So, as promised but a bit later because that’s how things always go for me, here is my picking-apart of a song so we can all start learning a bit about the vocabulary of music. I have randomly chosen the Beach Boys’ song “Darlin’” because it happened to come up on my radio station on Pandora.com. (It’s called “get up smiling :)” if you want to try to find it.) If you haven’t heard the song, take a moment to listen to it below. I’d recommend listening with headphones if you have a pair handy; it’s hard to hear the bass on normal computer speakers.

Let’s start with a quick structural overview. There are two major patterns to observe: first, the pattern of verse, chorus and other parts; second, the rhyme scheme within each of those parts. The verse-chorus structure is pretty typical for a pop song, with an introductory chorus, alternation between two verses and the chorus, and a short bridge before the final chorus and the fadeout. We can abbreviate this as C-V1-C-V2-C-B-C-fade.

I will get into the chorus in more detail later, but at the moment let’s examine the fascinating rhyme structure of the verse lyrics and the way that interplays with the vocal melody. This song is unique in that each verse consists of six lines arranged as three couplets. This means (in case you don’t remember poetry from English class) that the first two lines rhyme (AA), the second two lines rhyme on a different sound (BB), and the last two lines also rhyme on yet another sound (CC). Rhyme structure is important in pop songs, as it reinforces the ability of the listeners to learn and remember the lyrics. The melody follows this as well: the first two lines have identical melody, as do the second two. The last two lines in the verse repeat the melody of the first two, then launch into the small “joining” piece, “Oh, Darlin’”, which lets us know we’re moving back into the chorus again. This structure somewhat mimics the traditional (gospel/blues/slave) “call and response” structure, except of course it is the solo vocalist singing both parts.

Now for the chorus. It is, at its core, quite simple and “sing-along-able”–the complexity lies in the two contrapuntal lines being sung by the soloist and by the backup singers. As previously mentioned, the introduction to the song is an instance of the chorus, but in this case only the backup singers are heard. This gives us the chance to hear clearly and learn this portion of the melody. The tonal quality (timbre) of the voices mimics the horns in the instrumental lines–while the Beach Boys are primarily a vocal band, their various songwriters were always conscious of the “voices” of the instruments used and there would be plenty of experimenting to get just the right sound. (This gets more interesting when you listen to various live versions of songs, when it wasn’t possible to precisely control both instrumentation and recording practice.) The background part of the chorus is simple lyrically and melodically, but the word “Darlin’” repeats twice, thereby making sure we’ll remember the name of the song.

The solo part of the chorus is higher in the balance of the recording, of course, as we are meant to listen to this part. While the background is punchy (staccato) and hornlike, the solo is smoother (legato) and accurately conveys the depth of love he has for the subject “Darlin’”. The fact that there are two independent yet complementary lines going on at the same time is what makes this counterpoint. By focusing your mind on one or the other, you can hear each clearly, but relaxing your mind you will hear the ebb and flow of the two parts–an entirely different sonic experience.

The bridge, generally, serves to add some variation and keeps the audience’s attention by giving them something different instead of another verse, before the final chorus (and in this case, fadeout). As such, the chords and instrumentation change, as do the lyrics (consisting of a single line and a couplet) and melody (the couplet lines do not have the same melody, as the verse couplets do). Yet it still ends with the “Oh, Darlin’” that launches into the chorus. There is also, at the beginning of the bridge, an upward movement of chords that is not present in the verse, which serves as warning that we are doing something different this time. The lyrics tie in to the previous verse’s final couplet (”Gonna love you every single night / Cause I think you’re too out of sight”) by singing a variation on that line:

Oh, every night, oh Darlin’

Gonna love you every single night, yes I will
Cause I think you’re too doggone out of sight

Lyrically, then, we can tell this is a love song: a man has been rescued from a life without love by Darlin’. Musically, it is also a song of celebration.

It is uptempo, in 4/4 time with a strong emphasis (as is usual in rock songs) on the 2 and 4 beats, a/k/a the backbeat. The staccato horns, tambourine, and rolling piano line keep the song moving forward and upward: no sappy embrace, this song, but a jubilant dance, the kind of hug that picks you up and spins you around.

I leave you with two more versions of Darlin’ (and the recognition that, yes, this might be overkill). The first is a live version from a 70s incarnation of the Beach Boys, and the second is a live version from Brian Wilson and his current band, several years ago.