Every Little Thing is a track from the Beatles For Sale album, written mainly by Paul McCartney but, unusually, with a prominent lead vocal by John Lennon. Beatles For Sale is one of the albums that I did not have access to growing up, and when I did get to hear it, it was not my favourite. The song was not featured on any of the official singles or compilation LPs, so Every Little Thing is a track that I have listened to less often than most, but it probably deserves a bit more attention. For me the most memorable thing about it is the striking emotional contrast between the verses and the chorus; a classy piece of musical engineering and very McCartneyesque.
The Beatles BibleWritten mostly by Paul McCartney, ‘Every Little Thing’ was sung by him and John Lennon for The Beatles’ fourth album, Beatles For Sale.
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WikipediaIt feels a bit like a key change, but my transcription does not show it that way. However I notice there are lots of accidental notes in the melody and harmonies of the chorus that are largely absent in the verse. According to musicologist Alan W Pollack, this is due to the emphasis on G major chord, a flat-VII chord which implies the mixolydian mode. Like me, the Beatles would not have recognized the music theory terms, but they would have realized that the use of G in a song based around A is very slightly exotic while still being consistent with a lot of folk, blues or jazz. The trick here is that the critical chord only barely heard in passing before the chorus, so that when it does arrive it feels like a blast of sunshine. This contrast is heightened because the melody in the verse is quite downbeat and Lennon’s delivery has just the perfect weary, laconic timbre. When the chorus comes, McCartney’s harmonies brighten everything.
