I ended my last post on rather a cowardly note, by saying that the expressive power of music “remains a mystery”. In fact I believe music susceptible to some analysis. To fine-tune my understanding of literature, I often interpret literary works; in the same spirit I intend, in this posting, to analyse a piece of popular music. The song I have chosen is “My Oh My” by David Gray and I have chosen this song because it resonates deeply with me. I am not profoundly familiar with the nomenclature of musical analysis so forgive me any impression of imprecision. My analysis combines formal description with personal impression and is strictly in the first person.
“My Oh My” involves four ‘instruments’ – rhythm guitar, vocals, drums and some stringed instrument, probably a cello or bass. The verses alternate between two chords: Em/Bb and Dm4/A (the first letter in these titles indicates the main chord, the second the lowest note in the chord). These chords are arranged differently than they are normally in other pop songs: this means that for many listeners the song immediately sounds different to others in their experience. The emotional tone of the verses sounds to me melancholic but not funereal; and the rhythms of the strumming suggest urgency.
At the end of the first verse the song changes key, shifting from E minor to G major, E minor’s natural partner, and the drums kick in. When I first heard the song, this key change at once surprised and satisfied me. It surprised me because my experience of music was such that I expected songs in a minor key to remain in that key. In fact, a little disappointment mixed in with my other emotions: my taste in music at that time was such that I preferred the sublimated anguish of a minor key. At another level the chord change elicited a feeling of satisfaction because the verse chords had intimated at this G chord through harmonics while the vocal melody, playing around the E chord had emphasized the G note. So when this transition took place (and takes place) I feel a sense of release. I admit this is a strangely mixed reaction, but I think it fair to say that all good art provokes mixed feelings as a matter of course.
In fact the first chord of the chorus is not G but Gmaj7, which soon modulates to Gm7. These chords, as any amateur musicologist (such as myself) knows, ‘want’ the resolution of a C chord. I have said the song is in E minor (in the verses) and G major (in the chorus); it might be fairer though to say that the song is in A minor and C major. If so, it is a song, which never introduces its tonic chord, A minor. Perhaps this is why the song has a quality suggestive of unfulfilled desire.
It does though turn from Gm7 to C major (or more precisely C/E) halfway through the chorus, carrying out the movement that is so deeply embedded, and so beloved, in our musical memory. At the same time, Gray’s voice lifts to near the top of his range “It takes a lot of love…” – this, as the composition makes clear, is the point of the song. Gray repeats the line, “it takes a lot of love my friend” while the key of the song changes key again, modulating to the Eb6/9 chord. A new idea is to be introduced. The song switches between Eb6/9 and Bsus while Gray completes the stanza: “…to keep your heart from freezing, to push on ‘til the end.” The guitar touches on F6/9 before returning to Gmaj7 and then to the chord structure of the verses.
On one level “My Oh My” is a simple song: it consists mainly of strummed chords and vocal melody. On another level the chord progression is complex enough that it is difficult to tell what key it is in; the effect of this chord progression is highly emotive because the song hints at simpler melodic lines without directly expressing them. I contend that our perception “My Oh My” is founded largely on our knowledge of other music. The song references musical tradition, not by utilizing the dominant melodic constructions of other tunes but by bringing to the foreground the more subtle patterns that other songs only hint at. I should mention also that the lyrics of the song perfectly fit its musical content; lyrics and music form an organic whole.
Lyrics are vital to popular music. The emotions that music expresses are vague; lyrics contribute to the emotional effect of a song by articulating the emotions in a song, by relating the feelings evoked musically to a concrete situation. The circular verse chorus verse chorus design of a pop song also means that it is through the lyrics that a song gives an impression of development. The relationship between lyrics and melody can even be ironical. For instance, in the song “All Apologies” by Nirvana when Corbain delivers the line that he is “married” and “buried” the song sounds triumphant, suggesting that Corbain is really happy to be married.
“My Oh My” is no run-of-the-mill song but I liked it the first time I heard it. It may seem that I contradict myself in saying this because, in my previous instalment, I argued that novelty in music requires time to appreciate. The reason why it is possible to like “My Oh My” straightaway is because, under the complex chord structure, beats a simple melodic heart. “My Oh My” is steeped in the tradition of the folk song, a tradition that underlies the best of popular music. To put it a little simplistically, Gray has simply taken the best bits from a number of different songs and organised them into something new.