“Hot as hell, cold as ice. Sip it slow ‘cause it’s so nice. Dulls my sense, drives my pain. But I do it again.”
"Love on the Rocks" by Sara Bareilles
Album: Little Voice
This Time It All Started With….
an introduction to Sara Bareilles’s music from my then vocal coach. It was at the beginning of my journey with discovering and loving jazz. She wanted to find songs that were “jazzy” but still “poppy” for me to sing.
Enter: my new favourite artist that I would be obsessed with for years to come.
Seen as today is my birthday (21 December), I thought I’d share my favourite artist AND my favourite song of said artist with you.
The little quote at the top of this post is part of the bridge section. This part is one of my favourite parts to sing. The way she slows down the entire song…almost as if she is drawing you in to tell you a secret.
“Hot as hell, cold as ice,
Sip it slow ‘cause it’s so nice.
Dulls my senses, drives my pain,
But I do it again.
Burns a bit to the touch.
Dangerous if it’s too much.
If this bottle could talk,
Love on the rocks”
This bridge from “Love on the Rocks” is just one small example of how Sara Bareilles can charm you through her music. On her new album, Amidst the Chaos (2019), there are numerous moments where you need to stop, go back and re-listen to how she wrote the line/added a small rhythmic variation to the piano melody or sometimes how she COMPLETELY changes the rhythmic feel of a song.
We all know (and love) the movie The Greatest Showman (2017). If you have no idea what I am talking about, you have some research to do! On the soundtrack of this amazing movie Michelle Williams (as Charity Barnum) sings a song called “Tightrope”.
I know this post is meant to be about “Love on the Rocks”. But hang in there...
Now the soundtrack version of the song is clearly written, performed and produced as a waltz. There’s a distinct “1-2-3 - 1-2-3” pattern within the piano melody and Michelle’s phrasing mimics that.
And then Ms Bareilles covered the song.
She completely changed the meter. Instead of singing it in 3/4, she arranged it in 4/4. Meaning that the “1-2-3 - 1-2-3” pattern changed to a “1-2-3-4 – 1-2-3-4” pattern. How cool?
Just this small change in the meter, is an example of her “musical geniusness”.
You should definitely do yourself a favour and go listen to her discography. I mean…it ranges from pure pop music (“Lovesong” and “Brave”) to musical theatre (The entire album of Waitress The Musical that she wrote and starred in) to a mixture of blues, rock and folk (“Saint Honesty”, “Eyes on You” and “In July”).
Now that I’ve had my “fangirling” moment, let’s get back to “Love on the Rocks”.
A few years back, in my 2nd year of my BMus studies, we got a chance to work on a pop song for our exams. I chose “Love on the Rocks”. This song is one of those songs where, if you blast it on full volume and let the chorus come around, you can sing at the top of your lungs (with the correct vocal support and no straining, of course) and let all your frustrations out.
But at the same time, you can listen to it when you are down and need a “pick-me-upper”.
My favourite version of “Love on the Rocks” is off of the Brave Enough: Live at the Variety Playhouse album (2013). She rocked the song and then mashed it up with Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets”.
Also did I mention, she almost always accompanies herself when she performs. Her piano skills are killer.
When you take a listen to this live version of “Love on the Rocks”, take a moment and listen to the piano. She’s playing all that…and singing at the same time. Wow!
To listen to the original song, click here.
To listen to the live version, click here.
Lyrics
We met on a rainy evening in the summertime Don't think I need to tell you more I needed a raise I worked so hard for this love of mine Still I got nothing to show for it. Tongue tied and twisted, go on baby and go to my head. Here's a simplification of everything we're going though You plus me is bad news But you're a lovely creation and I like to think that I am too But my friend said I look better without you. Too tired this time to deal with old suits you wear with your ties that won't bind. [Chorus] Babe, baby believe me If I stay it ain't gonna be easy Okay we'll do it your way But this is the last time You'll hear the beautiful sound of love coming down Love on the rocks. You love the chase but hate me for the runaround We both just tired of the whole thing. You tell me what you want you need you know you have to have And I just pretend I'm listening Too tired this time to deal with old suits you wear with your ties that won't bind. [Chorus] Hot as hell cold as ice sip it slow cause it?s so nice Dulls my senses drives my pain and still I do it again Burns a bit to the touch dangerous if it?s too much If this bottle could talk?. Love on the Rocks [Chorus]
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