Songwriting Lessons From Joanna Newsom’s ”Bridges and Balloons”

Artist: Joanna Newsom

Album: Milk-Eyed Mender

What I See in This Song

Captain Newsom spins a tale of high nautical adventure that happened in her own mind.

Through colorful and idiosyncratic use of language, Newsom invites us to see with our own eyes what she experienced—the lyrics are a work of art unto themselves. Better still, Newsom’s melody gives each syllable a sung pitch that makes its delivery feel completely natural, almost conversational.

It may not sound like high praise, but this is a real gem: a song that doesn’t get in its own way.

A Common Objection

Some find Newsom’s voice unpleasant. I enjoy it–but I have a taste for idiosyncratic sounds.

Even if you don’t love the timbre, there’s plenty happening in this song to entertain and instruct you.

Timeline

0’01” Newsom begins with a nice groove that immediately makes me wish I played harp instead of guitar. A short melodic figure ascends and begins anew every two measures; Newsom also blasts some high chords in an unusual rhythm over the top of the other lines she maintains.

0′ 21” The first verse begins: “We sailed away on a Winter’s day/With fate as malleable as clay…” she occasionally delays sounding those high chords, adding some surprise to the patterns. If you play the song back once, listening only to the harp and ignoring the vocals, you’ll notice this easily.

Also note how effective and vivid the line “…fate as malleable as clay” is compared to the many weaker alternatives, including “it seemed like anything was possible.”

1′ 03” Chorus! Newsom changes chords for the first time in the entire song so far; saving the change until now creates a real sense of flight and departure.

1’18” As the first chorus ends, Newsom’s harp breaks into a one-note-at-a-time flowing arpeggio, very quick, syncopated, exciting and dizzying with polyrhythmic accents. She continues this tonal cascade as she begins singing the second verse. Notice that she now alternates between plucking two different bass notes, changing every two measures. It’s a juggling act, as she sings straight time over all of these simultaneous harp lines.

1’22” Notice how in the second verse Ms. Newsom superimposes imagery of a living room and the imaginary voyage held there. “Brace and buoy the living room!”

1’50” Wow. Check out this line:

“A thimble’s worth of milky moon/Can touch hearts larger than a thimble.”

Damn, Joanna.

Here’s my attempt to completely drain this phrase of its color and power:

“The moon is small but beautiful.”

Boooo, Tozier.

In part two of this song review, we’ll explore the complex magic of those carefully chosen words that Newsom offers us in those two short lines above—they deserve their own article.

Lessons Learned

The value of a generous, sharing spirit. If you’ve had a wonderful experience of some kind, one that improved the overall quality of your life, why not share it with others through a song?

Good technique is transparent and contributes to the piece as a whole. I don’t know whether Joanna’s knack for setting text to music is instinctual or conscious and learned—but she’s terrific at it. This makes the song sound very natural—sometimes songwriters distort their lyrics by cramming them into unnatural melodic shapes that don’t fit them very well. I listened seventeen times before I even thought about the fusion of melody with words here, because it’s so good that the content of the song itself is showcased.

Keep a Surprise Up Your Sleeve – Newsom doesn’t change chords until the first chorus. Saving the change until that moment adds drama and excitement to the transition. What can you hold back in a piece that you’re working on?

A thimble’s worth of implied metaphor can touch hearts larger than a thimble. Seriously, how great is that set of lines? More on this soon.

I should’ve been a harpist. I love the sound—it’s far better than most guitar fingerpicking, and more notes can ring over one another thanks to the greater number of strings.

There’s always time to learn new tricks… failing that, I can always live vicariously through Joanna. One last plug for her album, The Milk-Eyed Mender, before I go!

Thanks for reading.

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Nicholas Tozier is an unsigned singer, songwriter, private music instructor, blogger, and recording artist centered in Gardiner, Maine. His first album, A Game with Shifting Mirrors, is slated for self-release in Fall 2010.