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Not a Second Time
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Wikipedia article
"'Not a Second Time'" is a song by John Lennon (credited to LennonMcCartney) performed by English rock band the Beatles on their second British album, 'With the Beatles', and the American album 'Meet the Beatles!'. Lennon said he was "trying to write a Smokey Robinson or something at the time." The song was recorded in nine takes on 11 September 1963 at EMI Studios.
Musical structure
This song inspired a musical analysis from William Mann of 'The Times', citing the "Aeolian cadence" (Aeolian harmony) of Lennon's vocals as the song draws to a close, and noting that the same chord progression appears at the end of the final movement of Gustav Mahler's 'Das Lied von der Erde'. Lennon, years later, remarked: "To this day, I have no idea what [Aeolian cadences] are. They sound like exotic birds." The actual meaning of the term "Aeolian cadence" is that a major key song resolves on the vi chord, which is the tonic chord of the relative minor key. The term derives from the fact that the Aeolian mode is rooted on the sixth step of the major scale.
Dominic Pedler considers the "Aeolian cadence" moment to occur at the end of this line: (Am) "You hurt me then. You're back again. No/(Bm) no no/(D7) not a second time"/(Em). Pedler writes: "We are expecting the D7 chord, the dominant in the key of G, to return to the G major tonic". However, in replacing it with an Em chord supporting an isolated E note on "time", we have an interrupted cadence or dominant-to-relative sub-minor (V7 to vi) shift. The major key of the song is G, but it appears to resolve on the Em (vi) chord.Dominic Pedler. 'The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles'. Music Sales Ltd. Omnibus Press. London 2010 pp. 128129 As Allan Moore puts it, "Mann would argue that it is not the same thing as a 'V-vi' Interrupted or Deceptive cadence becauseat that precise point in the songthe role of the E minor as a 'vi' is being questioned and is veering towards tonic status."Allan Moore cited in Dominic Pedler. 'The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles'. Music Sales Ltd. Omnibus Press. London 2010 p. 137
Pedler notes that another interesting moment in the song is that George Martin's piano part alternates not between G and E minor, but G and E major, the presence of the piano's extra G# (the major 3rd of the E chord) creating a "grating, tense colouring" in comparison to a G natural of the guitar's Em chord.Dominic Pedler. 'The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles'. Music Sales Ltd. Omnibus Press. London 2010 p 126 Pedler's discussion with musical experts about the comparison between this Beatles song and Mahler's "Song of the Earth" revealed that none found anything relevant, except perhaps that Mahler's 'Farewell' movement involves various shades of a C major chord and ends after a flute B-A drop (the A chord being a VI in the chord of C) with the "final sonority" of a C6 (where the C, E and G notes are from the trombones and lower strings and the A from oboe and flute,Dominic Pedler. 'The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles'. Music Sales Ltd. Omnibus Press. London 2010 pp. 146149 this final C6 chord seeming to be "printed on the atmosphere", as Benjamin Britten terms itStephen E Hefling. 'Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde'. Cambridge Music Handbooks, Cambridge University Press. 2000 p. 116).
Personnel
*John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, acoustic guitar
*Paul McCartney – bass
*George Harrison acoustic guitar
*Ringo Starr – drums
*George Martin – producer, piano
*Norman Smith – engineer
:Personnel per Ian MacDonald
Cover versions
* R. Stevie Moore covered the song in 1978 on his album 'The North'.
* Robert Palmer covered the song in 1980 on his album 'Clues', adding a second verse featuring new lyrics not in the Beatles version.
* The Pretenders covered the song in 1990 as a bonus track on the Sense of Purpose single.
* The Smithereens on their 2007 album 'Meet The Smithereens!'.
* Rosanne Cash included the song on some international versions of her 1979 Columbia debut 'Right or Wrong'.
In popular culture
Stephen King makes reference to this song in 'Doctor Sleep', his 2013 sequel to 'The Shining'. It is played mysteriously on the piano by a baby in another room.
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References
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Category:1963 songs
Category:The Beatles songs
Category:Robert Palmer (singer) songs
Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin
Category:Songs written by LennonMcCartney
Category:Songs published by Northern Songs
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