"Hold on Tight"

Last night, I figured out the chords for "Hold on Tight" and noticed some significance in the tonality.

The verses contain only major chords:

G major | D major | G major

|: C major | G major :|

G major | D major | G major

while the bridges consist mostly of minor chords:

|: E minor | B minor :|

|: A minor | D major :|

|: E minor | B minor :|

A minor | B minor | C major | D major

The perceived sadness of minor chords matches the sentiments in the lyrics in the bridge ("When you get so down that you can't get up" and "When you're so down-hearted and misunderstood"), especially when contrasted with the major chords and the more hopeful encouragement in the verses (the repeated "Hold on tight to your dream").

"Can't Get It out of My Head"

Last week, I listened to the 1976 concert at the Guildhall and noticed that under the line "Can't move" in "Can't Get It out of My Head," the bass plays a static pitch (a C), musically illustrating the lyric.  The chord there (a C major) is also held for two full measures, providing a similar effect.

When I referenced the studio version to confirm these, I also realized that the persistence mentioned in the title line is demonstrated by various repetitions in the chorus:  most of the lyrics in the first, second, and fourth lines are the same; the melody differs only slightly from line to line; and the chord progression for each line is identical (C major | G major | F major | G major).

"Julie Don't Live Here"

The alliteration in the line "A town I knew so well, but it seemed so strange" in "Julie Don't Live Here" provides a small sense of degree.

"Rain Is Falling"

Near the beginning of "Rain Is Falling," there are pizzicati in the string part.  This is a technique that's often used to portray raindrops musically, which obviously fits the theme of the song.

Additionally, the first two notes establish a pattern of descending pairs, so there's even a picture of the "falling."  The part is something like this:

"Ticket to the Moon"

"Ticket to the Moon" starts with the lines "Remember the good old 1980s / When things were so uncomplicated."  Time is from 1981, though, so this remark is obviously a sort of ironic nostalgia.  That the lines have only a slant rhyme (and a strained one at that) seems to hint that the sentiment isn't genuine.

In a small way, the alliterative "so soon" in the line "I'll be rising high above the Earth so soon" gives a sense of degree.

"Twilight"

I listened to Time again last week and noticed a handful of features.

In the repeated line "I only meant to stay a while" at ~2:53 in "Twilight," "while" has an echo effect applied to it, and because the word has this sort of elongation, there's a sense of duration.

"Ticket to the Moon"

I'd forgotten about this until recently, but a few weeks ago, I was thinking about "Ticket to the Moon" again and noticed an-other small feature in the lines "I paid the fare; what more can I say / It's just one-way."  The backing vocals there are "Only one way," and these words are sung to a melody that almost exclusively ascends (C# C# D E), so even musically, there's a singleness of direction.

"Ticket to the Moon"

I was thinking about "Ticket to the Moon" again this morning and had a realization about the line "It's just one-way."  It's sung to a single pitch (A), and this limited tonality matches the "one-way" nature of the ticket.  There's a singularity or exclusivity to both.

"Julie Don't Live Here"

"Julie Don't Live Here" exhibits the same feature that I noted in "When Time Stood Still":  in the line "The lonely light where we used to meet was gone," the phrase "lonely light" alliterates, and since the two words start with the same sound, there's a sense of this singularity.

"When Time Stood Still"

I'm not entirely sure of my transcription, but I think the second verse of "When Time Stood Still" is:

Sitting there inside your mind

Just waiting for the clock to chime

In a lonely line

Stood a lonely man

There are two poetic features here that heighten this sense of loneliness.

The verse is held together by assonance more than rhyme (the long i in "mind," "chime," and "line"), but this sound is lacking in the final line ("Stood a lonely man"), illustrating how this man is separate.

The phrase "lonely line" alliterates, and because the two words start with the same sound, there's a sense of this singularity.

"The Bouncer"

I'm not sure if I have the section divisions or line breaks in the right places, but I noticed some significance in this part of "The Bouncer":

I see your light

Shine in my window

And I know I am coming home

And as the light grows

Grows ever brighter

I see your face

You are alone

Backing vocals harmonize most of the lead vocals here, but they're conspicuously absent for "You are alone," emphasizing this solitude.

"21st Century Man"

During the line "Return with what you've learned, they'll kiss the ground you walk upon" in "21st Century Man," there's a synthesizer part something like this:

There are two musical qualities here that match the lyrics.  As if to illustrate the obeisance of "they'll kiss the ground you walk upon," there's a dramatic descent (spanning more than two octaves), and because this descent is conjunct, there's also a sense of the steps involved in that "walk[ing]."