‘Lightning’ – Analysis and breakdown
Lyric sheet at end of document
When writing this track, I was inspired by the wave of 90s acoustic rock, and its resurgence in UK indie music in the 2000s with bands such as Oasis, Coldplay and the Arctic Monkeys. ‘Lightning’ is a song about the desensitisation of the internet age, and the frustration that accompanies entertaining someone who has become completely lost into it. As a result, it is essentially a song of two halves; the mundane futility of the verses contrasted against the plea for passionate emotional response in the choruses.
Harmony
The song predominantly uses stable harmony. The verse features a four chord progression in E major: i,ii,iii,iv, with a walkdown to the tonic at the end of each four bar phrase. There is a constant suspension of the 5th and octave on the acoustic guitar, adding a characterful high-frequency shimmer to the sound. The simplistic rising and falling chord pattern matches the mundanity of the lyrics in this section, looping with no sense of movement as if stuck in a cycle. I took inspiration from Oasis’ ‘Half the World Away’, in which the speaker finds themself “scratching around in the same old hole” over a two chord repeating phrase. I also liked their arrangement of one broken chord electric guitar and one strummed acoustic guitar as I found it helped accentuate the suspension.
As the chorus hits, the harmonic pulse halves to match the halftime feel of the drums. The chord progression begins on the iv, shaking up the safe, predictable tonality of the previous section. The following pattern is i, ii, and v dominant 7. This creates a moment of tension and expectation, leading back into the iv as the progression loops. There is then a walk up through ii, iii, iv, and v before dropping back to the tonic to initiate the return to the verse (this happens either side of the chorus as a moment of transition).
The only time the chiming open b and e strings are not played is during the bridge, where minor triads are played traditionally. This adds a moment of seriousness and clarity when the speaker reflects on their own lifestyle, before returning to the hazier, more exciting “walking late at night in the soft pollution light”, where the suspension reappears.
Melody
The melodic shape of the verse is primarily conjunct, staying in the mid-lower range of my voice. I tried to match the shape of each line to the way in which it would be delivered conversationally, for example ending the question “was there something that you didn’t like?” on a rising 4th. For this reason, the melody is slightly embellished between the two verses to match the lyrics.
Furthermore, I used a chromatically rising melody to show the pleading urgency in the line “open your sunshine eyes..”, followed by a safe, predictable ii, iv, i ending in the subsequent line “or roll them back around and find we’re through” – this helps imply the cyclical, futile nature of the conversation.
The key melodic moment comes in the chorus, when the highest note of the song is hit on the word “feel”. It is the only falsetto note in the song, and signifies breaking free from the verse’s mundanity to a moment of “burning emotion”. It is a disjunct leap of a 5th up and down, which I paired with the change of feel and layered instrumentation – aiming to make the listener feel something intense too. I took inspiration from ‘Shiver’ by Coldplay, which also uses this technique in the refrain, with an octave leap to the falsetto.
My vocal melody is accompanied by a slide guitar countermelody in between phrases which rises up in a scalic motion. I wrote this part as one might write a string melody in a film score so that I could create this sense of epic scale without departing too much from the genre.
The bridge of the song also features a climb to a climax, with a repeating three note pattern that descends scalically twice, building tension before the word “veins”. This is an E3, the highest note I can comfortably belt in chest voice.
In the final chorus, I drop the melody an octave, signifying the lack of energy as the speaker realises their efforts are meaningless.
Form
The structure of the song is a conventional verse/chorus/bridge layout, including a brief instrumental guitar introduction inspired by the Beatles, with tracks such as ‘In my life’. The first verse is double the length of the second, helping to set the scene and build anticipation into the first chorus. Contrastingly, the final chorus is half the length and stripped back, reminiscent of ‘Mardy Bum’ – Arctic Monkeys, where the song finishes on a chorus that is much less intense than the previous ones, to express the tired end of an argument.
The main use of form in my track is the switch to half time in the chorus, broadening the scale massively to complement the breadth of feeling expressed.
Lyrics
Tone
I aimed to write in an overtly English tone, using colloquial language and weaving a sardonic sense of humour into the verses. The references to “half arsed” replies and facial expressions likened to an “anticipated sneeze” demonstrate the snarkiness of the speaker, as often heard in my source material.
The melodies are shaped around the lyrics so that they flow organically, a technique I created by speaking the words first, and then picking out the notes afterwards from the recording to create a melody. I wanted it to feel like an authentic discussion.
Metaphors
The concept of Lightning in the song is a metaphor for emotional response. In the final line, it plays on the idea of lightning never striking twice, implying that against all odds, the speaker seems to have twice the energy of the other character. It also links back to the first line, in which the other character is “waiting for lightning to strike”, implying they are completely uninspired and sit passively waiting for someone else to change their life.
I also used a metaphor when describing “sunshine eyes”, playing on the phenomenon of opening your eyes in bright sunlight to find everything has a blue tint. I used it to discuss delusional optimism, when metaphorically opening your eyes to a sad situation reveals its brutal, drab reality.
Scale
I created a harsh contrast through linguistic choices in the sections. The verse consists of “kicking rocks”, a “car park”, a “sneeze”, and English words for “rain”, whereas the choruses feel like a zoom out to the bigger picture with a declaration of “feel(ing) things”, and “burning emotion” controlled in the “palm” of a hand. The complete dichotomy of semantic fields shows the distance between the characters and their approaches to life, a technique I acquired from Pat Pattison’s ‘Writing Better Lyrics”.
N.B. The vocals were recorded when I had flu leading up to the assignment, I hope the poor singing does not obscure the melody. Please notify me if you would like a rerecorded version once I have recovered.
1091 words without quotations
References:
Pattison, P. (2009). Writing better lyrics : the essential guide to powerful songwriting. 2nd ed. Cincinnati: Writer’s Digest Books.
Oasis. (1994) Half the World Away. Creation records
The Beatles.(1965) In My Life. Parlophone records
Coldplay (2000) Shiver. Parlophone
Arctic Monkeys. (2006) Mardy Bum. Domino records
Squeeze (1978) Up the Junction. A&M
Lyrics
Verse:
Kicking rocks round the car park
waiting for lightning to strike
Your replies seem so half-arsed
was therer soemthing that you didnt like
Open your sunshine eyes and find
that everything looks blue
or roll them back around and find we’re through
Chorus:
Cause I feel things
you wouldnt understand
I’ve got burning emotions
in the palm of my hand
I feel things
you couldn’t comprehend
and your silence really drives me round the bend
Verse:
You’ve got a face like an anticipated sneeze
I wish I could read your mind
but theres nothing much left to see
just the space that the thoughts left behind
I have found that english has too many words for rain
yet none quite match the mood you’re in today
Chorus:
but i feel things
you wouldnt understand
ive got burning emotions
in the palm of my hand
i feel things
but you dont bat an eye
its get up and go
or lay down and die
oh its get up and go
or lay down and die
Bridge:
I’m starting to miss morning society
kicking off the sleep and brearthing fumes
if one day you wake up
youll be finding me
walking late at night
in the soft pollution light
’til i feel the city flowing through my veins
Chorus/outro
cause i feel things
but what is that to you
it seems lightning struck me twice
and missed out you
