Open Listenings 1

In listening to the work, the first thing that is striking about it is the mood. The song seems to have a very melancholy and tranquil feel to it. Yet at the same time, there is a sense of unrest, a sense that there is a problem. This is heightened by the lyrics, which tell, among other things, that "She says she has no time for you now." The song is of a relatively gentle tempo, not too fast but not too slow. Another important and memorable aspect is the lead vocal. It is a clear male voice with a slight accent, which spends a great deal of time in the upper falsetto register for a very pure, almost crystalline effect.

The song is set by a very ambiguous and mysterious introduction, resting primarily on one note (in octaves). The verse begins with a minor chord, on a pad synthesizer that almost melts into the melody. Everything has very hard panning, leaving a very open or hollow sound in parts of the sound stage. When the melody begins, the sadness in the vocal is clear, both by the melody itself and the performer's tone. The addition of drums brings in a more driving feel, along with a rhythmic figure in the piano. When it moves to the chorus, the sound gets much fuller, both in terms of harmony and panoramic sound, and the shift into major chords adds a noticeably brighter touch to the song, perhaps suggesting a cheerier mood. We then have another verse, a repeat of the chorus, and then an instrumental interlude dominated by an analog synthesizer sound. There is then a bridge, which is itself entirely a build into the final repeat of the chorus, fuller and stronger than ever before. The last chorus lets out into an outro based on the end of the chorus, marked by synthesizer sounds and a rhythmic bass which slowly fade to the end.