Song Lesson: Soldier’s Daughter
A great example of suspension, extension, and simplicity that creates powerful harmonies.
The Style of Emerson Hart
The band Tonic started out in 1993 in California and exploded in the summer of 1996 with their first album: Lemon Parade. Nearly 28 years later you can still hear this band on the radio with the treasured song, “If You Could Only See”. Of course there are other great songs by this band like “Open Up Your Eyes” and “You Wanted More”, but today we’ll be diving into “Soldier’s Daughter”.
This song has all the qualities that I enjoy in Emerson Hart’s writing style. The opening and closing melodies define the key of Gb, but also hint towards the key of Db. It’s kind of like going on a road trip with the kids and when you get to your destination you say, “Look at that” as the first melody. The kids look around and take in their surroundings. Then the second “melody” comes in when they see a roller coaster in the distance. Now they have enough information to know where they are. As we start on the first ride of this song’s chorus, we’re treated to a simple progression that could be I, ii, iii, ii repeated. Instead, it is Iadd9, IIsus4, IIIsus4 to iii, IIsus4. This gives the ride more movement without really going “off the track”. The song also takes us to a new tonality for just a few bars by borrowing from F# Minor’s bIII chord of A major.
Most of the song treats Gb as the I chord and Db as the V chord. At the very end of the song Gb is used as the IV chord and Db becomes the I chord. Doing so propels us to the key of Db in a very subtle way. Let’s check out how this all works.
The Song Book
If you get your hands on a copy of the notation and tablature for this album, then you’ll notice a few oddities. This song is centered around Gb Major, but the key signatures around it are in A Major and Db Major. A Major works fine in some sections because it has the same key signature, or the same notes, as F# Natural Minor. Db Major also works in the end, but most of the song is in Gb Major. Here’s how we know that.
Above we have the notes of Gb and Db Major. The half-step intervals are boxed off in red. The only note that changes between both keys in Cb and C. Below we have the three melodies used in the intro. These are NOT the exact melodies, but they are the notes. I know that the key signature of Gb is on the left but focus on the notes themselves.
Melody 1 uses the notes Eb, F, Ab, and Db which are in both keys. Melody 2 uses a half-step interval with F and Gb. Again, we find ourselves in both keys. Melody 3 solidifies Gb as the key because it uses a half-step interval with Bb and Cb.
If you’re not used to playing with a Cb then think of it like this. Bb exists in both keys. Since a “B” note is accounted for, we cannot have another “B” note and any note after “B” must be a “C” note. So, we have Bb and the note a half-step above Bb must be Cb.
Regarding Alternate Tunings and Capos…
Standard tuning for a guitar from low to high is E-A-D-G-B-E. Soldier’s Daughter uses an alternate tuning of D-A-D-F#-B-D with a capo on the 4th fret. The song book has the high-E string tuned to E, but doing this would cut off the note Gb because a capo on the 4th fret only allows that string to use Ab as its lowest note. To correct this, I opted to play the song in standard tuning with the capo on the 2nd fret. Here’s the chord charts that I use.
The Chord Progressions
The Intro, Verse, and Outro are fairly simple as they use a vamp of Dbsus2 and Gbadd9. The Pre-Chorus is short with Dbsus9/Ab followed by Absus4. The Chorus is also straightforward with Gbadd9, Absus4, Bbsus4 quickly changing to Bbm, and then Absus4 before going repeating. Cb, Cbsus#11, and Cb5 are used to move us into the Solo, into the Bridge, and only Cb is included for the second Solo. A is borrowed two times for the Bridge at roughly three minutes into the song.
What’s interesting about all these chords is that only the Cb, Cbsus#11, and Cb5 use “C” notes. None of the other chords use C or Cb. This allows the song to feel like it is in the keys of Gb or Db until only voice uses C or Cb. The vocalist, bass, or another guitar can use either note and doing so will momentarily make the song feel like it is in one key or another.
The only other way we can “feel” the key of Gb is that the chords progress relative to the Gbadd9 chord. The vamp of Dbsus2 and Gbadd9 feels like it could be a Vsus2 to Iadd9 or a Isus2 to IVadd9. The Chorus helps us feel the vamp as a Vsus2 to Iadd9 because Absus4, Bbsus4, and Bbm lead to and from Gadd9. This makes the Chorus act as a Iadd9, IIsus4, IIIsus4, iii.
All Cb chords are therefore IV chords. The A chord is a typical bIII borrowed chord. Since we are in Gb Major, F# Natural Minor is our Relative Minor and allows us to borrow this chord. Check out the chart below to see how this all lines up. I’ve highlighted the diatonic chords in red and the borrowed chord in green.
Wrapping It Up
The very end of the song plays Gbadd9 to Dbsus2 to Db. This is the only time the Db chord is used. By ending on Db the song now feels like it was in Db all along. More importantly, Gb is the IV chord of Db and treats this final moment as a Plagal Cadence and gives the last moment that churchy “ah-men” feeling. Check out the fingerings for how I play the final two chords.
Overall, this song is a fantastic example of using simple ideas. Avoiding one specific note allows it to weave between keys. A momentarily borrowed chord changes the context just long enough to freshen up the story telling. And let’s not forget the melodies that progressively tell us what key we are really in. If you want to write songs that incorporate this style, then I suggest you experiment with these techniques and see where Emerson Hart and Tonic lead you.
