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"The Logical Song" was released by a British rock by the name of Supertramp. The song was one of the bands biggest ever singles to date with currently just over 226 million streams on Spotify. It was written by the bands Roger Hodgson who based it on his experiences of being sent to boarding school for ten years. The song won Hodgson the Ivor Novello Award from The British Academy of Composers and Songwriters, being named the best song musically and lyrically. The song was released as the lead single from the bands album "Breakfast in America", in 1979.
Structure
This song was written before the pop standard structure started to come in so it doesn't follow it. It does, however come quite close to it. The song starts of with a simple instrumental intro which moves swiftly into a first verse, first chorus, second verse, sax solo, second chorus and then a bridge/breakdown which carries on until the end of the song.
As shown above, the song starts by following what we would now call "standard pop structure" but then instead of playing a second chorus, they play a sax solo and then move into the chorus. They also have a bridge/breakdown which plays until the end, which is also uncommon in todays music.
As the lyrics in the verse are the most meaningful lyrics to the writer, I think they used this structure on purpose. Using this structure means the two verses are the biggest part of the song and not going straight into a second chorus after the second verse gives you more time to reflect on what was said.
Instrumentation
The instrumentation in The Logical Song is fairly complex. There are 11 instruments in total, plus a few vocal tracks and a couple of sound effects. As seen in the picture above, the layers of different instruments is very complicated as they keep coming in and out to play different bits. This does, however, keep the song interesting to the listener.
The song starts off with an electric piano which plays for the entire song. This sound is what makes the song so instantly recognisable. On top of this piano there are a few bits of percussion and bass that are there to add to the sound a bit more. They don't play much, the bass only plays a single notes and there are a few castanets.
After this, the lead vocals come in, on top of the piano, for the first half of the verse. In the second half of the verse, the drums, bass and electric guitars come in. These are what build up the more full sound of the song.
For the start of the chorus, only two more instruments are added, the acoustic guitar and the synth strings, plus the percussion comes back in. Adding these instruments helps to glide between the verse and chorus without it becoming too jarring.
The second verse is very similar to the first in terms of instrumentation, however, it add an organ and a piano. These help to add a bit more texture and make it noticeably different to the first verse but not by much. It stops the song getting too boring or repetitive for the listener.
Instead of going straight into the second chorus, we first get a instrumental break with a sax solo. This throws the listener off a bit as they would be expecting a chorus but don't get it. This doesn't mean it puts the listener off the song but keeps them on their toes and keeps them listening. During the sax solo, a few of the instrument drop out so that the sax can be the main focus and the song doesn't start to sound too cluttered.
Instrumentation wise, the second chorus is the same as the sax solo just with the added vocals, backing vocals and a bit of percussion.
After the second chorus there is a breakdown, during which, the instrumentation is the same as in the chorus. The only difference would be the added sound effects, such as a whistle and a phone chime. This give the song a homely, familiar feel to the listener.
Altogether, the instrumentation in this song is very complex but in a way that doesn't make the song sound overly complicated or cluttered, and will keeps the attention of the listener for the entirety of the song.
Lyrics
When I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful
A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical
And all the birds in the trees, well they'd be singing so happily
Oh joyfully, playfully watching me
But then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible
Logical, oh responsible, practical
And they showed me a world where I could be so dependable
Oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical
There are times when all the world's asleep
The questions run too deep
For such a simple man
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
Please tell me who I am
I said, watch what you say or they'll be calling you a radical
Liberal, oh fanatical, criminal
Won't you sign up your name, we'd like to feel you're acceptable
Respectable, oh presentable, a vegetable
Oh, take it take it yeah
But at night, when all the world's asleep
The questions run so deep
For such a simple man
Won't you please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
Please tell me who I am, who I am, who I am, who I am
'Cause I was feeling so logical
D-d-digital
One, two, three, five
Oh, oh, oh, oh
It's getting unbelievable
Hodgson is reflecting back on his early years of life and remembering just how happy he was then. He uses triple and quadruple adverb to really emphasise this.
The description of nature and "all the birds watch him", almost creates a disney-like feel this part of the song. It gives a strong view of the ideal nature of the before period and makes you realise that something is going to change.
He gradually starts establishing the chain of events which lead to this song being written. He was sent away to learn all this stuff that was deemed as important, but goes on to list 4 attributes that are really just basic characteristics. Hodgson mentioned in an interview just how stressed he got when he started boarding school: "I was very happy and then I see later 8mm movies after they sent me to school and I've got stress on my life and I've got stress lines on my face already". Hodgson always criticised the education system in his song writing but this song had a lot more meaning behind it.
The use of the phrase "all the worlds asleep", describes a feeling most people can relate to when they've got something on there mind and they feel they are the only one "awake" to the situation. The line, "please tell me what we've learned", is the songs main message and shows that school hadn't taught him anything to help him get on in life but rather taught him how to be "intellectual". The final line of the chorus really shows Hodgson going through an existential crisis, he no longer knows who he is as school has changed him from the joyful child in the verse.
The first line of this second verse shows that whilst you are in school, everything you say is being tracked so that school can mould you into who they want you to be rather than letting them figure it out for themselves.
He goes on to list some attributes, "acceptable, respectable, presentable", which all depend on others approval, in contrast to, "radical, liberal, fanatical, criminal", which are formed from peoples disapproval. He then goes on to compare all these attributes to being like a vegetable, non-expressive, non-feeling and eventually disposable.
During the repeated "who I am" part, you can tell the writer is really struggling to find his own identity after being put in school for so long. He is trying to go back to what he was before but doesn't know if he can.
In conclusion, the song really shows an identity crisis for Hodgson and shows how the education system is trying to turn everyone into something they were never born to be, causing a lot of stress and loss of some great talent.
Melody
The melody in the verse of The Logical Song is very simple. It stays on one note for a few beats and then travels down the scale a bit before returning back to one note. I don't think Hodgson did this so that people could sing along to it, though, as the pitch is too high. Instead I think he kept the melody simple so that you could focus more on what is being said rather than how it is being said. The words in the verses are a lot more meaningful than them in the chorus and they are lot more personal to Hodgson himself.
The melody in the chorus gets a bit more complex. To start off with, the melody goes up in major 3rd intervals and then does come back down afterwards. However, towards the end of the chorus the melody makes a lot of bigger leaps and altogether does cover an entire octave, especially at the end of the second chorus. I think the intentions behind this were to add emphasis onto what's being said. The rising pitch at the end of the chorus mixed with the lyrics "please tell me who I am" really adds a lot of meaning to those lyrics.
In conclusion, I don't think this is a song that was ever intended to be sung in a concert but rather a song that should be sung to you, and only sung to you by the man who wrote it. The lyrics in this song are too personal to Hodgson and should only be sung by him, and he makes this clear by adding a melody to them that not many average people could sing.
Production
As this song was made in 1979, the production on it would be classed as basic in the modern age. However, for the technology they had at the time, it is very well done. The instruments all sound very clear and crisp, so they were either recorded with a very high end microphone, or they have a got an EQ applied. You are also able to hear a slight bit of reverb on things like the clapping and other bits of percussion as well.
The vocals also seem to have some effects on them. You can hear reverb on them and it also sounds as though they have been double tracked.
The song, overall, has been very well mixed. You can hear all the instruments that you want to hear perfectly and the ones should be in the background haven't been washed out at all. For the technology at the time it is very impressive.
All in all, this song is very well made with a very unique sound that is recognisable from the very second it is put on. With the help of some impressive production work, Hodgson's words are able to come out in the way that intended them too and are able to the impact on people that he wanted.
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