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 - The Works: Keep Passing The Open Windows

Keep Passing The Open Windows

Composer: Freddie Mercury
Meter: 4/4
Key: C-Major
Form:

        | pre-chorus - instr. Chorus ||
               Verse - Chorus ||
             | Verse - Chorus ||
        | pre-chorus - Chorus |
  | Solo (pre-chorus)- instr. Chorus' |
        | pre-chorus"- Chorus - tag (8x) fade out


This is a relatively straightforward song, a combination of rock n roll and ... and something hard to pigeonhole. The form shows six cycles (including an instrumental one) closing each with a Chorus. We surely take it granted the many developments on the sections cycle-by-cycle.
The key choice and the chords progressions are relatively straithforward, we have two borrowed chords: bVII and v.


Pre-chorus
This section is not a textbook-like "lift-up" pre-chorus but other choices (Verse, Bridge, Chorus) don't work here at all.
The song start with a brief 16/16 drumroll fading in, except this the song starts "in medias res".
There are four pre-choruses in the song, one of which is instrumental. The 4th measure features a 3+3+2 rhythmized scalar bass movement, m.7-8 features the familiar "Queen-cliche".


| F   | G   | C   |/B /A /G  |
| IV  | V   | I   | -        |

| F   | G   | C G/B | Am    |
| IV  | V   | I  V  | vi    |


| Bb  | -   |
| bVII| -   |

              C... | -    | -    | -   |
| Gm7 | -   | C    | -    | Bb   | -   |
|  v  | -   | I    | -    | bVII | -   |

The first pre-chorus is accompanied with just piano and bass and some cymbals. From m13 the bass starts playing an ostinato (see also in "Kind Of Magic") that also works as pedal bass.
The second pre-chorus (starting the fourth cycle) adds somple backing vocal harmonies and drums. The last four measures are omitted.
The third pre-chorus is the backing of the first half of the guitar solo.
The fourth pre-chorus is shortened and extended as well. It starts harmony-wise from m7, melody-wise from 9th measure and its closing four measures are repeated.


Chorus
We have six choruses in the song two of which are instrumental. The choruses show an AA' inner form.
The (pedal) bass ostinato is kept played during the chorus. The "A" subsection too show an AA' inner form
The chords root-wise strictly follow the lead melody (or vica versa) except the last note. The piano chords are played with sustain pedal. The first three notes show a 3+3 syncopation.

| C-ost. | -      | -       |
| C Dm F | (F)    |(F) C Dm |
| I ii IV| -      | -  I ii |


| C-ost        | -    | -    |
| F Em F Em C  | Bb   | -    |
| IV...        | bVII | -    |


2nd time ending
m5:
| Bb5  G5 | C5 G5 | D5 G5 | F1... G | (G)   |
| bVII V  | I  V  | ii V  | 4th   V | -     |

The first instrumental chorus has soft drumline. Measures 5-6 add chopped guitar chord.
The second chorus (vocal) in m 5-10 adds guitar trill on m7th-6th degrees.
In the third chorus the trill is moving up and down (reminiscent of the "Liar" outro). The 8th measure of the second subsetion is skipped and the last measure has a tremolo-bar guitar glissando down from G in octaves.
The fourth chorus does not have different ending for the second subsection except a downward galopping guitar figure introducing the guitar solo.
The fifth chorus is reserved for the tail-part of the guitar solo with sustained guitar harmonies. In the second subsection guitar harmonies dublicate the piano chords with a microscopic change (C chord instead of Em). The ending is different:

| C-ost.      | F E F E  C  | -          : bass
| F  C F  C - | F C F C  -  | -         |
| IV I IV I   | -           | -         |

The next measures belong to the pre-chorus.

The last chorus drops in the chopped guitar chord again then the Liar-esque moving guitar trills. Next to the complete chorus there is a long (8 cycle) sequence of repeatition the last vocal phrase fading out. Lead guitar fill with tremolo-picking added from the fourth cycle.


Verse
We have only two verses in the song both in the first half of the song. This section is the most responsible for the rock-n-roll feel. The phrasing 6+6+4+4+2+2, ABCC'DD'. "A" and "B" phrases are rhythmically similar. The chord progression of the first two phrases follow the double-plagal cadence.


| C    | -    | -    | -    | Bb   | -    |
| I    | -    | -    | -    | bVII | -    |

| F    | -    | -    | -    | C    | -    |
| IV   | -    | -    | -    | I    | -    |

| Gm7  | /D Bb | C    | -    |
| v    |   bVII| I    | -    |

| Gm7  | /D Bb | C    | -    |
| v    |   bVII| I    | -    |

/----- 2x -----\
| F    | G     |
| IV   | V     |

The last two phrases add synth arpeggios.
The second Verse adds guitar fills in m6, m8.

Solo
The solo starts as an instrumental pre-chorus the guitar following the original lead tune for the first two phrases.
Next two 2 measure phrases play a guitar arpeggios both starting with 3+3+3+3 groupings. The second of these is closed by diatonic ascending guitar run in fast triplets arriving on the downbeat of the next subsection which is an instrumental chorus.