The Book

Introduction What is it all good for? Scope of work Project History

Music theory in nutshell Harmony Chord notation used in the analyses The degrees of notes Chord functions Keys, Sharps and flats, neighbour keys Guitar friendly and piano-friendly keys Modulations, key changes Parallel key modulations Relative key modulations Neighbour key modulations Combined modulations Step-up/down modulations Unusual modulations Key-shifts Pivot Modulation Borrowed chords Cliche chord progressions Modes Ambigous harmony Rhythms Exercies Syncopations Shuffle beat Metrical modulations, metrical anomalies Compound meters Disorienting Rhythms Songforms General aesthatics of popular and rock music

Repetitions and variants

Queen - The four of them as musicians Brian May Roger Taylor Freddie Mercury John Deacon

Songwriting Analyses Smile Ibex "No Synth" era Queen Keep Yourself Alive Doing All Right Great King Rat My Fairy King Liar The Night Comes Down Modern Times Rock'n'roll Son And Daughter Jesus Seven Seas Of Rhye Silver Salmon Hangman Mad The Swine Queen II Procession Father To Son White Queen (As It Began) Some Day One Day The Loser In The End Ogre Battle The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke Nevermore March Of The Black Queen Funny How Love Is Seven Seas Of Rhye See What A Fool I've Been Sheer Heart Attack Brighton Rock Killer Queen Tenement Funster Flick Of The Wrist Lily Of The Valley Now I'm Here In The Lap Of The Gods Stone Cold Crazy Dear Friends Misfire Bring Back That Leroy Brown She Makes Me In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited A Night At The Opera Death On Two Legs Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon I'm In Love With My Car You're My Best Friend Sweet Lady '39 Seaside Rendezvous The Prophet's Song Love Of My Life Good Company Bohemian Rhapsody God Save The Queen A Day At The Races Tie Your Mother Down You Take My Breath Away Long Away The Millionaire Waltz You And I Somebody To Love White Man Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy Drowse Teo Torriate News Of The World We Will Rock You We Are The Champions Sheer Heart Attack All Dead All Dead Spread Your Wings Fight From The Inside Get Down Make Love Sleeping On The Sidewalk Who Needs You It's Late My Melancholy Blues Feelings Jazz Mustapha Fat Bottomed Girls Jealousy Bicycle Race If You Can't Beat Them Let Me Entertain You Dead On Time In Only Seven Days Dreamers Ball Fun It Leaving Home Ain't Easy Don't Stop Me Now More Of That Jazz Live performances in the 70s Modern-era Queen The Game Play The Game Dragon Attack Another One Bites The Dust Need Your Loving Tonight Crazy Little Thing Called Love Rock It (prime Jive) Don't Try Suicide Sail Away Sweet Sister Coming Soon Save Me Human Body Sandbox Flash Gordon Flash's Theme In The Space Capsule Ming's Theme The Ring Football Fight In The Death Cell Execution Of Flash The Kiss Arboria Escape From The Swamp Flash To The Rescue Vultan's Theme Battle Theme The Wedding March Marriage Of Dale And Ming Flash's Theme Reprise Crash Dive On Mingo City The Hero Hot Space Staying Power Dancer Back Chat Body Language Action This Day Put Out The Fire Life Is Real Calling All Girls Las Palabras De Amor Cool Cat Under Pressure Soul Brother The Works Radio Ga Ga Tear It Up It's A Hard Life Man On The Prowl Machines (or 'Back To Humans') I Want To Break Free Keep Passing The Open Windows Hammer To Fall Is This The World We Created? I Go Crazy A Kind Of Magic One Vision A Kind Of Magic One Year Of Love Pain Is So Close To Pleasure Friends Will Be Friends Who Wants To Live Forever Gimme The Prize (Kurgan's Theme) Don't Lose Your Head Princes Of The Universe The Miracle Party Khashoggi's Ship The Miracle I Want It All The Invisible Man Breakthru Rain Must Fall Scandal My Baby Does Me Was It All Worth It Hang On In There Chinese Torture Hijack My Heart My Life Has Been Saved Stealin' New Life Is Born Dog With A Bone Guess We're Fallin Out Innuendo Innuendo I'm Going Slightly Mad Headlong I Can't Live With You Don't Try So Hard Ride The Wild Wind All God's People These Are The Days Of Our Lives Delilah The Hitman Bijou The Show Must Go On Lost Opportunity Face It Alone Self Made Man My Secret Fantasy Made In Heaven It's A Beautiful Day Made In Heaven Let Me Live Mother Love My Life Has Been Saved I Was Born To Love You Heaven For Everyone Too Much Love Will Kill You You Don't Fool Me A Winter's Tale My Life Has Been Saved It's A Beautiful Day (reprise) No-One But You Live performances in the 80s

Appendix Special instruments Special effects Special playing techniques Classical quotes Musical terms Index References

Path: Queen Songs - The Book - Songwriting Analyses - Made In Heaven: Let Me Live

Let Me Live

Composer: Freddie Mercury
Album: Made In Heaven, 3rd track
Single:
Meter: 4/4
Key: C-Major
Form: 

         Intro | Verse (Freddie) | Chorus |
               | Verse  (Roger)  | Chorus | Bridge |
               | Verse  (Brian)  | Chorus |
         | Solo (Verse)          | Chorus'| Intro'- choir break| Outro I-II |


This is the kind of piano songs that were missing from the late period of the band. Songwriting-wise this was not really a late period song perse. We don't know much about its origin except it is mainly a Mercury-penned song.
The lead singing is shared between three of them, remember: since the Game album we have not heard singing Brian and Roger too often.
The harmony is simple, there's no modulation, hardly any chord inversion. Beside the six diatonic chords we have only one trick chord (bVI) in both the verses and choruses (plus a lonely bVII before the solo). The phrasing is four-squared except some extended phrase endings. Both Chorus and Bridge have middle-eight feel in them.
While the music is relative simple the arrangement has some "big" moments. For example the gospel choirs (featuring girl vocalists) that had precedents like "Somebody To Love" or "The Golden Boy". This analysis will omit the details of the choir arrangement.

Walkthrough
-----------

Intro
The song starts with a 3-4 count in, then we have four phrases of big choirs singing around the tonic and the subdominant chord. Gospel feel is supported by handclaps and organ chords.

/---------- 4x ---------\
| C   | -   | F   | -   |
| I   | -   | IV  | -   |

A variant of the intro is reprised before the gospel break.


Verse
The Verse has simple harmony and 4+4+4+4 phrasing. The harmony of the first phrase is a variant of the intro. The remaining phrases have static 1 chord/measure harmonic rhythm. Note the diatonic chain of fifths in the third phrase.

C:
| C   | - G | F   | -   |
| I   | - V | IV  | -   |

| C   | Em  | F   | G   |
| I   | iii | IV  | V   |

| Am  | Dm  | G   | C   |
| vi  | ii  | V   | I   |

| F   | Ab  | G  C| C   |
| IV  | bVI | V   | I   |

There is a nice interplay between lyrics and music in the third phrase - at last in the second and third verses. The positive/negative contrast between the two subphrases is reflected in the ascent/descent of the tune. Similar interplay can be found in "In The Lap Of The Gods... revisited".
In the Roger-Verse in m.13-14 we can find melodic flat-3rds.
The solo is built upon the framework of the Verse and it also overlaps well the next Chorus. The 9th measure substitutes the Am chord with A. The harmonic rhythm is slightly changes in the last two measures. Brian May's was still in top form at writing catchy melodic solos. The triadic figures in the second half of the section (A, G, F, Ab) creat a romantic feel.


Chorus
The first chorus is a very square eight measures long. The antiphonal lead tune is shared between the backing vocals and Mercury.

| F   | -  C | F   | -  C| Ab   | -   | G  C| C   |
| IV  | -  I | V   | -  I| bVI  | -   | V   | I   |

The second chorus is nine measures long as it extends the last measure with multitrack guitar harmonies (C chord).
The last chorus ends with the bVI > bVII > I progression which is a Game-era Mercury trademark:

    m.5.
...| Ab  | -   | Bb  | -   |
...| bVI | -   | bVII| -   |


Bridge:
This ten measure bridge is an extended middle eight sung by Roger. The first phrase re-uses the diatonic chain of fifths progression off the Verse. The second phrase parellels the first, it changes the ii to II (V/V) and holds back the V > I resolution till the end of the section.  

| Am  | Dm  | G   | C   |
| vi  | ii  | V   | I   |

| Am  | D/F#| G * | *   | *   | *   |
| vi  | V/V | V   | -   | -   | -   |

The harmony of the  G* measures combines the G pedal bass with diatonic ascending parallel harmonies oscillating between G(7) and Am (see also the Brighton Rock canon). Creating climactic effect the harmonic rhythm speeds up from 2 to 4 chord/measure. Strangely this speed up is executed in two steps, check out how exactly!

         
Gospel Choir Break
It is introduced by a re-intro subsection with four phrases. Then the arrangement abruptly changes to acapella with handclaps. The second cycle adds guitar power chords and Bians lead singing starts the last phrase acapella again. Then the rock returns and starts the outro.


Outro I-II
The outro I section consists of five cycles of the I > IV progression. Short melodic fragments are recycled including the opening notes of the guitar solo. The sixth phrase prolonges the tonic chord and echoes the title phrase (more precisely: one of its numerous variants). Outro II repeats a piano hook 3-4 times while fading out.