Hard Candy (Madonna Album) - Music Structure and Composition

Music Structure and Composition

"Miles Away" is a song most people who work can relate to. If part of your work is travelling, and the person you are with also works and travels, you find yourself separated a lot and it can be very frustrating, I'm American and he is British, and I have to come to America all the time. Especially at the beginning of our relationship, that long-distance thing was very frustrating. I also think it's easier for people to say things from a distance; it's safer. In 'Miles Away' I'm tapping into the global consciousness of people who have intimacy problems.

— Madonna talking about the inspiration behind "Miles Away"

With Interview magazine, Madonna explained her inspirations behind the songs and the music of Hard Candy. She said, ""Probably in many respects most of the songs are . But in more of an unconscious way. I don't really think about telling personal stories when I'm writing music. It just comes. And then a lot of times, six months later, eight months later, I go, 'Oh, that's what I wrote that song about.' But that's when I play the song for lots of people and they all go, 'Oh, I can totally relate to that.'" "Candy Shop" is the opening track of the album. Produced by Williams, the song uses the word candy as a metaphor for sex. Williams said, "We were just in a studio, and was like, 'Look, give me some hot shit.' I was looking at her like, 'She's saying hot shit?' She was like, 'What?' And I'm like, 'OK.' So we just worked and made it." The first single from the album, "4 Minutes", was initially known as "4 Minutes to Save the World". The song's development was motivated by a sense of urgency to save the planet from destruction, and how people can enjoy themselves in the process. According to Madonna, the song inspired her to produce the documentary I Am Because We Are. The song features vocals by Timberlake and Timbaland. An uptempo dance song with an urban, hip hop style, it also incorporates Timbaland's bhangra beats. The instrumentation used in the song includes brass, foghorns and cow bells. The song's lyrics carry a message of social awareness, inspired by Madonna's visit to Africa and the human suffering she witnessed. In "Give It 2 Me", the album's second single, Madonna merged bounce-beats and a funky bassline. "If it's against the law, arrest me", she sings "If you can handle it, undress me." The song has a short interlude where Madonna continuously repeates the words "Get stupid", as Williams chants, "To the left, to the right". "Give It 2 Me" was written by Madonna as an anthemic, self-manifesto song which, although it appears to be about dance and sex, is a reference to Madonna's career spanning three decades in the music industry. Musically it is an upbeat dance song, featuring instrumentation from West African percussion and cowbells. Backing vocals are provided by Williams. The fourth track "Heartbeat" has Madonna singing breathlessly and also features an interlude where the music changes from its normal rhythm, to just the sound of drums.

MTV said that "Miles Away", the third single from the album, was the most deceptively simple track because although it appeared straightforward on the surface, it had a lot of technical tricks underneath it. The song departs from the dance theme of the album and deals with the difficulties of long-distance relationships. "Miles Away" is a melancholy electronic ballad, which, according to Madonna is autobiographical, and is inspired by her then husband Guy Ritchie. The relationship themed lyrics continue in the next track "She's Not Me", which talks about Madonna being emulated by another woman, hence she utters the line "She started dressing like me and talking like me, It freaked me out, She started calling you up in the middle of the night, What's that about?" The next track "Incredible" starts off like a love song but reveals itself to be a plea to someone to start over, while changing its composition from the interlude. According to MTV, the shift in the structure reflected Madonna's own confusion about how she felt about her lover in the song. "Can't get my head around it", she sang. "I, I need to think about it." "Beat Goes On" featuring West, has a 70s R&B meeting 80s dance vibe and a rap interlude by West. Williams has commented that Madonna's work ethic was different from other artists that he had worked with before. That is reflected in songs like "Spanish Lesson" where she sings the line "If you do your homework/ Baby I will give you more". It also has influences of Spanish music. Groove inspired music is present in "Dance 2night", which featured Timberlake. "Devil Wouldn't Recognize You" was written by Madonna before the Hard Candy project started. The song has a sense of mystery and starts off softly and slowly with a piano introduction. It then becomes fast and melancholy, with Madonna singing: "Your eyes are full of surprises/ They cannot predict my fate". The trip hop inspired "Voices" is the last track of the album, consisting of unresolved chords and sweeping strings, as the lyrics question who is really in control: "Are you walking the dog?/ Is the dog walking you?"