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"If And" - a musical analysis.

 Hi friend!

Have you ever heard a song where both the sound and lyrics hit you right in the feels? Or you feel as if your heart could explode from the overwhelming feeling the song gives you? If And by Valerie June delivered that exact feeling.

Check it out for yourself below!

June, Valerie. "If And." The Order of Time. Concord Records. 2017. USA.

Lyrics:
June's lyrics are, at first, difficult to understand due to her shape-shifting vocals. 
The lyrics you do hear clearly in the beginning of this song are strong though: 
"Some things in life happen too slow, 
sometimes you don't know which way to go." 
I knew right away I had to look up the lyrics to get the full effect of this song and they delivered more than expected. The lyrics matched so well with what was going on in my personal life at the time.

One thing for sure
One thing that's real
If and you ain't lovin' your woman, then someone else will
If and you ain't lovin' your woman, then someone else will

[this part made me think hard about relationships and putting effort into it, because sometimes I take my relationship for granted]

Men are born strong
Then broken down
Burdened at birth
Till six feet in the ground
One thing for sure
One thing that's true
If and you trust and believe in your man, he'll be good to you
If and you trust and believe in your man, he'll be good to you
[realizing the importance of believing in and building up my significant other]
Kids all grown up
Darn, it happened too fast
Parents gone broke
Money don't last
One thing for sure
One thing that's fate
If and you don't show them you love them, it will be too late
If and you don't show them you love them, it will be too late
[the importance of raising my son to be kind and loving them all the time]
If and you ain't lovin' your woman
If and you trust and believe in your man
And if and you don't show them you love them it will be too late

Dynamics:
The dynamics of If And is what captivates the listening ears. 

You're introduced with a mezzo-piano repetitive, easy and soothing sound for the first verse. It then climbs dramatically upward into the crescendo for the bridge and falls gently downward back into the flow of the main verse. It does this repetitively throughout the song until right after the fourth verse, she hits you with this beautiful, loud, yet ethereal sounding guitar solo to fall back into the familiar mezzo piano dynamic the song holds throughout. The song ends by combining the voice and guitar all at once, falling on top of each other as it ends. I'm not quite sure if it's considered a round, but that's almost what it sounds like. 

Timbre:
Valerie June is a multi-instrumentalist, but her voice is her primary instrument accompanied by her guitar in this song. Her voice is powerful throughout all of her music, and it is what makes this particular song so bold. It's impossible to unhear her voice, it's nasally and carries this nostalgic feel.

June's voice starts the song with a cool, dark, heartbreaking tone providing an emotional weight to her song. You almost feel as if you're in the same room as her and she's singing her wisdom to you. When she goes to sing about "kids all grown-up" her tone changes quickly to a high pitched, child like tone all while remaining grounded.

Rhythm:
If And begins and ends with the same triple meter. Each starting with a strong down note followed by two weaker notes. The first couple of verses start slow and gradually speeds up in tempo (accelerando) and then gradually slows down again (ritardando). The rhythm speed is what keeps the listener alert and is what initially gave me that overwhelming, heartbreaking feeling.

Sources:
Wicks, Amanda. “Playing To Her Own Beat: A Conversation With Valerie June.” The Bluegrass Situation, 1 Mar 2017, https://thebluegrasssituation.com/read/twenty-years-after-o-brother-john-hartford-gets-grammy-attention-again/. Accessed 1 February 2021.

Peck, Henry. “Valerie June: Sound Medicine.” Guernica, 17 Mar 2014, https://www.guernicamag.com/sound-medicine/. Accessed 1 February 2021.


I genuinely hope you enjoy this song as much as I do!

Best, 

Megan

Comments

  1. Candice BFebruary 2, 2021 at 4:20 PM

    Hi Megan! I absolutely adore your first musical analysis blog post! You are so creative, I love all the pictures and the different fonts, along with your personal signature! Pretty cool, you should be a blogger (if you aren't already). I really like the song you chose-her voice is so cool and nasally! Love it! Thank you for your post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Candice BFebruary 4, 2021 at 7:28 PM

      Also-have you heard the newly released "Stay/Stay Meditation/You and I" song? Such a beautiful piano melody! Check it out! https://youtu.be/b5QJ_nb-lLQ

      Delete
  2. Jewel BFebruary 5, 2021 at 5:00 PM

    Hi Megan, I like the song you chose! I had never heard of it before. I too like her vocals and the way she has soul in her singing. I also like the percussion in it keeping the beat. Beautiful song choice and lovely layout for your post! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Josh FosterFebruary 6, 2021 at 5:37 PM

    Hi Megan!
    I love the layout of your blog, it's way better than I could ever think of doing! Very creative. You definitely seem like a natural blogger. I love it when a musician loves what they do and really put soul and emphasis into their writing/ singing. That's exactly what I thought when listening to this song. Also, her voice is very unique! I love it when people that have weird voices (such as myself) become successful with it! Great Post!
    - Josh Foster

    ReplyDelete

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