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The Final Countdown

The document provides an analysis of the song "The Final Countdown" by the band Europe. It was released in 1986 and uses a variety of instruments including keyboards, electric guitars, trumpets, and flutes. The lyrics describe leaving the ground and heading for Venus in an upbeat manner. The song starts with heavy bass and brings in other instruments. It has a high pitch and fast tempo. The analysis examines the musical elements, lyrics, harmony, pitch, and meter of the iconic song.

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65 views

The Final Countdown

The document provides an analysis of the song "The Final Countdown" by the band Europe. It was released in 1986 and uses a variety of instruments including keyboards, electric guitars, trumpets, and flutes. The lyrics describe leaving the ground and heading for Venus in an upbeat manner. The song starts with heavy bass and brings in other instruments. It has a high pitch and fast tempo. The analysis examines the musical elements, lyrics, harmony, pitch, and meter of the iconic song.

Uploaded by

api-549212751
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chris Chadwick

Music Appreciation

12/11/2020

The Final Countdown

The final countdown was written by the band Europe and preformed to great success. It was

releases in 1986 and has a heavy percussion presence. As well as male singers and heavy keyboarding.

There is a multitude of instruments involved, from Electric guitars to trumpets and Flutes. Its one of

most well-known songs, as almost everyone can recognize its iconic saying “It’s the final countdown”.

It starts off with heavy Bass. Having trumpets and all kinds of synthetic instruments come in. It’s

a high pitch and fast tempo song. In the beginning it starts with a lot of sounds of a keyboard. Leading

into the Bass dropping into percussion starting and an assortment of different instruments. A male voice

starts singing, there are multiple singers. Whenever the men stop singing that’s when the instrumentals

pick back up in a swell. The males sing in a higher pitch, when compared to other males. They use a lot

of repetition of “The final countdown”. These are some of the musical elements I will be exploring in my

opinion analysis on the final countdown.

The lyrics are as follows;

We're leaving together but still it's farewell and maybe we'll come back to earth, who can tell?
I guess there is no one to blame We're leaving ground (leaving ground) Will things ever be the same

again? It's the final countdown The final countdown Ohh We're heading for Venus and still we stand

tall 'Cause maybe they've seen us and welcome us all, yeah With so many light years to go and

things to be found (To be found) I'm sure that we'll all miss her so It's the final countdown The final

countdown The final countdown (The final countdown) Ohh... The final countdown, oh... It's the final

countdown the final countdown the final countdown (The final countdown) Oh It's the final

countdown We're leaving together the final countdown We'll all miss her so It's the final countdown

(The final countdown) Ohh, it's the final countdown

Songwriters: J. Tempest

For non-commercial use only.

Data From: Musixmatch

A closer examination of the lyrics tells us the kind of mood they are trying to portray. It’s a very

upbeat energetic song. It is evident in the lines talking about leaving the ground, along with “We’re

heading for Venus and still we stand tall”. Giving off a sense of confidence and pride. It gives

goosebumps to listen to, its really a one of a kind types of song.

The harmony in the song is clear, and there are multiple. The Guitars has one, and its pretty

simple, however the electric guitar has a much more difficult part. However, it is repeating so its

possible to get it down. The trumpets and trombones harmonies whenever the singing stops, and the

music picks up. I know there is flutes in the song, but I can’t quite make them out.
The song has an interesting pitch it starts low, with the low brass instruments. However, it does

include a high-sounding keyboard. The male singers are also singing in a higher voice, so the music and

the singers are in two different octaves. It sounds good there is no clashing when this happens. It’s a

nice feel and has a good groove to it.

When looking at the metre we can see that the keyboard, guitars, trumpets, trombones, and

most every instrument; include the male singers, they all have a regularly recurring patter to them.

Everyone knows the basics of this song, the classic “Du du du duuu” So on and so forth. It is a very

interesting Metre, it leads very well into the singing. Reason being the keyboard playing the du du duu

it’s the same beat as the singing. So, it lines up with the singing perfectly. The length of the chords is the

same as the length of the singer’s chords.

This song was a huge deal back when it was composed. Not to mention everyone still knows it

today. In my opinion its one of the best songs of all time. It has all the elements of music we explored

and was able to resonate with people all over the world. It truly was one of the best songs of all time.

LINK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw&feature=emb_logo

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