Elvis Presley's "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You"

About a week ago, I figured out the bass part to Elvis' "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You."  The rhythms seemed pretty easy (aside from the triplet in the second measure, which I almost missed), so I notated it too.

As always, this comes with the disclaimer that I might be wrong:

Saint-Saëns: Christmas Oratorio, Op. 12

A while ago, I was thinking about the final movement of Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, Op. 12.  I wrote about this last year, and I even translated the first line of the Latin text:

For the last couple years, I've been slowly working through my Latin textbook from college again, and a couple months ago, I ran into the same verb that starts this movement.  In the infinitive form, it's tollere.  In Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, it's a 2nd person plural imperative (tollite), and in the sentence in my Latin textbook, it's a 2nd person singular imperative (tolle).  It can be translated a few different ways.  My Latin dictionary lists: to lift, raise; to take away, remove; to do away with, abolish, destroy.  In the text of the Christmas Oratorio (with hostias [victims or sacrifices] as the direct object), it has the sense of "lift" or "raise."

After running across tollere in my Latin textbook, I realized that "tollite hostias" is musically represented.  In the soprano part, there's an interval of a fourth between the notes for "tollite" and the note for the first syllable of "hostias."  In the other vocal parts, there are smaller intervals between "tollite" and "hostias," but - for the tenor and bass parts, at least - the word "tollite" itself has an ascending melody:

 (notation found here)

After I realized that, I started thinking about the rest of the line ("et adorate Dominum in atrio sancto eius"), and I realized that the melody for "adorate" (the 2nd person plural imperative form of adorare, to worship) generally descends, as if those singing it were bowing before God in their own worship while also calling others to worship.

Harry Nilsson's "Without Her"

I recently listened to a compilation album of Harry Nilsson, and the bass part in "Without Her" sounded like it would be easy to figure out and to notate.  (It helps that it's panned left and isn't buried beneath other instruments.)  So I did that.  Here it is:

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "I'll Be Home for Christmas"

Last year, while listening to 20th Century Masters - The Christmas Collection: The Best of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, I noticed that their version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is unique in how it renders a phrase.  In all of the other versions of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" in my music collection, the lines are "Christmas Eve will find me / Where the love light gleams."  In Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' version, however, the grammatical number is changed so that instead of "the love light gleams" it's "the love lights gleam."

Because of this change (the lack of the S, specifically), the rhyme between "Christmas Eve will find me / Where the love lights gleam" and "I'll be home for Christmas / If only in my dreams" isn't as exact, although it certainly doesn't become a slant rhyme or anything like that.

Despite that, I prefer the plural "love lights."  The singular "love light" casts "I'll Be Home for Christmas" as something like a love song, but the plural "love lights" merely describes someone's endeavour to be with his family on Christmas.  The focus there is on familial love rather than romantic love, and that seems more appropriate for a holiday.

The Yardbirds' "Still I'm Sad"

About two years ago, I got a two-disc compilation album of the Yardbirds titled Smokestack Lightning.  I was very surprised to find that I already knew the song "Still I'm Sad."  The first forty seconds or so is used near the beginning of THX 1138 (George Lucas' 1967 student film, not the 1971 feature).  Recently, after listening to the album again, I figured out the notes, and this morning I finally got around to notating it.  Of course, as always, this comes with the disclaimer that I might be wrong:

There are four instrumental bars before this vocal phrase starts, and with some extra measures afterwards, it repeats throughout the song.

The Shirelles' "Maybe Tonight"

I recently figured out the chords to the Shirelles' "Maybe Tonight," so in lieu of notation this week, I thought I'd post those.

The verses are just B major, G# minor, E major, and F# major (played for two measures each).  It's the so-called 50s Progression in B major.  For the bridge, there are four measures of E major, four measures of B major, back to four measures of E major, and then two measures of C# major and two measures of F# major.

Written more simply, that's:

Verses: B major / G# minor / E major / F# major

Bridge: E major / B major / E major / C# major / F# major