A Hard Day's Night song: Encyclopedia II - A Hard Day's Night song - Music and lyrics

A Hard Day's Night song - Music and lyrics

The song is in the key of G major and in 4/4 time, though Richard Middleton (1990) describes G as the dominant in the key of C major. The verse features the ♭VII or major subtonic chord that was a part of the opening chord as an ornament or embellishment below the tonic. The modal frame of the song though pentatonic features a ladder of thirds axially centered on G with a ceiling note of Bb and floor note of Eb (the low C being a passing tone) (Middleton 1990, p.203):

According to Middleton (ibid, p.201) the song has "a deep kinship with typical blues melodic structures: it is centered on three of the notes of the minor-pentatonic mode (Eb-G-Bb), with the contradictory major seventh (B♮) set against that. Morever, the shape assumed by these notes - the modal frame - as well as the abstract scale they represent, is revealed, too; and this - an initial, repeated circling round the dominant (G), with an excursion to its minor third (Bb), 'answered' by a fall to the 'symmetrical' minor third of the tonic (Eb) - is a common pattern in blues."

However, in his interview with Playboy, Lennon denied that McCartney's authorship of the bridge was the reason that he sang it: "The only reason he sang on 'A Hard Day's Night' was because I couldn't reach the notes. ...which is what we'd do sometimes. One of us couldn't reach a note but he wanted a different sound, so he'd get the other to do the harmony."

There is also an instrumental break, performed (and composed) on the keyboard by producer George Martin.

The song closes with Harrison's guitar-playing fading out, the first time the Beatles had used such a technique — most, if not all, of their earlier work had closed with a final chord (and cadence), such as "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand".

The actual lyrics speak about the singer's undying devotion to his lover, and how he toils so she can purchase the items she fancies. The singer sings about his tiredness when he comes home from work, but how the things that his lover does perk him up.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Music and lyrics", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki