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."

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."