When Waltzing Was Wacky

I recently noticed that both Buffalo Springfield and the Beatles enjoyed switching between waltz time (123,123) and standard 4/4 (1234) in the same song.  You're probably more familiar with the Beatles' use of this neat trick. For instance the verses of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds ("Picture yourself in a boat on a river…") are in waltz time, but the chorus ("Lucy in the sky-y with diamonds…") is in 4/4.  On We Can Work It Out, John's bridge goes from 4/4 ("Life is very short and there's no time…") to waltz time (…fighting my friend…").  

Buffalo Springfield did it on Broken Arrow.  After just a single line of the first verse in 4/4 ("The lights turned on and the curtain fell down") the band shifts to waltz time ("And when it was over it felt like a dream.")  Pretty brave stuff, but of course it was the 60s, baby, yeah!  

Another cool example from BS is Everydays, also from the album Buffalo Springfield Again.  The verse stays in waltz time ("Saturday's child stays home/  Nothing to say, so long") and then drops right into 4/4 like it's the most normal move in the world ("Well well well another day / well well another day.")

Everydays


I like it.
 

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