Monday, March 29, 2021

"It's Getting Late"

In the lines "Baby, I've been inquiring around / Baby, to see what you're putting down" in "It's Getting Late," the phrase "putting down" is sung to a group of descending notes (D C Bb), so while it's used more metaphorically, there's a sense of the words' meaning.

Monday, March 22, 2021

"Driva Man"

In the line "Don't you be so bad" in "Driva Man," both "so" and "bad" are sung with melismas (I think "so" is sung to the notes F D D C Bb and "bad" to the notes C Bb) giving a sense of degree.

That each verse ends with the lines "Ain't but two things on your mind / Driva man and quittin' time" illustrates the predominance of those two things.

Monday, March 15, 2021

"I Can't Believe What You Say"

The organ solo in "I Can't Believe What You Say" uses the Alberti bass figure.  I made a video about it because I felt that that would be a better demonstration:


There are a number of key changes during this section, and this may be intended to represent the capricious nature of the girl in the song, as summarized by this line in the bridge:  "You know you're one girl when you're in a public place, but another when you're in my car."

Monday, March 8, 2021

"When Will I Be Loved"

In "When Will I Be Loved," "'round" in the line "I've been pushed 'round" is sung with a melisma (D C A), giving something of a sense of movement.

The clause "it happens every time" in the bridge is sung with different articulations to give a sense of frequency.  In the first bridge, "time" is sung with a melisma (D E E D C, I think).  In the second bridge, "every" is sung with three syllables, and "time" has a different melisma (B G).

Monday, March 1, 2021

"I Put a Spell on You"

In the lines "I'm gonna put a spell on you / And you gonna be mine every night" in "I Put a Spell on You," "every" is sung with three syllables, giving a sense of number or frequency.