I Hope Your Pillow is Warm Tonight!
Background: In my 7th year of teaching, my students and I were playing a game, and when one student slighted another in said game, the slighted student told the first student, “I hope your pillow is warm tonight!,” which was about the most devastating insult this sweet student could muster. Though this blog began with the idea of throwing out minor inconveniences you wish on your ex, those were rather hard to come by. Most of these songs wish somewhat major bad things on those who did you wrong, and I hope those inspire you as well. But I also want to challenge you to come up with minor inconveniences you’d wish on your ex–because that concept is also hilarious to me!
“Your Internet Sucks” by Ber
Lyrically: I’ve mentioned in multiple blogs that a fun writing tool is to look at song titles and then take them in a different direction than what the actual song does. When my mom sent me this song, I immediately pictured someone getting ghosted, and their excuse once they finally get back to you is “Sorry, my internet sucks.” And frankly, in the interest of keeping us guessing, the verses start with the narrator getting back in touch with her ex after nine months of not talking, saying there’s something she needs to get off her chest. So this whole time, you think it’s something pressing, like “I’m sorry for what I did,” or “I miss you,” but the chorus then comes in and she says, “I don’t think that I wish you the worst, in fact I hope you think of me when it hurts, and when you’re playing Fortnite, I hope that your Internet sucks.” She also says, “And if you’re drinking coffee, I hope you burn your lips on the cup.” In the intro to this blog, I mentioned wishing mild inconvenience on your ex sometimes being a better payoff than a plague upon their house, but there’s so much subtle cleverness and pettiness to this desire. Playing into the trope of the ex who cares about video games more than their partner, for the ex in question, his internet connection being bad is probably worse than anything else that could happen–the implication being that this person is selfish, so let’s hit them where it hurts. In my blog called Productive Co-Writing, I said that I think Olivia Rodrigo is going to save pop music, and I stand by that. But clever, non-cliched hooks like this are missing from pop music today, and writers like Ber, though seemingly few and far between, are doing their part in giving us songs that are actually about something, while still being in the pop genre (I told my students about this song, and how funny I think the lyrics are, in terms of slightly inconveniencing someone and they told me that’s actually a horrible thing to wish on someone, because it’s so obnoxious when it happens). As an added bonus, she’s made her roots in Minnesota.
Melodically: The song is written in B major and uses B, E, G#m, and E throughout the song, mixing in an F# during the chorus. These are the I, IV, vi, and V chords. Instrumentally, the song uses guitar, bass, and drums. The term “indie pop” is somewhat overused, but this song evokes some of that sound, along with some of the electronica sound popularized by The Postal Service, in their song “Such Great Heights.” There’s a fast-paced, manic rhythm that fits super well with the mood of the song–someone feeling vengeful, but not wanting to come off that way, instead choosing to disguise it as a casual conversation. The chorus has the same melodic vibe, and the musical counterpoint in the verse is shifted in the chorus, fitting that mission very clearly.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, outro format. I normally don’t highlight outros unless there’s something lyrically, and in this case, there is. Many songs (my own included) have a tendency to end with the first verse, or at least half of it. But this song does something interesting, in saying, “If it feels like I’m coming on too strong, I’m not.” This adds a level of closure to what’s already been said, but it’s closure in the sense that it feels like she’s about to block her ex, so she gets the last word (again, I’ve also been there). The structure, as happens with all good songs, complements the lyrics and melody, and is the final nail for us as listeners and for the target audience (her ex) of the song.
“Your Internet Sucks” is embedded below.
2. “Pray For You” by Jaron and the Long Road to Love
Lyrically: Part of me misses the ten year old Mike that was duped into the idyllic nature of Evan and Jaron’s “Crazy For This Girl,” but shoutout to my ex prospect who lied about her feelings for me for 5 months for saying, “I’ll pray for you,” after I finally called her on her crap. Because without her, I may not think this song was so hilariously well-written. It starts off as a normal-sounding country song, talking about lessons the narrator got from the preacher at his church. The preacher says to pray for those you love and to also pray for your enemies, and the narrator seems to take it to heart. But then, in the chorus, he says, “I pray your brakes go out running down a hill, I pray the flower pot falls from a window sill, I pray that your birthday comes and no one calls, I pray you’re flying high when your engine stalls, I pray all your dreams never come true. Just know wherever you are, honey I pray for you.” In Minnesota, “Bless your heart” is a compliment, but means something totally different down south, and the latter is the vibe this song takes — to mostly humorous effect.
Melodically: The song begins with just organ and vocals (evoking something you might hear in church), before drums and piano come in. In the second verse, electric guitar comes in to compliment the aforementioned instruments, as does violin. During the instrumental interlude, horns come in. The song is written in Bb major. With the capo on the 3rd fret, it uses the chords G, B7, Em, and Cm, followed by G, B7, Em, and G/B, in the first verse. This is a I, III7, vi, iv, I, III7, vi, I pattern. It then ends with A7, Am, G, C, and D7, which is a major II and minor ii, I, IV, V7 pattern. The second verse uses G, C, D, and G (a I, IV, V, I pattern), followed by Am, G/B, C, G/B, Am, G/B, C, and D (a ii, I, IV, I, ii, I, IV, V pattern). The solo uses Am, G/B, C, and D (a ii, I, IV, V pattern). The chorus then uses C and G, a V, I played three times, before going to the D/F#, Em, Em7/D, A7/C#, A7, C, D, and G (The V, vi, vi7, II7, IV, V, and I chords). The ending uses C, D, C/E, D/F#, C, D, C, C, G/B, Am, D, and G, alternating between the IV and V chords, before ending on the I, ii, V, and I chords.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, chorus format. Interestingly, the song uses the same payoff structure as “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” by Brad Paisley. However, the Brad Paisley song uses a verse, chorus, bridge, chorus format, as the punchline is already revealed at the first chorus. Somehow in this song, however, it’s able to keep going with another verse, and it’s because it plays on the vagueness of “pray for your enemies.” The implication, of course, is to pray that they succeed and to be the bigger person, but the song thrives on the fact that that’s never explicitly stated in those words — so the second verse, which sees the narrator talking about how grateful he is for that permission can exist without getting tired of the punchline, and there’s no hint of questioning the moral implications of that with a bridge, so it works even better.
“Pray For You” is embedded below.
3. “Gives You Hell” by The All-American Rejects
Lyrically/Structurally: I always point to the last verse of “Every Rose Has its Thorn” as one of the best last verse emotional daggers in music, because hearing about an ex finding someone new is a devastating experience. But “Gives You Hell” gives the power back to the brokenhearted. The narrator realizes that nothing their ex said they wanted ended up coming to fruition. In the first verse, he wakes up smiling because his ex is still “working at a 9 to 5 pace” and in the second verse, he asks, “Where’s your picket fence, love?” I’m not sure what it is, but lately I’ve been writing about a lot of songs that contain very simple, quick verses, and this is one of those examples. Also like some of my favorite songs (“Payphone” and “Not Falling Apart” by Maroon 5), the lyrics get more dense as the song progresses. After the first verse, there is no pre-chorus, but there is one after the second verse. The first chorus says, “When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell. When you walk my way, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell.” The second time the chorus comes around, it says, “If you find a man who’s worth a damn and treats you well, he’s just a fool, you’re just as well, hope it gives you hell.” The transition right back into the second verse from the original chorus builds up tension without us realizing it until the new part gets added the second time around, and same with the pre-chorus, “And truth be told I miss you, and truth be told I’m lying!” The third verse is shorter than the rest, only two lines. Before that comes in, there’s a short electric guitar interlude. After the verse, there is another pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and chorus. The bridge pretty much tells the ex in question to stuff their sorries in a sack, and the final chorus utilizes gang vocals to drive the point home — it might be to help the narrator sound stronger, it might be to show how many people are on their side, but it’s effective either way.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of E major. With the capo on the 4th fret, it uses a progression of E, C#m/D, and A (a I, vi, IV pattern played three times) before ending on C#m/D, B, and A7 in the verses, which is a vi, V, IV pattern. The pre-chorus uses B, C#m/D, B, and A (a V, vi, V, IV pattern), and the chorus uses the same progression as the verses. I mentioned in the lyric section the simplicity of the lyrics, and that’s underscored by each section ending on the II chord. There’s a familiarity to hearing the IV chord at the end, but of course familiarity breeds contempt, and we hear that contempt in the vocal delivery as well. Instrumentally, the song is built around a keyboard and drum part. Right before the second verse and at certain points during that verse, an electric guitar can be heard, and that guitar continues being played in the second chorus. In between the second and third verse, there’s a short electric guitar interlude.
“Gives You Hell” is embedded below.
4. “I Hope” by Gabby Barrett
Lyrically: In a previous blog, I talked about Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” and how nicely it starts out, by wishing her ex and his new flame nothing but happiness. This song takes a similar approach. Whether it’s smiling when he hears her voice or thinking about her while a certain song is playing, making a drive a little less long. The chorus continues by saying, “I hope you both feel sparks by the end of the drive” and various other great things, before ending with “And then I hope she cheats like you did on me.” Look, I’ll be honest — most of the reason I know a song like this works is because I’ve been in situations before where people have dragged out their supposed feelings for me for as long as a year and a half before finally telling me it was over (if they even bothered to do that). So believe me when I say this level of revenge for the sake of empathy is an absolute fantasy of mine, and for the listeners, as it ended up being a number one hit. Barrett originally wrote it as a genuine “wish you well” type song, but then decided to change it, and I think that’s a much more powerful message.
Melodically: With the capo on the 6th fret, the intro uses chord shapes Am, G, C, G, and F. The song is written in F# major, so this is a iii, II, V, I pattern. This pattern gets repeated throughout the entire song. This is an interesting choice, because the bridge is supposed to take you to a different place, both melodically and lyrically, but since this whole song is a revenge plot that’s very premeditated, it kind of makes sense that she’d be laser-focused on the same scheme with only a slightly different rhythm at which she sings the bridge — it’s an extension of her plan, rather than some bit of new information, and allows for the chorus to sink in one more time before the song ends. Instrumentally, the song uses a muted strumming pattern, backed by drums, percussion, and programming, as well as keyboards and the aforementioned guitar.
Production Note: In a previous blog, we talked about Ross Copperman as a co-writer on LeeAnn Rhimes’ “Borrowed.” Although he produced this track but did not co-write, you can hear a sonic influence with the programming, similar to the sound on Keith Urban’s “Break On Me.” Coincidentally, both this song and “Break On Me” were co-written with Jon Nite, although the programming was handled by its other co-writer, Zach Kale.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, tag format. In my blog about unorthodox song structures, I talked about Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song)” and how it begins with a verse (almost like the A part we discussed in the musical theater blog), and then once the narrator’s decision is revealed, there’s no reason to hide the chorus anymore. This song could have had a similar structure, because it’s clear after the first chorus that she’s not really wishing happiness upon the new couple. But instead, she doubles down in the verses, as a lot of songs do, and lays out exactly how she found out about her ex’s new flame–hoping the same thing happens for her, where she brings someone else around to show him he’s meaningless to her. It could get repetitive, but it’s very well done.
“I Hope” is embedded below.
