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Formal structure of "I Want To Tell You":
Intro 0:00-0:15* Verse 1 0:15-0:36* Verse 2 0:36-0:57* Middle 8 0:57-1:12 Verse 3 1:12-1:33 Middle 8 1:33-1:48 Verse 4 1:48-2:12* Coda 2:12-2:27 Comments: "I Want to Tell You" is the second Beatles song to use a fade in - the first being [43] "Eight Days a Week". Verses 1 and 2 are contiguous (as are [1] "Love Me Do", [6] “I Saw Her Standing There”, [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", [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", and [80] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Doctor Robert", [84] "Taxman", and [88] "Yellow Submarine"). Verse 4 is extended by using the guitar lick featured during the introduction. The intro is again in two parts (similar to [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", and [31b] "Matchbox", [37] "Baby's in Black", [38b] "Mr. Moonlight", [45] "I Feel Fine", [46e] "Honey Don't", [47] "Ticket to Ride", [62] "Run For Your Life", [63] "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)", [65] "Day Tripper", and [66] "If I Needed Someone", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", and [79] "Love You To", [81] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Rain, and [84] "Taxman"): First guitar alone is heard; then the piano and percussion are added; finally, the bass joins as the first verse begins.
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On May 26 I wrote a blog about similar chords progressions between "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Something". However, there is actually a stronger similarity between "Something" and BJ Thomas' 1970#1 hit "Raindrops Keep falling on My Head". 
These two songs use the same scale degrees and chord qualities for the first 4 chords (whereas "Strawberry" used the same qualities but different scale degrees and only for the first 3 chords).
Though the Beatles released their recording of Lennon's "I Call Your Name" on the Long Tall Sally EP on 19 June 1964, it was first released by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas a year prior on 26 July 1963. Formal structure of "Yellow Submarine": Verse 1 0:00-0:18* Verse 2 0:18-0:36* Chorus 0:36-0:53 Verse 3 0:53-1:06 Break 1 1:06-1:10 Chorus 1:10-1:27 Break 2 1:27-1:45 Verse 4 1:45-2:02 Chorus/Coda 2:02-2:38* Comments: Verses 1 and 2 are contiguous (an aspect also found in [1] "Love Me Do", [6] “I Saw Her Standing There”, [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", and [80] "Paperback Writer", [82] "Doctor Robert", and [84] "Taxman") In this case, the coda is simply repetitions of the chorus which are faded out. The first break may well be considered a solo, and in that regard, it functions rather like a solo that serves as part of the verse, replacing the verse vocals (just as the Beatles did in [10] From Me To You, [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [51] "The Night Before", and [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [67] "In My Life", [84] "Taxman", [85] "I'm Only Sleeping", and [87] "For No One", except that in this case the vocals lead for 75% of the verse while the solo for only 25%, whereas the previous Beatles songs to use that trick were all 50% vocals and 50% solo). Verse 1, verse 3, and break 2 all share strumming patterns (Lennon's rhythm guitar playing is the same in all three of those sections), but it's different in verses 2 and 4. In that way, rather similar to [87] "For No One", "Yellow Submarine" can be seen as three iterations of two verses plus chorus, but with the second of these three omitting one verse:
The first three chords of the verses in "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Something" share a certain degree of similarity. Though in different keys ("Something" is in C Major; "Strawberry" in B-flat major) and using different chords ("Something" uses C; "Strawberry" F) based on different scale degrees ("Something" uses the tonic chord; "Strawberry" the dominant), the qualities of those three chords are the same: major, major 7, 7. Here's a graphic to illustrate the similarity (click to enlarge): 
Formal structure of "For No One":
Verse 1 0:00-0:24 Middle 8 0:24-0:39 1st half of Verse 2 0:39-0:49* Solo 0:49-1:02* Middle 8 1:02-1:17 Verse 3 1:17-1:40 Middle 8 1:40-1:59 Comments: Begins with first verse instead of an introduction, as did [15] "All My Loving", [19] "Not a Second Time", [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [42] "No Reply", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", and [58] "I'm Down", [61] "Wait", [68] “We Can Work it Out”, [76] "Girl", and [85] "I'm Only Sleeping". Similarly, rather than conclude with a coda (as most Beatles songs do), "For No One" simply stops after the final middle 8. No other Beatles recording to date concludes with the middle 8. Lastly, verse 2 can be broken into two halves, with the first using vocals and the second using the french horn solo. Essentially, the solo replaces the vocals for half the verse, which is something the Beatles did rather frequently ([10] From Me To You, [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [51] "The Night Before", and [52] "You Like Me Too Much", [67] "In My Life", [84] "Taxman", and [85] "I'm Only Sleeping"). With that in mind, the macro-scale formal structure of "For No One" can be further abstracted to three iterations of one verse followed by a middle 8. I should point out that in this series of blogs, I am concerned only with the first release of any given song. Many other recording artists have released covers of these songs, but those are not included here. Furthermore, I am only concerned with songs given away during the Beatles career. Those from after the break up are not included. There are a total of 25 songs in this list. I plan on dedicating one blog to each, so this blog series will consist of 25 parts (excluding this post).
Recording Artist Song Title Release Date Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas "I'll Be On My Way" 26 April 1963 Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas "I Call Your Name" 26 July 1963 Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas "Bad to Me" 26 July 1963 Tommy Quickly "Tip of My Tongue" 30 July 1963 The Fourmost "Hello Little Girl" 30 August 1963 Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas "I'll Keep You Satisfied" 1 November 1963 The Rolling Stones "I Wanna Be Your Man" 1 November 1963 The Fourmost "I'm in Love" 15 November 1963 Cilla Black "Love of the Loved" 27 September 1963 Peter and Gordon "World Without Love" 28 February 1964 The Strangers with Mike Shannon "One and One is Two" 8 May 1964 Peter and Gordon "Nobody I Know" 29 May 1964 The Applejacks "Like Dreamers Do: 5 June 1964 Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas "From a Window" 17 July 1964 Cilla Black "It's For You" 31 July 1964 Peter and Gordon "I Don't Want to See You Again" 9 September 1964 P. J. Proby "That Means a Lot" 17 September 1965 Peter and Gordon "Woman" 10 January 1966 The Chris Barber Band "Catcall" 20 October 1967 Cilla Black "Step Inside Love" 8 March 1968 Black Dyke Mills Band "Thingymabob" 26 August 1968 Jackie Lomax "Sour Milk Sea" 26 August 1968 Mary Hopkin "Goodbye" 28 March 1969 Carlos Mendes "Penina" ? April 1969 Jotta Herre "Penina" ? April 1969 Badfinger "Come and Get It" 5 December 1969 Formal structure of "Eleanor Rigby":
Chorus 0:00-0:14* Verse 1 0:14-0:31 Bridge 0:31-0:46* Verse 2 0:46-1:03 Bridge 1:03-1:17 Chorus 1:17-1:31 Verse 3 1:31-1:48 Chorus 1:48-2:00 Coda (bridge) 2:00-2:05* Comments: Opens with chorus (instead of introduction), just 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", [48] "Another Girl", [55] "You're Going to Lose That Girl", and [69] "Nowhere Man". The first bridge does not lead to the chorus, but instead to verse 2. The other Beatles tunes to date that also pull this trick are [4] "Ask Me Why" (in which the first bridge leads to the second verse, and the second bridge leads to the middle 8 before the third bridge finally resolves to the chorus), [5] "There's a Place" (in which there is no chorus for the bridge to lead to), [12] "She Loves You" (in which the first bridge leads to the second verse, but each subsequent bridges leads to the chorus), and [78] "Got To Get You Into My Life" (in which the first bridge leads to the second verse, but each subsequent bridges leads to the chorus). The coda consists of the same five melodic notes that conclude the bridge (g, e-flat, b-flat, a, g), but in slightly different rhythm Formal structure of "I'm Only Sleeping":
Verse 1 0:00-0:21 Chorus 0:21-0:35 Verse 2 0:35-0:56 Chorus 0:56-1:10 Trans. 1:10-1:15* Middle 8 1:15-1:24 1st half of Verse 3 1:24-1:33* Break/Solo 1:33-1:45* Chorus 1:45-1:59 Trans. 1:59-2:04* Middle 8 2:04-2:13 Verse 4 2:13-2:34 Chorus 2:34-2:38 Coda (ind.) 2:48-2:59 Comments: No introduction - it simply starts right up with the first verse (as did [15] "All My Loving", [19] "Not a Second Time", [29b] "Long Tall Sally", [42] "No Reply", [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", and [58] "I'm Down", [61] "Wait", [68] “We Can Work it Out”, and [76] "Girl"). The break/solo following verse 3 is simply the second half of the verse, just with the backward guitar playing replacing the vocals. Verses 1 and 4 share identical lyrics. Choruses generally share identical lyrics in each iteration, but in this case the first and fourth choruses are the same ("Please don't wake me, no don't shake me..."), which differ from the second and third choruses ("Please don't spoil my day, I'm miles away..."). Each of the transitions following the choruses are extensions of the chorus - the last two bars of those choruses are repeated (though the repetition is not exact). This alerts a listener that something different is happening, and propels the song into the the middle 8s. Inevitably, a certain percentage of any artist's creative efforts will be of inferior quality. Both John Lennon and Paul McCartney frequently gave away songs they felt were not worth recording themselves. This posting will be the first in a series showcasing the songs the Beatles gave away. The first such giveaway was the song "I'll Be On My Way", written by Paul (Sheff page 180) and recorded at EMI Studios by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas on 14 March 1963, and released the following April 26 (Lewisohn page 105). The Beatles never created a studio recording of "I'll Be On My Way", but on 4 April 1963 (after Kramer had recorded his version, but before it was released) they played a live concert at the BBC Paris Studio in London, which was recorded and broadcast via television on June 24 (Lewisohn page 105). That recording was released commercially on the album Live at the BBC in November 1994. CITATIONS
Sheff, David, G. Barry Golson ed. The Playboy Interviews with John Lennon & Yoko Ono. The Final Testament. Berkley Books, New York, NY, 1981. Lewisohn, Mark. The Complete Beatles Chronicle. Hamlyn, an imprint of Octopus Publishing Group Limited, London, UK, 2003. |
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