Two of my favorite songs are sung by all-female groups with powerful usage of harmonies at pivotal interludes. I feel inadequate to describe these songs -- I have appreciation but not the words to do them justice.
"Don't Say You Love Me"
This next song is by the Wailin' Jennys, a Canadian folk trio, recorded in 2011. At the 2:05 mark, after running through a number of verses, the fiddle takes over for an instrumental interlude with backup from the bass, guitar, banjo, synthesizer, and drum. Then at 2:28, one voice starts up again with Verse 1, followed a second later by a second voice, and then a third voice, singing in a round. The round comes to an upward-cascading crescendo as various voices take lofting variations on the ends of phrases, such as "water runnin' by" (2:45-46), with the climax at "see what I might find..." (2:51-52). After that, the voices meld and merge in the high notes of "I feel the wind a-blowin', slowly changin' time" (2:52-57), and the reunited harmony settles down with a few rounds of "open to everything" (3:15-22), ending on one quiet unified central note.
As I said, I don't have the words to describe these harmonies, but they create a powerful effect. What is this effect? M2M's baseline countermelody shows the heartbeat of their indomitable spirit, that even beneath all the high notes, they still are not going to let the would-be boyfriend in that easily. The Wailin' Jennys' lilting rounds of harmony echo each other, lift the ends of phrases, and then merge together to show the cycles of nature and the joy of its diversity, ending in a quietness in becoming one with oneself and one's environs.
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Lyrics for the curious
Don't Say You Love Me
(by Peter Zizzo, Marit Larsen, Marion Ravn, and Jimmy Brawlower, sung by M2M)
(Verse 1)
Got introduced to you by a friend
You were cute and all that
Baby you set the trend, yes you did oh
The next thing I know we're down at the cinema
We're sitting there, you start kissing me
What's that about?
You're moving too fast, I don't understand you
I'm not ready yet, baby I can't pretend
No I can't
The best I can do is tell you to talk to me
It's possible, eventual
Love will find a way
Love will find a way...
(Chorus)
Don't say you love me
You don't even know me
If you really want me
Then give me some time
Don't go there baby
Not before I'm ready
Don't say your heart's in a hurry
It's not like we're gonna get married
Give me, give me some time
(Verse 2)
Here's how I play, here's where you stand
Here's what to prove to get any further than where it's been
I'll make it clear, not gonna tell you twice
Take it slow, you keep pushing me
You're pushing me away
Pushing me away...
(Chorus)
Don't say you love me
You don't even know me
If you really want me
Then give me some time
Don't go there baby
Not before I'm ready
Don't say your heart's in a hurry
It's not like we're gonna get married
Give me, give me some time
(Countermelody)
Don't say you love me
You don't even know me baby
Baby don't say you love me, baby
Give me some time...
(Chorus)
Don't say you love me
You don't even know me
If you really want me
Then give me some time
Don't go there baby
Not before I'm ready
Don't say your heart's in a hurry
It's not like we're gonna get married
Give me, give me some time
Bird Song
(by Tara Nicole Mehta and Heather Anne Masse, sung by the Wailin' Jennys)
I hear a bird chirping up in the sky
I'd like to be free like that, spread my wings so high
I see the river flowing, water running by
I'd like to be that river, see what I might find
I feel the wind a-blowing, slowly changing time
I'd like to be that wind; I'd swirl and shape the sky
I smell the flowers blooming, opening for spring
I'd like to be those flowers, open to everything
(Verse 2)
I feel the seasons change: the leaves, the snow and the sun
I'd like to be those seasons, made up and undone
I taste the living earth, the seeds that grow within
I'd like to be that earth, a home where life begins
I see the moon a-rising, reaching into night
I'd like to be that moon: a knowing, glowing light
I know the silence as the world begins to wake
I'd like to be that silence as the morning breaks
I hear a bird chirping up in the sky
I'd like to be free like that, spread my wings so high
I see the river flowing, water running by
I'd like to be that river, see what I might find
I feel the wind a-blowing, slowly changing time
I'd like to be that wind, I'd swirl and shape the sky
I smell the flowers blooming, opening for spring
I'd like to be those flowers, open to everything
I'd like to be those flowers, open to everything
