Rick, I was working on exactly the same title for the same song when I saw this (literally, in a separate window!). So now I am not! Congrats, it's what I wanted to do with it, but I suspect I wasn't gonna get it to where you did!

That's been happening a lot lately. See Phil's comment on "JabbinRocky" and what Johnnie and I have discussed. Amigrofee said there wasn't enough Tull, so I worked up a couple.

Great job, Rick - 5's. Let's see.... is Tull's "Bungle In The Jungle" in 5/4 ? It seems to have a kind of odd choppy rhythm, at least to my ears....

Ha ha Rick - thanks to getting to this before Peregrin; Pip's overloading me with parody work as it is! I need a break! ;-)

"Bungle in the Jungle" is in 4/4, mostly, with a few 3/4 bars thrown in here and there. Tull does tend to go into odd rhythmic places, though, like in "Sea Lion" where the verses are in 4/4 and the chorus is in 3/4. And don't get me started on "Skating Away..." or "Wind Up."

OK, thanks Mari D - please give me a hint.....is the 5/4 hit song Rick is referring-to by Jethro Tull or by somebody else?

I'll take any song in five by anybody. Don't have to be Tull. It'll be good practive for next weeks lesson on sevens.

The 5/4 song is "Living in the Past." We play it a lot on flute and guitar, and it segues very nicely into the theme from "Mission Impossible."

Rick and Mari - I thought you were giving us all a little musical trivia question to guess at - do you already know of another hit song besides "Living In The Past" that is in 5/4 time? If so, I'll take a guess at what it is...but I need a hint or two...

The theme from "Mission Impossible" does indeed have a similar rhythmic structure to "Living In The Past" - both are sort of "dum-dum, da-da-dum-dum, da-da-dum".

I liked this. 555 from me. I don't usually do shameless self-promotion, but hey, I can't resist here. I did a song with almost the same title about pretty much the same subject. http://www.amiright.com/parody/70s/jethrotull4.shtml

Another song in five is "Everything's Alright" from "Jesus Christ, Superstar". The sitar solo from "Within You, Without you" is in five. About ten of my songs are in five. I love it.

Rick D - All this musical nomenclature is making me feel a little Fiverish, but as soon as I "Cast off" three of these extras "Fives" I should be able to get around on my own again. Say, I've been looking around for my thermometer, any idea where it might be? Uh....Ooohhh.....Ahhhh!!.....Much better now!

Rick D - aahh-HA !!

As my wife and I were taking a walk today at Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge, I asked her if she knew any hit songs in 5/4 (she's studied more music theory than I have). She did not come up with any, but in the course of our conversation, I mentioned that I thought George Harrison's tune "Within You, Without You" sounded like it could be in 5/4 - and based on what you said, it turns out that my musical hunch was at least partially correct....guess I have a better musical ear than I gave myself credit for!

All rhythm is comprised of twos and threes. In 5/4, you can only have 3+2, OR 2+3. The JC Superstar example I gave goes TRY not to get WOR-ied, TRY not to turn ON-to PROB-lems that up-SET you SO....therefore is 123-12, 123-12...with a syncopate 2nd beat. The song above is very similar, as is "Mission Impossible". If you're playing in seven, there are only 3 combinations, 2-3-2,2-2-3, or 3-2-2. From the same musical, there are the lines, COME on GOD this is Not Like You, LET us KNOW what you're GonNa Do... Or a 12-12-123. Other songs in seven are most of "All You Need Is Love" and Peter Gabriels "Solsberry Hill". It's possible to have an 8/8 that counts 123-12-123. Even when you get into 11/8 and 13/8, it's still just twos and threes. Next time you hear a song that sounds like it has an odd beat, try to count it that way. It will usually make sense.

5/4? everythings alright, from jesus christ superstar