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I caught the tail end of a Beatles trivia contest the other day at The Fest for Beatles Fans. Some of the questions dealt with lyrics that can be found in multiple songs. This ties in with a blog notion I've had for some time comparing these similar lyrics. Let's take that opportunity today, adding those I learned at the Fest. 'Thank You Girl': "And all I've got to do is thank you girl, thank you girl" 'All I've Got to Do': "Yeah, that's all I've got to do." 'A Hard Day's Night': "But when I get home to you, I find the things that you do..." 'When I Get Home': "I got a whole lot of things to tell her when I get home." 'I'll Be Back': "But I'll be back again." 'I'll Cry Instead': "I'll come back again some day..." 'Tell Me Why': "Tell me why you cried and why you lied to me." 'What Goes On': "It's so easy for a girl like you to lie. Tell me why." 'Here Comes the Sun': "Here comes the sun, and I say it's all right." 'Sun King': "Here come the sun king." 'Yes It Is': "Understand, it's true. Yes it is, it's true." 'Happiness is a Warm Gun': "Happiness is a warm - yes it is - gun." 'Hey Jude': "Hey Jude, don't let me down." 'Don't Let Me Down': "Don't let me down." These lyric similarities are probably coincidence, but several are consciously self-referential: 'She Loves You': "She loves you. Yeah, yeah, yeah!" 'All You Need is Love': "She loves you. Yeah, yeah, yeah!" 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da': "Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da life goes on. Bra!" 'Savoy Truffle': "We all know Ob-la-di-bla-da." 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds': "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds..." 'I Am The Walrus': "See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky..." The ultimate self-referential Beatles song, of course, if 'Glass Onion', which contains no fewer than five different references to other Beatles recordings: 'Glass Onion': "I told you about strawberry fields..." 'Strawberry Fields Forever': "Let me take you down cuz I'm going to Strawberry Fields." 'Glass Onion': "I told you 'bout the walrus and me, man..." 'I Am The Walrus': "I am the walrus. Goo goo k'joob." 'Glass Onion': "Lady Madonna trying to make ends meet." 'Lady Madonna': "Lady Madonna, baby at your breast..." 'Glass Onion': "I told you about the fool on the hill." 'The Fool on the Hill': "The fool on the hill sees the sun going down..." 'Glass Onion': "Fixing a hole in the ocean..." 'Fixing a Hole': "I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in..." I head back to New Jersey tomorrow for a matinee at the Mt. Laurel Library:
Tuesday, 19 April 2016, 3:00-4:00 p.m. Mount Laurel Library, 100 Walt Whitman Ave, Mt Laurel, NJ The Beatles: Band of the Sixties Explore the music of The Beatles in this 60-minute multimedia presentation (part history and part musical analysis) spanning the full 1960's: beginning with the band's seminal visits to Hamburg, continuing through Beatlemania, and concluding with Abbey Road. The program will be supplemented with audio clips of music and excerpts from interviews with the band members.
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Formal structure of [46e] "Honey Don't":
Intro (coda) 0:00-0:07* Verse 1 0:07-0:22 Chorus 0:22-0:43 Verse 2 0:43-0:57 Chorus 0:57-1:18 Solo #1 1:18-1:47* Verse 3 1:47-2:02 Chorus 2:02-2:23 Solo #2 2:23-2:37* Chorus 2:37-2:50 Coda (intro) 2:50-2:57 Comments: Another two-part introduction (along with [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", and [45] "I Feel Fine"). The first solo section is also in two parts, though clearly the same solo (and not two separate solos back-to-back). Despite being identical to the first half of the first solo, the second solo section melds into the chorus for the second half. Formal structure of [46d] "Words of Love"
Intro (solo) 0:00-0:16 Verse 1 0:16-0:31 Verse 2 0:31-0:47 Solo 0:47-1:03, 1:03-1:18* Verse 3 1:18-1:34 Verse 4 1:34-1:50 Coda (verse) 1:50-2:03 Comments: One of the simplest formal plans of any Beatles song. No chorus, no middle 8, just 4 verses with a single solo (but in two distinct sections) in between verses 2 and 3, with an intro and coda tacked on. Formal structure of "Rock and Roll Music"
Intro (ind) 0:00-0:02 Chorus 0:02-0:22 Verse 1 0:22-0:34 Chorus 0:34-0:54 Verse 2 0:54-1:05 Chorus 1:05-1:25 Verse 3 1:25-1:36 Chorus 1:36-1:57 Verse 4 1:57-2:08 Chorus 2:08-2:27 Coda (ind) 2:27-2:28 Comments: One of the simplest and unambiguous structures of any Beatles recording: alternating verses and choruses (no bridges, no transitions, no solos, no middle 8), with the briefest of introductions and codas. Formal structure of [46b] "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby"
Verse 1 0:00-0:07 Chorus 0:07-0:19 Verse 2 0:19-0:24 Chorus 0:24-0:35 Solo #1 0:35-0:53 Verse 3 0:53-0:58 Chorus 0:58-1:09 Solo #2 1:09-1:43 Verse 4 1:43-1:49 Chorus 1:49-2:00 Verse 5 2:00-2:06 Chorus 2:06-2:14 Coda (solo) 2:14-2:25 Comments: no intro, two part coda (many feature two part intros, but few feature two-part codas), two solos (second twice as long). The verses and choruses combine to make a 12 bar blues progression. Partly for this reason, it would certainly be justifiable to combine each verse and chorus into a single section rather than split them into two, as I have done above. Formal structure in [46] "I'll Follow the Sun"
Intro (chorus) 0:00-0:04 Verse 1 0:04-0:11 Chorus 0:11-0:17 Verse 2 0:17-0:25 Chorus 0:25-0:32 Middle 8 0:32-0:46 Verse 3 0:46-0:54 Chorus 0:54-1:01 Solo 1:01-1:08 Chorus 1:08-1:15 Middle 8 1:15-1:30 Verse 1:30-1:37 Chorus 1:37-1:47 Comments: This was one of McCartney's earliest compositions that was revived for the album Beatles For Sale. Perhaps this is part of the reason why it is so simple structurally. Then again, such a beautifully simple tune doesn't need anything more complicated than this. Formal structure of [45] "I Feel Fine"
Intro (ind, verse) 0:00-0:16* Verse 1 0:16-0:24 Chorus 0:24-0:29 Verse 2 0:29-0:37 Chorus 0:37-0:43 Middle 8 0:43-0:53 Verse 3 0:53-1:02 Chorus 1:02-1:07 Solo 1:07-1:16 Transition 1:16-1:25 Verse 4 1:25-1:33 Chorus 1:33-1:39 Middle 8 1:39-1:50 Verse 5 1:50-1:58 Chorus 1:58-2:06* Coda (verse) 2:06-2:18 Comments: Another two-part intro (along with [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", and [38b] "Mr. Moonlight"): first the famous first-ever deliberate recording of feedback to appear on an album; second the guitar riff featured in each verse. The last chorus before coda is extended (just like [12] "She Loves You", and [21] "I Want to Hold Your Hand"). Formal structure in [44b] "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey"
Intro (ind) 0:00-0:08 Verse 1 0:08-0:29 Verse 2 0:29-0:51 Solo 0:51-1:13 Chorus #1 1:13-1:35 Chorus #1 1:35-1:57 Chorus #2 1:57-2:19 Chorus #2/Coda 2:19-2:37* Comments: This one is unique in that it combines two completely different songs: "Kansas City", written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952; and "Hey Hey Hey Hey" written by Richard Penniman (a.k.a. Little Richard), who liked to combine it with the Leiber/Stoller song in live performances to create a medley. The Beatles, who heard "Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey" on the B side of Little Richard's single "Good Golly Miss Molly" (released 1958), adopted the medley for their own by 1962, dropped it from their set list in 1963, and then revived the song in preparation for a performance in Kansas City on September 17, 1964. Perhaps out of need for additional songs rather than artistic merit, the medley was recorded and added to the album Beatles for Sale, released 1964. Point is that from a structural point of view, it's rather difficult to analyze precisely because it's actually two songs stuck together. Though it's clearly open to debate, for the sake of simplicity I have analyzed the "Hey Hey Hey Hey" section as two choruses (they share nearly identical chord progressions and durations - it's only the lyrics that differ) each with a repeat. The very last section fades to nothing, making it both an iteration of the second chorus and a coda. Formal structure of [44] "She's a Woman"
Intro (verse) 0:00-0:11 Verse 1 0:11-0:43 Verse 2 0:43-1:15 Chorus 1:15-1:21 Verse 3 1:21-1:53 Solo 1:53-2:10 Chorus 2:10-2:15 Verse 4 2:15-2:47 Coda (verse, coda) 2:47-3:02* Comments: Coda features backing music of verse, with the title lyrics sung to new music. Formal structure of [43] "Eight Days a Week"
Intro (ind, coda) 0:00-0:07* Verse 1 0:07-0:35* Verse 2 0:35-1:02 Middle 8 1:02-1:16 Verse 3 1:16-1:44 Middle 8 1:44-1:58 Verse 4 1:58-2:25 Coda (verse, intro) 2:25-2:42* Comments: First song (not just first Beatles song) to feature a fade-in intro. Another four-part verse structure in which the third part contrasts the other three parts (just like [31] "A Hard Day's Night", [35] "Things We Said Today", [40] "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party", and [42] "No Reply"): Ooo I need your love babe, guess you know it's true Hope you need my love babe, just like I need you Hold me, love me, hold me, love me I ain't got nothing but love babe, eight days a week. Verses 1 and 3 share identical lyrics, as do verse 2 and 4. Interestingly, vocal harmony is added in this contrasting third verse subsection, but only on verses 2 and 4 - not on verses 1 and 3. 2-part coda: first part based on repetition of the title lyrics (which comes from the end of the verse); second part similar to the introduction but independent from the rest of the song. |
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