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Story Of My Life by One Direction

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“The Story Of My Life” is a sad passionate song of about the end of a deeply felt love relationship.

Concept
A classic song about youthful lost love.

Lyric
The singer straightforwardly confesses his romantic disappointment. Written in these walls are the stories that I can't explain I leave my heart open but it stays right here empty for days She told me in the morning she don't feel the same about us in her bones Seems to me that when I die these words will be written on my stone And I'll be gone, gone tonight The ground beneath my feet is open wide The way that I been holding on too tight With nothing in between The story of my life I take her home I drive all night to keep her warm And time... is frozen (the story of, the story of) The story of my life I give her hope I spend her love Until she's broke inside The story of my life (the story of, the story of)

Groove
An uptempo 16th-note groove propels the track with effective simmering energy underlying the passion in the music and lyrics.

Melody
A well-crafted expressive memorable melody with four distinct melodic sections. The pre-chorus is lower and the chorus higher. A 6-tone major scale is used (no 7th tone).

Harmony
Simple major diatonic chords, with neighbor tones. vi I vi I vi I vi IV I IV V vi IV V vi IV V vi V I IV vi IV I IV iii ii V

Structure
Verse Pre-Chorus Chorus Verse2 Pre-Chorus2 Chorus Bridge Chorus Chorus Tag ABC ABC D CC Tag

Signature
An arpeggiated guitar figure.

Production
Well-crafted production is deceptively simple and clear with good textural contrast. The return of the last chorus in a wispy almost a capella manner is very dramatic.

Performance
The plaintive vocal is impeccably sung with deep feeling.

Predicted Longevity
“Story Of My Life” breaks no new ground, but its excellent songwriting, performance, and production help to convey a strong universal message that should keep this recording around for a long time. A strong Grammy contender and a “5” on the “Cat Scale” from 1 to 5.