Copyright 1989 Alan W. Pollack All Rights Reserved"It Won't Be Long" is a raving album opener rich in detail, and elliptical in form. The song is built out of three distinct, two-line phrases, each of which reappears at least once. What's particularly interesting is that the normal, easy-to-recognize distinction between verse/break/refrain is rather blurred here by both the repeat pattern as well as the particular content of each phrase.
Let's actually first look at the three different phrases close up (all the better to observe the details) and we'll come back to the question of the overall form at the end.
- the use of the vi chord as a pseudo dominant, almost a signature device
of the The Beatles in this period; look at the very the next song on this
album () and note how they use
the same chord progression, (not to mention the same key).
- the special chord in the second half of measure six, which I have a great
deal of trouble diagnosing for certain from the recording; advice from someone
with either a score or better ears would be appreciated. What I think I hear
is a diminished chord sitting between the IV and the I chord; i.e., A#-C#-E-F
double sharp. However it's possibly only an A7 chord; i.e., we get the
F double sharp , but the bass holds on to A natural. In either case,
this spicy chord is created by chromatic motion of at least one inner voice.
I prefer not to assign a Roman numeral to it, rather to describe it as a
chord which bridges the two chords on either side of it, incidentally created
by the chromatic melodic motion. It's worth noting how this chord
marks the solitary moment in this phrase where the harmonic rhythm quickens.
- the "Day Tripper"-like guitar riff used in measures
seven and eight. This
figure reappears in phrase Y and helps unify the song overall. Savor that
bent F double sharp -> G#, but also contemplate the skill of the player
in getting it consistent in each repeat; unless of course, it was recorded
once as an "edit piece" and then overdubbed like a macro each time.
- the antiphonal "yeah - yeah" vocals, difficult to perform but fun to
listen to even in mono. These vocals are given a gentle syncopated feel
by the fact that John's voice, which is mixed forward from the others,
sings his "yeahs" on the off beat.
- the phrase looks like this harmonically:
- it's an unusual seven measures long. Actually I've always heard the fourth
measure in a dual, pivot role; initially hearing it as the last measure
of a four measure sub-phrase, but by the time we get to measure five, I
realize that it's actually the first measure of the second sub-phrase.
The Boys liked this gimmick, using it in Any Time at All" and probably elsewhere.
- the use of the C Major chord in the key of E is something we haven't seen yet
in these articles: the VI chord borrowed from the parallel minor key,
sometimes referred to as the "flat VI" since it's root is a half-tone
lower than what it would be for the vi chord which naturally appears in
the Major key. I'm tempted to dub it "the Buddy Holly chord"; think of
the break in "Peggy Sue."
- and of course, there's the carryover of the the guitar riff from phrase X.
- the phrase looks like this harmonically:
- the descending, chromatic bassline. This is another device used by the
Boys all over the map; "It's Only Love" and
"Dear Prudence" are two widely
spaced examples that come to mind.
- the manner in which the descending bassline is harmonized. Try to hear
the middle voice which descends in parallel with bass at the interval of
a third as well as the upper voice which focuses on the same note, B,
throughout the phrase. This winds up creating an unusual augmented chord
in measure two and a minor chord in measure three to which I wouldn't assign
Roman numerals. As with the special chord in phrase X, I'd describe the
harmony here as being essentially a move from E (I) to C# (V-of-II) in
which the two intervening chords are incidental structures created by the
melodic motion which connects the first and last chords.
- the manner in which the harmonization of the bassline is vocally arranged;
in the raving context of the rest of the song, the subdued, falsetto backing
provides an effective, contrasting moment of relief.
- one other source of relief here is the fact that, in contrast with X and Y
which are both rather heavily bound to the I chord, this Z phrase has an
harmonically open shape, ending on the V.
- the phrase looks like this harmonically:
- is Z a break ? Or perhaps, (ignoring the first, Y-only verse) is it joined to
Y as the first half of a compound (ZY) verse unit ? Under this last option,
X does indeed fit the role of refrain.
- is X a refrain ? Or perhaps, (ignoring its first appearance as an intro) is
it joined to Y as the second half of a compound (YX) verse unit ? Under this
last option, Z does indeed fit the role of break.
- Or perhaps, there are no compound verse units, and the structure is meant
to be parsed by us at the level already diagrammed above. Under this last
option, Y (with it's ever changing lyrics) is the natural choice for verse,
and I'd feel compelled to say that the rest of the form is a highly unusual
hybrid in that we have *both* a refrain (X) and a break (Z).
Which one do you think it is ? In all honesty, and with no toungue-in-cheek
smilies implied, I can't tell for sure.
????
|c# |- |E |- ||c# |A A#dim|E |-
E: vi I vi IV I
Phrase Y" - "Every night/day ... has fun/my eyes/happy I know ..."
This phrase repeats three times and is the only phrase which has consistently
varied lyrics, making it the most verse-like of the three. Musically, it
is distinguished by the following:
|E |C |E ||E |C |E |-
E: I flat-VI I I flat-VI I
Phrase Z - "Since you left me I'm so alone ..."
This phrase is reverts to the square, eight-bar length, is repeated only
twice, and it too has several musically distinguishing details:
chords: |E |B-aug |b |C#7 ||A |B |F# |B
Bassline: E D# D-nat C#
analysis: I V-of-II IV V V-of-V V
Putting it all together
At the level of phrases X, Y, and Z, it's easy enough to map out the block
structure:
X Y X Z Y X Z Y X
The difficulty comes in trying to cluster these phrases into the sort
of verse/break/refrain divisions you come to expect in this genre. Some
of the following questions and options come to mind:
Regards,
Alan ([email protected])
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"They tried to fob you off on this musical charlatan,
but *I* gave him the test." 090189#10
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