Composition & Production Analysis

The song I have chosen to breakdown is “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, which was released in 1991.

The song starts with an intro only using a guitar.

Then the song moves on to the first verse with a guitar, playing some chords behind the lyrics.

The second verse comes next, adding a symbol and a snare drum to the beat.

Then the chorus is played with chords and rhythm of snare and a high-hat.

After the chorus, there is a quick interlude played with the main guitar and a bass guitar with the same rhythm played throughout the song leading to the third verse of the song.

Then the second chorus played the same as the first chorus.

Then another quick interlude played with different chords though, to then leed into the bridge following the chord progression of the song.

Finally, the outro comes with a slow fade-out of the final chords.

The chord progression of the song helps reinforce the lyrics and sets the mood of the song. The mood of the song is heavily dependent on the progression of it going up and down between the verses and choruses. Their producer is Rick Rubin and they engineer their own sound.