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In spite of some false
starts and 17 months ofworking their breakoutalbum, Songs About Jane,Maroon 5 has taken overthe airwaves and worldwidesingles charts,landing a number one spotwith “Makes Me Wonder.”Let’s look under the hoodto see what makes this
danceable ditto run.
“Makes Me Wonder” begins with an intro in
Bm at a very booty-shaking tempo of 114. Over
a conga laden loop, a funky disco guitar rhythm
sets up a groove with a lone string ensemble
note adding tension. After four bars, a synth
bass enters, a B for one bar, followed by an A,
then G# and sneaking up to the leading tone,
A#, before repeating. The singer, in a soulful
voice, sings a melody centering around the B,
flirting with the pentatonic scale. We find that
the vocalist is distraught about a certain love
interest, wondering if he should attempt to get
back with this person. At the end of this 8 bar
phrase, the band climbs down the B and A notes
before entering the pre-chorus with a satisfying
Gmaj7. This goes up to an A6, sounding very
much like a number of disco (KC and the
Sunshine Band) and pop tunes from the ‘70s.
Here the singer decides that he doesn’t have a
reason to get back and in fact he wonders “If I
ever gave a ‘%#@!’ about you.” (Can you say
that on the radio?). The single notes climb down
again back into the Gmaj7, then A, but this time
going back to the F# with A# bass taking us to
the chorus.
The chorus starts with the line “Give me
something to believe in, cause I don’t believe
in you” which really sounds more like the title
to this tune. Utilizing a semi-artistic sense, they
named it after one of the thoughts one might have
pondering a love lost. The melody shoots up to
a D and back down the Bm scale, as the band
plays an alteration of the verse chords-Bm, Bm/
A, then down to the Em up to the F#/A#, leading
back to the Bm. The orchestration is basically
the same, with the string ensemble tone getting
more active. Background harmonies enchance
the melody and frame the words “anymore,
anymore.” Harmonically, the second half of the
chorus is similar, with the exception that instead
of the Em, a G is used, then down to the F#,
where the vocalist makes the proclaimation that
‘this is goodbye.’
The second verse sees the congas taking
more of a prominent rhythmic role, following
the bass guitar pumping 8th notes. Here the
lyrics tell of the turmoil of wanting to go back
to the lover and “forget what you’re going
through,” and “forget about the truth.” There
is some unfinished business, as well as some
unsaid facts about some incident between the
lovers. At the pre-chorus, our hero decides that
his first idea was the best and to forget about
it. Musically, the arrangement is similar with
the exception of a one note guitar funky “scank”
part being more prominent, pushing the energy
ahead.
The second chorus turns into a double
chorus leading into the bridge, which begins
on the Gmaj7. This is almost a breakdown as
the harmonic instruments accent on one and
four over a disco drum beat (bass drum on all
quarters).
The chords
go down to the F#m,
changing to the major F#/
A# before a line B, C#, D,
E, F#, syncopating into
the Gmaj7. This repeats
again, the second time
the line going down-B,
A, F#, D leading into the
last pre-chorus. At this
point, we find the singer
has been caught in a lie
without an alibi (what is
it?).
The B section is
similar except it has an
addendum of 2 bars
where the chords go down to a bluesy F9, before
launching in an Bm on the last chorus. The last
chorus melody is loosened up with the addition
of more BG vocals. When the line, ‘so this is
goodbye’ is sung, the harmonies go down-Bm,
Bm/A, Bm/G#, F#/A#. On the second time the
F#/A# syncopates into an abrupt ending.
“Makes Me Wonder,” proves that disco is
still alive in 2007, not only on the dance floor,
but on the radio, as well. If all dance songs
were this satisfying melodically, harmonically
and lyrically, they could always have a place in
our musical conciseness.