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 - "No Synth" era - News Of The World: It's Late

It's Late

Composer: Brian May
Meter: 4/4
Key: A Major, E mixolydian,
Form:

  Intro I - II (A) | Verse (AAAA-...A'...)| Chorus /AA |
                   | Verse (   ...AAA'...)| Chorus /A' | Bridge | Solo I-II |
                   | Verse'               | Chorus'    | Outro |


This song was the last real Queen epic for a long years. The genre is simple to determine: hard rock.
The form consists of three cycles the second of which ends with a predictable bridge and solo. The album sleve lyrics suggest theatrical concept where the three cycles are assigned to three scenes.
The BBC version of the song features a weird psychadelic harmonizer/delay interlude after the second chorus which leads directly to the outro. It is a distant version of the "Get Down Make Love" interlude.
The harmony is full of basic chords including Brian's favourite D/A lick.
The arrangement is as usual as ever: doubltracked rhythmguitars in stereo, vocals, lead guitar and bass in the center, drums, backing vocals.


Intro
The first part of the intro is arranged for "solo" doubletracked guitars. The first two phrases show 2+4 and 2+4+2 inner emphases respectively.

| A D/A | -    |
| I IV  | -    |

| D2 Fm7| -    |
| IV vi | -    |

| D...  | -    |
| IV    | -    |

| A     |sus4>3| -    | -    |
| I     | -    | -    | -    |

The second part of the Intro is one phrase of the main riff of the verse providing place for its upbeat.

Verse
The verse is 32 measures long. The first verse is accompanied by doubletracked rhythm guitar until m29 where the rest of the ensemble joins. The first four phrases are accompanied by the main riff which also returns in variant form for the last vocal phrase. The riffs other riffs also show microscopic changes. The vocal phrases start with long pickup of varying length before the downbeat of the actual harmonic phrase. The rhythm guitar part makes use of 3+5 type of syncopation.


/---------- 4x -----------\
| A   | -   | A   D| -    |
| I   | -   | I  IV| -    |

| A   | -   |C#(4>3)| -    | F#m  | - /E | D   | -   |
| I   | -   | V/vi  | -    | vi   | -    | IV  | -   |

| A   | -   | A E11| -    |
| I   | -   | I  V | -    |

 3+3+3+3 = three measures
| A     | A E  |  

The section is closed by 3+3+3+3 punctuation equal to three measures in length, followed by one measure for the upbeat of the chorus with pre-downbeat accent.

The second Verse already with full rock ensemble. At the end of the section the main riff returns three times with two vocal phrases. In the third measure of the riff phrases (including the preceding chorus' closing riffs) the bass plays non-root notes for the D chord: 3rd, 3rd - 3rd, 1rd, 3rd, 3rd - 3rd, 3rd, 3rd degrees respectively.
The ending third verse alters the lead melody in m1-2 and shortens the 3+3+3+3 figure to just 3+3.


Chorus
We have three choruses next to each three verses. The title syllables creat pre-downbeat accents. The two measure phrases (1st to 6th) feature antiphonal vocal arrangement (vocal harmonies then lead vocal).

...A E |
   I V |

|(E)   | -    |
| I    | -    |

| A    | -  E |
| I    | -  V |

|(E)   | -    |
| V    | -    |

| A    | -  D |
| I    | -  IV|

|(D) A |E11 A |
| IV I | V  I |

| D A/C# | B  E |
| IV I   |V/V V |


| A M7 |D/A E(4>3)|
| I    | IV  V    |


| main riff x 2 |
| I...          |

The seventh phrase feautures a climactic concluding vocal harmony which is extended in the third chorus.
The characteristic start of the harmony (see something similar in "Crazy Nights" by Kiss):

A A  A ... : top
A G# F#... : middle
E E  D ... : low

The extension in the third chorus:

| A5   | A5maj7 | D   | B7   | E   | C#7  |
| I    |  -     | IV  | V/V  | V   | V/vi |

| F#m | - E | D   | -   |
| vi  | - V | IV  | -   |

| A   | -   |     |     |
| I   | -   |     |     |

The first phrase is driven by vocal harmonies. The harmony of the second phrase is quoted from the intro. The closing phrase lets the A chord ring throughout (fermata) then in the last two measures drum tremolo introduce the outro.


Bridge:
The bridge takes the tonal center to E. The section starts with two measure phrases (2+2+2+2 + 2+2+4  AAAB,A'A"C).

E:
/----- 4x ----\
| E    |  - A |
| I    |  - IV|

/----- 2x ----\
| E    |  - A |
| I    |  - IV|

| E A/E | -    | D/E E | -    |
| I IV  | -    |bVII I | -    |
             f#: VI VII| -    |

Solo I
The first solo is shows f# minor (pentatonic) mode. The guitar solo itself features the so called tapping technique which counted as quite novel before the first Van Halen album (1978 - see also in "Moonlight Knight" - Genesis). Brian combines the tapping with string bending (see also "Don't Lose Your Head"). Brian learned it from the ZZ-Top guitarist. The backing track consists of four four measure harmonic phrases.

f:
/----------- 3x ----------\
| F#5  | -   | -   | - B5 |
| i    | -   | -   | - iv |

| F#5  | -   | -   | G5   |
| i    | -   | -   |V of C|

Solo II
The next subsection starts with a connector like phrase  setting the tonal center to C using a pedal bass throughout.
M7-8 provides a rhythmic transition to the next subsection...

| C5  | -   | Bb5/C | -   | C1,2>m3 | -    | C*   | -    |
| i

... which is backed by static harmony: simple riffs with bluesy 5-6-5-6 and 5-b7-6-b6-5 built in figures around the C tonal center for 16 measures. The lead guitar part plays more of those tapping-bending licks less memorable melodies than in then in Solo I.

| C*...      |

The section closes with a vocal subsection with dotted harmonic rhythm. The harmony is too transitory to deterermine the key and the related harmonic functions except the last measures where following verse orients one's ear toward A-Major.

C5| G   | -  D5| A5    | -  E5| B5    | -    |

|  E   | sus4   | E   |     |
               A: V

Outro
Following a drumroll we have a 16 measure (4x4) fast-rock paced outro with some ad-lib vocals.

/----------- 4x----------\
| E5  | - D5 | A5  | -   |


The fourth phrase closes with 3+3+3+3 + 3+3+3+3 patterned punctuation on rhythm guitar accompanied by drum-roll (triplets for kick-drum and toms). The song closes on the tonic chord.