I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz Program Notes & Analysis

I Won’t Give Up - Jason Mraz

Y10 Music Semester 1 - Angelina Wang

I have chosen to perform the song ‘I Won’t Give Up’ by Jason Mraz. "I Won't Give Up" is a song by American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz. It was released as the first official single from his fourth studio album, Love Is a Four Letter Word on January 3, 2012 via iTunes. It was written by Mraz and Michael Natter, and produced by Joe Chiccarelli.

The acoustic folk ballad was written during his activist outings and discusses not giving up on loving someone, loving oneself, and not giving up on one's dreams. It received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who agreed that the song is straightforward, emotional and inspiring.

The song was also a success on the charts, debuting at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming his second top-ten single, after "I'm Yours" (2008). Internationally, the song achieved large success, reaching top-ten positions in Ireland and Netherlands, while reaching top-twenty positions in Austria, Canada, the United Kingdom and more.

Mraz explained the track, in a "track-by-track" commentary for Billboard: "'I Won't Give Up' was written selfishly. As many of my songs are, I write for the purpose of understanding what the hell's going on in my life, my position in the world, processing that lesson and that miracle that I'm learning. Seeing it on the page, proving to myself that I understand the lesson, that I'm applying it to my life, and that I can move on. Ultimately it was about, you know, regardless of what happens in this relationship, I don't have to give up on loving this person, or loving myself, or give up on whatever my dreams are. Even though it's written through the filter of relationships, it's not necessarily specific for relationships. For me, the true meaning exists in the bridge saying 'I don't want to be someone who walks away so easily, I'm here to stay and make a difference.' That is for all of us. We all have something that we're fighting for or that we're striving for. Whether we want to coach our soccer team to victory or lose five pounds in a month, whatever it is, there's nothing too small worth fighting for and there's nothing too big worth going after." ["Jason Mraz, 'Love Is a Four Letter Word': Video Track-By-Track."]

The structure of the song is Intro, Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus’, Bridge, Chorus, Chorus”, Chorus. The song starts off with a pianissimo acoustic guitar melody, then the first verse, also sung in pianissimo. In Chorus and Verse 2 he very slightly crescendoes into piano, until Chorus’ is sung in a rapid crescendo to forte. He diminuendo's to a solid mezzoforte during the Bridge, then crescendoes back to forte for the Chorus and Chorus”, until the very last chorus is sung piano pianissimo and a capella. The tempo of this song varies from 45 to 46 beats per minute, and spans a total of 4 minutes exactly. The piece is in compound time: 6 8 time, which means there are six quavers/eighth notes in one bar. There is a mix of syncopation during the start of each line in the verse and in the chorus, although no duplets or triplets. I think this piece is very inspirational, raw, emotional, and empowering. It is quite simple, but it holds hope. Usually the melody only goes up one step at time, but incorporates hops at the end of each line in the verse, and the song in general is very conjunct. In the chorus he starts each line with a leap, then decreases to hops and the last 2 notes are always the same in the regular chorus. The bridge is two repeated notes stepped back and forth until he sings a hop apart and holds it for two beats (an ostinato that turns into a sequence). The piece is in a diatonic key, E major, and its range spans from B2 to Ab4. It’s a acoustic folk ballad with a single melody and a sparse arrangement. The instruments features are (in order of appearance) acoustic guitars, main and backing vocals, maracas, rhythmic beats of bass drum, and keyboards. I think Jason Mraz’s voice is a tenor’s, which is quite suitable for me as I am an alto, so our ranges are relatively similar. The instrument most noticeable during the piece would be the acoustic guitar and his voice, although I think the other instruments are important too, as they add to the atmosphere and layer textures (voice against strings against woodwind against tuned and untuned percussion). This piece is primarily homophonic, thick during the chorus and thin during the starting and ending verse and choruses. It’s a solo, except for during the Chorus” it turns into a melody with a gospel choir-like chorus chanting after each line. There are many open cadences and consonants, and all the harmonies are diatonic.

I chose this song because it was performed by one of my favorite artists on one of my favorite TV shows (Glee), but even before that it was one of my favorite songs, and I felt a strong personal connection to the lyrics.

Works Cited

Atlantic Records. I Won't Give Up Jason Mraz. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Commons, 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.

"Jason Mraz, 'Love Is a Four Letter Word': Video Track-By-Track." Billboard. Prometheus Global Media, 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 05 Oct. 2015. <http://www.billboard.com/articles/review/1067020/jason-mraz-love-is-a-four-letter-word-video-track-by-track>.

Mraz, Jason, and Michael Natter. I Won't Give Up. Jason Mraz. Rec. 2010. Joe Chiccarelli, 2012. ITunes - Apple. Web. 6 Oct. 2015. <https://itunes.apple.com/hk/album/i-wont-give-up/id505582714?i=505582724>.