(Soul/Ballad)
Words and music by Rod Temperton
4/4 time signature/Key A minor/Tempo moderately slow
(Instrumentation)
Fender Rhodes/synthesizer/Guitar/Bass/Drums/Male main vocals/Backing vocals
Song structure
Verse 1/Chorus/Verse 2/Chorus 2/Bridge/Chorus 3 + fade-out
This song is about companionship and spending his life with someone and looking after this persons well being. I think this links PYT with this song because this is about the next step of finding the special person which he sings about in PYT and I am certain this is why they have been put as the last two tracks on the album to resolve the whole albums story. Lines from the song “Baby through the years, even when we are old and grey, I will love you more each day” “I will keep you warm, through the shadows of the night” and this is saying that no matter what, he will love this person throughout life, good and bad times.
Intro of the song opens up with synthesizer and electric guitar playing motifs in call and answer style, drums playing on the ride cymbal and bass playing simple line on the root notes of the chords, Vocals come in singing in a intimate ballad style singing about how special the lady is to him, romantic song happy feeling. Jackson adds trills on the long notes at the end of vocal lines. The dynamic of the song changes slightly in the chorus the level of the instruments raise slightly and the drums become more forceful in the way they are playing using the snare drum more, and adding variation to the bass drum, also the synthesizer bounces off the main vocal in call and answer style again, the trumpets play in the last two lines of the verses and play long sustained notes in the choruses. After the third chorus the dynamic changes again and becomes more forceful and stronger, there is a section that the backing vocals in multi tracked from Jacksons voice sing lines from the chorus and the bridge (“you are the lady of my life”) etc and M.J is adding lib over the top of them with nonsensical lyrics, such as; high screams and whoo’s and also lines such as; “I love you babe” “don’t go nowhere” creating a feeling of deseration to keep hold of the girl. The bass guitar moves to slap and pop style bouncing the notes from root, major fifth, flat seventh and octaves that lasts for sixteen bars, the chorus keeps repeating until the song fades out.
Bibliography
http://www.musicnotes.com
http://www.freehandmusic.com
http://www.sheetmusicdigital.com
http://www.free-scores.com
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com
http://www.onlinedrummer.com
http://www.bestofmichaeljackson.jclondon.com
http://www.thrillerlive.com
Jackson, Michael, 1983 warner Bros publications, Phillips,Mark
CD inlay card from Thriller album, Sony Music 1982
http://www.sheknows.com
http://www.allmichaeljackson.com/achievements.html
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-web-thrillertrivia12feb12,0,5481196.story
http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/michael-jackson-thriller/349
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=1545
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