2:25-2:35 Comments: In a Beatles first, the Middle 8 has two distinct sub-sections: I really do. And it's nice when you believe me. If you Leave me, In a Beatles fourth (after [10] "From Me To You", and [31] "A Hard Day's Night", and [51] "The Night Before"), the solo section replaces the first half of a verse, with the end of that verse remaining as previously heard. Formal structure of [51] "The Night Before":
Intro (ind/verse) 0:00-0:12* Verse 1 0:12-0:34 Verse 2 0:34-0:57 Middle 8 0:57-1:08 Verse 3 1:08-1:31 Solo 1:31-1:42 End of verse 1:42-1:54* Middle 8 1:54-2:04 Verse 4 2:04-2:27 Coda (verse) 2:27-2:36* Comments: Another four-part verse structure (following [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [35] "Things We Said Today", [40] "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", [42] "No Reply", [43] "Eight Days a Week", and [49] "I Need You") in which the third part differs substantially from the rest of the verse: We said our goodbyes Love was in your eyes, Now today I find you have changed your mind, Treat me like you did the night before. The third sub-section not only uses different chords, it also adds vocal harmonies. The solo, as is often the case, takes place of a verse. But in this instance, only the first half of the verse. The end of the verse heard between 1:52-1:54, then, is the third and fourth parts of what would have been Verse 4 had it been complete (i.e. had the first half not been replaced by the solo). The introduction uses a chord progression unique to the entire song (D-F-G7-A7), but features similarities to the progression at the end of each verse (D-F-G). The coda employs lyrics similar to those found at the end of each verse ("Treat me like you did the night before" become "Like the night before") and is the only other time an F chord is used (during those similar lyrics). |
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