Analysis - 'A Minor Incident'

Title - A Minor Incident

Composer - Badly Drawn Boy (Damon Gough)

Structure and Lyrics

Introduction (4 chord outline)

Intro Progression (6-bars)

Verse 1 (8-bars)

There's nothing I could say

To make you try to feel ok,

And nothing you could do

To stop me feeling the way I do,

And if the chance should happen

That I never see you again

Just remember that I'll always love you

Intro Progression (6-bars)

Verse 2 (8-bars)

I'd be a better person

On the other side I'm sure,

You'd find a way to help yourself

And find another door,

To shrug off minor incidents

Make us both feel proud,

I just wish I could be there

To see you through

Intro Progression (6-bars)

Instrumental Middle 8 (8-bars)

Verse 3 (8-bars)

You always were the one

To make us stand out in a crowd,

Though every once upon a while

Your head was in a cloud,

There's nothing you could never do

To ever let me down,

And remember that I'll always love you

Intro Progression (6-bars)

Outro (4-bars + 4 off-tempo bars)

Lyric Analysis

The song was written as part of the soundtrack to the film ‘About a Boy’ and can be heard during a scene in which the young boy (Marcus) is reading a suicide letter from his mother. Gough stated that he “chose to write the words that the mother may have written in the note” (Peggah, 2007) and the most logical emotion that is conveyed is unconditional love. This can be seen in the lyric: “remember that I'll always love you” which is repeated at the end of the first and last verse.

The lyrics are full of imagery and metaphor, a lot of which can be understood when watching the film, but in essence depicts a person that is the sole cause for happiness in life (“There's nothing you could never do, To ever let me down”) but is ultimately helpless in preventing this tragedy (“And nothing you could do, To stop me feeling the way I do). However these words (out of the context of the film) could mean entirely different things to whomsoever is reading: the first verse could be about a person in love or, conversely, knowing that they can never be with the person they are writing to.

Gough also mentions that when writing the song he was influenced by Bob Dylan and the song ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ (Peggah, 2007). When comparing both sets of lyrics, it becomes apparent just how similar they are in style (Dylan, 1963). “…Where I’m bound, I can’t tell.

But goodbye’s too good a word, gal. So I’ll just say, fare thee well…” (Dylan, 1963). Dylan’s lyrics were renowned for having powerful imagery and are one of the reasons he has been so successful as a songwriter: “Come you masters of war, You that build all the guns, You that build the death planes, You that build the big bombs, You that hide behind walls, You that hide behind desks, I just want you to know, I can see through your masks” (Dylan, 1963).

There isn’t much by the way of a rhyming scheme but there are occasions in which the pattern incorporates those akin to Dylan’s style: Verse 1) AABBCDB. Verse 2) ABCBDEFG. Verse 3) ABCBDED, compare that to the verse structure of ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ – ABABCCCD (Dylan, 1963) – and the similarities are there but not as rigid as Dylan’s.

Melody and Harmony

The melody is simple but effective in that it creates tension through the use of an ‘inverted pedal-point’ (Walker, n.d) before resolving with the rest of the harmony, on the root note of ‘G’. Although around half of the melody is sung upon the note ‘D’, it incorporates variation to the melodic phrasing by using a “common technique of arcing scales” (Fryer, 2012) that exploit the vocal range. The melody line is fairly syncopated but with only one discernable rhythmical motif coming in the form of a repeated quaver-two semiquaver pattern (with a tie between the last semiquaver and the next quaver). This motif develops over the course of the song however only in a minor way due to Gough having to fit the words to the melody.

Interestingly the melody can be seen to factor contrapuntal motion techniques: At times when the ‘D’ is repeated in the melody the ‘false’* bass line is heard to be rising in ‘oblique motion’ (Drabkin, n.d.), and during the variation of the phrase the melody and the bass line can be heard in ‘contrary motion’ (Drabkin, n.d.). This has long been an effective tool in harmonic and melodic writings such as the numerous Chorales written by J. S. Bach (Marshall & Leaver, n.d.).

The song is in the key of G major, and only incorporates the diatonic chords I, II, IV, V and VI, which again is very similar to the style of Dylan (Griffiths, 2009), although there are harmonic alterations to some of the chords such as the addition of the 7^th to A minor and a ‘major 7^th’ to the C major chords.

* ‘False’ bass line is implied as a differential from general notions that suggest bass-lines are usually played on a separate instrument.

Structure and Arrangement

Again there are similarities to ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright’ in particular (Dylan, 1963), as both include Guitar, Harmonica and Vocals. The song structure, which can be seen outlined in the lyrics above, is simple but does feature four 6-bar guitar fills (first heard in the introduction) which help to break the song into different sections. Apart from the being a filler between the sections, there a sonic markers that help the transitions into the next sections: in bars 4-5 the strum pattern changes to accentuate the chord before settling on the impending verse’s strum pattern in bar 6. Markers are common in song writing but again referring to the context of Dylan, a rhythmical marker can be heard in the drum roll that joins the instrumental section and verse in ‘All Along The Watchtower’ (RustyShackleford965, 2011).  

Keeping the arrangement simple and not having much variation allows for greater concentration on the lyrical content and what the songwriter is trying to communicate to the listener. This is accentuated further by the melody and harmony following the same structures leaving only the lyrics to change. In essence, it’s as close as a song gets to being a Bob Dylan piece [example: Mr Tambourine Man (BobDylanTV, 2012)], barring Dylan actually writing it himself, and clearly doesn’t speak much for originality. 

Production

There are only three different ‘timbres’ in the song: Voice, Acoustic Guitar and Harmonica. The Guitar is a constant backing throughout the song and provides the harmonic and rhythmic base for the entire song whereas the Voice is the storyteller and part that makes the composition a song (Flattery, 2012). The Harmonica is an instrument that, when heard, will often instil the notions of folk ideologies and is the key link between the song sounding like just another acoustic piece or one that harks back to the traditional days of Folk. The author of the original book from which the film is based seems to agree with the effect when he mentions the “wheezy Dylanesque (sic.) harmonica solo” (Hornby, n.d.).   

Dylan defined simplicity in his production: “Voice for words, guitar for chords…and harmonica for formal breaks” (Griffiths, 2009). ‘A Minor Incident’ is a confirmation of this style, especially given the Harmonica featuring only in the middle 8 of the song. Gough has clearly kept the standards that Dylan went along with, at least as a solo artist, as the use of only one voice limits the potential for vocal harmonies that were big features when artists like Dylan performed with folk artists such as Joan Baez (peacebreizh, 2012).

In terms of the recording, the voice and guitar are based around the same (predominant) frequencies whereas the harmonica is the only timbre that appears at higher registers and therefore creating a contrast. It also appears to be quite a dry mix with little noticeable reverb [compared to songs that got him noticed and subsequently hired to compose the soundtrack (userfr, 2006)], this creates a more intimate mix as it gives the impression that the performer is close up as was most likely intended. Surprisingly, it was the first time Gough had worked with a producer (Murphy, 2002)

and so it can be assumed that although the song may have been recorded in one ‘live’ take, the modern techniques might have meant overdubs are present.

References

BobDylanTV (2012) Mr. Tambourine Man (Live at the Newport Folk Festival. 1964). [Online Video] 11 September. Available from: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeP4FFr88SQ> [Accessed 16^th October 2012].

Drabkin, W. (n.d.) Part-Writing. [Online]. Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Available from: <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/20989> [Accessed 12^th October 2012].

Dylan, B. (1963). Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright. [Online]. bobdylan.com. Available from: <http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/dont-think-twice-its-all-right> [Accessed 8^th October 2012]. [See sidebar for audio sample]

Dylan, B. (1963). Masters of War. [Online]. bobdylan.com. Available from: <http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/masters-war> [Accessed 18^th October 2012]. 

Flattery, C. (2012) Song Writing Tutorial. [Personal Communication]. Leeds. Leeds Metropolitan University. [Date: 2^nd October 2012].

Fryer, A. (2012) Song Writing Tutorial. [Personal Communication]. Leeds. Leeds Metropolitan University. [Date: 11^th October 2012].

Griffiths, D. (2009) Dylan, Bob. [Online]. Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Available from <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08456> [Accessed 11^th October 2012].

Hornby, N. (n.d.) The Books: 31 Songs: Extract. [Online]. Penguin Books. Available from: <http://www.penguin.co.uk/static/cs/uk/0/minisites/nickhornby/books/31s_extract.html> [Accessed 4^th October 2012]

Marshall, R.L., Leaver, R.A (n.d.) Chorale. [Online]. Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Available from: <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/05652> [Accessed 13^th October 2012]. 

Murphy, J. (2002) Badly Drawn Boy – About A Boy. [Online]. MusicOMH. Available from: <http://www.musicomh.com/albums/badly-drawn-boy-2.htm> [Accessed 18^th October 2012].

peacebreizh (2012) Bob Dylan and Joan Baez - It ain't me babe. [Online Video]. 13 July. Available from: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8A3BZAXMrQ> [Accessed 14^th October 2012].

Peggah (2007) Badly Drawn Boy – A Minor Incident [Online Video]. 10 March. Available from: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCW1QGpIy9g> [Accessed 28 September 2012].

RustyShackleford965 (2011) Bob Dylan – All Along The Watchtower. [Online Video]. 22 June. Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YanjY9CsPDQ> [Accessed 19^th October 2012].

userfr (2006) Badly Drawn Boy - Disillusion (directed by Garth Jennings). [Online Video]. 25 September. Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B11msns6wPU> [Accessed 19^th October 2012].

Walker, P.M. (n.d.) Pedal point. [Online]. Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online. Available from: <http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/21181> [Accessed 13^th October 2012].