#1: “Turn” by Fran Healy

Listen to or buy the song.

Intro [section A]:

The four-measure intro is structurally regular and harmonically simple, even naïve.  It presents no anomalies that might need to be counterbalanced or assimilated over the course of the piece.

The bass plays even 8th notes on the I and the V; a resonant tonic E chord occurs squarely on the downbeat; the lead guitar part, in inverted 5ths like the bass line, rises from and returns to the tonic.  Broad and accessible (if perhaps non-committal), a determined, expansive andante, this section presents the song in miniature.

It also introduces two motifs.

Motif α:  Something powerful, confined, and monolithic occurs, followed by a softer, more human, cantabile part

This “Hesitation” motif is found in the intro, where the lead guitar “gets out of the way” of the resonant E major chord before beginning.  It is also found in the melody of the verse.  Note the rests at the beginning of each measure, and the stammering effect created by the unusual sixteenth rests in measure four.

Additionally, Motif α is suggested in the relationship between the punchier section A and the adjacent, more expansive section B.  In section D, the vocals finally, boldly enter on the 1, proclaiming the title lyric.  In repetitions of the lyric, all hesitation is done away with, as “turn” enthusiastically comes in before the 1:

Motif β:  A tendency towards growth

“Growth” can heard in the vocal melody’s tendency to rise both dynamically and melodically over sections B-C-D (verse-prechorus-chorus).  The melody of section B has a range of B2-B3;  in section C, the range is B3-F#4;  in section D, the range is A3-A4.

Motif β can be found in the intro, which contains an ascending lead guitar line, and which grows through the drums’ entrance in measure three.

Lyrics:

Many of the lyrics reinforce the harmonic naïveté of the intro section by both suggesting genuine innocence…

I want to see what people saw 

…

So where’s the stars? [sic]

Up in the sky

And what’s the moon?

A big balloon

 …And by wishing for a return to innocence, from an implied adult perspective:

I want to feel forever young

With the same broad brush as the overall piece, the lyrics suggest an inexperienced or sheltered speaker summoning the boldness to go out and break new ground:

We’ll never know unless we grow

There’s so much world outside the door

Commentary:

In its presentation of the thrill of moving from childlike hesitation to soaring, courageous presence, “Turn” achieves a unity of message and form.  By ending with an extended restatement of section A, the song underlines the notion that one can explore the “world outside the door” without leaving behind the serenity found at home (“home” being the familiar tonic drone of the intro).

The song could be criticized for passing on certain development opportunities in favor of restating the familiar.  For example, as an uplifting piece that utilizes the metaphor of singing, there might be a powerful, climatic vocal section sung without words, perhaps drawn as an inversion of the elegant downward shape of the section D melody.  Where this moment would be most likely to occur, after the ascending section E (the “we’ve got to turn” bridge) we instead get a sparse, vocals-free iteration of section D.

Another passed-on opportunity arises from this moment in the second iteration of section C:

The melody softly descends at “sing my song” to G#3, where before it was belted on the F#4.  This suggests a counter-current of “Restraint” to the “Growth” of motif β.  Alas, the piece eschews the complex task of integrating an additional idea in favor of its perfectly effective wide-eyed universality.