A lot of arrangement work on 'I Think You Love Me' today. The original draft (Feb 2005) was a simple verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus; that's it! I want more these days.
I started by adding a melodic intro (essential). After the chorus I wanted to add elements of hope and belief, this is a 'does she (/he) love me?' song, albeit one sung from the perspective of an A.I./computer in a box/or a boxed-in person. So I added a two chord section with a super-simple backing which climbs up and down, something that sounds bright and hopeful, like doors unlocking, a passage to spring and light, then repeated this moving up a key and into an extended instrumental solo of a sort (I imagine guitar, but can't play it yet due to my hand injury). That's in GM/DM, a natural continuation from the key-up but it also leads nicely back into a second chorus back in F.
But that chorus is sadder, Hal (or whoever) realises that he (/she) is immortal and suddenly all is lost, insecure. The end tails off in slowness and sadness. This is less dramatic than the first draft which had some 'epic' blues but this feels nicer and more natural. It's a tainted love song then. Longing is always the most romantic emotion. Finally, the melodic introduction, which is rather long and doesn't appear again anywhere in the song, is replayed on a lonely and emotional piano. The whole song is about 3:30 even with the long piano ending, but this is longer than many of the other songs on this album, and it's 150 B.P.M., so bounces by. Most of my tempi are divisible by 30 (or 15): 120, 150, 180. Almost always, though all of my songs now vary the speed. Regular tempo can be a huge emotion/expression killer, so one must craft it like any other instrument.
I Think You Love Me
I think you love me... I think...
Would you tell me if you loved me?
You and me.
We could both grow old together
a little cottage by the sea.
You could talk about the weather
I'd put it in my diary.
I think (you love me)
I think (you love me)
I think (you love me)
I think
I am younger, you are older.
Here in our cottage by the sea.
You grow weaker, I grow colder.
I put you in my memory.
Would you tell me if you loved me?
Do you..?
Can you..?
