The dramatic lyrics imagine the results of lost love: “The Stars would fall from the skies...The birds in maytime would sing a lonely refrain....” Perhaps lack of enthusiasm for the 1935 film which introduced it, for the film’s score or both kept the song from reaching the popularity that it later enjoyed. Sandra Burlingame
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Musical analysis
of “If I Should Lose You”
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Original Key |
A
minor; brief periods of F major
and C major tonality |
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Form |
A
- B1 - A - B2 |
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Tonality |
Primarily
minor; the last half of “A” and
the first half of “B” spend time
in related major keys |
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Movement |
Following
an upward octave leap, the basic
motif of “A” drops a third with
a lower neighbor, with consistent
rhythmic variations. “B” starts
to climb step-wise, then drops a
sixth before ascending gradually
through a motivic device based on
an ascending scale and a syncopated
“cakewalk” figure (eighth, quarter,
eighth), followed by a half or two
quarter notes |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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This piece contains a great deal
of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic
complexity with wide intervals.
Although none of the syncopated
rhythms are carried across bar-lines,
this melody makes frequent use of
them. Dotted quarter, eighth, “cakewalk,”
and triplet figures make up most
of the melody, giving one the impression
that it started life as a tango
(and indeed it is usually performed
in the Latin style). The composers
have taken care to place more rhythmically
active passages toward the end of
phrases which gives this piece forward
momentum and energy not often found
in ballads. |
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath’s book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com). |
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