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 - Sheer Heart Attack - Sheer Heart Attack - Sheer Heart Attack: She Makes Me

She Makes Me

"She Makes Me" is a slow paced folk song written by May. The slow tempo, the monotone repeated harmony, the long monotone outro makes the song one of the least accessible song in the Queen canon, but also a secret favourite for those who were patient enough to let the song grow on them.
The main instrument is the acoustic guitar, but electric guitar harmonies vocal harmonies are completing the backing track beside the bass and the monoton heavy drumbeat.
The songform is very basic AABAB.

Intro
The intro exposes the opening hook of the verse.

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

Verse
The backing track of th verse is carrying forward the intro hook,only the fourth phrase changes the chords, but the harmonic rhythm is kept. The lead vocal is fragmentary, with two measure phrases (melody-wise: ABCCC), and upbeats. Many vocal phrases are doubletracked.

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

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

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

Second and third verse close with the dominant chord which is absent from the verse so far.

| A D | A E |
| I IV| I V |

The second verse adds harmony vocals from the third phrase on, but the third verse drops them again.

Bridge
The Bridge is contrasting to the Verse with more melodic lead vocal and bassline, and earfriendly chord progression with a mini chain of fifths (C# > F# > B), Between V/V and I Brian puts a IV instead of the dominant, but the cadence sounds almost the same naturally as a completed cadence of fifths. The last phrase is attached a guitar motif that drives the music back to the verse.
The The bass plays with more freedom here.

The second Bridge adds guitar harmonies in two groups (left and right), one with ornament in m1-3.

| A E | A -maj7 -7 | D6 maj7 | - |
| I V | I | IV | - |

| D9 | A D | - |
| IV | I IV | - |

Outro
The outro makes use of what turns to be one of Brian's trademark over the long run: the pedal bass. The bass plays D, but toward the end of the song harmony guitars take over the dominance taking the harmony back rooted to A.
The acoustigc gitars plays chord pairs creating dissonance with the bass and with the lead vocal as well. The latter reprises twice the "she is my love" phrase from the verse.

/- 4x -\
|... D | C/D D |

more chord pairs:

C/D Bb/D

G/D F/D

G/D Am/D

G5,7 Am/D

Bb/D Am/D

The dissonances creat lots of tension that is also contributed by the sirene-noise (recorded by May in the hospital) and the heavy breath noise. The guitar chords are fading out and stop for the last seconds. The low tom rolls here foreshadow the ending of "God Save The Queen".