Continuing my index of formal structural analyses begun in my Dec 5 post, this one will continue the series by looking at the album With the Beatles. For my loose definitions of structural terms, please review my post from Dec. 5.
FORMAL STRUCTURE OF SONGS ON WITH THE BEATLES Song Title Section Timing "It Won't Be Long" Chorus 0:00-0:15 Verse 1 0:15-0:28 Chorus 0:28-0:42 Middle 8 0:42-0:56 Verse 2 0:56-1:09 Chorus 1:09-1:23 Middle 8 1:23-1:38 Verse 3 1:38-1:51 Chorus 1:51-2:00 Coda (independent) 2:00-2:11 Comments: On Please Please Me, every single song had an introduction. The very first track on With the Beatles breaks the pattern: instead of an intro, the song launches straight into the chorus. The coda uses material entirely independent from the rest of the song. "All I've Got To Do" Intro (independent) 0:00-0:03* Verse 1 0:03-0:15 Chorus 0:15-0:25 Verse 2 0:25-0:38 Chorus 0:38-0:48 Middle 8 0:48-1:05 Verse 3 1:05-1:18 Chorus 1:18-1:28 Middle 8 1:28-1:49 Coda (verse) 1:49-2:00 Comments: Intro is a single guitar chord (E aug 9,11) that has no relation to anything that comes after it. Chorus uses different lyrics. Second Middle 8 features an extension (it's longer the second time than it was the first), which I've not noticed in a Beatles tune up until this point. Verses 2 and 3 share identical lyrics. "All My Loving" Verse 1 0:00-0:25 Verse 2 0:25-0:50 Middle 8 0:50-1:02 Solo 1:02-1:15 Verse 3 1:15-1:40 Middle 8 1:40-1:52 Coda (m8) 1:52-2:06 Comments: No introduction, just starts right in with Verse 1. Verses 1 and 3 share identical lyrics. Just like "Not a Second Time", "All My Loving" blurs the line between middle 8 and chorus. "Don't Bother Me" Intro (verse/independent) 0:00-0:05 Verse 1 0:05-0:17 Chorus 0:17-0:22 Verse 2 0:22-0:34 Chorus 0:34-0:40 Middle 8 0:40-1:02 Verse 3 1:02-1:13 Chorus 1:13-1:19 Solo 1:19-1:30 Chorus 1:30-1:36 Middle 8 1:36-1:58 Verse 4 1:58-2:09 Chorus/Coda 2:09-2:26 Comments: The introduction is similar to the verses, but the motive played by the bass and guitar never appears again, nor does the chord progression. This is probably the shortest chorus so far in a Beatles song. It is also probably the longest Middle 8 of any Beatles song so far. It's also interesting to note that the lyrics in the choruses, while very similar, are not identical. Verses 3 and 4 share identical lyrics. "Little Child" Intro (verse) 0:00-0:06* Verse/Chorus 0:06-0:19 Verse/Chorus 0:19-0:31 Middle 8 0:31-0:41 Verse/Chorus 0:41-0:54 Solo 0:54-1:12 Middle 8 1:12-1:23 Verse/Chorus 1:23-1:34 Coda (chorus?) 1:34-1:44* Comments: Two-part introduction: first the harmonica riff, second the backing. Both stem from the verses. A la "Love Me Do", the utter simplicity of "Little Child" actually makes its structure somewhat ambiguous. Every verse features identical lyrics, which blurs the boundaries delineating where the verse ends and the chorus starts. For that reason, I've labeled these sections verse/chorus. If the song does feature a chorus, the coda makes use of it. Since song titles often come from the lyrics of the chorus, this tune might have easily been called "Baby take a Chance With Me". "Till There Was You" Intro (verse) 0:00-0:08 Verse 1 0:08-0:23 Verse 2 0:23-0:39 Middle 8 0:39-0:54 Verse 3 0:54-1:10 Solo 1:10-1:26 Middle 8 1:26-1:42 Verse 4 1:42-1:58 Coda 1:58-2:12* Comments: No chorus, although the line "Till there was you" could be interpreted as such since those are the only lyrics that remain the same from verse to verse. The lack of increased energy, however, prompts me to instead categorize it as part of the verse. The coda draws out the same words, so it could be interpreted as being based on the chorus (if there is one). Otherwise it could be based on the verse. On the other hand, despite the lyrical similarities, the music is largely unrelated to the rest of the song, so it could also been interpreted as independent. "Please Mister Postman" Intro (bridge) 0:00-0:08 Chorus 0:08-0:23 Verse 1 0:23-0:39 Bridge 0:39-0:54 Chorus 0:54-1:10 Verse 2 1:10-1:26 Chorus 1:26-1:42 Coda 1:42-2:31* Comments: Intro based on bridge, which naturally leads to chorus. Bridge sounds very similar to verse. Part of the reason why is that the same chord progression (A, F-sharp minor, D, E) permeates the entire song (whereas bridges will often change the chords slightly to propel the music towards the chorus). Lastly, this song has the longest, most developed coda (three sections, which share the same chord progression as the rest of the song but is otherwise independent) in Beatles recordings to date - even bigger than "Twist and Shout" from earlier that same year, though certainly nowhere near the size and substance of "Hey Jude" five years later. "Roll Over Beethoven" Intro 0:00-0:17 Verse 1 0:17-0:29 Chorus 0:29-0:35 Verse 2 0:35-0:47 Chorus 0:47-0:54 Verse 3 0:54-1:05 Chorus 1:05-1:11 Middle 8 1:11-1:23 Chorus 1:23-1:29 Solo 1:29-1:47 Verse 4 1:47-1:58 Chorus 1:58-2:04 Verse 5 2:04-2:22 (Chorus 2:16-2:22)* Chorus/Coda 2:22-2:43 Comments: Another "split intro" (where the introduction can be divided into two distinct parts): first the guitar lick, then the backing is added. The former will reappear in the solo, the latter is used in the verses. Three verses before middle 8 (usually it's two). More verses (five) than any other Beatles recording to date (several on Please Please Me use four). The chorus always use similar lyrics ("Roll over Beethoven...") each time except for the chorus following Verse 5, which instead substitutes "Long as she's got a dime the music will never stop". (This might is likely because the coda, which immediately follows, is based on the chorus.) Since the energy levels of the verse and chorus are equal, I would have considered them part of the same section (rather than splitting them into two distinct sections) had the lyrics of the chorus different each time. That is what happens in Verse 5, so to indicate that in the above chart, I've included 2:16-2:22 twice: as part of Verse 5, and also as part of the subsequent chorus. "Hold Me Tight" Intro (verse) 0:00-0:03 Verse 1 0:03-0:17 Bridge 0:17-0:24 Chorus 0:24-0:31 Verse 2 0:31-0:45 Bridge 0:45-0:52 Chorus 0:52-1:00 Middle 8 1:00-1:12 Verse 3 1:12-1:26 Bridge 1:26-1:33 Chorus 1:33-1:40 Middle 8 1:40-1:52 Verse 4 1:52-2:07 Bridge 2:07-2:14 Chorus 2:14-2:21 Coda (chorus) 2:21-2:30 Comments: Structurally speaking the busiest Beatles recording so far. Verse 1 and 3 share lyrics, as do verses 2 and 4. "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" Intro (chorus) 0:00-0:13 Verse 1 0:13-0:35 Chorus 0:35-0:47 Verse 2 0:47-1:09 Chorus 1:09-1:22 Middle 8 1:22-1:37 Transition 1:37-1:49 Verse 3 1:49-2:11 Chorus 2:11-2:24 Middle 8 2:24-2:39 Coda (chorus) 2:39-3:00 Comments: Intro and Coda based on chorus. "I Wanna Be Your Man" Intro (verse) 0:00-0:01 Verse 1 0:01-0:21 Chorus 0:21-0:31 Verse 2 0:310:51 Chorus 0:51-1:01 Solo 1:01-1:16 Verse 3 1:16-1:35 Chorus 1:35-1:46 Coda (chorus) 1:46-1:58 Comments: very straight forward. The shortest introduction (guitar lick reappears in second verse, right after the line "Love you like no other, baby, like no other can") of any Beatles song to date (of those that use an intro, of course - not all do). "Devil In Her Heart" Intro (verse) 0:00-0:08 Verse 1 0:08-0:24 Middle 8 0:24-0:42 Verse 2 0:42-0:58 Middle 8 0:58-1:16 Verse 3 1:16-1:32 Middle 8 1:32-1:50 Verse 4 1:50-2:05 Coda (verse) 2:05-2:25 Comments: One of the most structurally primitive Beatles recording so far - a verse, and something to contrast that verse (middle 8 - although in this song it's actually nine measures long, not eight), with a beginning and ending (both using the backing from the verses with an overlaid guitar riff) tacked on. No solo, no chorus. "Not A Second Time" Verse 1 0:00-0:13 Verse 2 0:13-0:26 Chorus 0:26-0:45* Solo 0:451:05 Verse 3 1:05-1:18 Verse 4 1:18-1:32 Chorus 1:32-1:51* Coda (chorus) 1:51-2:04* Comments: Verses 1 and 3 same; as are 2 and 4. This one blurs the line between chorus and middle 8: the tonal shifts suggest a middle 8, but the energy is not much different from the verse (middle 8s are often less energetic than the verses - as in "It Won't Be Long" - while choruses are often more energetic - as in "Please Please Me"). Then again the Beatles early recordings have shown quite clearly that their choruses rarely do feature that characteristic increase in energy, which would lend support to calling these sections choruses instead of a middle 8s. Additionally, the title comes from the end of the section in question, which would be unusual for a middle 8, but extremely common for a chorus. For all of those reasons and more, I've opted to label these sections as a chorus. "Money (That's What I Want)" Intro (chorus) 0:00-0:15 Verse 1 0:15-0:22 Chorus 0:22-0:37 Verse2 0:37-0:44 Chorus 0:44-0:59 Verse 3 0:59-1:06 Chorus 1:06-1:21 Solo 1:21-1:36 Verse 4 1:36-1:44 Chorus 1:44-1:59 Coda (chorus) 1:59-2:47 Comments: Very short verses, but one of the longer codas (two sections, based on the chorus) in Beatles recordings so far. Verses 3 and 4 share identical lyrics. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS All 14 tracks of Please Please Me employed both introductions and codas. On With the Beatles, not every song does: "It Won't Be Long" begins with a chorus, and "All My Loving" and "Not a Second Time" begin with a verse. Every song on With the Beatles does, however, use a coda. Two of these codas ("Money (That's What I Want)", and "Please Mr. Postman") are substantial in size. Unlike Please Please Me (in which 6 of the 14 tracks did not use a chorus), all but two on With the Beatles ("All My Loving" and "Devil in her Heart") does use a chorus, though two of them ("Little Child" and "Not a Second Time") blur the distinction between middle 8 and chorus.
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