Instrumentality
  • Labwerks
  • Instrumming
  • Sparks
  • Alchemy
Instrumentality

A mad musical adventure

Instrumentality
  • Labwerks
  • Instrumming
  • Sparks
  • Alchemy
  • Analysis

Analysed: The Rolling Stones’ Paint it Black

  • January 7, 2023
  • admin
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Paint it Black was released by the Rolling Stones in 1966. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are credited with writing the song but it is clear that the whole band contributed to its arrangement.

Here’s a reminder of the song and its rather morbid lyrics:

The song is sometimes described as ‘raga rock’ because of its Middle Eastern feel and use of the sitar but, apparently, the song started as a fairly conventional soul song and became more exotic with the adoption of a double-time rhythm, a Hammond organ, castanets and – most significantly – Brian Jones on sitar.

Leaving aside the lyrics and the huge influence of the band itself, what is there musically in the song that might shed some light on its enduring popularity?

The song is in E minor and uses a harmonic minor scale (the leading note, the 6th, is sharpened, giving a scale of E F# G A B C D# E). The only characteristic of this scale that contributes to any sort of Eastern feel is the sharpened 6th, but in 1966 this did make the main riff stand out from your average pop song …

While the riff is based on a simple Em B progression, what follows is quite inventive:

Em D G D Em / Em D G D A B

The A major, in particular, provides a great build to the dominant (the B), with its subsequent release to the tonic (Em).

From a songwriting perspective, the structure is simple enough, with five verses, no refrain, no middle 8 and an ending in which the main riff is repeated over and over. Rather than rendering the song dull, this insistent repetition structure is highly effective in conveying the feel of a trance-like chant.

This may be a simple song but it obviously fascinates musicians. Its page on ultimate-guitar.com has has more than 2 million views!

Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
admin

Previous Article
  • Analysis

Analysed: Harry Styles’ As It Was

  • October 21, 2022
  • admin
View Post
Next Article
  • Analysis

Analysed: The Killers’ Mr Brightside

  • January 23, 2023
  • admin
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: The Killers’ Mr Brightside

  • admin
  • January 23, 2023
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: Harry Styles’ As It Was

  • admin
  • October 21, 2022
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline

  • admin
  • September 26, 2022
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: Paul Simon’s American Tune

  • admin
  • August 17, 2022
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill

  • admin
  • June 20, 2022
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: David Bowie’s Absolute Beginners

  • admin
  • June 6, 2022
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: Baby Shark – why sometimes less is more

  • admin
  • May 16, 2022
View Post
  • Analysis

Analysed: George Michael’s Careless Whisper

  • admin
  • May 5, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Instrumentality
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
A mad musical adventure

Input your search keywords and press Enter.