Formal structure of [131] "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da":
Intro (v) 0:00-0:10 Pno 0:00-0:02 + backing 0:02-0:10 Verse 1 0:10-0:27 Chorus 0:27-0:44 Verse 2 0:44-1:01 Chorus 1:01-1:18 Middle 8 1:18-1:35 Verse 3 1:35-1:52 Chorus 1:52-2:09 Middle 8 2:09-2:26 Verse 4 2:26-2:43 Chorus (abbr.) 2:43-2:58 Coda (ch) 2:58-3:08 Comments: Another 2-part intro (following [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", [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)", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [79] "Love You To", [81] "Paperback Writer", [89] "I Want to Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [102] "Lovely Rita", [104] "Getting Better", [105] "Within You Without You", [110] "Baby, You're a Rich Man", [114] "All You Need Is Love", [125] "Revolution 1", [126] "Don't Pass Me By", and [130] "Good Night"), with a piano solo being heard for the first measure, then the rest of the backing instruments joining in. The final chorus is abbreviated because it segues directly to the coda
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Formal structure of [130] "Good Night": Intro (M8) 0:00-0:15 + strings (v) 0:15-0:22 Verse 1 0:22-0:52 Middle 8 0:52-1:06 Verse 2 1:06-1:35 Middle 8 1:35-1:50 Break (strings) 1:50-2:04 Verse 3 2:04-2:35 Middle 8 2:33-2:47 Coda (verse) 2:47-3:13 Comments: Another 2 part introduction (following [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", [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)", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [79] "Love You To", [81] "Paperback Writer", [89] "I Want to Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [102] "Lovely Rita", [104] "Getting Better", [105] "Within You Without You", [110] "Baby, You're a Rich Man", [114] "All You Need Is Love", [125] "Revolution 1", and [126] "Don't Pass Me By"), in which first backing chords from the middle 8 are heard, then the verses' melody played by orchestral strings. Perhaps following McCartney's lead, this Lennon song employs are three-part macro-scale structure of verse + middle 8, with a string break between the second and third iterations, all book-ended by an intro and chorus:
1966.11 John and Yoko meet, she send him Grapefruit (p. 323-24, 394)
1967.04.end John attends Cut Piece as part of "Technicolor Dream Event" at Alexandra Palace (p. 348-49) ? Yoko gets a ride home from John (p. 379) 1968.02.11 John brings Ono to recording studio for first time (p. 377) ? Yoko begins sending John postcards (p. 379) 1968.05.19 John invites Yoko over, they record Two Virgins (p. 385-86) ? John and Cynthia begin divorce (p. 395) 1968.05.before moving from Kenwood Film #5 (Smile) (p. 399) 1968.05 John moves out of Kenwood, lives with Yoko first with Paul in St. John's Wood, then with Peter Asher, then Neil Aspinall, then at Ringo's Montague Square flat (p. 399) 1968.fall Film Two Virgins debuts (p. 399) 1968.10.18 Pilcher's drug bust (p. 418) 1968.10.19 Out on bail. Photo taken used later in Life with the Lions (p. 419) 1968.10 or 11 Announce Yoko is pregnant with John's child, Yoko admitted to hospital (p. 420, 422) 1968.11 Divorce granted, Cynthia takes custody of Julian (p. 420) 1968.11.end album Two Virgins released (p.420) 1968.11.21 Yoko miscarries (p. 422) 1968.12.11 "Rock 'n' Roll Circus" (p. 425) 1968.Christmas "Alchemical Wedding" at Royal Albert Hall (p. 425) 1969.01.10 Harrison walks out after a fight with Lennon over Yoko (p. 431) 1969.03.16 John and Yoko in Paris, wedding attempt #1 (p. 444) 1969.03.20 Wedding attempt #2 on ferry (p. 444) ? Wedding attempt #3 in Gibraltar (p. 444) ? Lunch with Salvador Dali (p. 444) ? Honeymoon: Amsterdam Bed-In (p. 446-47) 1969.03.31 John and Yoko attend showing of film Rape in Vienna, perform bagism (p. 448) 1969.04.14 John and Paul record "The Ballad of John and Yoko" (p. 449) 1969.04.22 John changes middle name to Ono, John and Yoko record "John and Yoko" (p. 451) 1969.05.early John and Yoko buy Titenhurst (p. 453) ? Montreal Bed-In, recording of "Give Peace a Chance" (p. 454) 1969.06.15 "Acorns for peace" as part of the National Sculpture Exhibition (p. 403) 1969.06.18 John brings Yoko to opening of "In His Own Write", press pounces (p. 404) 1969.07.01 "You Are Here" opens at Robert Fraser Gallery (p. 405); car crash (p. 457) 1969.07 John and Yoko announce another pregnancy; Yoko brings bed to Abbey Road studios (p. 458) 1969.09 Toronto Rock 'n' Roll Revival (p. 461) 1969.fall Three more films: Rape II, Honeymoon, Self Portrait (p. 462) 1969.10.12 Yoko's second miscarriage (p. 465) 1969.11 John returns MBE (p. 462) 1969.Christmas "War is over if you want it" billboards (p. 466); "Peace for Christmas" (p. 467) 1969.11.02 Wedding Album released (p. 451) CITATIONS Riley, Tim. John Lennon: The Man, the Myth, the Music - The Definitive Life. Hyperion, New York, NY, 2011. Formal Structure of [129] "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey": Intro (verse) 0:00-0:08 Verse 1 (abbr.) 0:08-0:40 Part 1 (abbr.) 0:08-0:20 Part 2 0:20-0:32 Part 3: Tag 0:32-0:40 Verse 2 0:40-1:20 Part 1 0:40-1:00 Part 2 1:00-1:12 Part 3: Tag 1:12-1:20 Verse 3 1:20-2:00 Part 1 1:20-1:40 Part 2 1:40-1:52 Part 3: Tag 1:52-2:00 Coda (verse) 2:00-2:24 Comments: Many of the songs released on "The White Album" were written as fragments during the Beatles stay in Rishikesh, India in the early months of 1968. "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey" is one such example - its use of only verses (no choruses, no middle 8s, no solos, et cetera) revealing its fragmentary nature. (NOTE: I count the third and final sub-section of each verse as a tag, but it's clearly a sub-section of the verse and NOT an independent structural component due to its brevity and lack of structural weight.) While it is rather common to find a Beatles song in which the first two verses are contiguous (precedents include [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", and [128] "Blackbird"), it is uncommon to find any other contiguous verses. In fact, "Monkey" is just the 8th Beatles song to use contiguous verses other than verses 1 and 2, 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), and [96] "A Day in the Life" (in which verses 1-3 are contiguous). With such a fragmentary and minimal macro-structure, it is no surprise to find that each verse contains three significant sub-sections: first, that corresponding with the lyrics "Come on, come on..."; second, that corresponding with the lyrics "Take it easy..."; and third, that corresponding with the brief instrumental break immediately following the title lyrics. Additionally, notice that the first part of verse 1 is abbreviated, lasting only 12 seconds - 8 seconds shorter than the first parts of both verses 2 and 3. The following side-by-side comparisons of the three verses show this abbreviation visually (click to enlarge): By observing this graphic, you can see that verses 2 and 3 are practically identical, but verse 1 is shortened, missing the first six measures of the other two verses and substituting two measures of comparable melodic material.
Lastly, also notice that Part 1 of the first verse concludes with a 9/8 bar while the other two verses retain 4/4. As to why Lennon decided to make only the first verse this way, I am uncertain. Given the novel structure of [127] "Revolution 9", I am temporarily skipping it and jumping ahead to [128] "Blackbird":
Formal structure of "Blackbird": Intro (v) 0:00-0:04 Verse 1 0:04-0:28 Ext 0:23-0:28 Verse 2 0:28-0:47 Middle 8 0:47-0:58 Break (v) 0:58-1:16 Middle 8 1:16-1:28 Break (v) 1:28-1:47 Verse 3 1:47-2:05 Coda (ext of verse) 2:05-2:18 Comments: "Blackbird" is yet another Beatles song to use contiguous verses (following [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", and [126] "Don't Pass Me By"), however in this case there is an extension separating the verses - something not found in any other song to date. If you count the breaks as verses (they use the same music, just without vocals), then the last break and last verse are also contiguous verses. Formal structure of [126] "Don't Pass Me By":
Intro 0:00-0:16 (2 parts) el pno 0:00-0:11 beat 0:11-0:16 Verse 1 0:16-0:43 Verse 2 0:43-1:09 Chorus 1:09-1:38 Verse 3 1:44-2:10 Chorus 2:10-2:39 Coda 1 2:39-2:50 Beat 2:50-2:56 Chorus 2:56-3:26 Coda 2 3:26-3:40 Ext 3:40-3:49 Comments: The introduction 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", [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)", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [79] "Love You To", [81] "Paperback Writer", [89] "I Want to Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [102] "Lovely Rita", [104] "Getting Better", [105] "Within You Without You", [110] "Baby, You're a Rich Man", [114] "All You Need Is Love", and [125] "Revolution 1"). "Don't Pass Me By" is also another song to employ contiguous verses (as was the case previously with [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", and [122] "Lady Madonna"). Most significantly and unusual, however, is the double coda - something the band used only once before in [120] "Hello Goodbye". (Recall that [93] "Strawberry Fields Forever" also used two codas, but that was the product of studio manipulation - fading out, then fading back in again - rather than a compositional choice by the songwriters, so I do not count it as two separate formal divisions here.) Formal structure of [125] "Revolution 1": Intro 0:00-0:16 ac. gtr, perc. 0:00-0:05 +el gtr 0:05-0:16 Verse 1 0:16-0:48 Bridge 0:48-1:02 Chorus 1:02-1:17 Tag 1:17-1:22 Verse 2 1:22-1:54 Bridge 1:54-2:06 Chorus 2:06-2:21 Tag 2:21-2:26 Verse 3 2:26-2:57 Bridge 2:57-3:10 Chorus 3:10-3:24 Tag 3:24-3:29 Coda (ch) 3:29-4:15 Comments: Another two-part intro (following [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", [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)", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [79] "Love You To", [81] "Paperback Writer", [89] "I Want to Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [102] "Lovely Rita", [104] "Getting Better", [105] "Within You Without You", [110] "Baby, You're a Rich Man", and [114] "All You Need Is Love"). The macro-scale formal plan for the song can be seen as three iterations of a verse, bridge, chorus, and tag, all bookended by an intro and coda:
"The Ballad of John and Yoko" concludes with an exuberant guitar riff. Listen for it in the following video starting at 2:46. This riff is "borrowed" note-for-note from Johnny Burnette's 1957 release "Lonesome Tears in My Eyes". The riff is scattered throughout in a number of variations, but is heard most clearly at the very beginning. Without a doubt, John Lennon knew Burnette's song well because "Lonesome Tears" was part of the Beatles concert repertoire. In fact, their performance of it - complete with guitar riff intro - on 10 July 1963 as part of the BBC's radio program Pop Go The Beatles was released on the 1994 album The Beatles: Live at the BBC. Formal structure of [124] "Hey Bulldog":
Intro (tag) 0:00-0:14* piano 0:00-0:05 +guitar, drums 0:05-0:09 +bass 0:09-0:14 Verse 1 0:14-0:23 Bridge? 0:23-0:33* Verse 2 0:33-0:43 Bridge? 0:43-0:52* Chorus 0:52-1:04 Tag 1:04-1:13 Solo (verse) 1:13-1:33 Verse 3 1:33-1:42 Bridge? 1:42-1:51* Chorus 1:51-2:03 Tag 2:03-2:13 Coda (tag) 2:13-3:10 Comments: Many Beatles songs have used multi-part introductions, but most of them are two-part intros: [6b] "A Taste Of Honey", [11] "Thank You Girl", [17] "Little Child", [14b] "Roll Over Beethoven", [24] "You Can't Do That", [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)", [66] "If I Needed Someone", [77] "Tomorrow Never Knows", [79] "Love You To", [81] "Paperback Writer", [89] "I Want to Tell You", [92] "She Said She Said", [102] "Lovely Rita", [104] "Getting Better", [105] "Within You Without You", [110] "Baby, You're a Rich Man", and [114] "All You Need Is Love". On rare occasion, the intro will be in more than 2 parts: [113] "It's All Too Much" (which uses a 4-part intro), and [116] "I Am the Walrus" (which uses a 3-part intro). "Hey Bulldog" is thus just the second Beatles song to date to use a three-part intro: first the piano alone is heard, then the guitar and drums are added, and finally the bass joins in. Each of the three verses are followed by "Bridge?". I include a question mark because bridges are often considered to be part of the verse it follows - and this instance is no exception. But I feel there needs to be some formal designation to show that the music is different (albeit obviously related) to the verses. This will be easier to illustrate when I come to the harmonic analysis of the song, so I will leave further discussion of this notion until then. Lastly, "Hey Bulldog" is another Beatles song to effectively employ the tag. In this case, the tag is the primary instrumental motive of the song (similar to "Day Tripper" and "In My Life"). It functions as a structurally cohesive musical element, despite the fact that it is entirely unrelated to the sung melodies. "Across the Universe" is unusual in the Beatles catalog because it exists in multiple versions: It was first released in 1969 as part of a "World Wildlife Fund" album (and now easily found on Past Masters Volume 2), then a year later it was included on the album Let it Be, and then again in 2003 as part of Paul McCartney's re-make Let it Be ... Naked. The basic formal design of all three is identical, although the timing is different. Here I am including those timings for all three. Formal structure of "Across the Universe":
Comments: While there are significant differences between these three takes in terms of tempo and thus timing, all three versions do share identical structures. This structure can be seen as three iterations of a verse and chorus, all bookended by an intro and coda.
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