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I'm So Tired
Composer(s) : Lennon and McCartney
Year : 1968
Chords/Tabs: I'm So Tired
Notes on "I'm So Tired" (IST)
KEY A Major
METER 4/4
FORM Verse -> Verse -> Refrain ->
Verse -> Refrain -> Outro (w/complete ending)
GENERAL POINTS OF INTEREST
Style and Form
- This song is quite a vivid musical evocation of some unhappy inner
state, alternating by fits and starts between enervated and unnerved.
We also find here a substance-amplified unsteadiness (implied in both
the lyrics, and more subtly in the moderato fox trot backbeat) that
curiously reminds me of the "tipsy" beat you find in some of Ravel's
_Valses Nobles et Sentimentales_.
- The increased intensity of the Refrain compared to the Verse creates
an impression of a parallel increase in the tempo, but it's only an
illusion. One of the song's real charms is the manner in which the
quietly ascending bassline leads into the third verse as though
"nothing" had happened in the previous, ranting refrain section.
- That ascending bassline pickup which opens the track turns out to
be a mirror image of the bassline riff which ended the previous
song. Chalk it to being either "no coincidence" or a very happy
one, at the very least. The key shift between the two songs
of a subtle half-step upward bears an uncanny (and also "coincidental")
parallel with the half-step downward shift displayed by the
transition of
"Eleanor Rigby" to
"I'm Only Sleeping;" even the
specific keys involved are the same!
Melody and Harmony
- The tune is replete with non-harmonic tones that create an
overall dissonant feeling that is equally roughshod and pathetique.
- The harmony of the verse is largely built on the old R&R cliche
progression of I-vi-IV-V while the Refrain features the old bluesy
in-out/in-out of I-IV-V. Note, however, that John throws two very
UN-cliche chords into the verse.
Arrangement
- The finished mix, with its many drop-ins and overdubs, is thick
and somewhat bottom heavy.
- The lead vocal features a couple of monotony-breaking variations
on the tune for the second verse and refrain, taking it up into a
suddenly higher range.
- The descending hook (played on, is it an organ, lead guitar, or
both?) heard in the final two measures of the verses that directly
precede a refrain is another one of those supporting signature details
that make an indelible impression.
SECTION-BY-SECTION WALKTHROUGH
Verse
- The verse has a blues-like 12-bar form with an AAB phrasing
pattern. The harmonic shape is quite open, with all three verses
starting on I but ending on either V or IV:
|A |G# |D |E |
A: I V-of-III (?!) IV V
|A |f# |D |E |
I vi IV V
|A |G# Aug. |f# |d |
I ** vi iv
- The first harmonic surprise appears in the second measure. Some
folks (e.g. Terence J. O'Grady's _The Beatles: A Musical Evolution_)
analyze the first phrase as identical to the second, but without
recourse to any written scores, I'm rely completely on my ears to
tell you that the first phrase uses a cliche-busting G# Major
chord; not only delicious per se, but also for the way in which
it prevents foolish consistency between the two phrases. The
resulting root movement of a "tritone" between G# and D is not
only very rare in pop music, but (another coincidence) is something
in the Beatles cannon that shows up as peculiar to John's music;
take a look at both
"It's Only Love"
and "I Am The Walrus;" the
former, bearing a VERY close comparison with out current example.
(And at risk of appearing to lack personal humility, the previous
observation freaks *me* out when I make it, and I'll eat my hat
if you can show me that someone else has beaten me to it :-))
- The second harmonic surprise is the augmented triad in the second
measure of the third phrase. Think of it as a voice-leading transition
between the chords on either side of it, rather than in terms of it
having a Roman numeral of its own.
- And yes, John Lennon did like using the minor iv chord in a Major
key, especially when, as here, he can precede it with a chord that
forces a cross-relation with the f natural.
Refrain
- The refrain is also in a 12-bar form with short phrases that
create an AABBC- pattern. In contrast to the verse, the harmonic
shape of this section is a closed full circle:
|A |- |- |- |
I
|E |- |- |- |
V
|D |- |A |- |
IV
- Also in contrast to the verse is the different drumming style and
the much slower harmonic rhythm.
- The matter of fact way in which the ascending bassline riff helps
restart the third verse that follows this refrain is remarkable for
the dramatic image it suggests: the hero, having warmed himself up to
let go with no small amount of pent up rage over the course of the
refrain, suddenly pulls back and assumes the erstwhile withdrawn
affect with which he opened the song; as though he were trying to
make small of himself after momentarily losing some control.
Outro
- The outro is one of those three-strikes-you're-out extensions of
the second refrain. And you might say this effect nicely develops
the dramatic scenario sketched out, above.
- Think about it: the final phrase is repeated here three full times.
For the first two repeats, the final two measures are filled with
loud heavy drums and wild organ glissandos, as if rage has finally
gotten the better of our hero and will no longer be so easily bottled
back up.
- But yet, listen further to the final repeat, where I dare say the
sotto-voce muttering with which the track ends would seem to imply
a modicum of control regained, no matter how precarious or temporary.
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
- A comparison of this finished track with its Esher demo provides
some object lessons in the art of "tightening up" a piece of music:
- The demo features *two* verses between the two refrains; definitely
too much, too long. I think the only time you have two sections like
this in the middle of a song is when one of them is performed
as an instrumental break.
- The demo also follows the second refrain with one more verse, this
one featuring John reciting new lyrics in which arms/charms/funny
farm make the three-way rhyme. Not only, again, "too much" per se
but also too close for comfort to the same gimmick used in
"Happiness is a Warm Gun."
- The demo repeats the final phrase of the final section a clumsy
four times.
- The refrain endings of the demo are all filled equally with giddy
shouting "woahs" instead of what I've described as the "dramatic"
alternation in the finished track between forced calm and rage.
- Ah, the centrality of making judicious revisions! The demo version
in this case, while obviously much more of an informal run-through
than the studio version, is hardly what you'd call an gestational/
rough/primitive tryout. The chords are under their fingers and we
hear no verbal collisions or flubs. And so I find it remarkable
just how MUCH fine tuning work is yet to be done on such a song
even when its already well up on its legs.
Regards,
Alan (awp@world.std.com)
---
"Babble on babble on, but a touch of the writer's cramp will soon sort
you out." 120797#138
---
Copyright (c) 1997 by Alan W. Pollack
All Rights Reserved
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