The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

Context

• The song is a 1960's Britpop song
• It was actually written in 1967 by frontman, Ray Davies
• The lyrics and the sound are typically British
• 1960's Britpop bands like The Kinks and The Beatle influenced 1990's Britpop bands
• The song show technology advancements at this time through the fade-out at the end

Style

• The song is typical of Britpop in several ways:
  - Instruments used
  - Lyrics
  - Blues influences
  - Catchy 5 note hook
  - Lack of "real words" in Backing Vocals

Instrumentation

• Lead Vocals
• Backing Vocals
• Lead Electric Guitar
• Rhythm Acoustic Guitar
• Electric Bass
• Drums

Structure

• The song is in Strophic form
• Each verse has the same melody
• The structure is as follows:
  - Verse 1 (16 bars)
  - Middle 8 (8 bars)
  - Verse 2 (16 bars)
  - Middle 8 (8 bars)
  - Turnaround (2 bars)
  - Verse 3 (16 bars)
  - Outro
• Each verse follows this form:
  - A
  - A
  - B
  - A

Tonality

• The Verses are written in E major
  - Section A using E major pentatonic
  - Section B using E major
• The Middle 8's are written in B major

Melody - Verses

• The song starts with an anacrusis for two beats
• A syncopated, pentatonic, 5 note hook is heard played by the lead guitar
• The hook is then put into a sequence, a 4th lower
• Therefore, the main melody shape is descending
• In the B section of the verses this main melody is fragmented and separated by rests

Melody

• Mostly conjunct with a few leaps
• Syllabic
• There are no chromatic notes in the piece, it's all diatonic
• The melody in the Middle 8 is syncopated
• The song ends with a phrase similar to the 5 note hook

Harmony

• A very simple harmony in the song
• The A sections in the verses use Primary Triads
• The B sections in the verses use Secondary Triads
• For the most part, the harmony is very dominant, finishing on chord V
• At some points, including the intro, a walking bass can be heard

(NOTE: Primary Triads: E, B7, A)

Texture

• The texture through out is melody and accompaniment
• For the most part, that is homophonic
• There are examples of imitation in the piece between vocals and backing vocals
• There is also a walking bass