Unorthodox Song Structures
Background: When writing a song, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using a structure you know has worked: alternating between verses and choruses, throwing a bridge or a solo in somewhere, we know it’s safe. But it’s not always good for the song, and it’s important to realize that as a songwriter. So in this blog, we’re going to be discussing unorthodox song structures and why they work so well in the context of the rest of the song.
“There She Goes” by the La’s
Lyrically: The song is sung from the perspective of a narrator who is describing his love interest as he sees her walk about town. Okay, that might sound a little creepy, but I promise he’s not a stalker. My interpretation is that he’s trying to work up the nerve to talk to her, despite the line about her “Calling out (his) name.” It could be, though, that they’re together, and he just wants all of us to know how lucky he is to have her.
Structurally: Now why is this such a strange structure? This song does not contain a single verse, but rather opts for all choruses. It’s worth noting that having all verses in a song is not all that odd of a structure, but this has the feel of a chorus. There are slight changes each time, going from “racing through my brain,” to “calling (his) name” and “calling (his) name” to “Chasing down (his) lane,” but the general structure is the same throughout. Going back to the example songs blog, the structure of this song, though very unique, is a perfect one to use when you have all examples. You could of course do the same with all verses, but there’s something special about the repetition within this song, as the narrator is in a complete trance when the woman walks by–at a near loss for words.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of G and uses a pattern of G, D, C (I, V, IV) in the chorus, and the hook (“And I just can’t contain…”) uses Am, G, and C (ii, I, IV). The instrumental break uses G/F#, G, D, C (a I, V, IV pattern played 3 times), followed by the Am, G, C (ii, I, IV) pattern, played twice, but the last time, the D (V chord), is added in. Instrumentally, the song uses acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and bass guitar, as well as drums and a tambourine.
“There She Goes” is embedded below.
2. “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey
Lyrically: “Don’t Stop Believin’” tells the tale of two people who had given up on life and were taking “The midnight train going anywhere.” It sets up the contrast between the two characters: “a small town girl (livin’ in a lonely world)” and “a city boy (born and raised in South Detroit).” In our last blog, we talked about types of narrators, and we discussed the omniscient narrator. The narrator in this song is omniscient, and it’s unclear if he’s just an observer or if he has some connection to the two main characters in the song. But in the third verse, he uses the word “my” when he says, “Workin’ hard to get my fill.” Again, I choose to believe (no pun intended) that the narrator is in the same universe as the two others, but it could be a situation like “Simple Twist of Fate,” where there’s a subtle mention of the narrator in first person and the “city boy” in the song is actually the narrator.
Structurally: As I mentioned at the start of this blog, many songs use a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus format. “Don’t Stop Believin’” makes us think that’s going to be the structure, as it has three verses in a row. But instead, the chorus gets thrown in at the end, saying “Don’t stop believin’, hold onto that feelin’.” It’s a masterful payoff, and it works well because of the tension built with the three verses in a row and the instrumental interludes between the second and third verse and the third verse and the chorus. The chorus is sung twice. Not only does this structure help build tension, it also helps us understand the desperation of the two main characters. Even though the chorus only shows up at the end, the first verse previews the desperation, then he says, “Let me show you what I mean,” which could have been established by starting with the chorus, the way a song like “Payphone” does. But the payoff would not have worked at all if he had said, “Don’t stop believin’ and here’s why.” We needed to root for the characters before you just insisted we did after one chorus. When I think of this song structure, although I call it “unorthodox,” it’s not entirely uncommon. It’s also used in “Dream On” by Aerosmith, as well as “Boston” by Augustana, both of which only have two verses, rather than 3, before the chorus the way “Don’t Stop Believin’” does.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of E and uses the chords E, B, C#m, and A (a I, V, iv, IV pattern) throughout the song. In between the first and second verse, four bars in, the guitar comes in (previously, only piano and bass could be heard). In addition to the aforementioned instruments, there are also drums.
“Don’t Stop Believin’” is featured in Axis of Awesome’s 4 chord song, in which they roll through a handful of songs that use or at least can be played using the I, V, vi, IV pattern from “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Steve Perry is a master songwriter, but whether it’s his lyrics or the band’s melodies, less is always more. The band knew it didn’t need to reinvent the wheel in the sky with the melodies, because the lyrics told a compelling story without using a thousand words (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
I have embedded both “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “The 4 Chord Song” below.
3. “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” by Brad Paisley
Background: Brad Paisley wrote the song while he was a student at Belmont University. Up to that point, he had primarily sung ballads, so after being asked to perform at a school talent show, he (along with future producer, Frank Rogers), decided he should write a novelty song. The crowd loved it. Rogers, however, convinced Paisley to hold onto the song, as he felt it would not be well-received coming from a brand new artist, so it wound up on his second album. This song changed two things for Brad. First, he is now well known for his novelty songs (though can write a tear-jerking ballad too), and the music video for this song featured Kimberly Williams – who Brad fell for while seeing Father of the Bride. He was supposed to see the movie with a date who never showed up, but now he’s married to Kimberly herself!
Lyrically: The song tells the story of a man whose girlfriend gives him an ultimatum as he’s on the way out the door to go fishing: If he went fishing, she’d be “gone by noon.” After a slight pause, he dives into the chorus: “I’m gonna miss her when I get home.” He closes the chorus by saying, “I’m gonna miss her, lookie there… I’ve got a bite!” In other words, he thinks in his mind that he made the right decision.
Structurally: So why does this song fit into the unorthodox song structure blog? After the intro to the song, where the girlfriend sets up the ultimatum, as well as his reaction to said ultimatum, the punchline has already been revealed, so another verse would just seem dry. From a pure storytelling perspective, the only other thing you could do is reveal the deeper issues within the relationship or why he preferred to fish instead of being with her. Of course that would not have fit the vibe of the song, so instead, he adds a bridge. The bridge of a song is supposed to take us to a different place as the listener. This takes the form of the man’s conscience kicking in, saying he could probably still change her mind, but then he remembers that the current weather for fishing is perfect, so he reaffirms that he made the right decision. In order to keep the vibe of the song, a bridge was the only way to do this.
Melodically: The intro uses G, G/B, C, D, G, D, G, G/B, C, A7, G, G/F#, Em, G, G/F#, Em, C, A7, D, while the chorus uses C, G, D, G, G7, C, G, G/F#, E7, C, D, and G. The bridge uses B, Em, A7, D, and G (with the walk up notes of G, A, Bb, and B), followed by B, Em, A7, and D. Instrumentally, the song uses acoustic, electric, steel, dobro, and bass guitar, as well as fiddle, piano, drums, and other percussion.
“I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” is embedded below. Normally, I just include the lyric video, but the music video to this song is amazing (in addition to Kimberly Williams’ cameo, there are also a host of others!)
4. “Hold My Hand” by Hootie and the Blowfish
Lyrically: Though my introduction to this song was the band singing it on Sesame Street, encouraging kids to hold adults’ hands while they cross the street, the album version sees the narrator encouraging someone to hold his hand so he can “Take (them) to the promised land.” My mind has always defaulted to this being about a relationship, but Darius Rucker has stated in interviews that it is actually about overcoming racism, which was a recurring theme on its parent album, Cracked Rear View. There’s an interesting contrast in the third verse that has always been intriguing to me. He says that he doesn’t “Wanna be part of your problems (or) be part of your crowd,” but then reasserts, “I got a hand for you.” The song is all about rising above all the negativity in one’s life, and it all starts with love.
Structurally: This was one of the first songs I learned how to play on guitar (while I was trying to play “Lean On Me,” I’m just that good). But it was also one of the first songs I ever started paying attention to structurally, and here’s why: We talked about building tension through ending with the chorus. But “Hold My Hand” does something else to build that tension, by diving into another verse after the first pre-chorus. The structure is verse, pre-chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, solo, chorus. We talked in a previous blog about “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane, which uses the same structure. However, in this song, there’s still more information to be given after the first two verses, so a third verse is necessary in “Hold My Hand,” where it’s not in the Keane song. As I’ve said many times, it’s about knowing the moment.
Melodically: The original key is B. The intro uses a B E pattern (The I and IV). This also gets played throughout the verse. The pre-chorus uses F#, E, and B (The V, IV, and I), while the chorus uses B, E, and F#, a I, IV, V pattern that gets played 3 times, before ending on the IV, I, IV pattern of E, B, E. Instrumentally, the song contains acoustic and electric guitar, as well as bass and drums.
“Hold My Hand” is embedded below.
5. “Never Gonna Leave This Bed” by Maroon 5
Lyrically: I’m a Maroon 5 apologist, but even I have to admit that when I saw the title of this song, I thought it was gonna be about some sex-crazed maniac, instead of being about Adam Levine. But instead, the song is about staying committed to a relationship, despite the struggles you might face as a couple. This was released in 2010, before the term ghosting was a thing and people actually did this. It should be noted too that this song chronicles a discussion and the push and pull behind it. In the chorus, he says, “So you say go, it isn’t worth it and I say no, it isn’t perfect, so I’ll stay instead, I’m never gonna leave this bed.” The bridge contains one of my favorite lines: “Take me, take it all, take all that I have, I’d give it all away just to get you back.” Like I said at the top, I’m a Maroon 5 apologist. The biggest reason is that a lot of their stuff, especially from their first three records, are vulnerable as can be and have helped me stay positive even through the many downfalls that inhabit my personal life. “Never Gonna Leave This Bed” is a great example of this.
Structurally: The song appears to use a typical verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus structure. However, the band (and possibly producer Mutt Lange) may have felt the same as me about the bridge – because the song ends with the repeating line, “Take me, take it all, take all that I have.” In a previous blog (Writing On Assignment), we talked about “Stayin’ Alive,” which uses the similar bridge to nowhere structure. To my knowledge, these are the only songs that do this. So although not unheard of outside “Never Gonna Leave This Bed,” it’s still very uncommon. But it works so well, so who cares?!
Melodically: The song is written in B major. With the capo on the 4th fret, it uses G#m, E, B, and F#, played 4 times. This is a vi, IV, I, V pattern. The chorus uses B, G#m, E, B, F#, which is a I, vi, IV, I, V pattern, while the bridge uses G#m, E, B, F#, and G#m. This is a vi, IV, I, IV, vi pattern. The tension of the minor vi chord at the end of the bridge is especially effective, as it leads back into the chorus (flawlessly, might I add). Instrumentally, the song uses electric and bass guitar, as well as drums and other percussion.
“Never Gonna Leave This Bed” is embedded (no pun intended) below.
6. “Smooth” by Santana feat. Rob Thomas
Lyrically: “Smooth” compares the trials and tribulations of life to a desired love interest, for whom he’d “Change (his) life to better suit (her) mood.” It begins with the famous, “Man it’s a hot one,” then goes on to say that the woman in question stays cool, despite the heat, and despite the fact that her words melt everyone. To me, the edge to this song is that it almost plays like an ultimatum. He keeps on saying what a mess his life would be if she weren’t in it, then concludes at the end of the chorus, “Give me your heart, make it real, or else forget about it.”
Structurally: When we opened up this blog, we talked about “There She Goes” and how it only contains choruses. “Smooth” has verses, but it actually has two choruses. I don’t mean they sing something new the second time the chorus comes in, but the part that begins with “This life ain’t good enough…” was originally intended as a chorus. It plays somewhat like a pre-chorus, given where it is in the song, paired with its ending on the V chord (the E7 – more on that later), while the second chorus resolves on the Am (the tonic). However, to me, the first chorus feels slightly too bombastic to be a pre-chorus, and it totally works in the song. It transitions incredibly well from one chorus to the next and from the verses to the chorus, as well as from the solo to the choruses. (This is a bonus songwriting trick that, among others, Dan Wilson has praised – sometimes you have the right lyrics, but in the wrong part of the song).
Melodically: The song is written in the key of A minor. The main lead guitar riff uses a i, VI, V pattern of Am, F, and E, which gets played four times. Then the verses use Am, F, E, E7 ( a i, VI, V pattern), followed by Dm7, Dm7/C, Dm7/B, variations on the four chord, (plus a turnaround that uses G, Bsus4/F#, Bsus4, and E7#9, which is a VII, II, V pattern). This progression gets played 6 times. It has a bossa nova rhythm, and contains guitar, bass, keyboards, drums (including congas), trombone, and trumpet.
“Smooth” is embedded below. Listen or else forget about it.
