JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Songwriter Message Forum Examples of a "Lift" or "pre-chorus"

OK, I know I could do this all by myself, but that's why I belong to sites like JPF. Can someone give me a good, technical example of a Lift or Pre-Chorus? A song example or two and the chord progression would be nice.

I never do a lift and I know they have been all the rage now for 3-4 years!

Kevin

Heard it through the Grapevine (Marvin Gaye)
(Norman Whitfield/Barrett Strong)

Well I bet you're wondering how I knew
About your plans to make me blue
with some other guy you know before
Between the two of us guys you know I loved you more

(Lift)
It took me by surprise I must say
When I found out yesterday

I heard it through the Grapevine....

Drift Away
(Mentor Williams)

Day after day I'm more confused
As I look through my life in the pouring rain
Know that's a game I hate to lose
(lift)
I'm counting on you, to carry me through

Give me the beat boys that saved my soul
Gonna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

Best of my Love
(Frey/Henly

Every night I'm Lying in bed
Holding you close to my dreams
Thinking about all the things that we said
And falling apart at the seams
(Lift)
We tried to talk it over, but the words came out to rough

I know you were trying to give me the best of your love


It is any part of the verse that "lifts" melodically and chord wise, into the chorus. It creates tension and builds in intensity.

MAB

PS: There are a lot more, but I just have driven for 9 hours from Fla. My brain is not working too well right now.

MAB

A lift before a chorus can have any type of chord progression, but is usually 2 to 4 bars, and more times than not, has an upward "sounding" chord progression. In "Get Ready", though, the tonic minor one is pedalled, going up to the relative major 3, in the chorus. In "Tears of a Clown" and in "Run Away" you can hear the upward movement in the chord progression, as the 5th gets sharpened and THEN goes to the 6th, and in "Run Away" it continues upward to the flat seventh.

Motown were great practitioners of the lift, although in sheet music, the lifts will oft times be written into the beginnings of the chorus...

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Get Ready/Rare Earth, The Temptations

Never met a girl could make me feel the way that you do (you're all right)
Whenever I'm asked what makes a-my dreams real I say that you do (you're outta sight)

LIFT
So fiddle-dee-dee, fiddle dee dum
Look Out baby, cuz here I come

CHORUS
I'm bringing you a love that's true so get ready...

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Tears of a Clown/Smokey Robinson


If there's a smile on my face
It's only there tryin' to fool the public
But when it comes down to foolin' you
Now honey, that's quite a different subject
Don't let my glad expression give you the wrong impression

Baby I'm sad (sad, sad, sad, sad)
So much sadder than sad (sad, sad, sad, sad)
Like a clown I appear to be glad (sad, sad, sad, sad)
You're gone and I'm hurtin' so bad (sad, sad, sad, sad)

LIFT:
Now there's some sad things known to man
But ain't too much sadder than

CHORUS
The tears of a clown
When there's noone around



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Run Away/Kristi Mckeever & Michael Zaneski

When I think of you
I think of me
All the suprises
All the sunrises

A friend for you
A friend for me
Late night lovin'
Or doin' nothin'

LIFT:
Take in a movie
Take out dinner
Bring you home safely
Do something crazy

CHORUS:
There is a place I can always run away to...

Marc has given some great examples and a pretty good explanation of what a lift is. Put simply it is a build up to create interest in the section that follows. There are no set chords or structure to follow.
Lifts have been around since music began....not just the last three or four years.... classical operatic pieces contain lifts as do most pop songs and dare I say it many hymns and anthems.
Check out your own Stars and stripes for example.

That's right Jim. I just got back from the Motown museum in Detroit last week and was in Fla, this weekend where I do a lot of classic songs. I would say about half of the classic hit songs have them. Many of the current songs out now have them as well. I am just not thinking that clearly right now.

Good to hear from you. Interesting thoughts you have on other threads. Always good to get your perspective.

MAB

here's a few non famous songs where I used a
climb / pre chorus / lifts

All of Us Together
http://www.songramp.com/mod/mps/viewtrack.php?trackid=23717

Keep Austin Weird
http://www.songramp.com/mod/mps/viewtrack.php?trackid=13469

In those songs, I wrote the lyrics first, I used climbs because I wanted to include more info in the verses, the climb served as the device to transition to the chorus, the last line of the climb should throw the listener straight into the chorus

the climb should contrast the verse and chorus

usually the lyrics look like this

Verse 1
line 1
line 2
line 3
line 4

CL line 1
CL line 2

Chorus

Thanks to all who stopped by and I will listen to the examples listed.

Kevin

I happen to know that Mike Caro is working on a song with a pre-chorus and a pre-pre chorus. I suspect it will be posted in MP3 board when he finishes it....

Tom

The word 'lift' is descriptive of the function, as others have pointed out. It likely will go up in pitch, as the emotion intensifies.

It can be an integral part of the verse, and not necessarily a separate or 'free-standing' component.

And unless it is truly cleverly done it probably will be clumsy as a full stanza unto itself, taking more time than is available or necessary to serve the function.

It seems to be an element of the intensification of emotion leading to and that should be following in the chorus. The chorus is where the storyline exposed in the verse(s) is explained or peaks, or makes the point, sums up with THE hook.

If the story was worth telling then the singer-character should 'feel' strongly about it in the chorus. And, when humans feel strongly, their voice often goes up in intensity and pitch as they express that feeling.