Well, after reading everyone elses posts I have officially decided to think out of the box.
Unlike many acoustic guitar/singer/songwriters John Mayer avoids the annoying "strummed chord" (Down up down up downupdownupdownup) affect by effortlessly arpeggiating the I and V chords in the opening of this tune. Marvelous!
Now, as if the prelude was not enough...it just gets more wonderful. The verses of this song are melodic and very catchy. And of course the lyrics touched me right here **touches heart with a Dr. Spiegelberg-like sympathetic glance**. For example the second phrase of the first verse says, "Sometimes I wish that I was a cold beer./I'd rest assured that you would hold me near you,/I'd be guaranteed to be just what you need." Oh John, you can be my cold beer (As soon as I turn 21, of COURSE!).
After a half cadence at the end of the verse, the simple bridge between the verse and the chorus builds tension until it deceptively resolves to a vi chord and then finally you are satisfied by the chorus. And any chorus that contains the words, "You're so LAME!" is okay by me! On the lyrics "I would walk, you know I'd surely walk away..." we are handed a V7 chord and we desperately await the return to tonic when finally he says, "If I wasn't such a sucker for you," and returns us home to the I chord and the good news that he'll never leave us.
Finally we repeat the chorus one last time but not before Johnny seductively whispers into the microphone, "This one's for you, Jeff." I think he meant to say Tricia.
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1 comment:
Is it just the lyrics that touched you? In other words, could this have been read as a poem rather than set to music? You do show some interaction between the chords and the lyrics, especially your great explanation of the authentic cadence on "sucker for you."
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