Tag: structure

Hit Songwriting: “These Days” by Foo Fighters

Songwriters: Odie Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Georg Ruthenberg, David Eric Grohl

I was looking through the songs I’ve analyzed over the last couple years and realized I’d never done a song by Foo Fighters. Their huge presence looms over the Rock genre, inspiring dozens of top bands. Grammy wins for Best Rock Album and over a decade of hit Rock songs means that I am long overdue.

This beautiful song from 2012 is one of my favorites. And David Grohl has said that it’s one of his. The passionate chorus lyric and unpredictable but catchy melody make this song a Rock classic that will live on and on.

Watch the video. Read the lyrics.

Watch on YouTube
Read the lyric
Shortcut numbers refer to my books “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting” (“Hit”) and “Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV” (“Film/TV”).

GENRE

The genre is Mainstream Rock. Grohl’s gritty vocal, the layered electric guitars, and hard, punchy drums give it plenty of Rock cred. At the same time, the lyric is thoughtful and the theme serious. There’s an intimate approach to the verses that bursts into a solid, rockin’ chorus with a powerful message that landed this song at the top of the Rock charts.

Song Genres & Reference Artists Course
Find out more about Genres.

STRUCTURE

The song structure is:

VERSE / VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS
VERSE / PRE-CHORUS / CHORUS
DOUBLE PRE-CHORUS / HALF VERSE / CHORUS

The song opens with a double verse. The verses each consist of two long lyric lines broken up into short phrases. A pre-chorus (“But it’s all right…”) provides some release and begins the build up to the huge vocal leap at the top of the chorus (“Easy for you to say…”).

The overall structure is typical for a hit song up until the bridge. Grohl uses a double pre-chorus as the bridge before going into a final verse and chorus. Notice that he doesn’t return to the pre-chorus again, using just a half verse before roaring into the final chorus of the song.

Continue reading Hit Songwriting: “These Days” by Foo Fighters

You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift says she got the inspiration for this song when she overheard a male friend arguing with his girlfriend over the phone. You’ll see how this idea even ended up in the video. 🙂 Just goes to show that songwriting themes are all around you. Keep your ears open!

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Poison and Wine – The Civil Wars

John Paul White (left) and Joy Williams of The Civil Wars. The duo's second album will be released on August 6.

Singer-songwriter duo The Civil Wars won the 2012 Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and another for Best Folk Album. Joy WIlliams and Paul White were working as solo singer-songwriters before teaming up to create a unique blend that lets each of them shine. This is a great example of collaboration! They obviously share a love for folk music and were able to find a way to pool their talents and make a whole that’s different from their work as solo artists.

The emotional, atmospheric quality of the tracks makes them perfect for film and television. And indeed, “Poison & Wine” has been featured Grey’s Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, The Client List, Pretty Little Liars, 90210, and more. So let’s take a look.

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Dynamite – Taio Cruz

“Dynamite” is a Club Dance track that crossed over to the Pop/Dance charts big time! The song has a hot, hot HOT track. The song rides on top of a solid, rock-steady groove adding a vocal melody filled with catchy hooks and a fun lyric.

Recorded by Taio Cruz
Writers: Levin / McKee /Martin /Adetayo / Onile / Gottwald
Lyrics are available on the Internet.
Shortcut numbers refer to my books “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting” (“Hit”) and “Shortcuts to Songwriting for Film & TV” (“Film/TV”). Both are available at Amazon.com.

GENRE

The Club Dance genre features irresistible, infectious grooves that get people out on the dance floor. Vocal melodies have plenty of rhythmic interest, using syncopation and repetition. Lyrics sometimes consist of no more than “let’s dance, get out on the floor “but for a song to crossover to the Pop charts, as this one certainly did, you’ll need to give the lyrics a little more personality and attitude.

In this genre, the lyrics and melody together are referred to as the “top-line.” The top-line is usually written after the instrumental track is roughed out or even completed. A good track producer will make sure that the top-line writer has a clear verse and chorus structure to work with. A few artists who are successful in this genre are Taio Cruz, Lady Gaga, Ellie Goulding, Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, and Calvin Harris.

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Hands Tied – Toni Braxton

This is a great example of a current Urban AC (Adult Contemporary) song. Toni Braxton needed something to put her back on the charts – something with a current sound after her mega-hits of the 1990s. This song has a melody with loads of rhythmic interest and a fresh approach to the lyric theme. Take a listen and then we’ll discover what made this song so appealing to today’s listeners.


Recorded by Toni Braxton
Writers: Heather Bright, Warren Felder, and Harvey Mason, Jr.
Lyrics are available on the internet.
Shortcut # refers to my book “Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting.”

STRUCTURE
Here’s a perfect example of the VERSE / CHORUS / VERSE / CHORUS / BRIDGE / CHORUS hit song structure! The repetitive verse builds rapidly to a HUGE chorus with tons of catchy hooks and a wonderful payoff line at the end that keeps going and going and going… only to fall immediately into the start of the second verse.

Try this trick in a song of your own: extend the last line (the payoff line) with repetition or by stretching out the words until it leads right into the next section. 

Continue reading Hands Tied – Toni Braxton