Let’s Not Put a Label on This
Background: Although as a storyteller, I love talking about the true inspiration behind my songs, I recognize that part of the fun of listening to songs is creating your own meaning. Appealing to my fellow songwriters reading this blog, however, the following songs are actually digs at the record labels, cleverly disguised as breakup songs. My goal in this blog is not for you to stick it to your label, but rather to show you how you can write a song with a universal meaning while still getting something personal off your chest.
“I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” by Darryl Hall and John Oates
Lyrically: When you listen to a song like “Hard Day’s Night” or “The Way You Make Me Feel,” there are allusions to how hard the narrator works to keep his love interest satisfied. So the line in the first verse of “I Can’t Go For That” which references overtime, may tip us off to the fact that this isn’t truly about a romantic relationship. However, I feel like most of us would wind up in a meeting with HR if we told our bosses, “You’ve got the body,” so this is where the disguising comes in. I love the follow up line, “Now you want my soul” because it could mean a few different things. It could be akin to “I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul” from “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” but knowing what we know, that this is about a record label executive, it could also be the soul music that the group provided. The universal truth is that no matter who the song is about in our mind, it’s someone who’s taking the narrator for granted. He’s finally had enough and says that although he’ll “Do anything that you want me to,” he can’t bring himself to do “that.” It’s also funny to me how quickly he goes from “I’ll do anything that you want me to” to “I’ll do almost anything that you want me to.” What works best about this song is that just like we are able to construct our own meaning about who the narrator is talking about, we are also able to infer what “that” might be exactly. The universal truth comes in the vagueness.
Melodically: The song uses Fm9 and Bb, in the intro. The Fm9 gets played for 8 bars on its own, followed by the aforementioned pattern. With the song written in C minor, this is a iv, VIIb pattern. The 16 bar intro is a terrific way to build up tension before anything is sung, and to me, is one of the defining sounds of the 80s in music (Listen to “West End Girls” by Pet Shop Boys and there’s a strong similarity). The melody was actually the first thing they worked on, before moving onto the lyrics, which were written by Hall and Oates, with a little help from longtime collaborator, Sara Allen.
Although I think first about the keyboard part within the song, Michael Jackson admitted in interviews that the bassline to this song heavily influenced the bassline in “Billie Jean.” In addition to those instruments, there is a drum machine, electric guitar, and a saxophone. Past the intro, the verses use Cm7, F, Cm7, Ab, Bb, a i, IV, i, VIb, VIIb pattern, which gets played twice. The chorus temporarily switches key to C major and uses C, Cmaj7, C7, and Fmaj7. This is a I, IV pattern. When the titular revelation comes in, the chords are Fm9 and Bb, the IV and VIIb chords.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus format. The solo is played over the verse chords, but prominently features saxophone. As I mentioned in the previous sections, the extended intro and the vague lyrics allow for the simple structure to work. The verses aren’t drawn out, meaning there aren’t a whole lot of details in the lyrics, you just know the narrator is done.
You can listen to “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)” below.
2. “Harder to Breathe” by Maroon 5
Lyrically: Anyone who listens to this song will probably be thrilled to know this tune is not about a romantic relationship, after hearing lines like, “I have the tendency of getting very physical, so watch your step ‘cause if I do, you’ll need a miracle.” However, on the surface, the song evokes frustration within a relationship, and with the parent album being called Songs About Jane, the tunes being about Adam Levine’s ex named Jane, it’s easy to hear it as a simple breakup song. The interesting thing about the narrative structure of this song is that the person singing goes back and forth between talking to the person he’s verbally attacking and to the listeners from whom he wants sympathy. For example, in the last line of the first verse, he tells the other person that they’re, “Not fit to fu*king tread the ground that I am walking on,” and in the chorus, he says, “When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love, you’ll understand what I mean when I say there’s no way we’re gonna give up.” Although relatively common, the executives at Maroon 5’s label loved what the band had to offer, especially “Sunday Morning,” but didn’t hear a lead single. So the idea behind the chorus was to say, “If we make it and you choose not to keep us, it’ll be your loss.” The last line, when he asks, “Is there anyone out there? ‘Cause it’s getting harder and harder to breathe,” is a cry to the listeners, that although he believes in himself, circumstances outside his control are making it hard to be successful.
For more context, Maroon 5’s precursor, Kara’s Flowers, was dropped from its label after their debut, The Fourth World, flopped, largely due to lack of promotion from said label. After 2 years, the band reformed. After getting that reaction to the band’s final submission of what would become Songs About Jane, Adam may have seen the same thing happening again. So he wrote “Harder to Breathe” out of frustration, and ironically, it became a top 20 hit!
Melodically: The song’s intro using C#m5 and the verses using C#5, G#5, B5, and F5. With the song written in C#m, this is a I, V, VII, IV pattern, with the last two chords being the VII and IV chords. The chorus uses C#m, G#m, Bsus2, F#m, played twice, before ending on C#m, G#m, and C#m. This is a i, v, VIIb, IV, i, V, I pattern. The way he sings “When it gets cold outside” feels like a vocal rollercoaster, with the “When” sounding great with the tonic and the “Cold outside” sounding rocky and chaotic, with a resolve at the end on the tonic. The I’s the conclusion the narrator has come to, representing closure and a conclusion that it’s getting harder and harder to breathe, so going back to the tonic chord is a terrific choice. Instrumentally, the song contains guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and other programming.
The bridge uses the same chords as the chorus. The bridges from Maroon 5’s first 3 albums are second to none, but it’s interesting to see that this bridge’s chords are the exact same as the chorus, so for the bridge to do its job, taking the song to a different place, it relies on vocal delivery, rather than the chords behind the vocals.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, bridge, chorus format, with the first verse being slightly longer than the second. I mentioned in the lyric section that the digs at the record exec come mainly in the verses, but the bridge has some excellent zingers too: “Yeah, does it kill, does it burn, is it painful to learn that it’s me who has all the control?” being one of them. Even though this isn’t a full-on story, you always want to save your most powerful line for last, and mission accomplished with the structure of the lyrics in that regard!
You can listen to “Harder to Breathe” below.
3. “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles
Lyrically: In a previous blog, we talked about Weird Al’s “This Song’s Just Six Words Long” and how it makes fun of labels’ desire for a radio-friendly hit. “Love Song” does the same thing, but it’s not supposed to be funny. Sara Bareilles has said in interviews that she kept turning in songs to the label and they kept, in turn, rejecting those songs. They told her they were looking for something, but they wouldn’t tell her what they were looking for, other than the fact that they wanted something more radio-friendly. It works perfectly with the theme of our blog. If you’ve ever been frustrated with someone saying you’re not right for them, but they won’t say what you need to do differently, this song’s theme will sound pretty familiar. Why would I write this person a love song when they don’t even know what they want out of love? There are so many gems in this song. It starts off with, “Head underwater, they tell me to breathe easy for a while,” and the last part of the chorus says, “I’m not gonna write you to stay, if all you have is leavin’, I’mma need a better reason to write you a love song today.” I often introduce my love songs by saying, “This is about someone who doesn’t deserve it” and although it was a hit, I’m sure Sara has somewhat mixed feelings about the ditty, because she had put in so much work on other songs too!
Melodically: The song is written in the key of F major and uses Gm, Bb, Dm, and F in the intro and verses, which is a ii, IV, vi, I pattern. The pre-chorus then uses Gm, Am, B, and C, a ii, iii, IV, V pattern (a great progression for a pre-chorus, climbing up and building tension vocally and melodically). The chorus then uses Gm, C, F/A, Bb, a ii, V, I, IV pattern played twice, before going to the IV, ii, iii, vi, II, IV, V, ii, IV, vi, I pattern of Bb, Gm, Am, Dm, G/B, Bb, C, Gm, Bb, Dm, and F. The bridge uses Am, Bb, F, C, Dm, Am, Bb. This iii, iv, I, V, vi, iii, II pattern gets played twice, except the second time around, Am and Bb get left out. Melodically, the song uses piano, drums, guitar, and bass. The drums come in halfway through the first verse, while the guitar and bass come in during the chorus.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus format, with the last chorus being extended. It’s fascinating to me how many different vocal stylings the Gm is used with throughout this song. It fits well with the opening “Head underwater” line, which sounds ominous, but when she gets to the chorus, there’s a recognition of how ridiculous she’s being treated: “Blank stares to blank pages” even though the other person she’s talking to is the reason she’s having the writer’s block. So by the time she gets to the chorus, she’s saying she’s had enough and the Gm is completely an empowerment chord. The way everything builds around the ii chord helps structure the song, even though it’s not the tonic.
You can listen to “Love Song” below.
4. “Barracuda” by Heart
Lyrically: I completely forgot about this while planning this blog, but back in the 70s, Heart’s record label began a campaign that spread a rumor about sisters Nancy and Ann Wilson being lesbian lovers, to try to garner publicity for the band. Naturally, this enraged the siblings, and that’s what this song is about. Like “I Can’t Go For That,” which we looked at earlier, there are a few things that tip us off: “No right, no wrong, selling a song–a name,” and “Sell me, sell you,” but apart from that, this plays like a typical takedown of a toxic ex. There are references to the titular barracuda “lying low in the weeds” and “Dive down deep now, save my head,” to name a few. I also enjoy the line where she says, “If the real thing don’t do the trick, you’d better make up something quick.” That evokes a description of a manipulative ex, who tries to pivot when their original story doesn’t test well with audiences. It’s a fiery song that takes down this type of person, and what makes it work is that it could be about who I just described just as easily.
Melodically: The song is written in E major and uses E, F#, and G, a I, II, IIIb pattern in the intro. The verses and chorus both use an E, C pattern (the I and the VIb chords), and the chorus ends on D and A, the VIIb and IV chords. The second chorus ends on the E after the D and the A. Instrumentally, the song uses acoustic and electric guitar (a searing and iconic riff), bass, and drums.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus format. As I mentioned in the lyric section, there’s something cool about these lyrics being a little bit specific, but vague enough so anyone can relate to it. It keeps revealing more tiny bits of anger, but doesn’t get overwhelmed by the metaphor – the amount of references to it is just right, but doesn’t overdo it. It’s also worth noting that the original anger was directed at the executives at the label, but as the whole thing played out, a DJ asked Ann how her “lover” was, and she thought he was referring to her boyfriend, but she came to find out he was referring to Nancy. So having three verses is perfect, because it just keeps building in anger and intensity.
You can listen to “Barracuda” below. I do not own the rights to this song.
