10:20 Honey Pie (pt.1)

My dad's always played fruity old songs like that...I like the melody of old songs, and the lyrics actually as well...I would quite like to have been a 1920's writer, 'cause I like that thing...up in top hat and tails...So this is just me...pretending I'm living in 1925.

'Honey Pie' was me writing ... to an imaginary woman, across the ocean, on the silver screen...it's another of my fantasy songs...it's not a parody, it's a nod to the vaudeville tradition that I was raised on.

Paul McCartney: Beatles Interview.org 

Style And Structure

The Beatles frequently dabbled in what Paul called 'fruity songs' and John Lennon dismissed as 'granny music' - deliberately and derivatively old fashioned songs. Love em or loath em, this breadth of styles is another mark of the Beatles songwriting greatness. Can you imagine Zeppelin/Gaga/Bieber/Springsteen revisiting long discarded unfashionable genres? Discuss...

Of all the Beatles time travelling Honey Pie is probably the most assured 1920's jazz pastiche and would sit happily in a 'Jim Mac's Jazz Band' set list.

Paul's Dad and friends...

First of all we have a 12 bar long jazz style verse (tickets 35 and 53). In modern pop songs the verse appears two or three times with different lyrics, but in jazz songs the verse, is usually sung once at the beginning, often in free time, to set the scene - lyrically, the content of all verses like this can be boiled down to “And that is why I say...”. Then we have a 32 bar 'chorus' or refrain in an AABA structure (Ticket 26).

In contrast Yellow Submarine (which Lennon didn't hate, by the way) was more of a folk song, though it did originally have an intro verse. When I'm Sixty Four and Maxwell had no intro verse,  Sixty Four has two very non-jazz bridges (both subtly different) and musically Maxwell is straight forward verse/chorus 60's style cheesy pop.

Within the structure, we have a very consistent attention to detail in the period vocabulary and whimsical tone of the lyrics

I'm in in love but I'm lazy
Honey Pie
silver screen
weak in the knees
you are driving me frantic
my position is tragic
will the wind...kindly send her sailing back to me

And while, Paul is no match for any of the great showtune lyricists of the early 20th century he displays true wordsmithery here, in his command of assonance and alliteration -

assonance – silver screen and now the thought of meeting you makes me weak in the knee

alliteration – will the wind, blew her boat, across the sea, send her sailing, silver screen

Arrangement

The arrangement keeps up the 20's conceit in obvious (scratchy old record effect - 0:10) and subtle (distorted, over-compressed sax/clarinet) ways. There is no double tracking, Ringo uses brushes on the kit, and George's bass on the 1st and 3rd beats contrasts with Paul's 4 to the bar piano chords (which is usually the role of rhythm guitar). But John's chord stabs really add to the groove and the whole track swings.

You can't say the same for Lennon's solo though. When George Harrison said "John played a brilliant solo on 'Honey Pie' - sounded like Django Reinhardt or something" he was right up to a point. The point being 1:40 onwards. Because, after a few bars of genius (1:33 – 1:39), he hilariously bails out, realising he can't navigate the changes and quits while he's ahead.

"Sounds like John Lennon or something..."

The arrangement show glimpses of madrigalism (ticket 49) with the 'seasick' chromatic rising (Eb7 E7 - 0:44) and falling chords (G F# F Em - 1:04) and clarinet fills (1:56).

Next time we'll finish up with a look at the heart of this great song – the melody and chord progressions.

Look Ma, No Head!

Another great video I found on The Beatles Video Blog. It's the incredible Tommy Emmanuel playing a hot-rodded medley of When I'm 64, A Taste of Honey , Day Tripper & Lady Madonna.

Not bad for a guy with no head. (I think this footage was shot by my mother).

You might also like While My Ukelele Gently Weeps 

The Chicago Beatles

Here's a little bit of downloadable mashup fun from my favourite internet superstar/science geek troubadour Jonathan Coulton .

It's called When I'm 25 or 64. You do the math...

The Minor 4 Chord (pt.2)

From the 4 (IV) to the minor 4 (iv)

Last time we had an introduction to the minor 4 chord (iv), now lets take a look at where the Beatles use it in their own songs. First a couple in the key of A


In My Life – verse I, V, IV, iv, I

There are A places E I remember all my D life Dm though A some have changed


You Won’t See Me – verse I, I7, IV, iv, I

A we have A7 lost the D time that Dm was hard to A find


I Call Your Name is in the key of E and the end of the verse goes II, IV, iv, I

I never F#7 weep at night A I Am call your name E7


When I’m Sixty Four is in C – verse I, I7, IV, iv, I,

C If I ‘d been out till quarter to three C7 would you lock the F door
Will you still Fm need me C will you still…

(Though they sound nothing like each other the sequence in When I'm Sixty Four is exactly the same as You Won’t See Me)


Hello Goodbye is also in C – Chorus IV, iv, I

I don’t know F why you say good - Fm/Ab – bye I say hel—C – lo

(Notice the iv here is in the first inversion, with the Ab in the bass rather than the F. It’s still the minor 4 though).


Lastly Blackbird is in G – verse IV, iv, I

All you C life Cm G/B you were only waiting for this moment


(Almost all McCartney songs! Hmmm….)

There are a few other songs that hint at this change – the chord pops up in Dear Prudence’s main guitar pattern, as a passing chord in Her Majesty (thought it may be a mistake) and on the ‘unreleased’ What’s The New Mary Jane?

They used it. So can You!

This progression has cropped up a lot post-Beatles too. Oasis used it (surprised? – me neither) in Don’t Look Back In Anger

F so I start a revo Fm lution in my C head
Cos you F said the brains I Fm had went to my C head


And Green Day’s - Wake Me Up When September Ends is another example.

C wake me up Cm when September G ends


Next time we’ll look at songs where the Beatles use the minor 4 (iv) alongside the minor 6 (vi).

1: Introduction
2: Major 4 to minor 4
3: Minor 6 to minor 4
4: Minor 2 to minor 4
5: 1 to minor 4 

Join the mailing list to get the free, exclusive, Beatles Songwriting Academy podcast!

70+ Songwriting Tips From The Beatles
The Be-Atletudes
About Beatles Songwriting Academy
Music by Matt Blick