Song: Don’t Dream It’s Over
Artist: Crowded House
Songwriter: Neil Finn
Album: Crowded House
Release date: 1986
Genre: Pop/Rock
Key: E♭
Chords in Key:
|
I |
ii |
iii |
IV |
V |
vi |
vii |
|
Eb |
Fm |
Gm |
A |
Bb |
Cm |
D° |
Don’t Dream It’s Over is primarily written for vocal, guitar, bass, organ and drums.
Verse
The verse begins with a suspended 2nd (sus2) chord. A sus2 chord is created by changing the 3rd in the chord to a major 2nd. This can be done by lowering a minor 3rd by a semitone, or a major third by a tone. It means that when the song starts, it’s not clear if it is in a major or minor key. The opening lyrics reflect this, saying “There is freedom within, there is freedom without ... ” meaning we don’t know emotionally where the song is headed. This technique is called word painting. This ambiguity is aided by the use of a mixture chord from the enharmonic major (III) at the end of the progression.
Chorus
The chorus maintains its slightly uncertain feel: while mostly using major chords, it maintains a sense of aloofness and melancholy by not using the tonic as the tonal centre. Instead it comes in as the third chord, after the subdominant and dominant are used over the “Hey now”.
Instrumental
The instrumental starts with an organ solo playing melodically over the verse chord pattern. The second half has a brief guitar solo over a new part, which uses the mixture a ♭VII7 chord, which comes from the enharmonic major.
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