Glasgow Clyde College

HND Music: Songwriting 1: Comparative analysis

John Edwards

Song Title: Time on your life

Genre: Alternative British rock

1. 1. (a) Love/Hate
(b) Free flowing thoughts
(c) Use of figurative language, Bars 8-10 “eventually you’ll break the
cable”.
(d) Rhymes in the verses
(e) Metaphor “nothing but a stain on my table”
(f) First verse is in second person and verse two is in first person,
the chorus is in first person. Lyrics contradict in bars 1-2 verse 2.

1. 2. Noel Gallagher “Dream on” has first and second person lyrics.
Muse “Sing for Absolution” uses figurative language “Lips are
turning blue”.

1. 3. Intro-Verse -Pre chorus-Chorus-Verse-Pre chorus-Chorus-Solo-

Chorus-Outro

1. 4. Different chord progression

1. 5. “Aka… broken arrow” by Noel Gallagher has a similar

structure only without the pre-chorus sections. Boomtown rats
song “I don’t like Mondays” contains pre choruses that is also alike

1. 6. (a) Tenor
(b) Singing
(c) Vocals, Acoustic guitar, Piano, Drum kit, Electric Bass, Brass
(trombone, saxophone, trumpet)
(d) Smooth vocals, (some harmony). Acoustic guitar plays ostinato
throughout the piece. Piano plays mostly crotchet chords. Electric
bass leaps notes every now and then. Brass Play crescendo chords
at marked points and trumpet solo at instrumental with sax and
trombone backing.
(e)
 (f) Time Signature: 4/4 Tempo: 120 Bpm

1. 7. Noel Gallagher’s “the death of you and me” uses tenor voice
and contains a brass entering through out and there is a brass solo.
2.
3. 8. (a) Verse: i-III-IV7-V7 Chorus: i-Vi-iv-V7-III-VII
(b) Extended chords.
(c) Mostly stepwise, slurred notes.
(d) Pitch lowest: C3 Highest: Eb4
(e) Key: G minor no key change/modulation
(f) Pedal point used in pre-chorus

9. (a) The melody in the composition is stepwise which is like the song "stop
crying your heart out" by oasis.

10. (a) Alternative British rock began in the 1980s

(b) Became most popular in the 1990-2000s
(c) The music comes from how/where the artists were raised and it includes the
culture, what groups they interacted with.
(d)
(e)
(f) It was associated with drug use, depression, suicide, economic strains and
environmentalism

11. (a) The song has elements of social context