The word ‘Anthem’ usually refers to a song designed to bring people together – it’s the piece that everyone sings along to.
The particular kind of anthem I’m refering to in this article is the moderately paced, string laden singalong ballad that have provided hits for bands such as Snow Patrol, Kings of Leon and Take That; and that have become a ubiquitous part of TV mission documentaries.
Lyrically, these songs tend to be relatively bittersweet – triumphant yet sad at the same time.
My favourite set of lyrics for this sort of song is atypical: Motorcycle Emptiness has a wonderful set of lyrics that reference biker culture, and seem to be about the distance between an individual and a hollow culture, rather than the distance between two individuals that so many other ‘anthems’ talk about. Use Somebody (Kings of Leon) and the Space Between (Dave Matthews Band) are great examples of this latter idea.
Of course, meaning doesn’t come solely from the lyrics – it’s clear from live footage of these songs that regardless of the words, all of them are as triumphant and celebratory as the more obvious Greatest Day by Take That.
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Chords
There is one chord sequence that is common to a lot of these songs: I V (1st inv) vi IV. For example in C major: C G/B Am F.
This chord progression is used in Take That’s Greatest Day and Manic Street Preachers’ Motorcycle Emptiness.
Other songs use variations, for example Use Somebody by the Kings of Leon uses a much simpler version C C/E F. Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars is slightly different again, but the important factors in this chord progression are:
The use of inversions – this gives us interest without having to change chords too much. An Anthem needs to sound easy, and have a flowing motion. Using inversions allows us a smooth bassline and interesting harmonic ideas without changing chord drastically. In particular, a bass line that starts on the tonic then descends to the leading note seems to be very popular.
Ending on chord IV – Which gives us a cadence of IV – I (eg. F to C). Why is that important? I think the so called ‘plagal’ cadence still has connotations of spirituality and contemplation (it’s used in lots of hymns and gospel songs, so much so that it’s known as the ‘amen’ cadence). That mood suits the anthem to a tee.
Example chord progressions
Motor Cycle Emptiness - E B/D# C#m A
Greatest Day - C G/b Am F
Use Somebody – C C/E F
Chasing Cars – A E/G# D A
Arrangement
The anthem is all about that triumphant-with-a-hint-of-sadness chorus.
Often this has to be built to. So in both Take That’s ‘Greatest Day’ and Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’ you get extended periods with little or no percussion, perhaps with repeated quavers from the chord instruments (or toms), emphasising the tension and build up to the inevitable chorus. Of course, a more traditional quiet verse, loud chorus approach works just as well, as in ‘Use Somebody’.
High-pitched guitar arpeggios are also very popular, as in Chasing Cars, or the very lovely Space Between by Dave Matthews
Melody
The major pentatonic scale is your friend here (C D E G A) – Both ‘Use Somebody’ and ‘Greatest Day’ have melodies that make great use of the first three note of the major scale, with occasional leaps up to the fifth note on the title line.
Use Somebody
Greatest Day
An alternative is to emphasise the seventh or leading note, as in Chasing Cars, (Or the verse of the Killers Mr Brightside, which uses some of these elements). Chasing Cars also makes great use of the first three notes of the major scale here.
It’s interesting to note the common themes between the chord and melody ideas in these anthems – they’re all pretty static and don’t use a huge range. Almost as if the songs intend to keep us in stasis, slowly growing a mood rather than taking a journey.
A Summary – Ideas to Steal.
If you want to compose your own anthem, try using these ingredients:
- Bittersweet lyrics about emotional distance
- A chord progression that includes inversions, perhaps chord I to the first inversion of chord V, a descending bass line and a plagal cadence (chord IV to I)
- A melody that emphasises the first three notes of the major scale, a leap up to the fifth, or an emphasis on the leading note (possibly over the IV chord)
- An arrangement that follows conventional pop song structure and/or includes a building dynamic and restrained use of percussion
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