"Where I Stood" - Missy Higgins song analysis

The song that our group chose for our sound-alike project is “Where I Stood” by Missy Higgins. It was recorded in Therabeta studios and produced by Mitchell Froom. The song in in the key of A-major. The structure of the song goes from verse – chorus – verse 2 – chorus 2 - bridge – chorus 3. The instruments that are in this song are piano, drums, a stringed instrument in the first part of the bridge, an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a bass and a double bass in the first verse.

The first verse starts with a grand piano which sounds perfectly balanced into both the left and right channels and “breathy” vocals sitting right in the front. The vocals are not much effected with reverb or delay. Hence, it sounds upfront. Further down the verse, drums and bass kick in playing a normal 4/4 beat. In the chorus, an acoustic guitar is being strummed over to the left. In the little instrumental between the chorus and second verse, the drums are EQ’d quite heavily, so it sounds as soft as the piano notes with a little reverb on it. Comparatively, there is less harmony as opposed to other pop songs. In here, there is a harmony only in the last part of the chorus.

The bridge kicks in containing the same energy as the chorus before it. It gradually becomes silent and goes down to the instrumentation of the first part of the verse. Hence dynamically, this song is interesting. The verses share a sad vibe as they are minor-sounding or starts with a minor chord. While the chorus feels like the answer to the verses. Choruses too sound emotional and sad but the major sounding adds to it. In terms of technology, the song seems traditional as it contains instruments as a pop/rock song would have. According to me, the song was mixed well. The engineer took care of all the ranges in frequencies. The piano and bass occupy the low, the low-mid and the mid-range of the frequencies. The vocalists voice covers usually the mid and high-mid frequencies. High frequencies are generally occupied by the ride cymbal, the acoustic guitar, the “snare” sound. Overall, the song gives a positive vibe as it ends in a major chord. The song seems to be answering itself. According to the accents in the vocals, I think the artist intended the realisation that she came to know about after getting her heart broken. Her words “she will love you more than I could” delivers a sensation of pain in her voice. Here's the link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9QNRvXH1HI