AAI 184 - 'Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word'

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word

link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHc1y5z_bxc

Music: Elton John
Lyrics: Bernie Taupin
Piano and vocals: Elton John
Bass: Kenny Passarelli
Electric piano: James Newton Howard
Vibes: Ray Cooper
Accordion: Carl Fortina

What have I got to do to make you love me
What have I got to do to make you care
What do I do when lightning strikes me
And I wake to find that you're not there

What do I do to make you want me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I say when it's all over
And sorry seems to be the hardest word

It's sad, so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word

What do I do to make you love me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I do when lightning strikes me
What have I got to do
What have I got to do
When sorry seems to be the hardest word

"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the Blue Moves album. Most recently, it was edited and covered in 2002 by the boy band group Blue in their second album.

Analysis

The thing that struck me about this song is how the song speaks melancholy at every moment. Another thing that caught my attention was that Elton John reportedly wrote the song before the addition of lyrics was done, which shows that much of Elton’s emotions and thoughts were put into the music itself. True enough, if one is to play the accompaniment on its own, it is sufficient for the player to feel the sorrow.

I took the piece to be in G minor with rather frequent tonicization of III (B♭ major).

Form of the piece

The piece seem to follow the form:
INTRO A A B A’ B A B’ ENDING (as marked in the scoresheet).
The introduction is almost identical to the ending section with a similar chord progression.

Phrase Structure Analysis & Harmonic Analysis

A striking feature of the song is the extensive use of ‘slash chords’ which is characteristic of pop songs. There is also a wide usage of 7th chords, to create a feeling of instability.

Section A (b.5 – 20) :
This section consists of 4 simple periods, each 4 bars long (2+2). The harmonic progression of the 4 periods is not changed throughout except for the final one, so as to smoothen into the B section (chorus).

Very prominently, the harmonic progression adopted by Elton in each period is the circle-of-4ths, with Gmin—Cmin—Fmaj—B♭ maj. Elton also tonicizes the latter chord by introducing the 7th when approaching the end of the bar, as can be seen in bars 5 to 8. The circle-of-4ths progression is repeated 4 times throughout the first section where the lyrics show a series of heart-wrenching questions that seemingly have no answers.

Section B (b. 21 – 28):
This section is also the chorus of the song. However, interestingly, this section does not appear to the listener as the climax of the piece. Usually, composers build up the end of the verse section and hit the chorus with a high point. However, Elton chooses to smoothen the transition into Section B through a descending bass line, and also no obvious volume change.

Still, Elton introduces the use of ‘echoing’ into the chorus, which is absent throughout Section A. This echoing effect amplifies the emotions of the song and also brings the section to a higher level than the former. An interesting point to note is that the ‘echoes’ are actually ‘anticipating’, as they precede the actual utterance. In bars 21, 25, 37 and 41, the echo ‘so sad’ comes before the actual melody with the same utterance enters. This creates a sense of urgency and desperate feeling for the listener.

I analysed the chorus as two simple periods of 2+2, with the antecedent phrase having a sentence structure (1/2+1/2+1) and the consequent phrase having just a simple 2 bars in response. The harmonic progression used in both periods are similar.

It uses a series of first inversion chords with an obvious descending chromatic bass line (from G to D in b. 20 – 23). Elton avoids hitting the chords on the root and insists on the usage of the third or the fifth as the bass, giving the whole chorus a sense of instability and thus uneasiness.

Section A’ (b.29 – 36):
This is an interesting section in the song. I named it Section A’ as the harmony adopted by the accompaniment has a striking resemblance to Section A except for the absence of the original melody.

Here, a second, or countermelody, is introduced. Instead of the singer himself, this melody is taken up by vibes and the accordion. This melody enters in bar 29, overlapping slightly with the ending of Section B. This section can also be analysed as having two simple periods of 2+2.

Section A’ seems to be a point where the singer is resting after a painful mourning, and is now taking a break from his cries, but his thoughts remain confused and sorrowful. The sorrowful connotation is amplified when the second melody builds up in bar 33 and then intensifies till the reintroduction of Section B once again. Thus, Section A’ seems to be replacing the verse that normally would be repeated before the chorus enters again in bar 37.

Ending – Section A + B’ (b.45 -55):
The ending consists of a blend of both sections A and B. It starts off with the structure of section A as well as its harmonic progression. However the antecedent phrase of the second simple period (b. 51 onwards) seems to be a mimic of section B, adopting the sentence structure that can be found in Section B, and also the echoing effect (now played by the vibes and accordion).

The ending is beautifully crafted as it offers a conclusion to the song. At the background, you can hear the vibes playing a countermelody, which was previously introduced in section A’. The countermelody and the actual melody falls beautifully together, offering a peaceful reconciliation of the piece.

Also the last 4 bars is a reflection of the introduction as the piano accompaniment plays the same thing all over again, it too offering a concluding wrap-up.

Background Accompaniment

Although ‘Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word’ is a rather short song, there is a rich variation of the background instruments and variations used. In the beginning of the song, a D note is sustained by strings for about two beats before the piano accompaniment enters officially. The dominant note is sustained through for another bar or so. This creates a very calming entrance to the song, allowing listeners to immerse themselves into the song totally.

Section A begins with only the piano part playing the accompaniment. As section A is repeated again in bar 13, the bass is added and strings gradually as well. As a result, although the melody and chord progression is almost identical for the repeated section A, the listeners are faced with a seemingly new part, as the accompaniment is varied.

As mentioned earlier, section B introduces ‘echoing’. In bar 27, and later in bar 43, where the singer sings ‘oh it seems to me’, accompaniment came to a halt and resumes after the utterance, almost to punctuate the later utterance, which is also the title of the song, ‘sorry seems to be the hardest word’.

Section A’ then introduces the vibes and accordion, which also continues as a background accompaniment in section B that follows, also giving this repeated section a fresh feeling (with added intensity as well).

Another point to note is at bar 51 and 52, the vibes and accordion echoes the singer, varying the rhythm slightly, seemingly to mimic the echo pattern in previous Section Bs.

Melody line

This piece displays rather complex rhythms with variations all over in the melody line. It is almost like the song was spoken instead of sung.

One very interesting and consistent feature to note is that all the utterances begin on offbeat, with only the exception of the utterance ‘sorry seems to be the hardest word’ which begins on the first beat. It articulates the title with a subtle yet clear difference in the rhythm of entrance.

Further interests :)

If one is to compare the later version of the same song sung by Blue in 2002, one would find quite a few differences. Besides the increased speed and the introduction of drums to enhance the beat to the song, there are also changes to the form of the song. Blue’s version adopts the form: A A B A A B A’ A B’, adding a few sections to the original.

However, the pattern of having echoing, and also the periods of silence still remains.

Thank you for reading! :)