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The song is played with a capo at the second fret, so the following discussion refers to chord shapes rather than
actual pitch. In terms of the music, notice that the verse doesn't repeat the descending sequence but instead makes an
unexpected shift to an A7. The last-line move on the word "moon" to a D and then C/G and G suggests a momentary
key change to G, which is immediately cancelled out by a repeat of the descending sequence from C down to F. The
D is also made less secure by virtue of being inverted (D/F#). Verse 2 has a slightly different form from Verse 1.
The title hook (D G D Cmaj7) reaches for G major without getting a firm hold on it. The middle eight matches its
lyrical change with an indeterminate bVII-Imaj7 sequence. Verse 3 is like Verse 1, but Verse 4 has some important
extra touches, such as the organ entering and the harmonising of the second line as C Em Am instead of G/B, which
deepens the sadness of the moment where he's lonely talking to her and she's asleep. Notice how the coda develops
the intro's descending progression by extending it to a Dm chord.
10—
The Carpenters:
'We've Only Just Begun' (1970)
There are considerably fewer songs that celebrate marriage as opposed to romance. 'Maybe I'm Amazed', 'Wonderful
Tonight' and 'If I Should Fall Behind' are three famous examples. Such songs are lyrically difficult, because they risk
sounding complacent and thus arousing hostility and/or envy in the listener. Take Streisand's 'Evergreen', which
opens with the disastrous simile "Love soft as an easy chair".
Paul Williams's 'We've Only Just Begun' gets around this in two ways. The lovers' relationship is seen as something
that will be experienced as a journey, so there are references to horizons, roads, ways, flying, walking and running. It
is not a fixed state and is therefore less likely to arouse envy. Change and growth are emphasised: the couple choose,
learn, watch, share, talk, work and find. Since they are active and at the start of something rather than the end, they
win our sympathy.
Many trademarks of MOR are present in the arrangement, such as the block vocal harmonies (sometimes singing
maj7 or maj9 chords), the use of orchestral instruments such as the plaintive woodwinds and the poignant min9
piano figure on the F#m chord (as on "promises"). Notice the dynamic contrast of the chorus, which is more
rhythmic, with more prominent brass, drums, bass and tambourine. Here the sense of motion is more palpable. It is
as if the verses express the inner side of the relationship and the active choruses its outer expression in the world.
The chorus also benefits from some unexpected key shifts. The verse is in A major (using chords I-VI) but a D-E-F#
change establishes F# major as the new key:
The music changes from F# to B (I-IV) several times, establishing the new key, before transposing the I-IV change
into the distant key of Bb. A semitone (halfstep) slide from Eb (chord IV in Bb) to E takes us back to chord V of A
major. The composer has one last surprise in store. After two A-D changes, the song resolves on a C# major chord
(IIImaj in A), which cancels out the C#m chord in the verses and establishes a new key – perhaps hinting at a future
state of fought-for happiness.