Lyrical Patterns
Most commonly, lyrics are in three lines, with the first two lines almost the same with slight differences in phrasing and interjections.
- I hate to see the evening sun go down,
- Yes, I hate to see that evening sun go down
- 'Cause it makes me think I'm on my last go 'round
- W. C. Handy's "St. Louis Blues"
However, many songs exist that are written in the blues chord progression do not use the three-line form of lyrics. For instance, "I'm Moving On" has a verse in the first four bars and a chorus in the final eight bars:
- That big eight-wheeler rollin' down the track
- Means your true lovin' daddy ain't comin' back.
- I'm movin' on, I'll soon be gone
- You were flyin' too high for my little old sky
- So I'm movin' on.
- Hank Snow's "I'm Moving On"
Here is an example showing the 12 bar blues pattern and how it fits with the lyrics of a given verse. One chord symbol is used per beat, with "-" representing the continuation of the previous chord:
- I - - - IV - - - I - - - I7 - - -
- Woke up this morning with an awful aching head
- IV - - - IV7 - - - I - - - I7 - - -
- Woke up this morning with an awful aching head
- V - - V7 IV - - IV7 I - - - I - V V7
- My new man had left me, just a room and an empty bed.
-
-
- From Bessie Smith's "Empty Bed Blues".
-
Another example, "Johnny B. Goode" (written and first recorded by Chuck Berry), applies a "shuffle" or "light 'swing'" rhythm to one of the more common twelve-bar progressions:
| Line | Pickup | Measure 1 | Measure 2 | Measure 3 | Measure 4 | ||||
| 1 | Deep | A (I) | down in Lou'siana, close to | A (I) | New Orleans, way | A (I) | back up in the woods among the | A (I) | evergreens, |
| 2 | There | D (IV) | stood a log cabin, made from | D (IV) | earth and wood, where | A (I) | lived a country boy named | A (I) | Johnny B. Goode. |
| 3 | He | E (V) | never really learned to read or | E7 (V7) | write too well, but he could | A (I) | play a guitar just like a- | A (I) | -ringin' a bell. |
Another progression, D-D7-G7-A7, appears in this collection (Axelsson & Strängliden 2007, 55).
Read more about this topic: Twelve-bar Blues
Famous quotes containing the word patterns:
“Persons grouped around a fire or candle for warmth or light are less able to pursue independent thoughts, or even tasks, than people supplied with electric light. In the same way, the social and educational patterns latent in automation are those of self- employment and artistic autonomy.”
—Marshall McLuhan (1911–1980)