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: Sleeping On The Sidewalk

Sleeping On The Sidewalk

Meter: 4/4 shuffle beat
Keys: bluesy B-major
Form:
          | Intro | Verse | Chorus |
                  | Verse'| Chorus |
         | Bridge | Verse | Chorus |
           | Solo 2 (Verse-Chorus) |
| Bridge | Solo 2 (Verse) | Chorus'|

Blues songs usually aren't very complicated. Neither is this one; hence this analysis is short. We have square phrasing throughout, a basic drum part, blue notes, and a predominantly single-note style guitar accompaniment, which Brian admittedly wrote with Eric Clapton in mind. While this song is one of the band's most out-of-style efforts, the record embodies the spontaneous flavor of the "News" album in the most extreme way: it was May's quickest-written song, a first take, with hardly any overdubs (except the harmony vocals). In both the guitar and bass part you can find little mistakes. Brian's less trained vocal suits this storytelling song perfectly. The harmony doesn't follow the 12-bar blues cliche, but resembles it very much if we take the Verse-Chorus couplet as one section. Take away the first phrase of the Verse and there you have it! The form follows the two-bridge model with verse-chorus couplets.

Walkthrough

Intro
The rhythm of the Intro is interesting. For first it sounds as an ad-lib figure making one wonder why does it start with an "1-2-3" count-in. If you continue that count-in (and you have a good sense of rhythm), the count-in turns out to be in synchron with the rest of the song! It's still disorienting rhythmically until you "learn" it. We have no chords, but the tune stops on F# with a dominant flavor.

Verse
It's square eight measure long with AABA sub-phrasing. The lead vocal uses a "blue" bent third (m3>M3), bass - a major third, and the guitar - a minor third. We still have no chords, just hints.

B:
/---------- 2x ---------\
| "B" | -   | -   | -   |
|  I  | -   | -   | -   |

The lead vocal is simple, uses flat seventh and "blue" third, and moves in a tight range.

Second Verse ends differently: in measure seven the rhythm is syncopated (about the only special rhythm figure in the song), the chord is Bm7; the bass plays the root and the guitar plays a D major chord.

Solo 2 - Verse: it's a simple blues solo. The lead vocal returns for the last two measures where the guitar plays those D chords with a B bass (in figure).

Chorus
The square eight measure Chorus is a continuation of the Verse. Compared to the Verse, the vocal range gets extended upwards. The harmony is open at both ends. The lyrics are a little varied in sympathy with the story being told.

B:
| E(sus4)| -   | "B" | -   |
| IV     | -   |  I  | -   |

|F#(sus4)|(E ) | "B" | F#  |
|  V     |(IV) |  I  | V   |

Except the first and the instrumental choruses, the lead vocal gets a simple harmony part (unisono at its end).
The last Chorus has three-part harmonies, and the last chord is B7.

Bridge
The square eight measure Bridge has two phrases (4+4 AA'). The harmony is open at both ends (see also "Hammer To Fall") and we have somewhat more chords instead of just those single-note figures.

B:
| E(sus4)| -   | B   | -   |
| IV     | -   | I   | -   |

| E(sus4)| -   | F#  | "E" |
| IV     | -   | V   | IV  |

The lead vocal's range is the highest among the three sections. This reflects enhanced feelings.