Formal structure of [29] "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You"
Intro (chorus) 0:00-0:07* Chorus 0:07-0:14 Verse 1 0:14-0:28 Verse 2 0:28-0:43 Middle 8 0:43-0:50 Chorus 0:50-0:58 Verse 3 0:58-1:12 Middle 8 1:12-1:19 Chorus 1:19-1:27 Verse 4 1:27-1:39 Coda (verse, Mid 8) 1:39-1:56* Comments: This is the first Beatles song to use the chorus as the basis for the intro and the verse as the basis for the coda. It is much more common to reverse that and use the verse as the basis for the intro and the chorus as the basis for the coda (as is the case with [3] "Please Please Me", [4] "Ask Me Why", [6] "I Saw Her Standing There", [9c] "Boys" and many more). "I'm Happy Just to dance With You" is also the first to use the Middle 8 as the basis for the coda. Verses 3 and 4 share identical lyrics.
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Formal structure of [28] "If I Fell''
Intro (independent) 0:00-0:18 Verse 1 0:18-0:40 Verse 2 0:40-1:02 Middle 8 1:02-1:13 Verse 3 1:13-1:35 Middle 8 1:35-1:46 Verse 4 1:46-2:09 Coda (verse) 2:09-2:18 Comments: One of the most developed and harmonically unusual introductions (it's in Eb minor while the rest of the song is in D major), but ultimately a very straight-forward macro-scale formal structure. Verses 3 and 4 share identical lyrics. Formal structure of "Tell Me Why:
Intro (chorus) 0:00-0:06* Chorus 0:06-0:25 Verse 1 0:25-0:37 Chorus 0:37-0:55 Verse 2 0:55-1:08 Chorus 1:08-1:27 Middle 8 1:27-1:42 Chorus 1:42-1:58 Coda (chorus/ind.) 1:58-2:08* Comments: The intro (four measures long and characterized primarily by two elements: the syncopated guitar chords Em7 and A7, and the energetic drum patterns) is spun out from the brief fill in the chorus (0:14-15, 0:45-46, 1:15-16) by repeating that fill and those chords four times in a row. That drum fill returns in the coda, but with independent chords. Formal structure of [26] "I Should Have Known Better"
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:07 Verse 1 0:07-0:25 Verse 2 0:25-0:40 Middle 8 0:40-1:09 Verse 3 1:09-1:28 Solo 1:28-1:46 Verse 4 1:46-2:01 Middle 8 2:01-2:26 Coda (verse) 2:26-2:41 Comments: Very straight-forward structurally (rather unusual for a Lennon song!). No chorus. This installment of my index of Beatles song structures will feature a new element to the analysis: tonality. The Beatles grew progressively more sophisticated in terms of tonality and tonal relations. In their first two albums, not a single song ever changes key. But beginning with "And I Love Her" on A Hard Day's Night, that changes. And since these changes in tonality often coincide with formal design, all of my structural analyses from now on will consider tonality where applicable.
Formal and tonal structure of [25] "And I Love Her": Intro (verse) 0:00-0:09 C# minor Verse 1 0:09-0:30 C# minor Verse 2 0:30-0:50 C# minor Middle 8 0:50-1:08 C# minor Verse 3 1:08-1:29 C# minor Solo 1:29-1:50 D minor Verse 1:50- 2:11 D minor Coda (verse) 2:11-2:28 D minor* Comments: "And I Love Her" is the first Beatles recording to feature any sort of key change (the technical term is modulation). This happens right at the solo section, at 1:29, from C# minor up a half step to D minor - a modulation I've heard called the "shoehorn modulation", the "truck driver's modulation", and the "Barry Manilow modulation". It has sine become a cliche to jack up the tonality in the final chorus of a song. (Paul would use it again on [90] "Good Day Sunshine".) Although the key change sounds very natural, I have never been able to figure out why it's there. What purpose does it serve? Why right before the solo? I'm not sure. The song ends with a D major chord - a Picardy Third, in which a composition in a minor key concludes on the parallel major. Formal structure of [24] "You Can't Do That"
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:07* Verse 1 0:07-0:22 Chorus 0:22-0:29 Verse 2 0:29-0:44 Chorus 0:44-0:51 Middle 8 0:51-1:06 Verse 3 1:06-1:21 Chorus 1:21-1:29 Solo 1:29-1:51 Middle 8 1:51-2:06 Verse 4 2:06-2:21 Chorus 2:21-2:25 Coda (verse) 2:25-2:33 Comments: Two-part introduction. The verse and chorus combine in a standard 12-bar blues progression. The lines "let you down and leave you flat" remain the same from verse to verse, so they might easily be considered part of a bridge or the chorus (as opposed to my analysis which includes it as part of the verse). Formal structure of [23] "Can't Buy Me Love"
Chorus 0:00-0:09 Verse 1 0:09-0:26 Verse 2 0:26-0:42 Chorus 0:42-0:53 Verse 3 0:53-1:12* Solo 1:12-1:28 Chorus 1:28-1:40 Verse 1:40-1:57 Chorus 1:57-2:11 Comments: No intro or coda. Verses use a 12 bar blues progression. Verse 3 has a one-measure extension connecting it to the solo. Formal structure of [22] "This Boy"
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:09 Verse 1 0:09-0:26 Chorus 0:26-0:35 Verse 2 0:35-0:52 Chorus 0:52-1:02 Middle 8 1:02-1:28 Verse 3 1:28-1:44 Chorus 1:44-1:54 Coda (verse) 1:54-2:15 Comments: You could consider the verse and chorus together as just a verse. Though the energy levels are not significantly higher, the stopping of the backing instruments (at 0:26, 0:52, and 1:44) highlights this section enough to justify analyzing it as its own structural section. That combined with the lyrics being very similar (though not always identical) prompts me to conclude that it is indeed a chorus and not part of the verse. Formal Structure of "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
Intro (mid 8) 0:00-0:07* Verse 1 0:07-0:22 Chorus 0:22-0:29 Verse 2 0:29-0:44 Chorus 0:44-0:51 Middle 8 0:51-1:11 Verse 3 1:11-1:26 Chorus 1:26-1:33 Middle 8 1:33-1:54 Verse 4 1:54-2:08 Chorus 2:08-2:16* Coda (chorus) 2:16-2:25 Comments: Just like in "She Loves You", the final chorus before the coda is extended to propel the song to its coda. Just like "P. S. I Love You", the introduction is based on the middle 8 instead of the more usual verse or chorus. Formal structure of "I'll Get You"
Intro (tag) 0:00-0:08* Verse 1 0:08--0:35 Tag 0:35-0:39* Verse 2 0:39-1:05 Tag 1:05-1:09* Middle 8 1:09-1:24 Verse 3 1:24-1:51 Coda (tag) 1:51-2:06* Comments: Following the example of "Thank You Girl" (released two months prior to "I'll Get You"), the intro, and coda are both based on the tag (the part corresponding to the lyrics "oh yeah, oh yeah"). |
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