Here is a guitar adaptation of a pop song by Lou Reed and John Cale with The Velvet Underground in 1966 : Sunday Morning.
Sunday Morning is the opening track of this cult album that I discovered as a teenager. Even though we were quite ordinary teenagers, this album made us feel very rock and eccentric. In fact, I remember listening to this record in a band and with some weed. So we were in the heart of a super chic, rough and probably a bit fantasized New York.
Why this song.
As said before, Andy Warhol’s banana album has marked the history of rock. Even if I listened a lot to this album in its entirety, Sunday Morning and I’ll Be Your Mirror are the only tracks I have in my repertoire. By the way, as I’m writing this, I’m thinking that maybe I could add Femme Fatale?
Also, I must confess another reason why I have a special relationship with this song. Indeed, I regularly animate parties as a DJ. That being said, I let you imagine the many Saturday nights that end in Sunday mornings! So, Sunday Morning is the last song and synonymous that I will finally be able to go to bed 🙂
Music.
To begin, I would like to underline the harmonic balancing, in major mode, of the first degree with the fourth degree. Indeed, I find this chord sequence significant and very pop. Moreover, it is funny to observe that many songs on the banana album are based on this same harmony of the first and fourth degree in major mode. Compare the harmonic grids of the following tracks: Sunday Morning, I’m Waiting For The Man, Femme Fatale, Run Run Run, Heroin, There She Goes Again, European Song.
Also, I would like to mention two other songs with this same swing: Imagine by John Lennon and Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed.
Finally, I tried, with my guitar adaptation, to bring out the notes that can be heard on the celesta and that quickly identify the piece.
Video capture.
This Thursday, October 13, 2022, I got up early. I took my stuff, guitar, microphone, camera and my bike and went to the Seine bank. My first idea was to go at the bottom of the François Mitterand library because I like the spot. And then it’s near the El Alamein boat which is a bit like home. Except that right at the place I imagined a boat was going to dock the next few minutes. Besides, it was starting to rain. So I extended the quay and found myself under the city of fashion and design. Finally it was better because sheltered from the rain.
Score and tablature.
If you wish, my transcript and adaptation are available in pdf format just below this text.
This is a non-commercial sharing.