This week Tony and I looked at Time Signatures! Time signatures define how musical rhythm is organised, and Popular music is usually organised in what is known as ‘common time’ (four beats in a bar). Yet many well-known songs operate outside the regular patterns of 4/4, or even 3/4 (waltz time). Composers and artists across genres use irregular or mixed meters to create tension, momentum, or stylistic distinction. Tonight’s examples illustrate how unconventional rhythmic structures appear in musical theatre, soul, rock, hip-hop, alternative pop and experimental electronica.
America & Aretha
America from West Side Story (1957), employs alternating measures of 6/8 and 3/4, producing a rhythmic pattern associated with Latin dance forms such as the guajira and the huapango. Leonard Bernstein’s score draws on cross-rhythms and percussion idioms characteristic of Caribbean and Mexican music, while Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics frame a debate between Puerto Rican characters about identity and migration. The musical reworks Romeo and Juliet within the context of 1950s New York gang rivalries, and America reflects its broader themes of cultural conflict and aspiration. The 1961 film version was used as the unofficial anthem of the 1994 FIFA World Cup (hosted by… U.S.A).
Aretha Franklin’s recording of I Say a Little Prayer (1968) features a series of shifting meters, including combinations of 4/4, 2/4, and (in the chorus) 3/4. Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick (1967), the song was reinterpreted by Franklin with The Sweet Inspirations during rehearsal sessions for Aretha Now. The Franklin version reached the Top 10 in both U.S. pop and R&B charts and became her most successful UK hit until the late 1980s.
Peter Gabriel & The Roots
Peter Gabriel’s debut solo single Solsbury Hill is built around a 7/4 meter, with a brief shift to 4/4 at the end of each chorus. The arrangement is notable for its unconventional percussion: drummer Allan Schwartzberg used a shaker and struck a telephone directory in place of a traditional drum kit, as instructed by producer Bob Ezrin. The track recounts a personal moment of reflection Gabriel experienced on Solsbury Hill in Somerset and marked his artistic transition after leaving Genesis. The single reached No. 13 in the UK.
From Illadelph Halflife (1996), Ital (The Universal Side) by The Roots alternates between three bars of 4/4 and one of 3/4, integrating irregular phrasing into an otherwise traditional hip-hop arrangement. The track samples Cat by Teruo Nakamura (1976) and features guest vocals from Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest. The Roots formed in Philadelphia in 1987 and became known for their use of live instrumentation rather than sampled production, helping define the “live hip-hop” idiom. Illadelph Halflife includes contributions from musicians across jazz and R&B, situating the album at the intersection of multiple stylistic traditions.
Goo Goo Dolls & Björk
Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, written for the film City of Angels (1998), shifts between 6/8 and 4/4. John Rzeznik reportedly named the track after noticing singer-songwriter Iris DeMent’s name in LA Weekly, rather than from any narrative connection to the film. Initially restricted from entering the Billboard Hot 100 due to chart rules, the song nonetheless spent 18 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart and later peaked at No. 9 once eligibility changed. It has since become one of the most-streamed rock songs of the 1990s.
Released as the lead single from Biophilia (2011), Crystalline is structured around a 17/8 meter, later expanding into a breakcore-influenced section built on the “Amen break”. The Biophilia project paired each song with its own interactive app, situating the album at the intersection of music, technology, and natural science. Crystalline features the “gameleste” (a hybrid of celeste and gamelan timbres) and lyrics referencing mineral formation and internal emotional structure. The track was premiered at the Manchester International Festival.
Physically Kissing a Prisoner/I Was A Physical Prisoner but your Mystical Kiss made me Better Now…
Our soundslike this week features a sizeable chain of songs that reference, credit, namecheck, inspire, and are derivative of one another. They are: Physical by Olivia Newton John (1981), Better Now by Post Malone (2018), Prisoner by Miley Cyrus & Dua Lipa (2020), Kiss Me More by Doja Cat & SZA (2021), and Mystical Magical by Benson Boone (2025). Watch this space for our homemade mashup…
Time Signatures Quiz
For our quiz this week, we played clips from famous songs featuring funky time signatures – guess the artist and song!
As always, find the show and blog at joebennett.net/5live, with occasional Instagram extras at @joebennettmusicology. With a new show comes a new Spotify mega-playlist, which contains all songs featured on the show:
And you can still listen to our old mega-playlist here.
- Words: Joe Bennett, John Pierce O’Reilly
- Audio production: Joe Bennett, Rafi Waters
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