But it’s also quite a song, and it illustrates the idea that sometimes you might have a good Chorus… which could be followed by an even better one that ups the ante.

If you’re willing to look beyond the mountain you’ve climbed to an even higher one beyond, what you think of as your Chorus might actually be your pre-Chorus.

‘All This Love’ is melodically and harmonically gorgeous (listen below). It starts with a Verse (‘I had some problems…’). The next section is the one that could have been the Chorus:

The Ways Of Love
And all that it has to offer
In time you will see
That love won’t let you down

I think most of us would have settled for this (as a Chorus). And been happy! Among other things, ‘The Ways Of Love’ is a pretty good title in itself.

To add a little misdirection, and for the moment holding back a reveal, before hitting us with the real Chorus he returns to another Verse followed again by ‘The Ways Of Love’ section. And then:

All This Love
Is waiting for you

This takes the whole song to another level. Without this ‘chorus beyond the chorus’ the song would never have the impact it has.

It’s worth considering, especially in a real pop song, whether the Chorus as it stands goes to the upper limit of what a song needs or can handle… or whether there’s another, higher level worth trying for.

Desmond Child did this with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora on Bon Jovi’s mega-hit ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’. They had ‘We gotta hold on… To what we got…’ as a Chorus. Then decided, “Not enough” and pushed it further into ‘Oh-oh… We’re halfway there… Oh-oh… Livin’ On A Prayer’ (read more about that one here).

Sometimes this really works!

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A straightforward example is Adele’s ‘Rolling In The Deep’ Pre-Chorus:

The scars of your love they leave me breathless
I can’t help thinking

Then when she hits the Chorus, “We could’ve had it all… Rolling In The Deep…”, it’s incredibly effective; a textbook example of what a Pre-Chorus can do – building the feeling into a thrilling payoff.

Sometimes Pre-Choruses are there out of habit, because most songs have them and the songwriter thinks their song should have one too.

But sometimes they’re not necessary. A Pre-Chorus’s main function is to enhance other sections. If it’s not doing that job it’s useless – no matter how pleasing it is by itself – and it can be dispensed with.

The other way to go into a Chorus – the ‘old-fashioned’ way; going directly into the Chorus from the Verse – is something you don’t hear much anymore in contemporary pop. The surprise of the Chorus is what makes this a potent approach. Since there’s no section put there specifically to build into the Chorus, you’re just suddenly… there.

This smash cut, this sudden shift of consciousness… its contrast can be just as effective, in a different way, as a Pre-Chorus.

Sometimes it’s worth giving another listen to your Pre-Chorus. Or, more accurately, giving it a non-listen. If you have any suspicion that it might not be essential, try leaving it out. See what the song sounds like without a Pre-Chorus. Every once in a while it’s an improvement.

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