Tuesday Tunes

There are no rules in song-writing. Still, most songs follow a conventional format. First, a verse. Then a chorus. Another of each preceding a bridge. Final chorus and repetition chorus to end. Fade out if you are fancy. Most songs follow a small variation of this format: Insert a Pre-Chorus, start with a chorus before the first verse, second verse same as the first. Without actual rules, most people think its a good idea to keep the chorus the same throughout the song.

The Song
Song: Sun in an Empty Room
Artist: The Weakerthans
Album: Reunion Tour - 2007 - Epitaph, (ANTI-)
Method of discovery: Spotify Discover

Research: Another Canadian band (I swear Spotify is trying to get me to move to Canadia), The Weakerthans derive their name from a couple of movie quotes at least, while the song takes it’s name from a painting by Edward Hopper. You probably have a sense of Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks’, though, like me, you might not know whose it was. Many others have written on ‘Sun in an Empty Room’, both painting and song. Dan Ozzi even wrote a eulogy for the band when they seemingly broke up in 2015 (as of publishing - wikipedia states they are on hiatus since 2014). One thing I haven’t found to be talked about is the chorus.

Theory: The chords are IV-I-V-ii throughout. It’s the minor ii that makes the song sound less like your typical pop hit, substituting out the usual minor vi. The Real trick comes in the chorus, as an attentive reader might now suspect. ‘Sun..’ reverses it’s emphasis. In a typical chorus you might expect the title to be highlighted, maybe even repeated. The title does that, but only as backup vocals, not lead. When you have this type of ‘Call and Response’ technique, it’s usual to have the spotlights on the Call, instead the lyrics of the choruses simply continue to build on the themes established through the verses. There’s a flow to the song enforced by the expected emphasis taking a backseat, which things kind of do when you move house for one reason or another.

Personal thoughts: I like how art is connected. That may not be very philosophical or world changing, but I like it. The song connected to the painting, and now I’ve found it’s used as the end credits song to a Podcast Series called ‘Heavyweight’ (which I will start listening to immediately). The song is essentially about the process of moving, though the reason for the move is never fully established by the lyrics. I think of places I have enjoyed living, in which I’ve made memories. Though I need to move on, it’s that one last look through the place before shutting all of the doors on the way out into the world. Possibly never to return. But at least you’ve got those memories.

Give it a go: If you’ve ever been sad to leave a place

Give it a miss: If you don’t want to be sad again now

[links and sources]
Spotify: Tuesday Tunes, Sun In An Empty Room, The Weakerthans
Wikipedia: The Weakerthans, Reunion Tour
Articles: Faceintheblue, The Eulogy
Other: The Painting, Heavyweight