Cat Cohen's Songwriters' Community Website Temporary Archive

Just Give Me A Reason by Pink feat. Nate Ruess

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Pink and Nate Ruess (lead singer of “Fun”) team up in this classy pop-rock love ballad.

Concept
A straightforward song about trying to hold onto a love relationship that is falling apart.

Lyric
In the genre of songs with lyrics about wanting to make up before breaking up, this is a classic. Right from the start You were a thief You stole my heart And I your willing victim I let you see the parts of me That weren't all that pretty And with every touch you fixed them Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh Things you never say to me, oh, oh Tell me that you've had enough Of our love, our love Just give me a reason Just a little bit's enough Just a second we're not broken just bent And we can learn to love again It's in the stars It's been written in the scars on our hearts We're not broken just bent And we can learn to love again

Groove
A powerful 8th note groove with overlaid 16ths in the melody and drum fills.

Melody
A beautifully written melody in a 7-tone major scale in four distinctly memorable melodic sections. Its wide range of over an octave and a half makes this song a vehicle for a virtuoso singer and/or duo.

Harmony
The song is built on triads from the major diatonic harmony with one outside chord (II) following the rules of traditional academic classical harmony. I IV vi IV I (2x) vi II V (3x)IV I Vsus V I V vi iii IV (2x) vi iii IV Vsus V vi iii IV ii iii IV V

Structure
Intro Verse1 Pre-chorus1 Chorus Verse2 Pre-chorus2 Chorus Bridge Chorus Chorus Outro Sig ABC ABC D C C Sig

Signature
A simple piano introduction reminiscent of Elton John taken from the pre-chorus and repeated as an ending.

Production
Masterfully produced with texture, contrast, power, and intimacy all in one track.

Performance
Pink and Ruess each sing with passion and maturity.

Predicted Longevity
Written as a classic, this recording will become one itself. I predict a long run on the airwaves and multiple performances on TV’s many talent shows since it is an excellent showcase for one’s vocal abilities. It gets my vote as 2013’s song of the year Grammy, a “5” on the “Cat Scale” of 1 to 5.