Musical analysis

Riff A

distinctive syncopated rhythm pattern mostly repeating chord ♮VII and

concluding with chords vi and ii

Riff B

uses an ostinato pattern of five notes – based on the E

major pentatonic scale – over a sustained chord ii

8 bars before intro

polyrhythmic west African drums playing ostinato

Intro - Bars 1-4

Tonality: B major

The two main riffs are presented:

• A chordal riff of A- G#m-C#m in a distinctive rhythm which is syncopated.

• An ostinato pattern in fourths based on the E major pentatonic scale over a sustained chord.

The synthesisers are prominent here. As well as playing the opening chords, another synthesiser emulates sounds of a kalimba, a thumb piano which is traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe.

The harmony is unusual here for B major, the chords being: ♮vii-vi-ii. This move away from functional harmony was typical of 70s and 80s rock.

The piece begins with eight bars of unpitched percussion, with several rhythmic layers.

The four bars are repeated three times.

Verse 5-39

"I hear the drums echoing tonight…”

The verses are in B major with a chord sequence which contains few primary chords, again, typical of this style.

The phrase lengths are 9 bars which is unusual, they are normally 2, 4 or 8. This is because riff B begins as the vocal line ends, creating another bar.

There is syllabic word-setting, the vocal melody moves by step and is syncopated. It is placed quite low in the voice.

Bars 40-57

The tonality of the chorus is A major. This change in tonality for the chorus is another distinctive feature of this song.

The chord progression is typical of many pop songs, often known as the ‘four chords’ progression:

iv (F#m)- IV (D)- I (A)- V (E)

This changes for the final phrase of the chorus.

The phrases are uneven with the first three lines being four bars long, and the final line being six bars long.

Link 1 58 - 65

We hear the introductory riffs, but this time the four bar pattern is only heard once.

Verse 2 - Bars 14 - 39

The music is the same as verse 1, with different lyrics. The final phrase is 8 bars long. The melody in the final phrase changes slightly to include some leaps. We also hear a descending countermelody played on a flute-like instrument.

The backing vocals features more in this verse, coming in with “ooohs” and harmonising words at the ends of phrases.

Chorus 2

Same as Chorus 1

Link 2

Same as link 1

Instrumental

This is B major and is 17 bars long – again, an irregular length. The accompaniment to this section is the same as the verse, with the instrumental melody being based on the pentatonic riff in the introduction.

The melody is played on the synthesiser and uses pentatonic scales, played mainly in fourths in the first half. In the second half there is rhythmic variety, with triplets and syncopation.

The vocals return at the end of the instrumental to sing: “Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you”.

Chorus 3 - Vars 40 -92

This is the same as chorus 1 with three exceptions:

1. A new electric guitar riff is heard in the last bar of each phrase.

2. The phrase “I bless the rains down in Africa” is heard five times.

3. In the first, second and fourth repeats of the above, there is a solo vocal improvisation. The first two use the lyrics “I bless the rain,” on which the second time there is melismatic singing on the word “I”. There is also melisma on the word “had”. The final improvisation uses “I’m gonna take some time.”

Outro - Bars 93-96

The musical material is the same as that of the introduction, with some bass improvisation. On the recording, as this section repeats, the texture reduces by instruments dropping out so that only the rhythm track from the very beginning can be heard, accompanied by the bassline.