Monot-Piaf: "If You Love Me" (as sung by Brenda Lee)

Listening to Brenda Lee's recording of "If You Love Me" for the first time, I never realized that she was only 17 at the time. Her voice is richer and more powerful than some trained adult singers I have heard. Nicknamed "Little Miss Dynamite," Lee earned her name for her unusually developed voice and her diminutive stature (only about 4' 9").
The song "If You Love Me" is actually an English version of an Edith Piaf song released in 1950. Other than Piaf and Lee, Mary Hopkins and Kay Starr have also recorded versions of the song. Each version differs slightly in instrumentation, structure, melodic line, and harmony.
Overall, the song features of a mixture of elements of the 50s and 60s, which makes for interesting analysis.

Form AABAA: The song is structured in a standard 32-bar song form as found in tin-pan alley songs at the time. Interestingly, the song only features the AABA of the form, lacking an introduction and adding an extra refrain to balance the form. In jazz, only the main 32-bar form was used for performance. It is possible that this song deliberately moves away from the introductory verses found in earlier 32-bar songs due to a jazz influence. However, this is pure speculation.

Harmony: The opening harmonies in the piece are essentially I-V6/5/vi-vi-ii6-V (Eb - G7/D - Fmin/Ab - Bb). This is essentially a variations on the doo-wop progression (also known as the '50s progression or "Heart and Soul" chords). This head of these harmonies in particular are interesting as the movement from I to V/vi features prominently in music in the following decades (see the beginning of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" and the chorus of "Mr. Blue Sky").

Texture: The song prominent features the 40s and 50s staple of a large choir on "aahs" and "oohs." This remnant of earlier decades is interesting given how quickly it vanishes later on in the 60s. It is possible that the use of choral singing morphed into the small ensembles found later in the 60s (Mamas and Papas as well as Peter, Paul, and Mary).

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Recordings:
Brenda Lee:    • Brenda Lee - If You Love Me (Really L...  
Edith Piaf (chorus still used, different set of lyrics):    • Edith Piaf - Hymn To Love (Sung in En...  
Mary Hopkin (accordion, quicker tempo, interestingly starts with the B section):    • Mary Hopkin - If You Love Me (Hymne A...  
Kay Starr (a little lilting at the return):    • Kay Starr 'If You Love Me (Really Lov...  


References:
Doo-wop progression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%2750s_...
"Brenda Lee" New Georgia Encyclopedia: https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/a...
"Brenda Lee" Country Music Hall of Fame: https://www.countrymusichalloffame.or...
Song information: https://www.tunefind.com/blog/2021/07...

Score (I have a copy of the lead sheet for this song on MuseScore): https://musescore.com/user/77495656/s...

#piano #cover #brendalee #ifyouloveme