How To Effectively Break the 4th Wall
Background: In the early to mid-2000s, we saw an increase in shows that used breaking the 4th wall as a narrative device. This happens when one of the characters looks and/or talks directly into the camera, acknowledging that this is indeed a TV show. It has also been done to humorous effect in movies like Spaceballs, in which the characters are looking directly at what’s happening in the movie at the same time we are. But what about doing this in song? In my opinion, it’s okay to do it if you’re going to commit to it. If it’s just a filler line, it feels to me as the listener like you could have put in a little more effort as the writer. For example, in Brad Paisley’s “She’s Everything,” he lists off a handful of things that she is (metaphorically,) and then ends the second verse by saying, “She’s the song that I’m singing.” With the title being what it is, that’s an unnecessary line. So we’ll look at songs that completely commit to breaking the fourth wall.
“Your Song” by Elton John with lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Lyrically: We talked about Elton John in a previous blog, and his song “Crocodile Rock.” This time, we look at the more romantic side of Elton’s discography. “Your Song” talks about the simplicity of things he can offer to his significant other. He talks about his financial situation (“I don’t have much money, but boy if I did…”) ultimately concluding that his “gift is his song.” Everything else he discusses is flashy, which the narrator of this song is not: making potions, sculpting things, and ultimately concluding in the third verse that the sun works in his favor, because he keeps his expressions of love simple. Of course in the chorus, this is where he breaks the fourth wall, saying, “You can tell everybody this is your song.” And indeed I have. I once briefly tricked a woman into thinking Elton John wrote a song for me, and when she asked for the story, I told her “it’s a little bit funny.” The breaking of the fourth wall is effective in a song like this, because if you were to just say, “I got you a gift,” people are going to want to know what that gift was. So centering around the fact that he can’t do much, but still tries his best adds a sweetness to the song that wouldn’t come across if he put it another way and did not break the fourth wall.
Melodically: Elton John plays piano and sings on the song. Additional arrangements include violin, acoustic guitar, a 12-string guitar, drums, and a double bass. The arrangement feels full and intricate, while also feeling gentle and intimate, which works for the vibe of the song. Chord-wise, this song is written in Eb, and uses Eb, Ab/Eb, Bb9/Eb, and Ab/Eb in the intro. The verses use Eb, Abmaj7, Bb, Gm, Cm, Cm/Bb, Cm/A, and Ab7 for the first two lines of the verses, with the second two lines using Eb/Bb, Bb, G/B, Cm, Eb, Fm7, Ab, and Bb. The chorus uses Bb/D, Cm, Fmaj7, and Ab, which gets repeated twice. Then the “I hope you don’t mind,” part goes to a Cm, Cm/Bb, F/A, Fm/Ab, Eb/G, Fm, Ab7, and Bb. The solo uses the same chords as the verses.
Structurally: This song begins with two verses, then has a chorus, a short musical interlude, followed by a third verse, and a chorus, which, at the end, repeats the line
“I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind,
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is
Now you’re in the world.”
“Your Song” is embedded below. I hope you don’t mind.
2. “This is Country Music” by Brad Paisley
In my introduction to this blog, I kind of threw Brad Paisley under the bus for breaking the fourth wall in “She’s Everything,” but he strikes me as the kind of person who reads my whole blog, so let’s talk about a time he committed to it for the whole song.
Lyrically: Brad Paisley talks about common topics in country music and how sometimes it’s the only genre that speaks for people going through very common events: A cancer diagnosis, a horrible boss, drinking beer on the weekends, apologizing, or telling someone you love them. While it’s true there are many songs that talk about being from the country, this one explicitly mentions being country music. Unlike the last song, this one could easily be written as a memory: I remember the first time I heard country music. I asked my grandad what it was and he said, “This is country music.” But the way Paisley weaves these country tropes into the everyday lives of his listeners makes it way more relatable than what I just described. Its lyrics are almost like an advertisement: “You’re not supposed to say the word ‘Cancer’ in a song… This is country music–we do.” In other words, if your loved one has been diagnosed with Cancer and you need someone who relates to that–have I got a genre for you! It’s half advertisement, half anthem, and by breaking the fourth wall, it tells the listeners, “This isn’t just something that happened to me. I know it’s happened to you, and I’m here for you.”
Melodically: This song was written in Drop D tuning. The verses use D maj, G maj, D maj for the first two lines, then moves into a G maj, A maj, Bm, A maj, and D maj progression for the third line. It stays on D maj, then goes to F# and G maj, before closing out the verse with a D maj, A maj, D maj progression. The chorus utilizes a progression of G maj, D maj, G maj, Bm, E7, G maj, A maj, and D maj., and the outro uses G maj and D maj.
Structurally: This song follows a verse, pre-chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus format. Each pre-chorus ends with the phrase, “This is country music. We do.” The chorus also ends with “This is country music.” The album version also includes quotes from classic country songs, such as “Mama Tried,” “I Walk the Line,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” and “A Country Boy Can Survive,” while repeating “This is country music” and fading out.
“This is Country Music” is embedded below.
3. “A Road Song” by Fountains of Wayne
Ok, eventually I’m going to get all the way through Fountains of Wayne’s discography, in these blogs, but until then, just bear with me. They were so prolific that they fit many of the themes discussed in my blogs!
Lyrically: This song is about a guy checking in with his girlfriend while touring on the road with his band. It takes a similar approach to “Your Song” by Elton John, but puts the “It’s the least I can do '' theme to the backdrop of touring. So writing her a road song is the exchange for him being on the road for so long, which he loathes. I’ve mentioned multiple times how Fountains of Wayne had a gift for knowing the moment, but here they take it a step further. The idea that every band needs a “road song” is somewhat cliched, and the band recognizes this. But they also recognize that if they’re going to use that cliche, they’d better make it entertaining. They do this by switching up the chorus slightly, and throwing in funny, “I hate my life right now” type moments in the verses. My favorite example in the verse is, “I bought you a light blue T-shirt last night. From some band I couldn’t stand, but their logo’s alright.” The first chorus says, “In between the stops at the Cracker Barrel and 40 movies with Will Farrell, I still need something to occupy my time, so I’m writing you a road song, I hope that you don’t mind.” and later in the second chorus, he says, “I know it’s not what you call necessary, and I know that I’m no Steve Perry, but even if you roll your eyes and groan, I’m still writing you a road song that you can call your own.” In other words, he knows that she loves her, but thinking of her on the road is his only form of happiness. With that, the breaking of the fourth wall in this song is particularly effective, because in the main character’s desperation, you don’t really expect him to be able to to anything mind-blowingly creative, beyond saying, “Here’s a song I wrote for you, and it’s got the word ‘song’ in the title.”
Melodically: There is an acoustic guitar, a pedal steel guitar, light drums, and bass guitar. The song is written in the key of F maj, and uses the chords F maj and Fsus4 in the intro. The verses use F maj, Am, Dm, Gm, C maj, Gm, Bb, and F maj. The choruses use F maj, Am, Dm, Gm, and C maj, Am, Dm, Gm, C maj, followed by Am, Dm, Gm, C maj, Am, Dm, Gm, C maj, Gm, C maj, F maj, Fsus4, and F maj. There is a little riffing at the end of each chorus, which utilizes Am, D7, Gm, C maj, F maj, Fsus4, and F maj.
Structurally: This song follows a verse, chorus, verse, chorus structure. The first verse deals with the large amount of miles logged while on the road, while the second verse deals with the jeers they get from the crowd. The choruses match that, with the first being afraid she will think it’s dumb, and the second thinking she’ll turn into one of the people at his shows who throws bottles up onstage (because he’s no Steve Perry.)
On a personal note, I had the pleasure of seeing Fountains of Wayne on their acoustic tour in 2009, when they were testing out new songs from their upcoming album. “A Road Song” was one of the standout new tracks, and even though I am generally not a fan of breaking the fourth wall in a song, this one does it with the typical Fountains of Wayne self-deprecating charm.
“Road Song” is embedded below
4. “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon
In my analysis of “Your Song,” I talked about how I once tricked a friend of mine into thinking Elton John wrote a song for me. But let there be no doubt, this song is about me.
Lyrically: This song begins at a party where the narrator sees her ex enter the room “Like (he) was walking onto a yacht,” then detailing everything he was wearing and doing. My favorite is the assertion that he had “One eye on the mirror,” just sure that all the girls in the room would be fawning all over him. Similar to “Road Song,” the fourth wall doesn’t get broken until the chorus. This could have been another song like “Positively 4th Street,” which is all about the burns and just leaves it there. But the breaking of the 4th wall in this song adds an extra little punch. You’re not just vain because of what you’re wearing, how you’re walking, or how you’re acting. You’re so vain, you just assume I’m singing about you, but I’m too good for that. Of course the song is about him, so the gaslighting in the chorus is absolutely genius (and Simon has never officially revealed who the song is about, in another brilliant marketing ploy.) The line that comes up repeatedly in the pre-chorus is asserting that this former lover is “clouds in my coffee,” which works on a few different levels. Level number one, she sees him (the clouds) every day, but level number two, and the most important level, those clouds disappear, and she likes it that way!
Melodically: There is bass, acoustic guitar, piano, and violin (which comes in during the chorus.) The verses feel subdued, with a slick vocal delivery, which then leads into the aforementioned “Clouds in my coffee” pre-chorus-sounding part within the song, transitioning smoothly, while still ramping up to the chorus. The song is written in the key of C and on piano, the chords are Am, F maj, Am for the first part, then for the pre-chorus-sounding part, she uses F maj, G maj, Em, Am, F maj, and C maj, followed by G maj, and F maj. The chorus uses a C maj, Dm, C maj, C maj, Am, F maj, C maj progression. The solo uses Am, F maj, Am, which gets played twice, then is followed by F maj, G maj, Em, Am, F maj, and C maj.
Structurally: The song follows a verse, pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, solo pre-chorus, chorus, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, half chorus structure. With the chorus being the resounding middle finger of the song, ending with it as the song fades out makes perfect sense.
“You’re So Vain” is embedded below.
It should be noted, in closing this blog, that all of these things are my personal preference, and not a hard and fast rule. Dan Wilson once said that if you have a rule in songwriting, you should be prepared to stick with it no matter what or break it at a moment’s notice. Do what works for you and the song. One of my favorite tunes is called “Very Busy People,” by The Limousines, and they break the fourth wall twice during the song. However, the main characters in the song are incredibly narcissistic, so the way they do it fits with the lyrics very well. One of my other favorite songs from growing up was “Absolutely (Story of A Girl)” by NineDays. This song follows the format of the other four we looked at, using the breaking of the fourth wall as a narrative device, rather than a statement about the characters in “Very Busy People”. It’s an absolute bop, so I’ll link that as well.
In my next blog, I will talk about the importance of cover songs, even for some of the best songwriters out there.
