Burt Bacharach and Hal David are a legendary song writing team, arguably on par with Lennon and McCartney or Rogers and Hart, etc. Their songs have found success with numerous performers while still maintaining their signature sound. In 1963, they wrote "(They long To Be) Close To You," and several artists record versions of the song. [1]
Seven years after being written, the Carpenters take a crack at it. Combine Richard Carpenter's lush arrangement and Karen Carpenter's warm yet powerful vocals to produce a no.1 hit song and a Grammy Award. [2]
This song has so many dimensions ranging from sweet, silly, thoughtful, catchy, cheesy and just plain awesome. There are prominent passages for strings, vibes, piano, flugelhorn and of course, vocals. This soft rock anthem not only endures as a relevant song for the genre, but is a signature song of the Carpenters.
July 25 - August 16, 1970: "(They Long To Be) Close To You" by the Carpenters makes a 4 week run at no.1!
The form is relatively straightforward with two sets of AAB up front, followed by AAC. After three A's, there's a modulation up 1/2 step, ushering in the classic flugelhorn solo. The last A contains a tagged ending, leading into the coda section, a repeat on the title lyric.
In many songs, the hook, or catchiest part, comes during the chorus. "Close To You" flips that paradigm and puts the hook in the verse. This line "just like me, they long to be close to you," repeated at the end of each verse, is a great example of a refrain. The first two lines in the verse change, followed by this repeated refrain.
The verse melody, in its entirety, is a hook unto itself. The lyric "why do birds suddenly appear" is synonymous with "love" and is possibly more memorable than the title refrain (coincidentally, it has the same intervalic structure as the title hook). This line has been used numerous times in movies and television in this burgeoning love scenes (it's Homer and Marge Simpson's wedding song!).
The chorus, a repeated part that includes the same lyrics, is not as memorable as the verses. It does provide melodic and harmonic contrast to the verse and only happens twice during the course of the song.
The coda section contains one last melody, a variation on "close to you." The introduction of new melodic or harmonic material at the end the song was seen last time in "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini," and in a few other songs analyzed in this series. It's an interested choice to put brand new material at the end. The result, to me, is repeated listens. The late introduction of something new is an invitation to go back to the beginning and rehear what you wanted to hear again, again.
Chord Progressions
"Close To You" is in the key of G, but begins on a Cmaj9 chord. This acts as tonal center and color throughout the tune. The piano introduces this sound right at the start.
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| Opening piano |
Following the piano intro, we hear the verse:
Cadd9 / Bsus B / Bmin7 / Emin7 / C Cadd9 / C Cadd9 / GMaj7 / GMaj7
IV / III (V/vi) / iii / vi / IV / IV / I / I
From the Emin7, it goes back to IV chord, flipping the rhythmic positioning of the Cadd9 and the C triad, compared to the intro! Again, the C major tonality is established before we then finally hear the I chord over the last two measures.
Beginning the tune on the IV chord and then going to a non-diatonic chord is unique and tricks the ear into finding the home key. When we finally get the I chord, it puts all of the previous harmony in a new light. The tone color of the chord extensions create an ambiance that give this song character!
The bass generally follow the chord roots, creating a foundation for the chord extensions in the piano and orchestra. The third verse features variation in the bass that enhances the changes and melody.
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| Bass - verse 3 |
The chorus, set up by a G7, is similar to the verse with a few twists:
C C6 CMaj7 C6 / % / Bmin7 / E9 / Cadd9 C / CMaj7 C6 / D / (piano lick)
IV / IV/ iii / VI / IV / IV / V /
Again, we get moving extensions on the C chord, this time exploring the C6 sound. When it goes to iii, it jumps directly to Bmin and then resolves to E9! This almost acts like a ii-V to A minor, which is basically the C6 inverted. We return to slower moving extensions on C in a descending line (D-C-B-A) before finally hearing the V chord (D).
The chorus uses a tonal center of C again and we never "go home" to G major, even after the D chord, which returns to C in the verse! The piano lick, mentioned above, is figure around a D major scale, followed by a drum fill to push back to the verse:
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| Chorus Ending - Piano lick + drums |
The third A section (horn solo) shifts up 1/2 step to the key of Ab. All of the progressions repeat in the new key, unchanged. In the coda section, the I chord is finally established as the tonal center:
Dbmaj13(#11) / DbMaj7 / AbMaj9 / AbMaj9
IV / IV / I / I
The first two bars, like the other sections, use the moving extensions on the IV chord, but this time, resolve to the I chord. It's interesting to me that we don't truly get to the home key until the very end of the song.
Melody
The melody in "Close To You" sounds so smooth and "right," like it was always meant to be. When you look at its construction though, it is filled with leaps and resolutions on chord extensions. It shouldn't sound this good! Karen Carpenter's delivery certainly helps things out.
Things get rolling right away, starting on E (6th of G, 3rd of C), then leap to G (another chord tone) and then leap up a 5th to the D, or 9th of C
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| verse 1 |
After all the initial leaping, things settle down with some familiar stepwise motion, before leaping down from E to B. We then get two arpeggios in a row: B minor on "every time," and an inverted E minor 7 on "you are near," each occurring just before we actually hear the chord, masterful musical foreshadowing!
The end of the verse is a repeat figure, matching the opening, in a different rhythm. The 3rd, 5th, 9th intervals on the C transform to 6th, root and 5th of the D, a pattern we hear in the 1st and 2nd verses, as well as in the last A section tags.
The third verse, the last one in the key of G, introduces a slight variation. It begins like the previous verses and adds background singers, echoing the lead vocal. They continue echoing with thick harmonies.
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| verse 3 |
The chorus presents a very different melody with a few familiar elements. There are less leaps in the chorus and instead, we hear a repeated scalar theme in a faster rhythm. The vocal follows the piano on the moving C chord extensions. We also hear another minor triad over B minor. In the last few bars, we hear a repeated G before moving to the highest note in the tune.
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| Chorus |
The final section of the song is my favorite. Beautiful lush harmonies utilize a melodic theme found in the rest of the song - moving extensions on the IV chord. The Db major gets the royal treatment, visiting the major 7, major 6 (13) and #11 before resolving to the "simple" major 7.
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| Coda |
Musical Sticking Points
Musically, there's a lot happening here. While the song is in the key of G (and Ab), the tonal center hangs out on the IV chord most of the time. All of the interesting stuff happens on the IV chord and the I chord is used sparingly, until the end.
All of the moving extensions provide a sense of momentum, furthered by the lack of cadences on the I chord. The song is constantly moving ahead, a good quality for a ballad. This is also helped by the eighth note triplet feel throughout. The long-short motion of two swung eighth notes pushes things along and the frequent use of 3 eighth note triplets feels very fast, comparatively.
Melodic rhythms are also repeated throughout. The "close to you" rhythm is found in the verses and in the outro. This syncopation contrasts other melodic rhythms used. The verse melody is repeated 5 times throughout the song. To keep it from getting stale, there is a modulation, an instrumental solo and some vocal variation, enhanced with background vocals.
When you hear the song, you instantly know it's a Brut Bacharach tune. His signature "jazz" chords used in the context of an easy listening pop ballad are hallmarks of his style.
Lyrics
While very sweet, the lyric to this song are a bit over the top.
"Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?"
The subject of this song sure is special. So special in fact, that the "angels sprinkled moon dust in their golden hair and starlight in their blue eyes" at their birth.....wow.
As cheesy as they are, the lyrics are wide open for interpretation. Even in the third (and fourth) verse when we discover;
"that is why all the girls in town
follow you around"
it's still not clear if we are talking about a man or woman. There are many situations, though, where this ode to greatness can be applicable. A classic love song? Sure. A tribute to a loved family member? Why not? An envious plea for someone you want and can't have? Quite possibly. An over-the-top comedic ploy to get the girl/guy? I can see it.
Common Threads
When we left off last time with "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini," I came up with a list of key elements that will likely be seen again. Here is how that list matches up with "Close To You."
- Repeated melodic motifs - absolutely! The "close to you" intervals are used throughout the verse and in the outro.
Strong harmonic motion from V to I- Background singers contribute to melodic/harmonic texture
- Modulation
- New material presented at the end
I should also include a previously used common thread: Hook that uses the title of the song.
Final Takeaways
I love this song. It is a masterful example of song writing and arranging. When I think of no.1 songs, I usually think of upbeat dance numbers, or something that you can sing along with easily. When a ballad appears on the list, it's always a little surprising. I know people like ballads, but they like them enough to make it to no.1?
This song is nostalgia. As soon as I hear the piano, I am taken back to some memory of a love story (probably The Simpsons). Even though I was not alive when it came out, it feels familiar. It's one of those songs that was always meant to be.
What do you think of "(They Long To Be) Close To You?" Does it give you the nostalgic warm and fuzzies? Leave me a comment!
Up next time, August 2 - August 23, 1980. Another four week run at no.1: "Magic" by Olivia Newton-John. At the time of this writing, I couldn't pick this song out of a police line-up. Early 80's music is a still a little whacky as it comes out of the 70's fog. This one should be interesting! Stay tuned.
[1]https://www.stereogum.com/2027578/the-number-ones-the-carpenters-they-long-to-be-close-to-you/franchises/columns/the-number-ones/
[2]http://www.rebelmusicteacher.com/blog/2016/7/11/direct-modulation-in-the-carpenters-they-long-to-be-close-to-you
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