Tuesday Tunes

Perhaps it’s reverse psychology. Maybe it’s just good songwriting. This week’s entry is a classic if you’re into country, but the more recent version is my favourite, not only because it introduced me to the song, but also because of my fandom of the band’s wider works.

The Song
Song: Sad Songs and Waltzes
Artist: Cake
Album: Fashion Nugget - 1996 - Capricorn Records
Method of discovery: Listening to Cake discography

Theory: This is a typical country waltz, so like every other waltz I know of, it’s in 3/4. The Verses are sung over a musical pattern of I-V-I-I, IV-IV-I-I, IV-IV-I-IV, I-I-V-I. This is stable and simple, and because it’s Country you can chuck an appropriate 7th in when you’re about to change chords. The only Dominant (V) chords are at the start and end of the phrase, helping it to gain a sense of finality in the singer’s words. The Refrain moves away from the simplicity only slightly, starting with a V resolving to a I, which ramps up to a II before coming back down to a another V, driving us back into the second half of the verse.

Research: Written by Willie Nelson, and originally released by same in 1973 on his record ‘Shotgun Willie’, this song was a reflection on Willie’s feelings that record labels wanted ‘sweeteners’ - commercially viable songs that are easily ‘sellable’ by the company. Funnily, he recorded ‘Shotgun Willie’ outside of his usual recording contacts, which contributed to his ability to pen and release this song. This isn’t the only example of songs that were written in response to this attitude from record labels: see also Sara Bareilles “Love Song” and Weezer’s “Pork and Beans”.

Personal thoughts: The thing that really sells this song for me is the instrumentation. The Electric Guitar is there with a nice clean tone, which the lyrics deserve. The Bass respects the first verse, not coming until the Hook. The Drums are even more sparse, last to enter with the solo and first to fade during the outro. The Bass soon follows. But the star of the whole thing is that Trumpet. Starting and ending the song with long-held high notes, I can hear the longing in it’s melody, and the sad resignation in the short low notes at the end of it’s phrase. It’s given up on trying to love, because it knows now, sad songs and waltzes aren’t selling this year.

Give it a go: If you like Comfort Eagle, Go The Distance, or Cake’s cover of I Will Survive

Give it a miss: If you really can’t stand something removed from, yet rooted in, Country Music

[links]
Wikipedia: Shotgun Willie, Fashion Nugget
Spotify: Cakes Version, Willie’s Original, Tuesday Tunes, Sara’s Love Song, Weezer’s Pork and Beans