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Things We Said Today
Composer(s) : Lennon and McCartney
Year : 1964
Chords/Tabs: Things We Said Today
"Things We Said Today" (TWST)
"Things We Said Today" (TWST) is one of the earliest and best-ever examples
of the innovative Harmony stunts which The Beatles were capable of, being
uninhibited as they were by any schoolbook knowledge of the so-called rules.
On the lyrical side here, there's a correspondingly precocious ambiguity
over the exact scenario in which the song, on the surface just a plain old
love ballad, takes place.
The one thing that does seem fairly clear is that it's about the impeturbable
constancy of true love in the face of logistical challenge, or perhaps more
precisely, the *fear* of challenge. As you might expect, one of the most
exciting discoveries to be made in an analysis of such a song is the
way in which the details of the music assist the words in the evocation
of an otherwise difficult to verbalize complex of emotions.
Our friend Macca, in an interview clip from the "Put It There" video,
suggests that he chose to revive this song for the '89/'90 tour because
it "says something nice, ... it's a simple song, ... easy to play."
What do you think ? Is it that he doesn't give himself enough credit,
or perhaps, are we hearing just a small note of false modesty ?
Form
The form, for a change, is both straightforward and quite fully cranked out
with four verses and two bridges:
Intro-> Verse-> Verse-> Bridge-> Verse-> Bridge-> Verse-> Outro
Nonetheless, there's a delicate balance here between the rambling and the
forthright. The omission of an instrumental solo section (which would have
probably appeared either in place of the third verse or as an additional verse
section preceding the second bridge) keeps the procedings from becoming too
relaxed. To the extent that this is a "mood" song, the outspread form helps
conjure the mood, yet at the same time, the omission of the instrumental keeps
us focused with some urgency on the fact that the protaganist has a lot that
he must say right now lest this moment pass.
Harmony and Modality
The song is primarily in the modal-sounding "natural" minor key of A; you'll
note how in the verse sections, the minor v7 (e min7) chord with no g# is
used in place of the more tonally functional Major one (*with* the g#, of
course.) In contrast, the start of the bridge sections features a shift
to the parallel Major key of A, a trick reminiscent of what we saw in
"I'll Be Back" (IBB).
The liberal inclusion of the relatively foreign note of B flat throughout
the song adds even more spice to both the melody and harmony.
Melodically, this B flat in the context of A minor is suggestive of the
exotic Phrygian mode; think of it as the white note scale starting on E.
Try the following little exercise if you doubt what I mean about the
piquant effect created by this mode: first play the melodic fragment
of a-b-a over a sustained A minor chord and then alternate it with
a-b flat-a over that same chord. Although this phrase never appears
explicitly in the top-voice melody of TWST, its alternating presence is
definitely there throughout the song, hidden in the inner voices of the
chord changes.
On the harmonic side, a B flat chord is used in both the verse and bridge
as part of a gambit in which what has started off as an aggressive
excursion away from the home key is abruptly aborted with a return to that
very same firm, secure home base. The B flat chord in any mode of A is
the unusual "flat II" or "Neopolitan" chord (so-called because of its
overly frequent use in 17th century opera of said venue), and what
makes its use especially far out in a Beatles song is the fact that they
resolve it directly to the I chord rather than via the V chord as is more
customary in classical usage. Note how the Boys were so pleased with
themselves over this that they recycled the exact same magic trick in
"You're Going To Lose That Girl."
A Scarcity Of Songs In Minor Keys
As a sort of side-bar digression, it is worth noting how TWST is one of
the very few early Beatles songs to be so fully grounded in the minor mode.
Through July '64, they had recorded 51 songs for official release (15 covers,
1 by Harrison, the remainder by L&M), the great majority of which are clearly
in Major keys.
- While there is a sizeable group of songs which arguably contain some greater
or less degree of minor "flavoring", when you get strict about it ("you'll
have to be strict, Paul ..."), you find only 7 songs that are distinctively
and pervasively minor:
- - the cover, "Taste of Honey", our surprise entry
- - George's "Don't Bother Me"
- - "Not A Second Time"
- - "And I Love Her"
- - our own sweet TWST
- - "When I Get Home"
- - "I'll Be Back"
A truly uncanny consistency is the fact the the last 5 songs in the
list above *all* make conspicuous use of the trick of switching back
and forth between Major/minor phrase or section endings. As I've asked
before in other contexts, is this style or mannerism ?
The songs which contain only hints of the minor mode are also interesting.
I'd say there are at least dozen or more of them in our sample study, but
you might find more or less of them yourself depending on how picky or
sensitive you are to this sort of thing. These "hints" are actually the
result of a couple of different compositional techniques used frequently
by the Beatles. For now, just some bullet descriptions with a few examples
for further study:
- heavy use of bluesy cross-relations in a minor vocal part against
Major chords in the accompaniment; e.g., "Can't Buy Me Love", "You Can't
Do That", and "Money."
- emphasis on the I-vi progression; e.g., "It Won't Be Long", "All I've Got
to Do", and "From Me To You".
- use of the flat sixth degree of the scale either melodically (e.g., "Do
You Want To Know A Secret") or as part of the minor iv chord (e.g., "She
Loves You", and "I Call Your Name").
And now back to the regularly scheduled program.
Vocal Arrangement
The vocal arrangement of TWST is neatly organized around the novelty of
using only Paul throughout.
The first verse is primarily single track with two exceptions: the third
phrase (as in every verse) has Paul harmonizing in parallel thirds with
himself, and the second half of the last phrase of this verse (on the words
"things we said today") suddenly shifts to double-tracking.
The remaining verses and both bridge sections are consistently double-
tracked in unison with a few similar exceptions as above: the third phrase
of each verse uses the same parallel thirds as in the first verse (each
voice of which is single tracked), and the second half of the last
phrase (again, on the title phrase) has Paul harmonizing with himself
in rather early-Beatles-sounding open 4ths. Just as a teaser, this
same harmonization appears still one place else, at the end of the
second phrase of the final verse; yet again, we encounter the aesthetic
of avoiding rote consistency.
By the way, this track is at least one example where the real stereo
mix which may be found on the American vinyl pressing, "Something New",
provides more easily discernable detail than the mono CD version of "AHDN".
In stereo, the overdubbed second vocal is separated very far to the right.
Intro
We have just a brief two measures in which the backing texture of the
verse is established. The even strumming and stroking of acoustic
guitar and drums sets a predominantly tranquil mood, yet two details
belie it, keeping you braced for possibly tenser times:
- the opening sixteenth-note rhythmic fanfare (di-di-DUM) calls you to
attention with a bigger, more ominous bang than you'd think you might
need given the supposedly gentle nature of the song to come.
- in the syncopated electric guitar part, the chords are stressed on
the half beat in between beats 3 and 4 of the measure.
On the official recording of this song, the A minor chord is the only
one used in this intro, whereas on the BEEB recording of July '64, you
hear them changing to e minor 7 on the offbeats.
Verses
The verse is a standard sixteen measures long, and contains four phrases
of even length. Three of these phrases (the first, second, and fourth)
are musically very similar. Harmonically too, they are quite static
featuring in every measure either the lone a minor chord, or with a
change to e minor 7 on the off beat. While you'd expect to find a strict
pattern as to which measures sustain the chord versus changing it, a close
look reveals some internal inconsistencies throughout the official version,
as well as between the official and the BEEB version cited above.
It is, of course, in the third phrase of this section ("Some day when
we're dreaming ...") that the mood noticeably darkens, largely as a result
of a momentary tonal ambiguity. It's clear right at the beginning of this
phrase that the music is suddenly headed away from the home key, but the
future course is kept uncertain. By the time we reach the B flat chord
in the last measure, it is uncertain to our ears whether we might soon
stabilize in the new key of F, or perhaps keep moving along the circle of
fifths to the even more remote E flat chord. And yet, at this moment of
most extreme tension, the B flat chord resolves surprisingly-yet-comfortingly
back into the home key. I notate it below as though a modulation to F is the
"correct" answer, but I think my prose description above is more faithful
to one's internal experience:
m.9
|C |C9/7 |F |B flat |a
a: III flat II i
F: V I IV
Details such as the broad arpeggios in the electric guitar on the downbeat
of each measure and the free-form way in which the words are scanned over the
underlying rhythm in slow triplets and syncopation, not to mention the
harmonized pseudo-duet also help set off this third phrase from the other
three.
Verse Variations
The first verse is the only one which is followed immediately by another
verse and as a result, it includes a one-measure "reprise" of the intro
including the little rhythmic fanfare. Similarly, the final verse connects
directly into the outro which also is just a reprise of the material heard
at the outset.
Verses two and three connect to bridge sections and feature a surprise ending
on A Major instead of the minor chord you'd otherwise expect. It's worth
noting how in these verses which adjoin the bridges, the "noisier" texture
of the bridge-proper (see below) begins right in the final measure of the
verse itself.
Bridge
The bridge sections provide sudden contrast in virtually every category: the
harmony shifts entirely and optimistically to the Major mode, the percussion
gets much noisier including the addition a tambourine, and the bassline
features a different rhythmic and melodic pattern. More to the point,
the gambit of harmonic excursion and sudden return which we saw in the
verses is now even further developed.
These bridges are each eight measures long and contain two phrases
of even length. There is melodic parallelism between the two phrases
which is made bittersweetly ironic by a difference in their harmony. The
melody too is difficultly chromatic and adds to the emotional intensity
of the section; in addition to the usual chords, I've chosen to notate
below what I consider to be the structural backbone of this melody:
melody: C# D D# D natural
|A |D |B |E7 |
A: I IV V of V V7
C# D D# D natural C nat.
|A |D |B |B flat ||a
I IV V of V flat II i
Harmonically, the first phrase is "functional" in a relatively traditional
way, although you'd sooner expect the D# in top voice of measure 3 to
resolve upward to E rather than downward, as it does to D. And though
the D fits quite logically on top of the E7 chord upon which it finds
itself, the melodic descent conveys some small sense of emotional
deflation, especially as it follows the first three measures of
rising, happy-Major-mode expectations.
It's in the second phrase, where this same melodic backbone is
suspended over an extremely unexpected substitution of the B flat
chord for the E7 that the sun chillingly goes in for a brief moment;
especially when this half-stepwise descent continues in a second
surprise move to the A minor chord for the start of the following verse.
As with the verse above, labelling the B flat chord a flat II maybe
doesn't even fairly match your experience of the phrase. Perhaps, it's
more like an unhinging sensation of harmonic free-fall which is brought
to a merciful end by the sudden return to the home key.
Outro
As is common in songs of this period, the outro presents yet another
reprise of the introductory material repeated into a fadeout. It would
almost be an anti-climax except for the ingeniously unifying stroke of
adding in the tambourine part from the bridge section. In spite of the
fact that the steady reliability of the A minor backing riff extends
as far as you can see to the horizon, this ending also suggests that
little pangs of anxiety will also remain a permanent part of the tour.
Future Fear
Without the clues from the music itself, you might mistake this song for
one of a time-honored and slightly hackneyed genre: sentimental words
of parting between lovers overhead at a railway platform or baggage
carousel. But I think it's a tad more complicated.
For one thing, the notion of a parting is mentioned only once, and even
then, in hypothetical terms only. Even the rest of the lyrics, which on
the surface can easily be read as sweet, simple, besotted gratitude for
a love that is requited can easily be re-interpreted as containing more
than just a suggestion of head-shaking skepticism and concern about the
viability of love's lasting till the end of time; especially "if" one
is so far away. This is what I mean about how the hot flashes of
uncertainty in the music help elucidate the text.
But the ultimately "nice" message of the song is to be found in the
repeating line which ends each verse, in which all fear is revealed to
be an illusion. The transcendence of the background accompaniment and the
ease with which the steady carrier frequency of the A minor key may
be accessed again in spite of momentary free-falls and loss of contact
vividly underscore the meaning of the words: that in spite of the
potential-yet-inevitable strains upon it, be they tangible impediments
or the one of times passing, love can and will persist, oftentimes
though it has little more to sustain it than the memory of things we
said today.
Regards,
Alan (awp@bitstream.com *OR* uunet!huxley!awp)
---
"They tried to fob you off on this musical charlatan,
but *I* gave him the test." 010591#24
--- H.B. Fran G&K
Copyright (c) 1991 by Alan W. Pollack
All Rights Reserved
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