Conference Proceedings
Edited by Geoff Stahl and Alex Gyde
International Association for the Study of Popular Music
IASPM09 - LIVERPOOL
Verse, Chorus (Refrain), Bridge: Analysing Formal Structures of the Beatles’ Songs
Franco Fabbri
ongs are ‘made of’ parts, or sections: verses,
S
that not necessarily the names of song sections have
choruses or refrains, bridges (middle-eights),
the same meanings for everyone, as they change with
etc. This is common knowledge in cultures where the
the cultural context and in time.
concept of a vocal piece like a ‘song’ exists, and can
be seen as an instance of a more general knowledge
Let’s start with a classic example. ‘The Man I Love’ – a
(in many cultures) that any music piece is made of
song composed by George and Ira Gershwin in 1924
parts, or sections, that can be named. In fact, for many,
for the musical comedy Lady Be Good!, dropped from
this is the basic level music competence: knowing that
this and other musicals and later accepted as one
music is made of parts, or sections, assembled one
of the best known jazz standards – can be thought
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RI DV IRUPHG E\ DQ LQWURGXFWRU\ YHUVH µ:KHQ WKH
one is treading, like in the development of a discourse,
yellow moon begins to beam...’) followed by a 32-bar
like in poetry: names that describe sections in a music
chorus (starting with ‘Someday he’ll come along...’),
piece, and in a song, are often metaphors based on
which can be divided into four 8-bar sections; out
other human experiences. Following Gino Stefani’s
RI WKHVH WKH ¿UVW WZR DQG WKH IRXUWK DUH PXVLFDOO\
(2007) suggestion of different music competences
almost identical (and lyrically similar), while the third
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is different, with a melodically and harmonically
between ‘common competence’ (where probably formal
contrasting character: that is called the bridge (or
units are called ‘parts’, like the pieces that combined
middle-eight: ‘Maybe he’ll be coming Sunday...’), and
with others form the whole) and ‘analytic competence’
so the chorus can be described as having an AABA
(where probably these formal units are called ‘sections’,
form. However, when the song entered the night-club
to distinguish them from ‘parts’, which in the specialists’
repertoire, soon it lost the verse, as long introductions
lexicon describe other structural units), and also
like these, fashioned in the way of a recitativo, were
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more apt for the theatrical scene than for dancing.
of the musical community (that of listeners, of critics, of
Stephen Citron, author of a guide to the craft of
authors, of performers, of institutions, etc.). This implies
songwriting, comments:
93
‘chorus’ came to be used as well to designate any of
the A subsections of an AABA form, in a synecdochical
relation to the whole. So, ‘The Man I Love’ could be
described as an ‘Instrumental intro – (Verse) – Chorus
– Coda’ song, or as an ‘Instrumental intro – (Verse) –
Chorus – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus – Coda’ song.
It must be noted that in the second instance the lyrics
Fig. 1: Graphic representation of the AABA
song form, with naming conventions accepted
in songwriters’ and performers’ communities
in Tin Pan Alley’s ‘Golden Age’.
of the chorus are varied (they are never repeated
equal), though the title (‘The man I love’) is repeated
DWWKHEHJLQQLQJRIWKH¿UVW$VHFWLRQ RU¿UVWFKRUXV
and at the end of the second, in a way that appears
The music of most verses was usually so weak,
to be rhetorically strategic. It must also be noted that it
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was then very unlikely that the A sections in the AABA
VRSKLVWLFDWHG D¿FLRQDGRV RI SRS VRQJ VNLSSHG
form be named ‘verse’, as this name was used for the
right over them. Sometimes at cocktail parties
introductory section instead (though that is the way
in New York penthouses you can overhear the
they are now called by many authors: Covach 2005
tuxedoed pianist playing the ‘verse game’ with
calls ‘sectional verse’ what I would call ‘verse’, calls
WKHJXHVWV+HSOD\VWKH¿UVWOLQHRIDYHUVHE\
‘sectional refrain’ the full AABA section, that used to be
Kern or Rodgers or Porter or even Arlen and the
called ‘chorus’ in the 1930s, and calls ‘verse’ each of
DVVHPEOHGJXHVWVWU\WRVLQJWKH¿UVWOLQHRIWKH
the A sections).
chorus. That shows how recherché these verses
have become (Citron 1986, p. 36).
In the same period (from the 1920s to the 1950s) the
same name ‘chorus’ was used to designate the section
But as the verse was skipped, songs like these came to be
with repeating lyrics that followed each of the narrative
formed just by the chorus (preceded by an instrumental
YHUVHV LQ IRON VRQJV DQG ODWHU LQ FRXQWU\ ZHVWHUQ
intro and followed by a coda), and the chorus included
songs. I’d like to point out that the two usages of the
the bridge: this may be an explanation why the name
same term have completely different meanings, not
94
only because in the Broadway/standard usage lyrics
Approach for the Automatic Segmentation of Pop Songs’,
are never repeated in a chorus (and choruses are never
a paper presented at Iaspm’s International Conference,
repeated), while in the folk/country usage all choruses
Mexico City, 2007, by Daniel Müllensiefen, David Lewis,
have the same lyrics, but also because, as we shall see,
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the rhetoric strategies implied in these song forms are
London); Don’t Bore Us – Get to the Chorus, a greatest
opposite: the former subtractive, the latter teleological
(Fabbri 1996).
hits album (1995) by the Swedish group Roxette. As
a matter of fact, many popular songs from all over the
world, since many decades, include repeating sections
of substantial length, where lyrics and music are always
the same, and where the main hook and/or the song title
is located; such sections (named ‘choruses’ or ‘refrains’)
are preceded by sections with varying lyrics, often of
narrative character (named ‘verses’). A typical structure
is (Intro) – Verse - (Verse) – Refrain – Verse – Refrain –
(Refrain) – (Coda), where parentheses indicate optional
sections and/or repetitions. Just to give an example, Intro
– Verse – Refrain – Verse – Refrain – Verse – Refrain
Fig. 2: Graphic representation of the AABA song form,
with naming conventions used in current literature.
– Verse – Refrain – Coda can be a description of Bob
Dylan’s ‘Like a Rolling Stone’. ‘Substantial length’ is
DUDWKHUZHDNGH¿QLWLRQ,DGPLWEXWLWFDQEHUHIHUUHG
Today, the usage of ‘chorus’ to indicate a section where
both lyrics and music are repeated, that is, as a synonym
to the very origin of the term ‘chorus’: that is, a section
which is usually sung along (I can’t refrain from quoting
of ‘refrain’, is widespread in the English-speaking world.
James Taylor, here: ‘If you feel like singing along, please
Some examples: Songwriting for Dummies (Peterik,
don’t’...). In this sense, a chorus (or refrain) is a Gestaltic
Austin, Bickford 2002), a ‘cookbook’ for would-be
unit, or the segment of a song that people sing when they
songwriters, similar to Citron 1986; Revolution in the
remember or cite a song. That’s why I often feel skeptical
Head (MacDonald 1994), the well-known guide to all
when I’m confronted with descriptions of song structures
%HDWOHV¶VRQJVµ:KHUH¶V7KH&KRUXV"$&RPSXWDWLRQDO
(like in MacDonald 1994) where: 1) the chorus is very
95
short, often clearly perceivable (by me, at least) as shorter
i) a refrain is a song section of substantial length
than the singable unit I mentioned above; 2) rhetorically
(see above) where music and lyrics are always
strategic elements, like the song title and/or the main hook
repeated equal in the course of the song, and the
are located in other segments, like the verse(s).
lyrics include the song title;
This happens almost systematically with songs in AABA
form (where B is a bridge or middle-eight), or better in
ii) a chorus is a song section where music is repeated
AABABA form, that were especially abundant in the
equal in the course of the song, while the lyrics vary;
second half of the Fifties and in the Beatles’ repertoire,
however, some lines in the lyrics (and especially the
at least until 1965. This song structure seems to me to
song title) are repeated equal, either in the same
be derived from ‘classic’ Tin Pan Alley models, so I think
place or in varying places in the section;
it would be more appropriate to use for it a nomenclature
based on the older lexicon.
iii) a verse is a song section where music is repeated
equal in the course of the song (if the verse is
7KDW¶V ZK\ VLQFH P\ ¿UVW DSSURDFK WR WKH VXEMHFW LQ
repeated, obviously), while the lyrics vary, without
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exceptions;
IROORZLQJGH¿QLWLRQV
iv) a bridge (or middle-n, where n is its length in bars)
is a song section where music is repeated equal in
the course of the song, and the lyrics may vary or not:
ZKDW GH¿QHV D EULGJH LV LWV position (quite often after
two other units, especially choruses) and its contrasting
character, especially in terms of melody and harmony.
, GRQ¶W WKLQN WKDW GH¿QLWLRQV RI RWKHU VHFWLRQV OLNH
instrumental intro or coda, are needed in this context.
Fig. 3: Graphic representation of the CB, or AABA,
song form, with section names suggested by the
author in his articles (Fabbri 1996, 2003, 2008).
$IHZREVHUYDWLRQV)LUVW,GRQ¶WLQWHQGWKHVHGH¿QLWLRQV
to be normative. Others are, but many of them are at the
96
same time anti-historical (as they give names to song
Though I smiled the tears inside were a-burnin’
sections that were not used at the time some song forms
I wished him luck and then he said goodbye
ZHUHSRSXODU DQGFRQWUDGLFWRU\7KHDERYHGH¿QLWLRQV
He was gone but still his words kept returnin’
are meant as tools for my own study. Second, it is clear
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WKDWWKHVHGH¿QLWLRQVDUHEDVHGERWKRQWKHPXVLFDODQG
the lyrical content. They are not assumed to be working
:RXOG\RXEHOLHYHWKDW\HVWHUGD\
if either one or the other is not considered. They are
This girl was in my arms and swore to me
based on a mixture of criteria that apply to a human
She’d be mine eternally
expression based on music and words. Third, they
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DSSO\LQWKH¿UVWSODFHWRVRQJVLQWKH$QJOR$PHULFDQ
tradition, though in various other geographical and
Though I smiled the tears inside were a-burnin’
historical contexts they seem to be useful as well.
I wished him luck and then he said goodbye
Here’s an example of the application of the above
He was gone but still his words kept returnin’
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LQ8.FKDUWV
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This girl was in my arms and swore to me
‘[Marie’s the Name of] His Latest Flame’
by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman (1961)
She’d be mine eternally
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A very old friend came by today
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‘Cause he was telling everyone in town
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Of the love that he just found
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A description of the formal structure of this song is easy,
I think: IAABABAC, where I is the instrumental intro and
He talked and talked and I heard him say
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That she had the longest blackest hair
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The prettiest green eyes anywhere
we might be led to consider that the only section of the
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song where both music and lyrics are always repeated
97
Fig. 4: Graph representing
the formal structure of
Doc Pomus’ and Mort
Shuman’s ‘[Marie’s the
Name of] His Latest
Flame’, as recorded
by Elvis Presley (RCA
47-7908, 1961)
equal is the B section (‘Though I smiled the tears...’).
P GH LQ EH D
But if I said that this is the chorus, I’m sure I would get
Chorus – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus – Bridge – Chorus
a choral ‘No!’ in response, because it is obvious that B
song, or simply a chorus – bridge (CB) song, taking for
is the bridge or middle eight. So, let’s look for the song
granted that in this very typical and widespread formal
title. It can be found at the end (as the last line of) all A
structure (between circa 1956 and circa 1965) there are
sections, and is repeated in the coda. If we want to stick
always two choruses at the beginning of the song.
consequently to the current usage of the term ‘chorus’,
we could say that this line is the chorus, preceded by
The analysis of other songs with a similar formal
a verse. So each of the A sections would be a verse-
structure (Fabbri 2008, pp. 185-196) shows that:
chorus sequence. Or, we might dismiss that repetition,
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i) while it is more common that the song title/hook be
instance the song would be a Verse – Chorus – Verse
located at the end of the chorus, so that the chorus
– Chorus – Bridge – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Verse –
can be described as having an internal verse-refrain
Chorus song, in the second it would be a Verse – Verse
structure, it also happens that the title/hook be located
– Bridge – Verse – Bridge – Verse song (in both cases
at the beginning of the chorus (see Buddy Holly’s
I ignored the intro and the coda). The latter is, in fact,
‘Everyday’, or the Beatles’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night’);
the most common description of this song structure,
that can be found both in ‘cookbooks’ and in academic
LLRIHQOLNHLQPDQ7LQ3DQ$OOH\µFODVVLFV¶WKH¿UVW
studies, like Covach 2005 and 2006. Again, I am not
two choruses (AA) appear to be like a whole, where the
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song title appears here and there, often at the beginning
systematically with the same line.
and at the end (see ‘The Man I Love’, or ‘Yesterday’);
98
iii) of course, the choice of a song’s title is usually
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listening to songs shaped in this particular form it
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a rhetorical scheme and are aware of the varying
strength of lyrical and musical content according to
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ZRUGV,¶PFRQ¿GHQWWKDW3DXO0F&DUWQH\NQHZWKDW
whatever word or words would substitute ‘scrambled
eggs’, that would be the song’s title.
Fig. 5: Confronting two widespread
song structures: CB and VR.
‘Basic’ song forms
If we look at (and especially listen to, of course) the two
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basic forms:
two ‘basic’ song forms, that I called chorus-bridge (CB)
and verse-refrain (VR). Actually, the latter was called in
C-C-B-C-B-C
the paper strofa-ritornello (SR), as it has been a very
V-R-V-R-V-R-R
popular song form in Italy for nearly two centuries, with
examples like ‘Te voglio bene assaje’ (1839), ‘Funiculì
:HQRWLFHWKDWWKHUHSHWLWLRQRIDQHQWLUHVHFWLRQRFFXUV
funiculà’ (1880), ‘‘O sole mio’ (1898) and many other
at the beginning of the CB form, and at the end of the
Neapolitan songs, as well as the vast majority of Italian
VR form. Also, from the location of the song title and/
songs presented at the Sanremo Festival every year
or main hook in the relevant sections (according to my
since 1951. However, as I said, this form can be found
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in many other music cultures. I would describe its
refrain in the latter, we notice that the former offers
typical structure as follows: V-(V)-R-V-R-V-R-(R), where
a larger abundance of memorable passages at the
the optional initial double verse (with different lyrics, of
beginning of the song, while the opposite is true for the
course) is seldom found, while the optional repetition of
latter. So, if we agree that such memorable passages are
the last refrain is quite common, often with a modulation
often the major source of pleasure in listening to a song
or a harmonic transition preparing or accompanying it.
(or performing it), the VR form seems to be based on an
99
additive pleasure strategy, while the CB form is based
to the end of a song; pleasure is instant, but its
on a subtractive strategy (in fact, in many recordings
source, after having been exhibited, revealed in
of CB songs, the C in between the two bridges is often
all of its aspects, repeated for better assimilation,
an instrumental version). As my 1995-6 paper circulated
is subtracted and substituted by the grey tones,
only in Italian and in French (Fabbri 2003), it may be
by the discipline, geometry and logic of the bridge
useful to translate a part of it:
(Paradise is on this Earth, but what really counts
in life is tough work). It isn’t a narration, but the
The two basic forms use very different attention
staging of a drama. The chorus is repeated again,
and fascination strategies. The VR form is
but the number of repetitions diminishes, as the
GLVFXUVLYH HPEUDFLQJ DGGLWLYH ¿QDOLVWLF
song proceeds […]. Often the full chorus, with its
pleasure (that beautiful melody, that intriguing
full battery of hooks, can only be listened at the
tune, that unforgettable line) is the consequence
beginning; later, the pleasure mechanism is bound
of a course, it comes at the end of a preliminary
to deprivation and memory, to the contrasting
phase, it’s a prize, Paradise after Purgatory, an
middle-eights, to shorter resurfacings of the
orgasm at the end of lovemaking (and choral,
chorus; somehow, the formal acceleration that
therefore simultaneous), victory after a war, a
leads rapidly to the end produces a crescendo,
piece of cake after a dull beefsteak with spinach.
an accumulation of small frustrations. An anal-
In psychoanalytic terms, it corresponds to the
retentive pleasure, as a psychoanalyst would
satisfaction of an oral pleasure; a pleasure
probably see it, or a salesman strategy: after
that can be reiterated, but which – after having
exhibiting a suitcase full of brushes, the salesman
been experienced – doesn’t tolerate a long wait,
closes the lid, knowing that, if the prospective
because of its very nature: therefore, just in case,
customer asks to see them again, the sale is
one can jump to a new refrain skipping the verse,
made; or, maybe, a tickling of our perceptive
intensifying it by modulating, or augmenting the
resources, of our attention and memory, based
volume or the arrangement’s richness.
on an anthropological background that seems
to be shared by the acceleration of the sonata
The CB form is exclamatory, detached,
form, by the inexorable proceeding of a fugue
subtractive, oriented to the beginning rather than
towards the stretti, by the visual illusions offered
100
by the usage of the golden section in architecture
of thing that John did time and again in later
(Fabbri 2008, pp. 168-169).
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released as the B-side of a Johnny Gentle single
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on Parlophone in 1962, John Lennon received
formal structures of the Beatles’ songs, is that different
no credit for his contribution–but he had the
song sections appear quite often to be composed
pleasure of hearing eight bars of his music on
according to consistent strategies: choruses usually
a commercial record before the Beatles had cut
include melodic, harmonic, rhythmic ‘hooks’, and are
one of their own songs. (p. 110)
more varied, with a curvilinear melodic shape based on
frequent leaps and changes of direction, while bridges
The episode suggests that Lennon had (already in
are more geometric and repetitive, based on melodic
1962) a kind of ‘middle eight aesthetics’, or, to put it
and harmonic progressions (in the strict grammatical
simply, an idea about how a B section should work in an
VHQVH &KRUXVHVDUHWKH¿JXUHRUWKHSLFWXUHEULGJHV
AABA(BA) form (or, in my terms, about the function of a
are the ground, or the frame; choruses are coloured,
bridge in a CB form). But the episode also suggests that
bridges are grey; for a more detailed discussion of the
Lennon was probably particularly gifted as a composer
subject, see again my older papers.
The Beatles’ choruses and bridges
of bridges, due to his inclination to compose geometric
melodic lines (sometimes limited to very few notes,
even two or one, like in ample stretches of the melodies
In his controversial biography of John Lennon, Albert
RI µ,¶P 2QO\ 6OHHSLQJ¶ RU µ, $P 7KH :DOUXV¶ DQG VR
Goldman reports:
his collaboration with Paul McCartney was particularly
fruitful also due to their complementary melodic talent,
Reckoning that the young John Lennon had a
so to speak. It is true that this kind of collaboration was
shrewd sense of the current pop scene, Gentle
UHFLSURFDODVGHPRQVWUDWHGE\WKLVSDVVDJHE\:DOWHU
demonstrated for him his latest song, ‘I’ve Just
Everett:
Fallen for Someone,’ which he was about to
record. Lennon said, ‘I don’t care for the middle
A more common method of their collaboration
eight,’ and then improvised the words and music
was for one to present a song’s principal section,
for a new bridge. (This was precisely the sort
a verse or a chorus, and the other to suggest
101
a contrasting bridge – the ‘middle eight’ as
decided to measure the duration (in seconds) of various
they would usually refer to it, regardless of the
sections, obtaining the relevant information either from
passage’s metrical length or phrase construction.
a cd player’s counter (or, later, from an mp3 reader’s
At some times the partner’s response would
counter) or, when more detail was needed, from sound
be solved as a ‘homework’ project. So, later,
editors. The data would then be displayed graphically.
McCartney would offer the verse for ‘Michelle’ or
After some time, I found that Microsoft Excel’s graphic
µ:H&DQ:RUN,W2XW¶DQG/HQQRQZRXOGFRPH
functions offered what was needed; I designed a standard
EDFNZLWKWKHEULGJHµ:DLW¶DQGµ,¶YH*RW$)HHOLQJ¶
spreadsheet and graphic, that I used consistently (and
on the other hand, were begun by Lennon and
gave to students for their work). The method, of course,
completed with bridges by McCartney (Everett
LPSOLHV WKH GH¿QLWLRQ RI VHJPHQWDWLRQ UXOHV DQG LV
2001, p. 32)
far from producing univocal results: there are various
possible levels of segmentation (this feature was often
And it is also obvious that Paul McCartney knew
XVHGWRDQDO\]HVXEVHJPHQWVRISUHYLRXVO\LGHQWL¿HG
perfectly the different functions of song sections, and
sections), and – as usual in this musicological job –
was able to compose bridges as repetitive, based on
sometimes there are ambiguities that make the task
few notes, geometric, grey and functionally dull as those
of separating sections a very problematic one (should
composed by his colleague. At least, this demonstrates
one stick to the phrasal structure or to accents, chord
that the AABA(BA) form (or CB form) was an excellent
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ground for John’s and Paul’s collaboration.
substitute for other more traditional approaches, but
6LQFH P\ ¿UVW DFDGHPLF DSSURDFK WR WKH VXEMHFW ,
WR¿QGDTXLFNWRROWRFRPSDUHVRQJVWUXFWXUHVVRPH
WULHGWR¿QGZD\VWRYLVXDOL]HVRQJVWUXFWXUHVRIIHULQJ
colleagues, however, told me they would use it for arias,
a synthetic and direct contact with the object of
Lieder, etc. In fact, nothing prevents the usage of these
study, without recurring to music notation. I wanted
graphs for the formal analysis of any piece of music,
something more detailed (that is, able to carry more
EXW WKH HPSKDVLV RQ WKH O\ULFV IRU DVVLJQLQJ VSHFL¿F
information) than the usual letters (AABA, AAA, etc.),
functions to sections, and the graphic complexity that
but more compact than a full transcription; I also wanted
would be created by long articulated pieces, make it
something that would enable me or others to compare
more easily adaptable to popular songs. Here are some
the structures of different songs more easily. Finally, I
examples:
102
Fig. 6: Ira Gershwin –
George Gershwin, ‘The
Man I Love’, as recorded
by Marion Harris (Victor
21116-B, 1927)
Fig. 7: Paul McCartney –
John Lennon, ‘From Me
To You’, as recorded by
the Beatles (Parlophone
R5015, 1963)
Fig. 8: Paul McCartney
– John Lennon,
‘Strawberry Fields
Forever’, as recorded by
the Beatles (Parlophone
R 5570, 1967)
Fig. 9: John Lennon –
Paul McCartney, ‘A Day
In The Life’, as recorded
by the Beatles (Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts
Club Band, Parlophone
PCS 7027, 1967, timings
from cd version)
103
Fig. 10: Shulman –
Shulman – Shulman –
Minnear, ‘The House, The
Street, The Room’, as
recorded by Gentle Giant
(Acquiring The Taste,
Vertigo VE 1005, 1971)
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years. Recently a student at Turin University, under my
I was looking for, as the Beatles’ albums and singles
supervision, analyzed the formal structure of all songs in
date back to the beginning of my career as a performing
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PXVLFLDQDQGVRQJZULWHU¿UVWDVDQDPDWHXUODWHUDVD
(Scarpa 2009). Some of his results will be presented
professional: I had played many of those songs with my
at the end of this paper, but I can anticipate that they
guitar and/or band (especially until 1966) hundreds of
FRQ¿UPP\EDVLFDVVXPSWLRQVHYHQLIWKHVWXGHQWDQG
times, before I turned to writing on popular music. So
I disagreed on some controversial or ambiguous song
I expected many songs to reveal what I now call a CB
structures.
form, because I had sung and played them, and I had
Before moving to these data, however, I’d like to
to communicate with other band members referring to
summarize a few of the questions raised by them: 1)
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why did Lennon, McCartney and Harrison composed
in Italian), we knew how they were put into order and
predominantly songs in CB form between 1962 and
how many repetitions of a section the audience would
" :K\GLGWKH\FKDQJHDIWHU" :K\GLG
tolerate; we knew that at some point (circa Revolver and
they ‘get back’ to CB in their last albums? Here are my
Sgt. Pepper’s) things had become a bit awkward.
tentative answers.
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RI NQRZOHGJH LQ P\ VWXGLHV ¿UVW WKDW WKH &% IRUP
1) The CB form was widespread in US pop in the years
or AABA(BA), was overwhelmingly abundant in the
that preceded the Beatles: Buddy Holly, Paul Anka, the
Beatles’ production until 1965, and second, that nothing
Everly Brothers, Neil Sedaka and many Brill Building
similar could be said about the form of songs composed
authors in the late Fifties and early Sixties, including
and performed by all other British groups in the same
those who wrote for Elvis Presley (think of songs like
104
Fig. 11: Paul McCartney – John
Lennon, ‘Strawberry Fields
Forever (Demo Sequence)’,
demo tape recorded by John
Lennon (Anthology 2, Disc 2,
Apple PCSP 728, 1996)
Fig. 12: Paul McCartney – John
Lennon, ‘Strawberry Fields
Forever (Take 1)’, as recorded by
the Beatles (Anthology 2, Disc
2, Apple PCSP 728, 1996)
Fig. 13: Paul McCartney – John
Lennon, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever
7DNH (GLW3LHFH ¶DVUHFRUGHG
by the Beatles (Anthology 2, Disc
2, Apple PCSP 728, 1996)
‘Return to Sender’, ‘The Girl Of My Best Friend’, etc.),
well suited for Lennon’s and McCartney’s collaboration,
composed using that form extensively. Some of these
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VRQJZULWHUV LQÀXHQFHG WKH %HDWOHV PRUH RWKHUV OHVV
¿QDOO\ WKH WKHDWULFDO RULJLQ RI WKH VRQJ IRUP DQG LWV
Though it is known that the repertoire the Beatles
implied rhetoric strategies were perfect for ‘staging’ the
performed in clubs was more rock’n’roll oriented, when
short teenage stories at the base of most early Beatles’
they started composing their own songs they recurred
songs.
to a standard tool of the trade for pop songs. In fact, the
U ERUURFN¶Q¶UROOSDUWRIWKHLUHDUO\DOEXPVZDVEDVHG
2) In fact, the number of CB songs started decreasing
on covers. As we’ve already seen, the CB form was also
ZKHQ/HQQRQDQG0F&DUWQH\XQGHU'\ODQ¶VLQÀXHQFH
105
Fig. 14: Paul McCartney – John
Lennon, ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’,
as recorded by the Beatles
(Parlophone R 5570, 1967)
begun to write more ‘personal’ lyrics. Talking about
wasn’t sudden, however, and some resistance occurred:
own experiences and emotions needs more space and
see, for example, how ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’
WLPH DQG GRHVQ¶W QHFHVVDULO\ ¿W LQWR WKH SUHFRRNHG
(which is known for the crucial role of an edit) was
rhetoric strategies (tensions and releases, colours and
gradually transformed – as takes progressed – from a
grey tones) of the CB form. Songs became longer, the
folk-style VVR form into an unusual RVRVRVRV, where
climax-building potential of the VR form became more
the initial refrain echoes the initial chorus of so many
appealing. Paradoxically, the idea of ‘comedy songs’,
earlier Beatles’ songs.
that the Beatles started contemplating at some point,
had very little to do with theatre, and much more with
Anyway, the end of the band’s live performances and
storytelling. In the year of the British Invasion, the most
the almost unlimited availability of studio time of course
shocking song as form is concerned (and not only that,
encouraged new composing techniques, where laying
of course) was ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, a seemingly
down tracks, freely editing and assembling replaced
never-ending succession of extra-long verses and
the closed forms of songs brought to the studio by the
ODFHUDWLQJUHIUDLQV LQWKH¿UVWYHUVLRQWKLUW\DFFRUGLQJWR
DXWKRU V DV DOPRVW ¿QLVKHG SURGXFWV MXVW FRPSDUH
sources). And ‘Eve Of Destruction’ was another VR hit
how ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ were
of 1965. Also, the development of instrument and studio
recorded, less than a year and a half apart). Psychedelic
technology allowed bands to create hooks and rhetoric
drugs, also, may have been a factor.
strategies without necessarily relying on traditional
melodic, harmonic, rhythmic resources; editing became
3) The CB form was one of the founding elements of
a major tool for creating song structures. The process
the early Beatles’ idiolect, and certainly the band’s
106
Table 1: Numbers and percentages of songs in main forms
recorded and released by the Beatles, 1962-1970
Year
CB
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
Total
3
11
15
14
4
5
12
9
1
74
VR
75%
61%
65%
44%
24%
22%
35%
31%
33%
40%
0
3
5
8
5
7
5
6
1
40
Other
0%
17%
22%
25%
29%
30%
15%
21%
33%
22%
1
4
3
10
8
11
17
14
1
69
Total
25%
22%
13%
31%
47%
48%
50%
48%
33%
38%
4
18
23
32
17
23
34
29
3
183
members were aware of this. So not only the Get Back
DVRQJZDVVWDUWHGLQRQH\HDUDQG¿QDOL]HGODWHUWKH
album project (later ‘Spectorized’ and released as Let It
second date is used: so, the three songs in 1970 are ‘I
Be) was partly based on songs composed in the group’s
Me Mine’, actually recorded in 1970, ‘Let It Be’ and ‘The
pre-history, but also the whole idea of returning to the
/RQJ$QG:LQGLQJ5RDG¶ERWKODLGGRZQLQLWLDOO\LQ
‘roots’ implied short songs, performed live, without edits
but completed in 1970. Reasonably, ‘Flying’, ‘Revolution
and overdubbing, etc. However, it must be said that at
¶DQGµ:LOG+RQH\3LH¶DUHQRWLQFOXGHGLQWKHOLVWDQG
OHDVWLQRQHFDVHµ7KH/RQJ$QG:LQGLQJ5RDG¶ WKDW
this explains the total of 183 (Ian MacDonald counts
wasn’t thought as a part of that project, but as a demo
186 pieces).
aimed at some crooner), the CB form seems to be
used explicitly as a genre marker. This also applies to
Data is plotted in the graph over page (Figure 15).
‘Something’, in Abbey Road: the (partial) return to the
CB form in the later Beatles is more a stylistic quotation
than a necessity.
As I said, I don’t agree with some of Scarpa’s analyses
(for example, I think that ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is an almost
exemplary verse-refrain song, opened by the refrain,
Forms in figures
and not a chorus-refrain song as Scarpa suggests,
based on the presence of the song title in two of the
According to Scarpa (2009) song structures in the Beatles’
occurrences of what I would call the verse), but the
RI¿FLDOGLVFRJUDSK\DUHUHSUHVHQWHGLQWKHWDEOHDERYH
overall trend is clear and can’t be substantially varied
µ<HDU¶LVWKH¿QDOUHFRUGLQJ\HDUZKHQWKHUHFRUGLQJRI
by a few adjustments. If we look at percentages, rather
107
Fig. 15: Main song forms in Beatles’
records: number of songs / year.
Fig. 16: Main song forms in Beatles’
records: percentages / year.
than at absolute numbers, the history of the presence
the CB form, but of course song forms that I labelled as
of the CB form in the Beatles’ idiolect is even clearer
‘Other’ are equally or more interesting. Similar analyses
(Figure 16).
could be made of the repertoires of other songwriters:
remaining close to the subject of this paper, an analysis
Conclusions
of other bands’ songs in the same period, or of the
production of later bands that for various reasons were
Song structure is a fascinating subject, and many more
compared to the Beatles, could be a rewarding task.
things could be said about its importance in the study of
And some might like to investigate how songs like ‘A
the Beatles’ songwriting; in this paper I concentrated on
'D\ ,Q 7KH /LIH¶ LQÀXHQFHG WKH GHYHORSPHQW RI WKH
108
complex structures of progressive rock pieces. I hope
that the simple procedure I designed for displaying song
structures quickly can be useful to others: relevant Excel
¿OHVFDQEHGRZQORDGHGIURPP\ZHEVLWH http://www.
Selected Bibliography
Citron, Stephen. 1986. Songwriting. A Complete Guide
to the Craft. Hodder and Stoughton, London.
francofabbri.net/pagine/Uni_Download.htm).
Covach, John. 2005. ‘Form in Rock Music: A Primer’ in
D. Stein ed. Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis,
Oxford University Press, New York.
Covach, John, 2006. ‘From “Craft” to “Art”: Formal
6WUXFWXUH LQ WKH 0XVLF RI WKH %HDWOHV¶ LQ . :RPDFN
and Todd F. Davis eds. Reading the Beatles. Cultural
Studies, Literary Criticism, and the Fab Four, SUNY
Press, New York.
(YHUHWW:DOWHU The Beatles as Musicians: The
Quarry Men through Rubber Soul, Oxford University
Press, New York.
Fabbri, Franco. 1996. ‘Forme e modelli delle canzoni
dei Beatles’ in R. Dalmonte ed. Analisi e canzoni.
Dipartimento di Scienze Filologiche e Storiche, Trento,
pp. 169-196, also in Fabbri 2008, pp. 155-79.
Fabbri, Franco. 2003. ‘La chanson’ in J.J. Nattiez ed.
Musiques. Une encyclopédie pour le XXI siècle, tome
1: ‘Musiques du XX siècle’, Actes Sud, Arles, pp. 659702.
109
Fabbri, Franco. 2008. Il suono in cui viviamo, il
Lonely Hearts Club Band, Parlophone PCS 7027, UK.
Saggiatore, Milan. Third Edition.
The Beatles. 1996. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever (Demo
Goldman, Albert. 1988. The Lives of John Lennon. New
Sequence)’, Anthology 2, Apple PCSP 728, UK.
York: Bantam Books. Paperback Edition.
The Beatles. 1996. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever (Take
MacDonald, Ian, 1994, Revolution in the Head. The
1)’, Anthology 2, Apple PCSP 728, UK.
Beatles’ Records and the Sixties, Fourth Estate Limited,
London.
The Beatles. 1996. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 7
(GLW3LHFH ¶Anthology 2, Apple PCSP 728, UK.
Peterik, J., Austin D., Bickford M.E. 2002. Songwriting
for Dummies:LOH\1HZ<RUN
Gentle Giant. 1971. ‘The House, The Street, The Room’,
Acquiring The Taste, Vertigo VE 1005, UK.
Scarpa, Gian Paolo. 2009. L’organizzazione formale delle
canzoni dei Beatles. Final dissertation, University of Turin.
Marion Harris. 1927. ‘The Man I Love’, Victor 21116-B,
USA.
Stefani, Gino, 2007, ‘A Theory of Musical Competence’,
in A. Moore ed. Critical Essays in Popular Musicology,
Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 19-34.
Selected Discography
The Beatles. 1963. ‘From Me To You’, Parlophone
R5015, UK.
The Beatles. 1967. ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’,
Parlophone R 5570, UK.
The Beatles. 1967. ‘A Day In The Life’, Sgt. Pepper’s
Elvis Presley. 1961. ‘[Marie’s the Name of] His Latest
Flame’, RCA 47-7908, USA.