"Talk to Me"

In the line "Tell me, oh, you love me so" in "Talk to Me," "so" is sung with a melisma (D E), giving a sense of degree.  In the lines "The many ways you speak of love, I've heard before / But it sounds so good ev'ry time," "time" is sung with a melisma (A G A B), giving a sense of number (for "ev'ry").

"It's OK"

Last summer, I got the two-albums-on-one-CD reissue of 15 Big Ones and Love You.  I've become fairly familiar with the albums and am going to start writing weekly posts about some of the things I noticed.

In the line "Good or bad, glad or sad, it's all gonna pass" in "It's OK," "good or bad" and "glad or sad" are merisms.  In each, two opposites are named in order to give a sense of a range.

"Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)"

Recently, I was flipping through Hootenanny Tonight!, a collection of songs compiled by James F. Leisy.  Even just by looking at the notation for "Nine Hundred Miles," I knew I was familiar with the tune from an-other song.  It took me a few days to place it, but eventually I discovered that it has some similarity to the melody in "Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)."

While I was doing research to try to place the tune, I discovered that it's also used for the Kingston Trio's "The Wanderer."  This may be where Al Jardine, who co-wrote "Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)," got the melody.  As is often mentioned in connection with "Sloop John B," Jardine was a fan of the Kingston Trio.

"Devoted to You"

A couple months ago, I noticed a small feature in the Everly Brothers' "Devoted to You."  Since this also appears in the version the Beach Boys did for Beach Boys' Party!, I felt I'd write about it here too.

The bridge exhibits anaphora (the repeated "I'll never"):

I'll never hurt you; I'll never lie

I'll never be untrue

I'll never give you reason to cry

I'd be unhappy if you were blue

This repetition illustrates the narrator's determination.

"Lonely Sea"

In the line "It moves along from day to day" in "Lonely Sea," "along" is sung with a melisma (C Bb A), musically giving something of a sense of movement.

"Cuckoo Clock"

I listened to Surfin' Safari/Surfin' U.S.A. yester-day and noticed a couple small features.  In the line "I broke the cuckoo's heart" in "Cuckoo Clock," "heart" is sung with a melisma (E# D#), musically giving a sense of being "broke[n]."