Seven Four
Waiting on the subway platform at 14th Street for the F train to Brooklyn, I heard a young woman in full-Williamsburg hipster regalia playing the accordion.
Her selection? "Ring of Fire" from Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.
I love this song for so many reasons, but leading them is the instrumental refrain in seven-four time. Count it out. Once the entirely unexpected Mariachi trumpet passage starts, the song is in seven. (Da-dut da dah dah dee dah daaa - 5 - 6 - 7, Da-dut da dah dah dee dah daaa - 5 - 6 - 7) I'm not sure which is more surprising the meter or the orchestration.
Maybe fifteen years ago, I heard Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash at Irving Place. Wonderful, amazing concert. They came with the best sidemen in the biz; country-western 2/4 back beat was elevated to poetry.
If you listen to June Carter and the Carter Family, you'll find a flexible metrical music that easily moves through odd-number bars and playfully skips over an eighth-note here and there.
Seven-four on the subway platform. I love New York City.
1 comment:
interesting. when i arranged the song, it was from memory only, as my recording of it was sacrificed years ago in a car break-in. thanks for the tip i always thought there was something off about the horn line.
i never have heard anyone peg me a "hipster" before, but i guess stereotypes are in the eye of the beholder!
hope you enjoyed the music though!
-melissa
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