I can’t say that I’ve listened to a City and Colour album since 2015’s If I Should Go Before You. I can’t say why, but looking at the Spotify page, there are album covers I don’t recognise. I guess this is a result of living in a world where new music is at saturation point each week, and not everything gets through. So little time. So much music.
‘Lover Come Back’ is one of those songs that has the same chords all the way through, yet you wouldn’t know it because of the differentiation in the chorus and the distinct melodies. I have always wanted to write a song like this, as I find the idea intriguing. I have been surprised by just how many songs out there do the same thing.
The song kicks off with a drum fill before the bass and guitar come in. A short intro and then Dallas Green’s gorgeous vocal sets the scene, realising that the right person was perhaps there all along, you just couldn’t see it. This theme – a missed opportunity or a failed love affair which could have worked out – is the cornerstone of the song. The music feels uplifting, while the lyrics are bittersweet and full of longing. Just my sorta jam.
The chorus is full of catchy repetitions on the title “Lover come back” with the lament “How could I have been so foolish to let you leave?”. It makes the song easy to sing, and you can lean into the word ‘lover’, which is very satisfying.
There’s a musical break before the second verse, which is a great palate cleanser. You could have padded the song out with more lyrics, but I think it helps you to connect with the guitars and the melody as things begin to build up in the song from here.
The second verse has great backing vocals, acting as a response to the main vocal (in brackets):
I’ll never be as good as I’d like to be
Eternally restless, refusing to believe
But I think that we missed our connection (missed our connection)
I wanted to feel your affection (feel your affection)
Until my final day
A piano also makes a cheeky appearance in the chorus, adding a few small parts to keep things interesting.
In the bridge, the song winds down, the electric guitar gives us some nice strums and the organ vibes with the bass. Speaking of bass, that’s what drives the drop-down chorus after the bridge. It’s nice to hear it, as I don’t think a guitar would give the same warmth. A drum fill brings the band back in. There’s some gorgeous “oohs” as a backing vocal in the outro chorus while Dallas sings us out, finishing with the song title again – as if it’s not stuck in your head enough by now.
The more I write in this blog, the more I realise that I’m attracted to certain kinds of sounds. It feels like I’m a broken record, going over the same things again and again. But that’s music for you – the building blocks are the same, but the execution always changes.
It might be time to catch up on the last decade’s City and Colour albums. I could find some other songs I love.