DU'ers who are musicians, please check in here--

[raccoon]

Why does this sound like a country song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJiF4SIfP-o&mode=related&search=

[Manifestor_of_Light]

1. Several reasons.

The singer is whining like a country singer. The jangly piano sounds country. The simple chord sequence sounds country. There may be some pedal steel guitar in there, which is in just about every country song.

[MilesColtrane]

4. Yep...

Arrangement...typical country verse...chorus....verse...chorus

Vocal Arrangement...solo voice in lower range on verses...higher voices in thirds on chorus

Instrumentation...acoustic guitar is the the main rhythmic chordal instrument...piano has lower midrange simple voicings and fills a la Floyd Cramer and 60's Nashville style strings

Harmony...There are only 4 chords I, IV, V, and II7 there are about a trillion country songs with these chords, and a million with the same chords in the same order.

Lyric Content...We've broken up...now I'm cryin' over you.. Even the Title "Don't Forget to Remember" is country...using two opposites in one phrase.

I imagine this would sound even more like a country tune if it weren't recorded using English session musicians.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

5. I couldn't hear any pedal steel in the mix, but

the way they were singing implied that there was one at least in their imaginations. ;-)

The sappy string backup section is what made people forget about country music for a number of years.
I'm glad I didn't have that gig!

[jmowreader]

2. Because it IS a country song

The Stones have done a few country songs, and Genesis' "That's All" is a country song.

[RedStateShame]

3. More importantly, is rowboat really the only way to leave the Renaissance Fair?

Nice shirts, fellas.