Later, I also noticed that "Go up" in the line "Go up the stairs and down the hallway" is sung to an ascending pair of notes (I think it's a seventh: C to Bb), representing this "up," and that the phrase "all the world" in the line "And she's the greatest girl in all the world" is sung to notes of all different pitches (E D G), also giving a sense of this breadth or entirety.
Monday, June 22, 2026
"So Long, Dad"
This morning, I figured out one of the Mellotron parts in "So Long, Dad" (if I'm not mistaken, it's predominantly trombone, but I think something else is also combined with it), and I noticed that at one point, it demonstrates the lyrics in a way. After the line "And she's the greatest girl in all the world," there's a three-note chromatic phrase (D D# E, dropping to C# at the end). While the span is small (only a whole step from D to E), the chromaticism involved lends some sense of breadth (in terms of variety of pitches), hinting at the entirety of "all the world."
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So Long Dad
Thursday, June 18, 2026
"Harry the One-Man-Band"
Years ago, I noticed that the structure of the line "Anywhere the people are, Harry's sure to go" in "Harry the One-Man-Band" is such that "people" and "Harry" are near each other, matching the meaning. I was thinking about the song yester-day and realized that this proximity is also portrayed musically: there's only a half-step between the last syllable of "people" (sung to a Bb) and the first syllable of "Harry" (sung to an A).
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Harry the One Man Band
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
"Hi Lili, Hi Lo"
In the lines "On ev'ry tree there sits a bird / Singin' a song of love" at the beginning of "Hi Lili, Hi Lo," the phrase "ev'ry tree" is sung to notes of all different pitches (G A B), giving a sense of number.
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Hi Lili Hi Lo
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
"You're for Me"
I listened to Mann Made yester-day and noticed a couple very small features.
The repetition involved in the alliterative "so soon" in the line "It was so good while it lasted while ended so soon" in "You're for Me" lends a slight sense of degree.
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You're for Me
Thursday, January 8, 2026
"She Needs Company"
Last night, I finally notated the saxophone part in "She Needs Company" that I figured out last week, and I had an-other realization about the song. It's in E major, which has four sharps, so in a way, there's a representation of the description "both dressed so sharp in all the latest fashions," although, obviously, the meanings of these two sharps are different. Furthermore, most of the longest notes in the saxophone part are sharps, lending some more emphasis to these particular pitches.
Of course, there's the disclaimer that I may have something wrong, but I think the part is something like this:
The song actually contains two saxophone parts. So far, I've figured out only one, but I may have inadvertently mixed the two.
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notation,
She Needs Company
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