That Title Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Means
Background: In a previous blog, Twist and Shout, we talked about songs that have some sort of surprise ending. Sometimes it’s good to know how a song will end, as we often listen to songs while in need of someone with a relatable experience. But from a pure songwriting standpoint, this blog will look at song titles that explore multiple meanings of that title.
“Get Him Back!” by Olivia Rodrigo
Lyrically: In a conversation with one of my students, I mentioned how I like Olivia Rodrigo because when she writes a fiery, “This-is-your fault” breakup song, there’s always some indirect discussion about the mental health surrounding the heartache, and “Get Him Back” is a prime example of this. In the song’s first verse, she talks about his bad qualities: “He had an ego and a temper, and a wandering eye, said he was 6’2’’ and I’m like dude, nice try,” But then she talks about how fun he was — his friends were cool and how he’d take her to really cool parties. In verse two, the biggest bit of self-deprecation comes at the end: “When I told him how he hurt me, he’d say I was trippin,’ but I am my father’s daughter, so maybe I could fix him.” The chorus is the big payoff, when she says, “I wanna get him back, I wanna make him real jealous, wanna make him feel bad,” before later saying, “I want sweet revenge, I want him again.” So the title “Get Him Back” takes on two meanings here. She wants to get him back for all the things he did to her, but she also kind of misses him, so part of her wants to get him back in her life. One of my favorite lines comes in the bridge: “I wanna meet his mom just to tell her, her son sucks.”
In a previous blog, we talked about example songs, of which this is one. If this had been a story, we’d be wanting some sort of conclusion: did she get him back or did she get back with him? Instead, it just shows how torn she is about the end of the relationship, and that’s what makes it work so well.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of F. The verses use a progression of Bb, F, C, and, Dm, and follows this IV, I, V, vi pattern for the entirety of the verse, except the last line, which stays on the V and cuts out the vi. Instrumentally, the song uses both electric and acoustic guitar, bass, synthesizer, a drum machine, and other percussion. Also of note are the use of gang vocals on the chorus, which adds to her power as a narrator, while also serving as a contrast to the naive-sounding narrator in the verses.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro format. The last line of the first verse, where she’s allegedly making her decision (revenge or getting back with him), sets up the chorus perfectly. In my last blog, we talked about how Brad Paisley’s “I’m Gonna Miss Her” gives away the joke right after the intro to the song, and is therefore forced to go to a bridge, so as to not make the song sound stale. But with “Get Him Back,” it’s all about being torn over whether to ruin his life or let him continue to ruin hers–so the structure works very well. She can dive into even more detail about her self-destruction in verse two and it doesn’t lose its edge at all.
“Get Him Back!” is embedded below.
2. “Worried About the Weather” by Justin Townes Earle
Lyrically: The first song off of Justin Townes Earle’s album, Single Mothers, does two things to provide the listener with a twist and double meaning within the song. When I hear the phrase “Worried about the weather,” I think of the weather outside. Obviously in writing, you can piece together the implication, but when you’re listening, you get the pun of him adding, “Whether you’ll love me.” But then, he begins to compare the relationship in question to stormy weather, such as “The wind (picking) up,” “Pressures comin’ on,” and referring to the couple as “Two fools in the rain,” but then shifts back to the original twist, by saying they’re “Just two strangers at the bus stop talkin’ ‘bout the weather.”
Melodically: The song is written in the key of E. The chorus uses E, B, Amaj7, B, and E, while the verses use the same chords. This is a I, V, vii, V pattern The first solo uses C#m and B (the vi and the V), while the second solo uses E, B, Amaj7/E, B, E, B, Amaj7/E, E, and B (a I, V, IVM7, V, I, V, IVM7, I, V pattern). The bridge uses Amaj7/E, B (played twice, the IVM7 and the V), followed by E, B, Amaj7/E, and B (a I, V, IVM7, V pattern). If you notice, each part of the song ends on the V chord, which not only makes for a very good flow, it also causes a tension as the listener. He does the same thing in “Memphis in the Rain.”
Structurally: The song uses a chorus, verse, chorus, solo, verse, solo, bridge, chorus format. Justin used a similar structure in “Harlem River Blues,” except there are two solos in “Worried About the Weather” rather than just one. The structure of this particular song, going back and forth between the “weather” and the “whether” aren’t two separate thoughts, and the natural flow of the song just works so well.
Closing Note: There’s something about the flow of his songs that sounds so unique, and although he wasn’t who I had in mind when I decided on focusing on the lyrics, melody, and structure, he was very consistent with this structure. The way he sings the notes affects the chords he plays, and these things affect the order in which he sings them (the structure). When Justin passed, I was devastated, because his lyrics, dark as they were, helped me feel less alone. But he could also craft a melody like no other.
“Worried About the Weather” is embedded below, as is “Memphis in the Rain,” so you can see what he does with the VII (or vii) chord. Just a coincidence that both songs are about weather.
3. “Last Call” by LeeAnn Womack
Lyrically: “Last Call” was written by Erin Enderlin and Shane McAnally (the former of whom wrote “Monday Morning Church,” discussed in a previous blog). The song describes getting a phone call from her ex. She doesn’t answer, because she knows his patterns of behavior, and that the only time he calls her is when he’s drunk. When I hear “Last Call,” I immediately think of closing time at a bar. Of course the song “Closing Time” by Semisonic uses the bar metaphors, and is truly about the birth of Dan Wilson’s daughter. But Dan has stated on multiple occasions that he still loves getting emails from people saying every time they hear it, it reminds them of when they worked as a bartender. Yet with “Last Call,” the beauty of it is that even if you interpret it as a bar song, it leads directly into the intended hook: “I’m always your last call.” If “Last call” makes me think of being at a bar, “first call” or “one call” makes me think of someone who just got arrested. And sure, we all have a list of people we might drunk text before anyone else. But to not even be on top of that list, to be the last one someone gets ahold of when they go out drinking, it’s just a devastating feeling. Then even when they do get ahold of you, you’re not the least bit flattered, because you know they’ve burned through all their other options and are trying to get to you for comfort. It’s a gut-wrenching set of lyrics.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of F#. It alternates between the D#m and C# (the vi and the V) in the intro (played once), while the verses use D#m7, C#, and B, and A# (a vi, V, IV, I pattern, played twice), followed by G#m7 and C# (The II and V). The chorus stays on the C# for 3 bars, before going to the B, F#/A#, G#m7, F#/A#, B, F#/A#, G#m7, and C#. This is a V, IV, I, ii, I, IV, I, ii, V pattern. The bridge uses B, G#m, B, and C# (a IV, ii, IV, V pattern) while the outro uses the D#m, C# pattern (the vi and the V) from the intro (and like in the intro, that gets played twice).
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus format. Sometimes structural predictability within a song isn’t an entirely bad thing. The first verse paints enough of a picture of what this man has said and done to the narrator. She says in the second verse that she doesn’t need to listen to the message because she already knows what it’s going to say. And by the time we get past the first verse and first chorus, we kind of do too. Having some big plot twist in the second verse or even the bridge would be out of place, because every time this woman hears from the man, it’s the same old thing. With that said, the bridge is still a very necessary part to this song, because it brings in the other meaning of the phrase “Last call” and in this case, it’s the narrator standing up for herself, saying “We’ve had our last call.
”Both Erin Enderlin and Lee Ann Womack’s versions of “Last Call” are embedded below Grab a glass of Johnny Walker Red and take a listen!
<iframe width="360" height="200" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fHNB2BeS-iY?si=lCaIjSvugqMgDYyY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
4. “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell
Lyrically: Sometimes you have a song that can relate to drinking, and that’s actually how the singer-songwriter intends for you to interpret it. But before I heard “A Case of You” for the first time, I interpreted the title as synonymous with having a case of measles, for instance. Yet this song sees the narrator comparing her love interest to holy wine —”So bitter and sweet so sweet” before ultimately concluding that she could “drink a case of (him) and still be on (her) feet.” There are a few different country songs I can think of, “Drunk on You” by Luke Bryan and “Being Drunk’s A Lot Like Loving You” by Kenny Chesney, both of which compare a relationship (positively and negatively, respectively) to being drunk. In the Luke Bryan song, it discusses a summer romance, all the fun things they do together, and concluding that “He’s a little drunk on you and high on summertime,” while Chesney’s song discusses having sworn off alcohol while not being able to do the same with the lover in question. But “A Case of You” lauds the merits of having the best of both worlds in the relationship. Despite warnings from her friends that she should “Be prepared to bleed,” she ultimately concludes that she could “drink a case of you and still be on (her) feet.” As someone who constantly thinks in terms of breakup songs, I initially thought this song was about being unimpressed by someone (the opposite of the feeling discussed in “Drunk on You”) but really it’s saying that when you’re drunk, you’ve theoretically had enough of whatever it is you’re drinking, but she will never get sick of this love interest.
Fun closing note about the hook to this song: A few years ago, a local liquor store had a sign out on the marquee that said, “I could drink a case of you and still be on my feet” and Joni’s Facebook page reposted it!
Melodically: With the capo on the first fret, and the song written in C#, she uses (relative to the capo) C, F, Am, G, Am, F, Em, Dm7, C, G, C, Am7, G, Am7, and G for the intro. The verses use C, G/B, Am7, Dm7, C (played twice), followed by G/B, Am7, G, C, G/B, Am7, Dm7, C, C/B, and Am7, before ending on Dm7, C, and G/B. The chorus uses F, Em, Dm7, and C, followed by C, C/B, Am7, Dm7, C, G/B, C, and F. The first instrumental break uses C, F, Am G Am F, Em, Dm7, C, G C Am7,G, G, Am7, and G, while the outro uses C, F, Am, G, Am, F, Em, Dm7, and C. Instrumentally, the song uses guitar (played by both Joni Mitchell and James Taylor), dulcimer, and conga drums.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, solo, verse, chorus format. We’ve talked about story songs and example songs in a previous blog, and I’ve alluded to it before then and since then. “A Case of You” is an example song, and like “Welcome to the Future,” an example song we talked about in a previous blog, three is just the right amount, including the solo that comes in between the second and third verse. It’s not overload on the examples, which fits the theme — you’re never too much, and the examples I provide aren’t going to be either, either in quality or quantity.
“A Case of You” is embedded below.
Closing Note: I want to discuss the process of this blog. I wanted to be sure to distinguish between two previous blogs: metaphors and twist endings. But this whole concept started awhile back when I wanted to discuss another strategy with you: writing to a different title. There is a Jason Aldean song called “I Break Everything I Touch,” and when I saw that title, I wasn’t sure if that was going to be a song about a guy who likes to party (so like I’m destructive, but charming), or if it was going to be about someone who had burned a lot of bridges in relationships and was warning someone not to get involved with him because he breaks everything he touches. It turned out to be the former, so I wrote a song about the latter. Jake Owen had a song called “Startin’ With Me” and I thought it was going to be a party anthem (like “The party starts with me!”) but it turned out to be about all the things he’d fix about his past, “Startin’ with Me,” so I wrote a song about the former. You can’t copyright a title, so if an artist writes to a title and takes it in a different direction (assuming they didn’t touch on both meanings, as was the case with the first three songs), you should 100% write your own song about the other meaning. But I hope this got you thinking about how to twist a title around to great effect and keep your listeners guessing!
