The Sensitive Female Chord Progression
Even though Beyoncé’s “If I Were a Boy” hit radio too late to be the song of the summer, there’s still a case to be made that it’s the perfect song to cap off the year. It’s not because of the empathetic lyrics, or B’s heartrending, disappointed vocals. No, it has everything to do with the four chords that underpin the song’s verse, circling from yearning to triumph and back again, four chords that were inescapable in 2008.
And the Sensitive Female Chord Progression was indeed everywhere in 2008, which started off with OneRepublic’s “Apologize” enjoying its chart afterglow. Since then, it’s popped up in songs by Aimee Mann (“Borrowing Time”), Secondhand Serenade (“Fall for You”), Katy Perry (“Fingerprints”), Moby (“Every Day It’s 1989”), Sugarland (“Take Me As I Am”), Carolina Liar (“I’m Not Over”), T.I. (“Whatever You Like”), Natasha Bedingfield (“Angel”), and, in a last-minute shocker, Guns N’ Roses (the chorus of “Shackler’s Revenge”).
UPDATE: After discussing this with numerous people, I should add that pop songs are full of common progressions, and this is no exception. 1-4-5-1 is the first one I ever learned and it’s e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.
[via Sarah Green]
