Looking for not-sad songs in a minor key
October 30, 2018 11:13 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for songs that are in a minor key, yet are upbeat, or at least relatively upbeat. I don't necessarily need them to be happy songs, but the lyrics should at least be more or less neutral and not about death and loss and so forth.
Some examples of things that would not fit the criteria: "Don't Fear the Reaper," "Losing My Religion," "House of the Rising Sun." So no death, no despair, no forced prostitution.
Some examples of things that would work:
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite - The Beatles
Jerk It Out - Caesars
Venus - Shocking Blue
Lobster - The Jack Rubies
I've seen this question but it's from 2005 and the songs are in a minor key, but most of them aren't not-sad.
Thanks!
Some examples of things that would not fit the criteria: "Don't Fear the Reaper," "Losing My Religion," "House of the Rising Sun." So no death, no despair, no forced prostitution.
Some examples of things that would work:
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite - The Beatles
Jerk It Out - Caesars
Venus - Shocking Blue
Lobster - The Jack Rubies
I've seen this question but it's from 2005 and the songs are in a minor key, but most of them aren't not-sad.
Thanks!
"Bus Stop" by the Hollies ?
1960s bubblegum love song lyrics in A minor (I think).
And speaking of A minor . . . Alicia Keys's Fallin'.
Of course it's about falling in and out of love but I read it as more or less not-sad enough to fit this question.
posted by Signed Sealed Delivered at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
1960s bubblegum love song lyrics in A minor (I think).
And speaking of A minor . . . Alicia Keys's Fallin'.
Of course it's about falling in and out of love but I read it as more or less not-sad enough to fit this question.
posted by Signed Sealed Delivered at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2018 [4 favorites]
Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" is in a minor key.
posted by Seeking Direction at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Seeking Direction at 11:25 AM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Figure 8 by Bob Dorough. (Schoolhouse Rock version sung by Blossom Dearie, with some key changes to major when they actually try to teach math. Elliott Smith keeps it minor.)
posted by maudlin at 11:27 AM on October 30, 2018
posted by maudlin at 11:27 AM on October 30, 2018
Arctic Monkeys - "Four Out of Five".
posted by Seeking Direction at 11:32 AM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Seeking Direction at 11:32 AM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
What genres are you interested in? Do they have to have lyrics at all?
There are probably hundreds of bright peppy klezmer songs written in a minor key, e.g. these.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:35 AM on October 30, 2018 [9 favorites]
There are probably hundreds of bright peppy klezmer songs written in a minor key, e.g. these.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:35 AM on October 30, 2018 [9 favorites]
Steve Martin's King Tut?
Probably lots of ABBA--"SOS" and "Money, Money, Money" are two that immediately come to mind.
posted by Melismata at 11:36 AM on October 30, 2018
Probably lots of ABBA--"SOS" and "Money, Money, Money" are two that immediately come to mind.
posted by Melismata at 11:36 AM on October 30, 2018
Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO
posted by General Malaise at 11:39 AM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by General Malaise at 11:39 AM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Oh, yes, I should have mentioned: I'm looking for anything that could be characterized broadly as either pop or rock, and only with lyrics.
posted by holborne at 11:42 AM on October 30, 2018
posted by holborne at 11:42 AM on October 30, 2018
Oh, also notably, Happy by Pharell.
posted by General Malaise at 11:42 AM on October 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by General Malaise at 11:42 AM on October 30, 2018 [7 favorites]
Fever by Peggy Lee. Key of A minor (I think).
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:44 AM on October 30, 2018
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:44 AM on October 30, 2018
“The Party” by St. Vincent
posted by buttonedup at 12:09 PM on October 30, 2018
posted by buttonedup at 12:09 PM on October 30, 2018
Bowie's "Let's Dance" is in A minor and has cheery lyrics. It does not come across as a cheery song.
There are more than 50 Beatles songs either totally or partially in minor keys, and two that are neither major nor minor. The large majority of these songs are neutral-to-upbeat.
This list may also help.
posted by ubiquity at 12:24 PM on October 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
There are more than 50 Beatles songs either totally or partially in minor keys, and two that are neither major nor minor. The large majority of these songs are neutral-to-upbeat.
This list may also help.
posted by ubiquity at 12:24 PM on October 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
This site says that Persian Love by Holger Czukay is in D Minor, but man, everything else about it is so joyful.
Willian DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got
posted by maudlin at 12:24 PM on October 30, 2018
Willian DeVaughn - Be Thankful For What You Got
posted by maudlin at 12:24 PM on October 30, 2018
Bowie's "Let's Dance " is in A minor
I think Nile Rodgers bumped it up a half-step to B-flat minor
posted by thelonius at 12:26 PM on October 30, 2018
I think Nile Rodgers bumped it up a half-step to B-flat minor
posted by thelonius at 12:26 PM on October 30, 2018
Came to say lots of Klezmer, and was happily beaten to it. Although I believe technically a lot of it is only "minor" in a fairly loose sense. A lot of Eastern European folk is either chromatic or dances between minor and major keys.
Sixties-seventies Bollywood also, although here it gets even more complicated because a lot of Classical South Asian music didn't really have major and minor scales, per se, and a lot of Bollywood was based on ragas.
This quora answer lists some fun examples.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:29 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Sixties-seventies Bollywood also, although here it gets even more complicated because a lot of Classical South Asian music didn't really have major and minor scales, per se, and a lot of Bollywood was based on ragas.
This quora answer lists some fun examples.
posted by aspersioncast at 12:29 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
I find "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga upbeat and happy which is debatable I suppose, but it is in a minor key, is pop, and has lyrics.
"Good Vibrations" is in the Ask from 2005 but it's the first thing that popped into my head. It's absolutely a happy, upbeat song and it's in a (few) minor key(s).
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 12:31 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Good Vibrations" is in the Ask from 2005 but it's the first thing that popped into my head. It's absolutely a happy, upbeat song and it's in a (few) minor key(s).
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 12:31 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
"Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin is a classic example of this.
posted by JonJacky at 12:35 PM on October 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by JonJacky at 12:35 PM on October 30, 2018 [5 favorites]
Lots of Depeche Mode. People are People, Strangelove.
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:40 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeZydeco at 12:40 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
The canonical example of this for me is Sunny.
posted by dfan at 12:48 PM on October 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by dfan at 12:48 PM on October 30, 2018 [3 favorites]
"Nothing wrong when the song ends in a minor key" Fiona Apple, Werewolf
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 2:53 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 2:53 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
There's an awesome trend on Youtube where either cover musicians or people-with-some-software make minor versions of songs that started in a major key. Some of them are better this way.
The king of the cover artist version of is Chase Holfelter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCJh4a5iAqw
The uncanny-valley software version of this trend are people working with software that reworks a pop recording to a minor key using the original recording. So you get "Sting" singing Every Breath You Take in a minor key (which by the way is AMAZING): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JyFrIH2-ns
Oleg Berg is one of the major uploaders (a number of youtubers do this) and here's a couple of playlists based on which direction the keyswitch goes:
https://www.youtube.com/user/MajorVsMinor/playlists
posted by twoplussix at 3:11 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
The king of the cover artist version of is Chase Holfelter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCJh4a5iAqw
The uncanny-valley software version of this trend are people working with software that reworks a pop recording to a minor key using the original recording. So you get "Sting" singing Every Breath You Take in a minor key (which by the way is AMAZING): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JyFrIH2-ns
Oleg Berg is one of the major uploaders (a number of youtubers do this) and here's a couple of playlists based on which direction the keyswitch goes:
https://www.youtube.com/user/MajorVsMinor/playlists
posted by twoplussix at 3:11 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
found the info- the software they're using for these reworks is Melodyne. It's amazing. It also does what I call "algorithmic" versions- listen to the Melodyne'd version of something like Bohemian Rhapsody or Take on Me to see the super creepy weird way it creates the minor versions (or at least I assume that's what's going on - it's the AI version of music composition). They're quite a bit "off" from how a human would have chosen to write a minor song.
For the Police song I linked above, though, which has creepy lyrics to begin with, it's perfect.
posted by twoplussix at 3:16 PM on October 30, 2018
For the Police song I linked above, though, which has creepy lyrics to begin with, it's perfect.
posted by twoplussix at 3:16 PM on October 30, 2018
Sorry, one more link for these sorts of transpositions- there's a lot of stuff here:
http://www.hooktheory.com/blog/automatically-turn-a-major-song-into-minor-and-hear-how-it-sounds/
posted by twoplussix at 3:20 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
http://www.hooktheory.com/blog/automatically-turn-a-major-song-into-minor-and-hear-how-it-sounds/
posted by twoplussix at 3:20 PM on October 30, 2018 [2 favorites]
Weather With You by Crowded House
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 4:04 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 4:04 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Beat It? Is that upbeat?
posted by Smearcase at 7:22 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Smearcase at 7:22 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
How about The final countdown? Or the sun always shines on TV? Love and pride? I fee like most 80s pop songs were in a minor key...
posted by tinkletown at 10:01 PM on October 30, 2018
posted by tinkletown at 10:01 PM on October 30, 2018
Eye Of The Tiger
Get Lucky
I'm Your Venus (Bananarama)
What Does The Fox Say
posted by daisystomper at 10:26 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
Get Lucky
I'm Your Venus (Bananarama)
What Does The Fox Say
posted by daisystomper at 10:26 PM on October 30, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Blue Skies" by Irving Berlin is a classic example of this.
posted by JonJacky at 8:35 PM on October 30 [+] [!]
I second this, and recommend the Willie Nelson/Booker T. Jones version
posted by rollick at 4:00 AM on October 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by JonJacky at 8:35 PM on October 30 [+] [!]
I second this, and recommend the Willie Nelson/Booker T. Jones version
posted by rollick at 4:00 AM on October 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: These are great, everyone, thanks! (King Tut! I'm old enough that I actually heard that song live on SNL the first time Steve Martin performed it, which makes me feel...well, old.)
posted by holborne at 8:25 AM on October 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by holborne at 8:25 AM on October 31, 2018 [2 favorites]
Someone made a great suggestion of "Istanbul" - don't forget the similar "Puttin' on the Ritz"!
posted by Seeking Direction at 9:04 AM on November 1, 2018
posted by Seeking Direction at 9:04 AM on November 1, 2018
And of course there are lighthearted parodies of serious songs, like Weird Al's "Amish Paradise"!
posted by Seeking Direction at 9:23 AM on November 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Seeking Direction at 9:23 AM on November 1, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was noodling around on the piano just now in a minor key and accidentally ended up playing “Call Me” by Blondie because the vocal melody of the verse is just half a minor scale, up and then down. I rushed here to post the song but I see Smearcase already posted it.
posted by w0mbat at 4:31 PM on November 1, 2018
posted by w0mbat at 4:31 PM on November 1, 2018
I.G.Y. (What A Beautiful World) by Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, in A minor.
posted by rollick at 2:32 AM on November 12, 2018
posted by rollick at 2:32 AM on November 12, 2018
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posted by evilmonk at 11:20 AM on October 30, 2018 [6 favorites]