Photo from an advertisement for Murray Bicycles, 1971
The late great Elliott Smith had a distinct songwriting style, and it's no coincidence that most of his best-loved songs have memorable bridges. "Waltz #2 (XO)" has its "Here today and expected to stay..." middle eight, and "Say Yes" has a lovely bridge that culminates with the hushed uttering of the title phrase. Even the Oscar-nominated "Miss Misery" pivots on a bridge-like interlude in its chorusless structure.
But my favorite Elliott Smith bridge is easily the one from Bled White" - after the second verse and brief one-line chorus, it announces itself with the pulsing organ dropping out of the arrangement. It gets replaced with stabs of electric piano and a new George-Harrison guitar lead. Smith also drops the call-and-response-with-himself of the verses to deliver the defiant lyric directly. And the bridge ends perfectly with a couple seconds of Smith singing a heavily-processed "ah-ah-ah-ah" in two-part harmony. Then there's a brief drum fill from Joey Waronker and Smith transitions back to the verse. Without the bridge, "Bled White" would be almost monotonous, but the contrast it creates makes it one of Smith's catchiest songs. And, interestingly, the bridge doesn't modulate to a different key (I think - I'm not great at recognizing these things) - the contrast is created purely by shifting the arrangement and introducing a counterpoint melody that fits seamlessly into the overall piece.
"Bled White" by Elliott Smith
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