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Hey Hey Hey Hey: The Beatles' Use Of Choruses

10/15/2016

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Choruses are defined by three primary elements: 1) repeated lyrics, 2) high energy, and 3) thick texture. These three factors all contrast verses, which typically use different lyrics with each iteration, are comparatively less energetic, and usually feature a thinner texture.

Take 'Yellow Submarine', for example.

1) repeated lyrics
Each of the four verses of 'Submarine' implement the same music but different lyrics.
   Verse 1: "In the town where I was born..."
   Verse 2: "So we sailed unto the sun..."
   Verse 3: "And our friends are all aboard...."
   Verse 4: "As we live a life of ease..."

But the choruses feature both the same music and the same lyrics:
   Choruses 1, 2, and 3: "We all live in a yellow submarine...."

2) high energy
The choruses, in comparison to the verses, elevate the energy levels. That's not to say that verses are - or have to be - low in energy, but typically they are lower in energy. And that distinction is easily discernible listening to 'Yellow Submarine'.

3) thicker texture
Ringo sings the verses by himself, but he's joined by many more voices in each of the choruses. This helps provide the "thicker texture" characteristic of choruses.

Those three factors are the primary distinguishing factors when interpreting any given section as a chorus. Of course, there is some ambiguity when it comes to distinguishing choruses from refrains, which also employ the same lyrics on each iteration. But refrains are dependent on the verse, whereas choruses are independent of the verse. In other words, you can't have a refrain all by itself but it's common to find a chorus all by its lonesome For more consideration on the sometimes difficult decision, see my blog Ambiguity in 'The Fool on the Hill'.

With those factors in mind, 66 (31.3%) of The Beatles' 211 tracks use at least one chorus. And those 66 songs use their choruses in a number of different ways.

4 (6.1%) of those 66 are based on the verse, meaning the verse and chorus are strongly related (same pacing, same harmonies) even though the choruses are clearly distinct from the verses.
  • 'Boys'
  • 'Long Tall Sally'
  • 'Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey'
  • 'I'm Down'
Notice that all in this list but 'I'm Down' are covers, meaning the decisions to use a chorus and to base it on the verse were not The Beatles' choices. Nevertheless, the band chose to retain those choices in their cover recordings.

14 (21.2%) of Beatles choruses are "faulty bridges" (John Covach's words, not mine) in deceptive AABA forms. The Beatles looooved AABA form, using it in 57% of their songs. For those not already familiar with AABA structure, the BEATLES MINUTE video below explains it, using 'Please Please Me' as an example.
But AABA designs require a bridge. And several songs, though literally AABAs, don't function as such because the B section is a chorus instead of a bridge. These are called "deceptive AABA" structures.
  • 'She Loves You'
  • 'Please Mr. Postman'
  • 'Can't Buy Me Love'
  • 'Every Little Thing'
  • 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'
  • 'I've Just Seen A Face'
  • 'Got To Get You Into My Life'
  • 'Eleanor Rigby'
  • 'Yellow Submarine'
  • 'Penny Lane'
  • 'She's Leaving Home'
  • 'Baby You're A Rich Man'
  • 'All You Need Is Love'
  • 'Don't Pass My By'

A song's structure typically begins with the first verse. Anything prior to that first verse can be thought of as introductory. Choruses, being high-energy and catchy by nature, often make ideal introductions because they quickly hook a listener's attention. 19 (27.8%) Beatles songs use an introductory chorus:
  • 'She Loves You'
  • 'Please Mr. Postman'
  • 'It Won't Be Long'
  • 'Can't Buy Me Love'
  • 'Tell Me Why'
  • 'Any Time At All'
  • 'When I Get Home'
  • 'Baby's In Black'
  • 'I'm A Loser'
  • 'Honey Don't
  • 'You're Going To Lose That Girl'
  • 'Help!'
  • 'What Goes On'
  • 'Eleanor Rigby'
  • 'Good Day Sunshine'
  • 'Strawberry Fields Forever'
  • 'It's All Too Much'
  • 'Cry Baby Cry'
  • 'The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill'

Similarly, though more ambiguously, choruses can also be used at the ends of songs. Concluding choruses are iterations of the chorus, but are somehow altered to propel the song to its conclusion. This is often a repetition of the final phrase (such as "And with a love that like, you know you should be glad" in 'She Loves You'), or a fade out (example: 'I'm Down'), or occasionally a combination of the two (see 'Little Child'). 33 (50.0%) of songs use a concluding chorus:
  • 'Boys'
  • 'She Loves You'
  • 'Please Mr. Postman'
  • 'It Won't Be Long'
  • 'Can't Buy Me Love'
  • 'Tell Me Why'
  • 'Any Time At All'
  • 'When I Get Home'
  • 'Baby's In Black'
  • 'Kansas City/Hey Hey Hey Hey'
  • 'Honey Don't'
  • 'You're Going To Lose That Girl'
  • 'Help!'
  • 'I've Just Seen A Face'
  • 'I'm Down'
  • 'It's Only Love'
  • 'Think For Yourself'
  • 'Eleanor Rigby'
  • 'Good Day Sunshine'
  • 'Penny Lane'
  • 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds'
  • 'She's Leaving Home'
  • 'With A Little Help From My Friends'
  • 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)'
  • 'Magical Mystery Tour'
  • 'Baby You're A Rich Man'
  • 'All Together Now'
  • 'All You Need Is Love'
  • 'I'm So Tired'
  • 'The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill'
  • 'Don't Let Me Down'
  • 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)'

Almost all (52 - 78.8%) Beatles songs to use choruses use them as part of a compound module, meaning that the chorus combines with another section (almost always a verse) to create a module that is then repeated (sometimes partially, though usually in full) throughout the song.
  • 'It Won't Be Long'
  • 'I Wanna Be Your Man'
  • 'Can't Buy Me Love'
  • 'Tell Me Why'
  • 'Any Time At All'
  • 'When I Get Home'
  • 'I'm A Loser'
  • 'Every Little Thing'
  • 'Rock And Roll Music'
  • 'Honey Don't'
  • 'You've Got To Hide Your Love Away'
  • 'You're Going To Lose That Girl'
  • 'Help!'
  • 'I've Just Seen A Face'
  • 'It's Only Love'
  • 'Wait'
  • 'Drive My Car'
  • 'What Goes On'
  • 'Think For Yourself'
  • 'Got To Get You Into My Life'
  • 'Yellow Submarine'
  • 'Good Day Sunshine'
  • 'Strawberry Fields Forever'
  • 'Penny Lane'
  • 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds'
  • 'Getting Better'
  • 'She's Leaving Home'
  • 'With A Little Help From My Friends'
  • 'Magical Mystery Tour'
  • 'Baby You're A Rich Man'
  • 'It's All Too Much'
  • 'All You Need Is Love'
  • 'Blue Jay Way'
  • 'The Fool On The Hill'
  • 'Hello Goodbye'
  • 'Across The Universe'
  • 'Hey Bulldog'
  • 'Revolution 1'
  • 'Don't Pass Me By'
  • 'Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da'
  • 'Revolution'
  • 'Cry Baby Cry'
  • 'Helter Skelter'
  • 'Wild Honey Pie'
  • 'I'm So Tired'
  • 'The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill'
  • 'Dig A Pony'
  • 'Let It Be'
  • 'I Want You (She's So Heavy)'
  • 'Carry That Weight'
  • 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer'
  • 'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window'

Lastly, 6 (9.1%) Beatles songs use the chorus in unique ways, and will therefore be considered individually.

  • 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'
The structure of 'Pepper' is palindromic - it's the same forwards as it is backwards. While other Beatles tracks are palindromic (see 'I'll Be Back' and 'Don't Let Me Down'), in no other does a chorus function as the keystone of the palindrome.
Picture

  • 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)'
The reprise of 'Pepper' is the only song in The Beatles' catalog to use only choruses. Every other track that uses a chorus supplements it with something else (usually a verse, but not always - see 'Wild Honey Pie' below). This makes sense since the "full" version, with its verses and bridges, was featured earlier on the album.
Picture
  • 'Hey Jude'
This song blends the notions of coda and chorus because the famous "nah nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah, hey Jude" conclusion is both simultaneously. No other Beatles track does that.

  • 'Wild Honey Pie'
​It's the only complete Beates track (counting the reprise of 'Pepper' as a fragment and thus an incomplete track) to use choruses without also using verses. In this case, it's paired with breaks (because they're entirely instrumental).
Picture

  • 'Don't Let Me Down'
Like 'Sgt. Pepper' (see above), 'Don't Let Me Down' is also palindromic in structure. Unlike 'Pepper', however, the chorus functions not a single time as the keystone but as the principal structural component. It's heard five times - more than the verses (heard twice), or the keystone bridge (heard just once).
Picture
It is tempting to call the first chorus an "introductory chorus" because it precedes the first verse. But, highly unusual, in this case the structure begins with the that first chorus and not with the first verse.

The fifth and final chorus, on the other hand, is clearly a concluding chorus.

  • 'Golden Slumbers'
Technically, the ABA design of 'Golden Slumbers' is palindromic, with the chorus serving as keystone. But at with just three sections, the term "ternary" is a better choice because it better illustrates the song's structure. Regardless of nomenclature, the chorus is smack dab in the middle.
Picture
'Slumbers' is also the only Beatles song to use a "chorus + refrain". A refrain typically cannot appear in a chorus because there's no way to discern the "chorus proper" from the refrain. In 'Golden Slumbers', however, the reprise of the refrain found in the verses makes that distinction.

Careful readers might notice that, unlike other Formal Level sections, choruses are typically used in more ways than one within a single song. In fact, only 15 (22.7%) of the 66 tracks listed above use the chorus in one way only:
  • 'Long Tall Sally' (based on verse)
  • 'Little Child' (part of compound module)
  • 'Wait' (part of compound module)
  • 'Drive My Car' (part of compound module)
  • 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' (palindromic keystone)
  • 'The Fool On The Hill' (part of compound module)
  • 'Across The Universe' (part of compound module)
  • 'Hey Bulldog' (part of compound module)
  • 'Hey Jude' (blends chorus and coda)
  • 'Dig A Pony' (part of compound module)
  • 'Let It Be' (part of compound module)
  • 'Golden Slumbers' (ternary, refrain)
  • 'Carry That Weight' (part of compound module)
  • 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' (part of compound module)
  • 'She Came In Through The Bathroom Window' (part of compound module)

The remaining 51 (77.3%) use choruses in multiple ways. For example, the four choruses of 'Can't Buy Me Love' are used in four different ways: the first is an introductory chorus, the second is a "faulty bridge" as part of a deceptive AABA, the fourth is a concluding chorus, and the second through fourth are all part of compound modules.
Picture
Sooooo, The Beatles' use of choruses is widely varied and at times convoluted. And this is complexity is compounded by the fact that so many songs use choruses in multiple ways within the same song.

Tomorrow is the first of four double bookings over the next week.

Monday, 17 October 2016, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Beverly Public Library, 32 Essex St, Beverly, MA
Shadow Ball: A History of The Negro Leagues
When Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball on 15 April 1947, it marked one of the sport's greatest historical moments. But it also served as the beginning of the end for the Negro Leagues. This 60-minute multimedia presentation will observe and discuss the rise and fall of Negro League baseball.

Monday, 17 October 2016, 7:00-8:00 p.m.
Topsfield Town Library, 1 S Common St, Topsfield, MA
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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