The key signatures of selected PSB songs
This is a somewhat arcane little listsome
might even call it neuroticbut I'm rather proud of it. I've found or figured
out (or, in a few cases, some of my online correspondents have found or figured out for
me) the key signatures of a number of Pet Shop Boys songs. I certainly don't claim
certainty, however, so if you know for sure that I'm wrong about any of
these, or if you know the key signatures of any PSB songs that are missing here,
. Please keep in mind that, for songs originally by other artists that the Boys have covered, the key in which they recorded it (listed here) may not be the same as the key in which it was originally written and/or previously performed.
- After the Event - C minor (verses) and E♭ major (chorus)
- All Over the World - A minor (verses) and F major (chorus)
- Always on My Mind - G major
- Axis - E minor
- Beautiful People - E minor
- Before - A minor
- Being Boring - F minor (verses, with modulations to D♭ major) and E major (chorus)
- Bet She's Not Your Girlfriend - A minor
- Birthday Boy - E major
- Bolshy - F minor (although the melody of the little "celeste riff" that opens the song and recurs throughout appears to be in C minor)
- Breathing Space - G major (verses), E major (chorus)
- Building a Wall - A minor, modulating at times to C minor
- Burn - C minor, twice briefly and temporarily modulating to C major
- Burning the Heather - B♭ major
- Can You Forgive Her? - B minor
- Casanova in Hell - A major, modulating to D major at the end
- A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi - C minor (with tuning pitched at an unusually high A = 448 Hz)
- Closer to Heaven - C minor
- Decadence - F♯ minor
- Delusions of Grandeur - G minor (verses) and G major (chorus)
- The Dictator Decides - A minor
- Did You See Me Coming? - D major (although I believe the bridge is in a different key, possibly B minor)
- A Different Point of View - C major
- Discoteca - C minor
- DJ Culture - C minor, with an E minor bridge
- Do I Have To? - C minor
- Domino Dancing - A minor
- Don Juan - C major
- Dreaming of the Queen - B♭ minor
- Ego Music - largely polytonal, alternating primarily between A♭ major and A♭ minor, with its chorus in F minor
- Electricity - E major
- E-mail - E major
- The End of the World - G major
- Entschuldigung! - C major
- Euroboy - D minor
- Everything Means Something - F♯ minor (verses), G♯ minor pentatonic (chorus)
- A Face Like That - A minor
- Flamboyant - B♭ major
- Fluorescent - A minor (but re-recorded in E minor for the "Cali Mix" and "Indio Mix")
- Footsteps - E♭ major
- For All of Us - A major
- For Your Own Good - E minor
- The Forgotten Child - E minor
- The Former Enfant Terrible - C minor
- Forever in Love - C minor
- Get It Online - E major
- Gin and Jag - C minor
- Give It a Go - F♯ major
- Give Stupidity a Chance - G major
- Go West - C major, modulating near the end to D major
- God Willing - C major (although the vocal appears to be in G minor)
- Groovy - A minor
- Happiness - A minor
- Happiness Is an Option - C♯ minor
- Happy People - A♭ major
- Heart - A minor
- Here - C major
- Hey, Headmaster - A major
- Hit Music - A♯ major
- Hold On - D major
- Home and Dry - A♭ major
- Hoping for a Miracle - E minor
- How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously? - G minor
- I Don't Know What You Want But I Can't Give It Any More - F minor
- I Don't Wanna - C minor
- I Get Along - G major
- I Get Excited (You Get Excited Too) - A minor
- I Made My Excuses and Left - C minor
- I Want a Dog - A minor
- I Want a Lover - A minor
- I Want to Wake Up - A minor
- I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing - D major
- If Looks Could Kill - C minor
- If Love Were All - A♯ major
- I'm Not Scared - C minor
- I'm with Stupid - F major
- In Bits - C minor
- In Denial - C major, with a C♯ major bridge
- In the Night - C minor
- Indefinite Leave to Remain - C minor
- Inner Sanctum - E minor
- Inside a Dream - C minor
- Integral - F major
- Into Thin Air - A minor (with some chord structures that make it at times sound like E minor)
- Invisible - G minor
- It Always Comes as a Surprise - A♭ major
- It Couldn't Happen Here - E minor (verses) and C major (chorus)
- It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas - G major
- It Must Be Obvious - A minor
- It's a Sin - C minor
- It's Alright - A major
- Jack the Lad - B minor
- Jealousy - C major
- King of Rome - E♭ major
- King's Cross - F minor
- The Last to Die - E major
- Later Tonight - E minor
- Leaving - A minor
- Left to My Own Devices - A minor (verses) and A major (chorus)
- Legacy - E minor
- Liberation - B♭ major (verses) and D major (chorus)
- London - C major
- Losing My Mind - E♭ major (PSB version); G major (Liza Minnelli's version)
- The Lost Room - F minor
- Love Comes Quickly - B minor
- Love etc. - D minor
- Love Is a Bourgeois Construct - C major, with a few modulations to C minor (including the ending), and its tuning pitched slightly higher (A = 444 Hz, aka "Boston Symphony Orchestra Pitch") than the standard (A = 440 Hz)
- Love Is a Catastrophe - A minor
- The Loving Kind - D♭ major
- Luna Park - G major
- A Man Could Get Arrested - C minor
- Memory of the Future - opening in G minor, modulating to F minor in the first part of the verse (with a short portion in F major), modulating again to G minor in the second part of the verse (beginning "Over and over again…"), and the chorus in C minor
- Minimal - C minor
- Miracles - D minor, but ending on a D major chord
- Miserablism - A minor
- Monkey Business - D major
- More Than a Dream - E♭ major
- Music for Boys - C major
- My Girl - C♯ minor
- Nervously - C major
- A New Life - F major
- New York City Boy - D minor
- No More Ballads - F major
- Numb - C minor
- The Night I Fell in Love - E major
- Odd Man Out - B♭ major
- On Social Media - A minor
- One and One Make Five - mainly D minor, with an F major bridge
- One Hit Wonder - A minor
- One in a Million - A major, modulating near the end to B major
- One More Chance - A minor
- One of the Crowd - A minor
- The Only One - F major
- Only the Wind - A minor
- Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money) - C minor, modulating for the final chorus to C♯ minor
- Pandemonium - A minor
- Paninaro (and Paninaro '95) - C minor
- Pazzo! - E minor
- The Pop Kids - C minor
- Positive Role Model - C minor
- A Powerful Friend - C minor
- Psychological - G major
- Radiophonic - A minor
- A Red Letter Day - F major
- Rent - A minor
- Requiem in Denim and Leopardskin - F major with an E♭ major bridge to the chorus (also in F major) and briefly modulating to alternating D minor and E♭ major in the mainly instrumental "middle section"
- Sad Robot World - G♯ minor, occasionally modulating to B major and ending on a B major chord
- The Samurai in Autumn - E♭ major
- Say It to Me - A minor
- Se A Vida É (That's the Way Life Is) - A major
- Sexy Northerner - E minor
- Shameless - A minor (verses) and A major (chorus)
- She's Madonna - F major
- Shopping - A minor
- Shouting in the Evening - F♯ minor
- Single - D♭ major (verses and bridge) and C major (chorus)
- So Hard - A minor (verses) and C major (chorus), with some modulations into C minor
- So Sorry, I Said - E♭ major
- The Sodom and Gomorrah Show - G minor, with an F minor bridge, modulating to B♭ minor at the end
- Some Speculation - C minor
- Somebody Else's Business - C minor
- Somewhere - C minor
- Suburbia - C minor (verses) and C major (chorus)
- The Survivors - F♯ major
- That's My Impression - C minor
- The Theatre - E♭ minor (chorus) and E♭ major (verses)
- This Must Be the Place I Waited Years to Leave - B♭ minor
- This Used to Be the Future - E♭ major
- Thursday - C minor
- Time on My Hands - A minor
- To Face the Truth - A major
- To Speak Is a Sin - A minor (verses) and A major (chorus)
- To Step Aside - C minor
- Together - A minor
Forever - C minor - Too Many People - G major
- The Truck-Driver and His Mate - C major, modulating at times to D♭ major
- Twentieth Century - G major
- Twenty-something - C minor
- Two Divided by Zero - E♭ minor
- Undertow - E minor
- Up Against It - C♯ minor
- Up and Down - C major
- Vampires - F♯ minor
- Violence - A minor
- Vocal - F minor
- Vulnerable - A major
- Was It Worth It? - C minor, modulating at the end to E♭ major
- Was That What It Was? - A minor
- The Way It Used to Be - F♯ minor
- We All Feel Better in the Dark - G minor
- West End Girls - E minor
- What Are We Going to Do About the Rich? - B♭ major, modulating to C major in the last chorus
- What Have I Done to Deserve This? - C major
- What Keeps Mankind Alive? - G minor
- Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You) - B minor
- The White Dress - C minor
- Why Don't We Live Together? - C minor
- Wiedersehen - B♭ minor, but ending on a B♭ major chord
- Will-o-the-wisp - C major
- Winner - A major, modulating to C major for the final chorus
- Yesterday, When I Was Mad - C minor (verses) and C major (chorus) – It has been suggested that it would be more accurate to say that this song is in the F Dorian modal key, which has the same notes as C minor but which resolves on F, although it actually ends on a B♭ major chord. This only serves to underscore the harmonic complexity of this track.
- You Choose - A minor
- You Know Where You Went Wrong - D major
- You Only Tell Me You Love Me When You're Drunk - C major
- Young Offender - D♭ major
- Your Early Stuff - A minor
- Your Funny Uncle - A♭ major
It would appear
that Chris and Neil have a particular fondness for the keys of A minor, C minor,
and C major. (It's worth noting, however, that those—especially C major—also happen to be the most frequently used keys for pop songs in general.) Chris himself has confirmed this: in response to a fan's question about his favorite key for composing, he stated in the July 2010 issue of Literally that it's "either C minor or A minor." But he was quick to add, "Not exclusively."
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