Words@brothersgibb.com message digest 01/26/2022 15:01 (#2022-1834)
1 messages included in this issue
Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2022 14:01:47 -0500
From: Joseph Brennan <brennan@columbia.edu>
Subject: Re: Whole album, then write?
Is that a reporter's notes of what Robin said? Certainly he and Barry both
spoke of writing the complete melody of a song and then fitting lyrics to
it. It well explains why the words so often sound like stream of
consciousness, just words and phrases that came to mind to express the
feeling of each bar of music, rather than straightforward telling of a
story like ordinary songwriters do.
I noticed years ago when I got hold of the recording dates (thank you Bill
Levenson) that a few times the first single for an album has the first two
songs they recorded, as if they had all or most of the songs and chose
where to start.
I think they did mention starting sometimes with a few words that suggest a
melody, but those words might not be in the finished song. The words
"portrait of Louise" begin and end with a stressed syllable and with three
unstressed in the middle, and the last syllable "eez" even rises in tone in
ordinary speech. That sets a pattern that I think I hear in the song,
especially in the intro just before Barry starts to sing.
Joe Brennan
... waiting to hear whether this Louise person figures in Town of Tuxley
Toymaker, part 2.
Back to top
End Words@brothersgibb.com message digest 01/26/2022 15:01 (#2022-1834)