See What Had Happened Was…
Background: We all have regrets in life. Sometimes they’re major regrets that lend themselves well to serious songs, and other times, they’re minor regrets that we can look back on and laugh at. The focus of this blog is the reasons we didn’t do certain things, one of which is an overcompensation for the actual truth.
“Because I Got High” by Afroman
Lyrically: The song is an example song, talking about all the things the narrator didn’t do because he got high. He starts off by neglecting to clean his room, then he discusses missing class, followed by failing to show up for work, failing to go to court, choosing to run from the cops, failing to pay his car note, and deciding to not make love to his woman, before ultimately concluding that he’ll know why if this record doesn’t sell well, “because I’m high.”
Melodically: The song alternates between G, C, D, and G. With the song in G major, this is a I, IV, V, I pattern, that remains the same throughout the song. Instrumentally, the song includes bass and drums.
Structurally: The song contains all verses, of which there are nine. Whether you’re writing a story song or an example song, you always want the song to build in intensity as it goes on, and this song does an excellent job of that. It starts off with little things that only affect the narrator, but then escalates into his personal life, losing his kids and wife, and the last verse is him recognizing his self-destructive behavior, saying he’s gonna stop singing because he’s high. It’s a natural lyrical progression, but also has a good conclusion (otherwise the song could go on forever), of how he’s trying to make his life better.
“Because I Got High” is embedded below. If you don’t get around to listening to it, I’ll know why.
2. “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin
Lyrically: The song tells the story of a conversation between a father and son. At first, the son wants to spend time with his father, and the father continues to rattle off excuses as to why he can’t. In the first verse, he sets up all the things the child accomplished while he was away, such as learning to walk and talk. In the second verse, the son wants to play catch and the dad says “not today.” In each chorus, the son asks the father when he’s coming home and the father says, “I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then.” The last chorus sees the father asking for the son’s time, but now the son is the one who’s too busy. This pattern repeats from the second verse on. In the first two verses, the son says he’s gonna be like his father, and at first it might seem like someone unconditionally looking up to their parent, but the twist is that the kid turns out to treat his father the way his father treated him. It’s very powerful.
Melodically: Though the song shifts keys throughout, it is written in the key of F mixolydian and is played with the capo on the 8th fret. In the verse, it uses the chords F, Ab, Bb, and F, a I, IIIb, IV, I pattern that gets played twice. This is followed by Eb bass note scale wise walkdown to F, a VIIb to I pattern. The chorus then uses F, Eb, Ab, and Bb, which is a I, VIIb, IIIb, IV pattern. The interlude uses Db, Eb, Cm, and F, which gets played twice. Instrumentally, it uses an acoustic guitar, sitar, bass, strings, organ, and drums.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, solo, verse, chorus format. If I were writing a song like this, I would have used a bridge, but Chapin was able to convey the role change without the use of a bridge to great effect. It works well without one because there isn’t any emotion attached to the father-son relationship. A bridge to me would imply some change of emotion, like a father’s anger that his son was treating him the same way or that the son was angry and said “I’m gonna get you back,” but instead, it’s just the vague, “I’m gonna be like you,” line, and that comes true when life gets in the way for the kid and he can’t spend time with his father. Now on either end, it could be true, but I subscribe to the notion that no one is ever that busy and they could make time if they wanted to. So it’s a very powerful role reversal and the fact that it’s such a smooth transition, just using verses and choruses speaks to the delivery.
We’ll talk about “Cat’s in the Cradle” after you listen to it. We’re gonna have a good time then.
3. “The Call” by The Backstreet Boys
Background: This is an absolute throwback for me. While the first song we looked at was all about what the narrator couldn’t do, the last three songs are about what the narrators say they can’t do because of a current situation. Maybe my memory is a little fuzzy from when this song came out (when I was 7 or 8), but based on the music video, I always thought this song was about someone who was robbing a bank and called his girlfriend to let him know he was gonna be late. But instead…
Lyrically: This song is about someone who went out with his friends and met another woman who invited him back to her place, and of course, he couldn’t say no. Though Andy Grammer’s song “Honey I’m Good” would come out 14 years later, “The Call” is about what happens when you don’t say no. The second verse then says how two years later, he and his girl are no longer together because she found out through one of her friends, who knew about the narrator’s infidelity. He then replays the conversation back in his head, expressing his regret.
Melodically: The song is in the key of Bbm and uses Bbm, F, Bbm, Ebm, F, Bbm, Gb, F, Bbm, F, Gb, Db, F, and Ebm in the verses. This is a i, V, i, iv, V, i, VI, V i, V, VI, iii, i, iv progression in the verses. The chorus uses Bbm, F, Db, Ebm, F, Bbm, F, Gb, Ab, and F. After the bridge, the first verse is sung again, changing to C minor and using Cm, G, Cm, Fm, G, Cm, G, Ab, G and Cm. This is a i, V, i, iv, V, i, V, VIb, V, i pattern. Instrumentally, it uses guitar, strings, and programmed drums.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, chorus format. My inclination as a songwriter is to make the bridge be something that would change. So for the narrator of the song, the last chorus would be him calling up his ex-girlfriend to apologize one more time and see if she would take him back. The lyrics would stay the same at the start “Listen baby, I’m sorry,” but then change to a true apology to her, not just to us as listeners. But the whole point of the song is to tell us about the call that changed his life – and saying that his life cannot be changed back because of what he did. I’ll be honest, bridges aren’t Max Martin’s specialty, and sometimes it brings the song down as a result. But with this Martin-penned tune, he found a way to play to his songwriting weakness (relatively speaking) to make the content of the song about the mistake, not about making up for the mistake, and it still works very well.
While you’re at that little place nearby, you can listen to “The Call,” which is embedded below.
4. “Broken Telephone” by Wyly Bigger
Lyrically: I always like to try to take the last song in each blog in a different direction than the other ones. While all the other excuses we’ve looked at have led to negative consequences for the narrator and the people around them, this song sees the narrator guessing the reasons behind the other person’s silence, and her ghosting him leads him to making up an excuse as to why he hasn’t heard from her. Since she doesn’t hit him with a “See what had happened was…” he’s forced to think about the reason for his silence on her own. I so wish this song weren’t as relatable as it is, but it’s just a fantastic look at both the denial and bargaining stage of grief.
Melodically: The song’s main instrument is Rhodes electric piano and is written in the key of F major. The verses use F, Bb, F, G, and C, a I, IV, I, II, V pattern. This is followed by F, Bb, F, A7/E, Dm, F/C, Bb, C, and F, which is a I, IV, I, III7, vi, I, IV, V, I pattern. Beginning and ending the verse as a whole on the tonic is an excellent choice, as it gives us a feeling of resolution, and this works in two ways. Number one, the narrator has made up his mind that the reason why he hasn’t heard from her has to be because his phone is broken – his heart won’t accept anything else. For us as listeners, the dramatic irony kicks in. We know his delusion isn’t true. So hearing the V chord has less to do with a big cliffhanger, and more to do with inspiring a large level of empathy in us as the listeners, on behalf of this brokenhearted man.
The chorus then uses Bb, Am, Gm, and C (a IV, iii, ii, V pattern, played twice), before ending on F, Bb, F, A7/E, Dm, F/C, Bb, C, and F (a I, IV, I, III7, vi, I, IV, V, I pattern). The bridge uses Gm, Bb, and F, followed by Gm, Bb, and C, which is a ii, IV, I, ii, IV, V pattern. The solo uses F, Bb, F, A7/E, Dm, F/C, Bb, C, and F, which is a I, IV, I, III7, vi, I, IV, V, I pattern, which are the same chords played in the second half of the chorus. The drums come in at the tail end of the first verse and continue on throughout the rest of the song, and the same with the bass guitar. A saxophone comes in during the chorus.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, verse, chorus, verse, bridge, solo, chorus format. The circular nature of the verses is a result of beginning and ending on the tonic chord. The chorus does the same thing, but rather than starting and ending on the I chord, it creates a little tension at the beginning by starting on the IV chord, to indicate a change in mood. So you have resolution→resolution (verses) and tension→resolution in the chorus. With that said, there is tension in the verses, as he moves from the ii to the IV, to the V, before resolving on the I. To me, the chorus and the bridge provide breaks from resolution of the verses, and the bridge starts on the minor ii and ends on the major V chord, which provides more tension that never gets resolved, at least in that section. The solo goes back to the I from the I again, but makes us sit with what’s just been said, so the lack of singing provides the tension, rather than the chords themselves. But then the tension comes back in as the chorus is sung one more time, before ending on the I chord, which resolves that tension. Using this structure is a great choice, because it makes the listener feel like they’re on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster–they can’t get too comfortable in the melody or the lyrics because of the structure of the song.
“Broken Telephone” is embedded below.
