Cat Cohen's Songwriters' Community Website Temporary Archive

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) by Beyoncé

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Beyonce releases yet another lively single dance hit that goes all the way to the Grammys.

Concept
A celebration of being a strong female who stands up for herself and drops a guy who wouldn't make a commitment to her.

Lyric
Written in common street slang, the song chews out an ex and taunts him that he was foolish and lost out by not coming through. Up in the club, we just broke up I'm doin'my own thing Decided to dip, and now you want to trip Cause another brother noticed me I'm up on him, he up on me Don't pay him any attention Just cried my tears for three good years Ya can't be mad at me 'Cause if you liked it you shoulda put a ring on it If you liked it you shoulda put a ring on it Don't be mad once you see that he want it If you liked it you shoulda put a ring on it Oh, oh, oh

Groove
An uptempo dance shuffle that celebrates the spirit of strength and independence that the lyrics express. The BPM is around 132.

Melody
The song is based on riff after riff construction with the verse in a condensed range in major scale. The contrasting chorus jumps higher and is also in major. A third melody is heard in the bridge and changes to minor reflecting the song's message of how alone the ex will be without her. The post-hook hook also has a bright major sound.

Harmony
The major scale harmony is mixed so far in the background that we almost don't heat it until the minor chords ring out in the bridge. The focus here is rhythm, not chords anyway.

Structure
Intro A B post B post A B post B post C tag post Signature verse chorus post-hook chorus post-hook verse chorus post chorus post-hook bridge tag post-hook

Signature
a vocal shout calling out to single ladies

Production
Simple yet effective production all based on the infectious groove highlighting the vocals and percussion, putting the electronic synth sound accompaniment well in the background.

Performance
Beyonce expresses the strength of her convictions celebrating her freedom with skill and confidence. In the video she does her victory dance equally well showing off her ring at the end.

Predicted Longevity
With such a catchy groove and great hooks as well as a high concept lyric, this dance record should be around for a while, especially in the club scene.