"Helplessness Blues"

Last month, I realized that, while slight, the phrase "raised up believin'" in the line "I was raised up believin' I was somehow unique" in "Helplessness Blues" ascends (Eb F F F G), musically illustrating the meaning of "raised up" (although it's used more metaphorically here).

"Montezuma"

Back in May, I wrote that the line "As naked as when they came" in "Montezuma" bears some resemblance to Job 1:21:  "And he [Job] said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return.  The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.'"  A couple months ago, however, I was reading Ecclesiastes and found a stronger resemblance in 5:15:  "As he came from his mother's womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand."

"Shore"

As with some phrases in "I'm Not My Season," the line "Kin of my kin" in "Shore" seems to borrow its structure from Genesis 2:23:  "Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'"

In the repeated line "While I see it all," "all" is sung with a melisma (D C D G E D C), musically giving a sense of that entirety.  When this "all" is repeated by itself after these lines, it's sung with a slightly different melisma (G E D C D) but with the same effect.

"Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman"

In the line "I'll run down" in "Cradling Mother, Cradling Woman," "down" is sung with a descending melisma (Eb C Bb), musically giving a sense either of movement or of the word's meaning.  "While" in the lines "No one here / Say we waited our while" is sung with a melisma (C Bb), musically giving a sense of duration.

"Thymia"

In the line "Solid shape of, known it for a long time" in "Thymia," "time" is sung with a melisma (G F# E), musically giving a sense of that "long."

"I'm Not My Season"

The first two lines of "I'm Not My Season" are "Blood of my blood / Skin of my skin."  This provides a small connection between "I'm Not My Season" and "Shore," which begins with the line "Kin of my kin."  All three of these phrases seem to take their structure (and perhaps even more) from similar phrases in Genesis 2:23:  "Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.'"

"Young Man's Game"

The first phrase in "Young Man's Game" is "New day rising," and as if to reflect that "rising," this phrase ascends (B D E F#).

In the line "Find something unique to say," the second (rather than the first) syllable of "something" is emphasized, and to some degree, this illustrates that "unique[ness]."

"Life" in the line "For all my life" is sung with a melisma (F# E D), musically giving a sense of the entirety of that "all."

"Maestranza"

In the line "Now that the water runs" in "Maestranza," "runs" is sung with a melisma (F# E), musically giving a sense of movement.

"A Long Way Past the Past"

In "A Long Way Past the Past," "'round" in the line "I can't turn the hand 'round" is sung with a melisma (it's C G A in the higher voice, and I think just A F in the lower voice), so while negated, there's a sense of movement (for "turn").  "Down" in the line "But still it looks a long way down" is sung with a descending melisma (G F E D C in the higher voice; E D C in the lower).  Musically, this gives a sense of the meaning of the word itself and also of the adjective "long."  "Through" in the line "I made me own way through" is also sung with a melisma (D G in the higher voice; B E in the lower); this too gives a sense of movement.

"Featherweight"

In the line "And somehow I see it's free" in "Featherweight," "free" is sung with a melisma (D C Bb G F G C).  Since the word isn't constrained to a single pitch, there's a sense of its meaning.  That may not be the intended meaning in this context though (it's a bit unclear), so this may not be a valid point.

"Can I Believe You"

I noticed a handful of significant melismas in "Can I Believe You."

"Go" in the line "Hasn't let me go" is sung with a melisma (C# B) for a sense of movement.  In the lines "If I don't, well, nothing will change / Stayin' under my weather all day," "change" is sung with a melisma (C# B G# F#) for a sense of the word's meaning, and "day" (G# B) is sung with a melisma for a sense of the entirety of "all."  "Much" in the line "Never held that much" is sung with a melisma (C# B) for a sense of amount (although negated).

I also noticed an ambiguity in the line "Can I believe you when you say I'm good?"  That's how it's printed in the vinyl gatefold, but it could also be written as "Can I believe you when you say, 'I'm good'?"

The most interesting thing I've noticed so far is in this section:

Lately I'm wondering too 

What type of desire I can break

When I'm one way with them, one with you

What half is it of me rearranged?

The vocal melody for this section is something like:

In the line "When I'm one way with them, one with you," the first "one" is sung on a downbeat, but the second "one" is sung on an upbeat.  This indicates their opposing natures.

Also, "break" is sung with a melisma (B G# F#), giving a sense of the word's meaning.

"Sunblind"

Since I started figuring out parts for the songs on Shore last month, I figured I might as well start to write about some of the things I noticed while listening to the album, although many of them are just minor points.

In the line "I'm going out for a weekend" in "Sunblind," "out" is sung with a melisma (C D E B), musically giving a sense of movement.

"Every" in the line "Carrying every text that you've given" is sung with three syllables, giving a sense of number.