The Greatest Songs You’ll Never Hear (Unless You Read This Blog!)
Background: Since 1991, Bob Dylan has been releasing his Bootleg Series, and I have to say, as a songwriter, that even his outtakes are something to aspire to. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to get those songs released, but other times, we have to rely on the Internet to dig up old demos that never saw the light of day. The purpose of this blog is to inspire you with the deepest of deep tracks, because I know sometimes those are the ones that inspire me the most, but the other point of this blog is to save everything of yours – you never know who’s going to be inspired by it!
“If You Only Knew” by Kara’s Flowers
Background: When I tell people I’m a Maroon 5 fan, it typically gets a mixed reaction. Most of the time, it’s because they don’t like the band’s current approach to songwriting by committee (with the committee including members outside the band), and they want the purer sound from their earlier days. Going back to their really early days, before James Valentine joined the group as a guitarist, is the band they called Kara’s Flowers, and “If You Only Knew” was recorded for what they intended to be their follow up to their debut, The Fourth World. These nine songs were recorded and are now known as The Stagg Street Recordings, which were scrapped after the band was dropped by its label. It’s one of my favorite songs, inspiring one on my 6th album, and if ever called upon to prove my fandom for Adam Levine, this is the song I’d use.
Lyrically: “If You Only Knew” is an uptempo, piano-driven song that talks about trying to get to your romantic interest, but life keeps getting in the way. First, he wants to make everything perfect as he gets ready: “What to wear, what to eat, who to be, will I see you again?” She clearly lifts his spirits after a long day, as is discussed in the second verse: “Every bus, every car, every train, every lane is jammed” while the pre-chorus says, “If all my days go wrong, I’ll think about last night, it went right.” At the end of each chorus, he says, “I’ll hold on if you want me to,” but throughout the song, we see him falling deeper and deeper for this person, so by the last chorus, he says, “And there’s nothing I would rather do.”
Melodically: “If You Only Knew” is written in C major. The intro and the verses use the same piano riff, going from C (I) to F (IV) and Am (vi) to G (V), while the pre-chorus uses E (III), F (IV), F#dim (IV#dim), G (V), and G aug (V). The solo is played over the I and V chords of C and G. The outro uses C (I), F#dim (IV#dim), F (IV), and G (V), followed by C (I), F#dim, F (the IV#dim and IV), C#, and C (the I# and I chords).. In addition to the prominent piano, there are drums and electric guitar (the latter of which is played by the one and only Adam Levine), as well as bass.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, solo, chorus format. He could go on and on about everything that keeps going wrong with his day, but the focus is on the person who makes it all better. A bridge is not necessary, because we already know the pace of his life (something goes wrong, he thinks about her and feels better), and therefore a repeating of the pre-chorus after the solo is unnecessary as well. It’s a very simply structured song, but is very effective in its happy nature, which remains throughout.
2. “Harry’s Gate” by The Bee Gees
Lyrically: The song starts off with the narrator talking about how it’s snowing outside, which triggers childhood memories, saying “Somewhere on 5th Avenue, I used to know a friend,” but then goes on to discuss how life is not so sweet now: “In my bed I’m lying, time I am defying, there’s no will, no remedy for the time gone by.” The chorus then continues this longing, and the last one contains the metaphorical dagger: “Back in 1965, the things we did were more alive, we knew we’d live throughout the drive back in 1965.” For context, this song was recorded at a time of commercial downfall for the band, somewhere around 1973. Many of the songs on the unreleased A Kick in the Head is Worth Eight in the Pants reflected that, including the song “Castles in the Air” about wishing you could lock yourself away from the criticisms of others. This is a very self-loathing album, but there are some great songs on it. Plus, how do you throw away such a fabulous album title?
Melodically: The main instrument on this song is piano, so the chords listed below are for that instrument, though of course you can play them on any instrument. However, in addition to the piano, many stringed instruments can be heard in the background. The morose longing in the verses contains just piano, but when they talk about the good times, that’s when the strings come in. Starting off with the verses, E, E6, E, G#m, G, A, and B, which gets played twice. The chorus then kicks in, with guitar being the prominent instrument, using A, E, D/F#, C/E, and B. The song is written in E, meaning the verses follow a I, iii, III, IV, V pattern, while the chorus follows a IV, I, VII, VI pattern.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus format. The last chorus adds in the line about 1965, as well as singing about 1958 and 1964. It is often said that art imitates life, and this is reflected not only in the lyrics (what they are singing about), but also in the structure of the song. As I said earlier, the sad verses, gazing longingly out the window and thinking about the good times, lends itself very well to piano, while the string parts added in the chorus. This not only reflects the mood of the song, but it’s also very true to life. Sometimes depression hits you out of nowhere and then suddenly you’re happy again, thinking about something or another.
Note: I was on a Bee Gees kick around 2011 and discovered this song, along with the rest of their album, A Kick in the Head is Worth Eight in the Pants, which Robert Stigwood scrapped after the lackluster performance of the two lead singles. However, it’s a fabulous album, albeit a sad one. If you have some time after checking out this song, I would highly recommend looking up the whole album on YouTube.
3. “Don’t Kill My Baby and My Son” by Woody Guthrie
Lyrically: This song was inspired by Woody Guthrie’s father, who came home bragging about being a spectator at lynching, which took place in 1911 (Guthrie was born in 1912, so this was a handful of years later). As a child, the whole thing, both the lynching itself and his father enjoying being a part of it, struck Guthrie as being wrong, and years later, he wrote a song about it, protesting both actions. Although the song was never released by Woody himself, many artists have covered it since, and it’s safe to say that many of the early protest songs Bob Dylan wrote were inspired by the injustices that Woody wrote about, such as the one in this song. When I was at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa back in 2022, I read a quote (which I’ll paraphrase) from Dylan, saying “Standing up for what is right should not be political or controversial,” and that viewpoint was heavily inspired by Guthrie. This is a fabulous example. A woman’s life was at stake, and there is zero reason why that should have been controversial. Likewise, there is no reason why her death should have been celebrated in the way it was.
Melodically: The Woody Guthrie version is written in F major and plays around the F chord, utilizing F5, Fm, F, F5, and C throughout the verses, which is a I, III progression, while the chorus uses a III, I progression of C and F. Like many of Guthrie’s recordings, it is a sparse arrangement of only acoustic guitar, which allows for the lyrics to be more prominent for the listener.
Structurally The song uses a verse, verse, chorus, verse, verse, verse, chorus structure. Though there is a chorus, the unpredictability of the structure (not just being verse, chorus, verse, chorus, etc), allows for an easier mode to tell the story, because a chorus summarizes the whole thing, but the verses allow the song to keep its storytelling momentum. We looked at something similar in the last blog, talking about Jason Isbell’s “King of Oklahoma”. With the emotional weight of this song, it’s important to set up as much context as possible, without giving away your thoughts on the situation, because, again, any rational person would understand that lynching is morally wrong–even a young child (as Woody was when the inspiration for this song came about).
“Don’t Kill My Baby and My Son” is embedded below.
4. “Sweet Up and Down” by The Dave Matthews Band
Background: The Dave Matthews Band has one of the most dedicated fan bases on the planet, so when I say, “The Greatest Songs You’ll Never Hear,” I’m not talking to those who are familiar with the Lillywhite Sessions. But for those who are not, here’s a little background: in late 1999 and early 2000, The Dave Matthews Band recorded 13 songs with Steve Lillywhite producing. These songs were later rejected by the label, and Dave was paired with Glen Ballard (who had earlier produced Jagged Little Pill for Alanis Morissette), to write what would become their album Everyday. This was a very different approach for a band who had typically worked out songs together live and in the studio, and divided both fans and band members. Though this particular compilation was never officially released, many of the songs would be re-recorded and appear on their 2002 album, Busted Stuff. “Sweet Up and Down,” however, was not one of them.
Lyrically: The song contains an upbeat message to keep trudging on through the highs and the lows of life. In each verse, it presents something bad that happens to people in everyday situations, such as homelessness and starvation, but with the narrator concluding in every chorus that he “(believes) in love and the sweet up and down.” While the verses reflect the negativity, the chorus, as its name implies, talks more about the good in life, outweighed by the bad.
Melodically: Written in the key of A major, “Sweet Up and Down” uses an intro of B, B, B, A, A, A (a II, II, II, I, I, I pattern) played 8 times, followed by the verses of A, B, B, B, A, A, which is a II, I, I, I, I, I, I pattern. The chorus then switches to E, F#, G, and A (V, VI, VII, I), before repeating the B, B, B, A, A, A (II, II, II, I, I, I) pattern and closing on D and E (IV, V). Of note (literally), this is used to build tension, walking up from the V to the VII, then going I, II, I, IV, V, a half cadence. In addition to the guitar, saxophone and violin are prominent, as they typically are on DMB recordings. Bass and drums can also be heard throughout the recording.
Structurally: The song follows a verse, chorus, chorus, solo, verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus, chorus structure. I mentioned at the top the importance of the band jamming in the studio, and this is evident here. In your typical radio-friendly songs, a double chorus right away is not super common. A solo after that, even less so. But the song allows all the band members to shine, and since it’s an example song, it doesn’t matter when those examples come in or what comes in between them. This allows for more jamming, as is typical with DMB songs.
“Sweet Up and Down” is embedded below.
