Call Me Irresponsible
Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 36th Academy Awards held in 1964.
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen and Lyrics by Sammy Cahn for the movie "Papa's Delicate Condition"
Insights based on Bobby Darin's recording
4 bar musical intro
8 Bars
Call me irresponsible
call me unreliable
throw in undependable too
8 bars
Do my foolish alibis bore you?
Well, I'm not too clever
I just adore you
8 bars
Call me unpredictable
tell me I'm impractical
rainbows I'm inclined to pursue
8 bars
Call me irresponsible
Yes, I'm unreliable
but it's undeniably true
2 bars
that I'm irresponsibly mad for you
2 bar musical turnaround (combines with last hook phrase to make a 4 bar transition)
8 bars
Call me unpredictable
tell me I'm impractical
rainbows I'm inclined to pursue
8 bars
Call me irresponsible
I admit I'm unreliable
but it's undeniably true
2 bars
that I'm irresponsibly mad for you
4 bar outro
Lyrics
Another list song! The main idea is that despite all of his faults the singer is "irresponsibly mad" for the girl. He may be a list of negative adjectives that end with "ble" or "al", but at least "it's undeniably true that I'm irresponsibly mad for you." It's hard to come up with an idea this clever for a song, but let's look at what we can learn from how Sammy Cahn, the lyricist, used this clever idea.
You can think of this song as a couple of big, long wind-ups that end with a big punch line ("I'm irresponsibly made for you"). Read the first 4 verses above. When does he stop listing the self-deprications? Not until the very last line of the 4th verse, which is the line right before the punch line. The singer says, call me "this" and call me "that," for 4 verses until we here the big "but" in the last line of verse 4. And it is a big "but" because we waited so long to hear it and because the singer is about to say something very important to the girl, "but it's undeniably true that I'm irresponsibly mad for you."
Wuhoo! and, with that, we are launched into a swingin' instrumental section. We've heard the whole idea of the song, so it's time to bask in it with that amazing saxoli, screamin guitar solo, or tantalizing piano riff. You are allowed to come up with a clever bridge or C section after the instrumental to put a new twist or depth on the message of the song, but in this song, there isn't one.
We return to the verses, and as is almost always the case, we return to the middle of the verse (often it will be the pre-chorus in more modern pop songs). There's something about jumping into the middle of what was heard earlier that gets listeners excited about hearing what they've already heard without feeling like the song just started all over again. And leave it to a great singer like Bobby Darin or Frank Sinatra to pour a generous portion of style all over that reprise of the earlier verses. And, don't forget the arranger. He is adding new counter lines, more syncopation, and more hits to the repeat as well. The final touch of variation for this repeat is the elongated punch line. Which word gets extended? Of course, it's "mad." Why? Because, it's the key word, it's how the singer feels about the girl, and it's an exciting word on it's own in any context.
Melody
The melody happens in 16 bar arches. The melody starts low, and it goes upwards a little bit for each line until the end of the first 8 bars. The second 8 bars start up high and descends a little until we've almost come back to where we started at the first 8 bars but not quite there. It's great to end a cycle on a note or chord that will lead to the beginning of the next cycle as opposed to ending the first cycle exactly where it started because that tends to stop momentum. Ending the first cycle on a note that wants to go back to the beginning (such as ti or re) allows the momentum to carry on into the beginning of the next cycle.
It's like starting a chord progression on a I chord and ending on the V chord, and because the V chord always feels inconclusive, starting the chord progression on the I chord keeps the momentum going.
Conclusion
A very clever song idea to be sure! God grant us such genius! But until then, we can learn from the finely crafted lyrics and melody. The lyrics are true to the identity of the song idea, and it gives the listener a big punch line after a long setup. The melody helps by growing slowly in a classic arch shape and descending to a point that gracefully keeps momentum going for a repeat. And lastly, vocal performance and arrangement can make a good song great and a great song Oscar worthy.
Happy songwriting!
