The Beatles’ “Things We Said Today” exhibits their complete disregard to textbook style theory with innovative use of the Neapolitan chord. The Neapolitan chord contributes to the song’s chilling aura. This is one of the more relaxed Beatles songs, but tension can be felt when the Neopolitan chord is used in both the verse AND the bridge. The chord aggressively moves us away from a minor and holds us there for two lines.
The neopolitan chord is used as text painting in that it is used mostly under lyrics which begin with “Someday…” The lyrics, which dig into the skepticism of lasting love, take a foreign turn when thinking about “someday” (the future) and the harmony follows suit, illuminated by the joltingly exotic Neapolitan chord to create a foreign out-of-key sense. The chord then resolves unnaturally and unexpectedly back to I, landing at the comfort of the present “things we said today.”
Cheesy Beatles Tribute Video featuring “Things We Said Today:”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GwokRK8P6D4&feature=related
Things We Said Today Lyrics
You say you will love me
If I have to go.
You'll be thinking of me,
Somehow I will know.
Someday when I'm lonely,
Wishing you weren't so far away,
Then I will remember
Things we said today.
You say you'll be mine, girl,
'Til the end of time.
These days such a kind girl
Seems so hard to find.
Someday when we're dreaming,
Deep in love, not a lot to say.
Then we will remember
Things we said today.
ETC…
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