Going Down to the Song Well
Using popular and common chord progressions to whet your creativity
There’s a common English language idiom that warns of the danger of taking too much of a good thing. It goes like this:
Don’t go to the well too often
In a physical sense, this means to refrain from taking water from the well too many times. Or you might risk running it dry, leaving you with nothing. In a general sense, it means not to depend on the same resource too much to avoid exhausting the supply.
This is good advice for most things in life, but not for songs. I’m going to give you an example from my own songwriting struggles on why this is still a genuine technique.
First, there are good musical reasons for the successful sound of certain chord progressions. I only know the basics of music theory, so I rely on professional musicians for explanations. But in practical terms, your own ears are what you rely on. So I tried out one of the most popular chord progressions on the planet: I-V-vi-IV (1-5-6-4) in C major (C, G, Am, F).
To underscore the utter ubiquity of this chord pattern, just listen to the comedy sketch below entitled “4 Chords”:
In case you missed some of the song references, here are a few of the artists that went down to the song well to draw up an idea:
John Denver - Take Me Home Country Roads
Auld Lang Syne - traditional Scottish New Year’s song
Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’
U2 - With Or Without You
Beatles - Let It Be
Bob Marley - No Woman, No Cry
Green Day - When I Come Around
Some of the reasons behind the popularity of these pop songs relate to their simple four chord structure with memorable melodies and lyrics. These factors make it easier for anyone to feel the groove. If artists' find a tune favorable to a mass audience, then be assured you’ve heard that same chord progression over and over on the hit parade.
Original Example: When Jeff Bezos Dies
Let me set up the background and approach I used to write the song: When Jeff Bezos Dies. It’s a perfect example of going down to the song well for inspiration.
Most of the time I find a chord progression first and then write the lyrics. For this song, it was the opposite. I’d been following the news about Amazon strike scenarios and the poor treatment of its workers. My brother worked in an Amazon distribution facility for only two months. He couldn’t deal with the lack of social and human dignity.
The following news update about the death of Amazon workers in an Illinois warehouse due to a tornado hit me hard. I grew up in Tornado Alley; I know how scary and unpredictable tornadoes are.
I watched the video and saw the familiar destruction of homes, businesses, trees and livelihoods torn to pieces. Over fifty people perished in small towns in Kentucky; with five Amazon workers dead in Edwardsville, Illinois.
I thought about funerals, all the funerals occurring during the holiday season. Then I thought about Jeff Bezos and I asked myself: Who would come to his funeral?
I thought about the hardships endured by Amazon workers and delivery drivers, just to keep the products rolling out the door to satisfy corporate time clocks. There was one key image that stuck in my mind:
Delivery drivers say that peeing in bottles is a part of the job. And urinating in bottles is not the only "inhumane" situation drivers say they face.
Piss in a bottle. That’s the essence. That’s the lyric that set the song in motion. I decided to go directly to the song well and use one of the most common chord progressions ever recorded: 1-5-6-4 in C major (C, G, Am, F).
If it’s good enough to launch hundreds of hit records, then it’s worth it for me to give it a try. Another reason to dip from the well. I wanted to strike the song idea while it was hot and fresh in my mind.
It took me only parts of two days to finish the song. That’s fast tracking for me. I try to strive for a certain mood with the sound first. The 1-5-6-4 chord structure allowed me to come up with a quick somber melody. The next part was getting the right words with the right character.
I took on the point of view of an Amazon warehouse worker. That set the tone and delivered the song in record time.
You can listen to the original song with lyrics (When Jeff Bezos Dies) here.
Coda
I find it refreshing as a newbie songwriter that the old and true chord progressions still work. I don’t like strict formulas, but a framework is fine from which to build the foundation of a song.
Creativity comes to the forefront when trying to make the song feel different. Even with a standard selection, the choices are endless. An excellent overview of common chord progressions from Musical U refers to the I-V-vi-IV or 1-5-6-4:
This progression is versatile and can support a lot of different melodies … it gives you some room to fit in a nice narrative, both with lyrics and melody.
So how do thousands of songs with the same four-chord progression sound different? A lot of times they don’t. Pop songs are notorious for banging out hits that sound the same.
It’s up to you to use all the elements of songwriting to push past the same sound barrier. The first thing to explore is using different keys to discover the mood. Then use tempo and rhythm to change the vibe of the progression. Vocals and phrasing can add new texture to familiar song rhythms. And finally, as a writer I loathe using common cliches that render a song generic.
Going down to the song well is a valuable resource. It is precious and it is renewable. Use it.