All the People We Used to Know
Background: I can’t quite remember what it was, but when I was writing for one of my previous blogs, there was something that sparked an idea to write about all the folks from your collective inner-circle that get broken up by association once you and your now insignificant other break up. This was alluded to in the last verse of “Tangled Up in Blue”, when Dylan said, “All the people we used to know, they’re an illusion to me now.” (And I’m sure he’s just thrilled to be the object of my obsession on a regular basis in this blog). Like all of my blogs, they evolve as I make connections, so this blog, after the first two songs, will expand to familial relationships and friendships that have fractured for various reasons. I also want to make the distinction that these songs are not meant to be nostalgic or longing for the time when things were good — in fact just the opposite. There’s one exception to that in the last song, but I’ll explain as we get there.
“Ex-Old Man” by Kristen Kelly
Lyrically: In a previous blog, we discussed “Operator (That’s Not the Way it Feels)” by Jim Croce. In that song, his former best friend ran off with his now ex, and he’s lamenting this fact to the operator. And although her audience is different for this song, the setup is the same. But where she goes from that setup is much different, as she focuses more on how it happened than the simple fact that she’s gone. She says her friend was “Sly as can be, I was cryin’ on her shoulder, he was cheating on me.” In the second verse, she expands upon why she didn’t see it coming: “I was working two jobs, they were fooling around'' then she admits that “it crossed (her) mind to put them six feet in the ground.” Of course, she cut both of them off, to which she says good riddance. The lyrics to this song are cleverly written, as they combine loathing with self-deprecation, but also permission to loathe what just happened.
Melodically: The song gets played in the key of B major with a capo on the 4th fret, and uses the chords B, G#m, E, and F# in the intro (a I, vi, IV, V pattern). This gets repeated throughout the song, except in the pre-chorusy breakdowns, which alternate between the G#m and the F# (the vi and V chords). The vi, V walkdown, paired with the fact that it’s a minor to major progression provides a cool tension for our ears (in what is known as an imperfect cadence), appropriate for the song’s theme. Instrumentally, the song initially starts out with a bassline and drums, but adds in acoustic guitar, with organ coming in after the solo during the last pre-chorusy thing.
Structurally: The song uses all verses, of which there are four, but utilizes the aforementioned pre-chorusy chord change each time to give it a little variety and provide tension for the listener. In addition to the slant/imperfect rhyme scheme mixing up the structure, there’s also some talk-singing in between the hooks, so it doesn’t seem so repetitive. The structure is very simple, but there’s still more information provided in the first three verses, with the last verse being the same as the first one — it’s just very concise and catchy, which is what makes all three phases of the song (the lyrics, melody, and structure) work so well together.
In closing, I want to give a shoutout to my friend Nia Nicholls, who played this song at a gig in Memphis a few years back. I had never heard it prior to her performance, but now it’s one of my favorite tunes! You can listen to the song below.
2. “At Least I’m Not As Sad As I Used To Be” by fun.
Lyrically: “At Least I’m Not As Sad As I Used To Be” deals with the aftermath of Nate Reuss’ nu metal friends’ falling out, as he must reckon with it as he returns to a bar where they used to play for an open mic night. This may or may not be a fictionalized version of himself, but it’s hilariously charming either way. In the song, they keep taunting him by saying, “Baby put your name down on a piece of paper,” and “Come on, can you count all the loves that didn’t last?” implying that there might have also been something romantic. He then reveals at the end, “I don’t keep friends, I keep acquainted. I’m not a prophet, but I’m here to profit,” before finally concluding, “I don’t fall in love.” This song was released on the album before fun. hit it big, which just makes the tune even funnier, because after the success of Some Nights, Nate was one of the most in-demand songwriters and producers out there, making appearances on Pink’s “Just Give Me a Reason” and co-writing “Leaving California” with Adam Levine, Benny Blanco, and the production team Stargate.
Melodically: The song is written in D major. The A part (a stripped down verse) uses D, Em, Bm, D, Em, A, D, C#m, and D, which is a I, ii, vi, I, ii, V, I, vii, I pattern. This is followed by D, Em, A, Em, Bm, Em, A, which is a I, ii, V, ii, vi, ii, V pattern. The pre-chorus then uses D, Em, A, D, a I, ii, V, I pattern. The vocal interlude uses D, Em, A, D, F#, A, D, Em, A, and D, which is a I, ii, V, I, III, V, I, ii, V, I pattern. The first verse uses D, C#m, D, Em, A, D, Em, A, Em, Bm, Em, and A (which is a I, vii, I, ii, V, I, ii, V, ii, vi, ii, V pattern). The instrumental interlude before the chorus uses D, Em, A, and D, a I, ii, V, I pattern. Instrumentally, the song uses piano, trombone, saxophone, violin, viola, cello, bass, drums, and marimba. He also interpolates two pre-existing songs in the last section: “Ring Around the Rosie” and “Day O (The Banana Boat Song)” in terms of how he sings the tune.
Structurally: The song uses an A part, pre-chorus, vocal interlude, verse, instrumental interlude, chorus, and rehash of the A part. This very well could have appeared in my “Unorthodox Song Structures” blog, but it works so well for the song. There are a bunch of ups and downs in it, much like the life of the narrator. It borrows from the musical theater structures we talked about which fits, because fun’s stuff is very theatrical. The A part bookends also get used in “American Pie,” so it’s a very versatile structure. The stuff in between is flair for this particular song. Say it with me: great songwriters know the moment.
“At Least I’m Not As Sad As I Used To Be” is embedded below.
3. “Unfortunately, Anna” by Justin Townes Earle
Lyrically: There are a million different things I could focus on in this song for any given blog, and I was shocked when I looked back and realized I hadn’t discussed it, 61 blogs in, because it’s an absolute tear-jerker, but so well-written. “Unfortunately, Anna” follows a woman in her conversation with a man who “Saw her walkin’ alone on Fatherland Street.” She laments her routine of “Walkin’ the same old streets every night,” saying that she’s “Tired of the same old faces and the same old sunrise,” searching for a deeper meaning in her life. It’s a little bit vague as to how she got to this point of estrangement, but the chorus sees her saying, “I wonder how my mother’s doin’ in Memphis and I wonder how my kids are up in Michigan.” I seem to remember reading in an interview with Justin that “Anna” is actually a projection of himself, his demons, and relationships he had lost as a result of those demons. But the interesting part about this heartbreaking narrative is that he puts himself as the narrator in the song, with the final payoff being the man who picked her up saying, “All this time you’ve been waitin’ for the world to change, but unfortunately, Anna, it’s you who needs to change.” So he’s essentially talking to himself through another person, and I think that’s a super interesting choice.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of F# major and is played with the capo on the 6th fret. It uses F#, C#, and B, and C# in the intro, the I, V, and IV chords. This pattern gets played throughout the verses and the chorus (“I’m tired of walkin’ these same old streets every night,”) but after he sings the “Michigan” line, he goes to the Bbm. The bridge then uses Ebm, C#, B, C#, B, and F, which is a vii, V, IV, V, IV, I pattern. The song ends with a rehash of the first verse and uses the same chords from that section. Instrumentally, the song uses acoustic guitar, steel guitar, upright bass, drums, piano,.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, bridge, ending format. 2012 was a very cool year for me, in terms of my songwriting. And while Maroon 5 gets most of the credit for getting me to pay attention to song structure (thanks to their song “Until You’re Over Me” along with a few others), “Unfortunately, Anna” had the same impact first, and certainly a bigger emotional impact. The big long verse at the beginning, followed by the chorus, interlude, and bridge differentiates its structure from a song like “Don’t Stop Believin’” or “Hold My Hand,” because there’s not a second verse to go back to, and the payoff isn’t in the chorus, it’s in the bridge (similar to “Until You’re Over Me”). A lot of Justin’s songs were lamentations, and the first time I heard the twist during the bridge, I was absolutely blown away. The ending gives us a sense of circularity — so it’s not enough to just have that heart-wrenching bridge. We have to sit with it again as we remember how we got to that conversation in the first place.
“Unfortunately, Anna” is embedded below.
4. “Hope Ur Ok” by Olivia Rodrigo
Lyrically: The last track on Olivia Rodrigo’s debut, Sour, comes out of nowhere after the charmingly angsty songs we heard in the first ten tracks. In it, she reflects on people she knew back in school, who she fell out of touch with. The kid in the first verse came from a conservative household, and when he came out as gay, “His parents cared more about the Bible than being good to their own child” and it is also revealed that his father was physically abusive, saying, “He wore long sleeves because of his dad.” The second verse deals with a classmate from middle school, whose parents similarly “Hated who she loved.” The first chorus about the first kid says, “And somehow we fell out of touch, hope he took his deal and made a royal flush,” while she says in the second chorus, “Does she know how proud I am she was created, with courage to unlearn all the hatred,” and in both instances, she concludes by saying, “I hope that you’re ok.” Unlike the other three songs we looked at in this blog, the falling out between the narrator and the two kids was just a natural moving on with life thing and nothing personal. Also unlike the other songs, there’s a relationship she’s longing for, and she most certainly isn’t longing for a rekindling of the toxic parental relationships that were discussed. I strive to bring you only the best songs with the best lyrics, but I have never talked about a song that has forced me to stop in the middle of the section because I was on the verge of tears. But this song is that good. There’s also an added level of sweetness to it, as she offers to be their defense, saying, “Address the letters to the holes in my butterfly wings,” meaning those people are going to have to go through her first. Butterflies are beautiful, even though they have holes in their wings, so why even bother criticizing someone for who they love?
Melodically: The song is written in C and is built around a guitar and cello part. In addition to those instruments, there is drum programming, organ, and base. Chord-wise, the intro uses C and Am (the I and the vi), which gets repeated throughout the verses. The chorus then uses Fmaj7, and Am, a IV, vi pattern that gets played three times, before ending on G, G6, G7, and C, the V and I chords, forming a perfect cadence. The interlude uses the aforementioned C and Am pattern. The bridge uses the C and Am as well, played twice, before ending on Dm, Fmaj7, C, and G, the ii, IV, I, and V chords.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, interlude, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus format. It would have been impossible for this to function as a story song, and the emotional impact of the two examples in the verses is strong as can be. There’s also a good variety in the message to the two people she discusses, first using the poetic phrase, “(I) hope he took his deal and made a royal flush” to the more straightforward, assertion of how proud she is her friend is around. The bridge adds to the message in the verses and choruses, saying she’s got her back when things get tough, even if no one else does. It then goes from an example song to a call to action on her end to make sure no one in her circle gets treated that way. But the key is, back to our theme of “All the people we used to know,” there’s only hope that they are okay, not a definitive answer.
“Hope Ur Ok” is embedded below. I hope you didn’t run out of tissues while reading about “Unfortunately, Anna,” because you’re gonna need them for this one too.
