Candy Strypers -- "Dance On" (2010)

Here it comes, a surprise

For to light up their eyes

They're on fire

This is the third in a series of 2 or 3 lines posts that features songs by the Candy Strypers, a pop group from Manchester, England.

The Candy Strypers consist of Paul Hughes on lead and backing vocals, Paul Hughes on guitar, Paul Hughes on keyboards, and Paul Hughes on drums.  (The producer of the Candy Strypers' recordings is Paul Hughes, by the way, and Paul Hughes writes the music and lyrics for their songs.)

Click here to read the first in the series, which featured "Hymn the Girl," a neo-sixties pop song that has the feel of an early Beatles record.

Click here to read the second in the series, which featured "Callin' Sarah," a clever but slightly naughty song.

In his one and only live appearance to date, Paul performed "Hymn the Girl" solo.  With only his acoustic guitar and his own voice, Paul did a nice job with that song.

I don't think Paul could do "Dance On" justice if he performed it solo with just an acoustic guitar.  Maybe it's not entirely necessary to have a horn section introduce the song, but it's a very nice touch.  (OK, it's a faux horn section -- remember, Paul does everything by himself, and the horns at the beginning of "Dance On" are generated with a synthesizer.)  And the multilayered vocal harmonies in the chorus of "Dance On" couldn't be replicated on a stage unless Paul brought a few of his mates in to sing backup.

Before we discuss "Dance On," let's learn a little more about Paul -- including that one live appearance, which took place at a famous pop music shrine.

2 or 3 lines:  Paul, you sent me a Youtube video of yourself performing "Hymn the Girl" live.  Do you appear live regularly?

Paul Hughes:  I played my first and only gig -- just me and an acoustic guitar -- at the Cavern Club in Liverpool as part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival in May of this year.  My wife accompanied me on the day she was due to give birth to our first child.  Luckily he stayed put until a couple of days afterwards!

(The Cavern Club in Liverpool -- which was located in a cellar space that had been used as an air-raid shelter during World War II -- opened in 1957.  The Beatles performed there a total of 292 times between February 1961 and August 1963, and the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, Kinks, Who, Queen, and Elton John also performed there.  The old club shut down in 1973 as the result of subway construction, but was rebuilt in 1984, and is a popular live-music venue and tourist attraction today.)

The Beatles (before Ringo) at the Cavern Club

2 or 3 lines:  I would think that a lot of your songs would be very difficult to recreate live with just your voice and an acoustic guitar.  Is that why it took you so long to do a live appearance?

Paul:  I've never felt the desire to play live -- partly because of nerves, partly because I'm a control freak over constructing the songs in the first place, and partly because I've never had a band to do them justice.

2 or 3 lines:  I can't think of a more fitting spot for a Beatles fan like yourself to make your debut than the Cavern Club.  And I think you did a very nice job with "Hymn the Girl" -- it's well-suited to a very simple arrangement. 

Paul:  I wouldn't say I'm desperate to do it again in the near future, but I did manage to enjoy playing at the Cavern.

2 or 3 lines:  I'm sure you were happy that your wife was able to attend the gig, but it must have been a little disconcerting to know that she might go into labor right in the middle of one of your songs.  Tell us a little about your family.

Paul:  Cassandra and I are two years married.  Evan, who's close to three months old, is our first child.

Paul Hughes with his son Evan

2 or 3 lines:  Is Cassandra a musician?  

Paul:  She's a big music fan, but she doesn't play.

2 or 3 lines:  Did you ever use music to woo her?  Maybe write a song about her?

Paul:  Mix CDs were proffered during courtship.

(Isn't that a marvelous line?  I smile every time I read it.)

2 or 3 lines:  What does Cassandra think about your music?  Hopefully she doesn't complain that you devote too much time to writing and recording your songs, and not enough time to doing chores -- like  changing Evan's diapers.

Paul:  I think she likes my songs.  I occasionally find her absent-mindedly humming one of my tunes.  And she's pretty supportive -- if anything she thinks I don't spend enough time on my music.

Cassandra and Paul in New York City

2 or 3 lines:  Paul, do you see the glass as half empty or half full when it comes to your music?  On the one hand, you're not making money with your music.  On the other hand, you have created a very credible body of work out of nothing more than your own skill and creativity, and you have a number of fans and admirers -- that must be very satisfying to you.  Do you view yourself as successful?

Paul:  Success for me is people taking the time to download the songs -- that someone would like them enough to do that kind of blows my mind!  Obviously I like my songs, but I guess I never took for granted that other people would.  Anything else, including getting paid would be a bonus.  

2 or 3 lines:  Would that be the ultimate dream-come-true situation for you?  To be able to give up your job with the National Health Service and make a living with your music?  

Paul:  Obviously I would be a very happy man if I could wake up every day and have music be my career, but the world is so saturated with others making music.  And with the old major-label record industry model going the way of the dinosaurs, it's pretty unlikely that I can make a good living doing this.  Anyway, I do it for the love of it.  I feel compelled to do it.

  

"Dance On" -- one of Paul's best and most fully-realized songs -- is based on a true story.

Between September 1940 and May 1941, the German Luftwaffe attacked London 71 times.  More than one million London houses were destroyed or damaged in "The Blitz."  About 30,000 Londoners died, and 50,000 more were injured in the bombing raids.

A strict blackout was imposed, and the majority of the population had no interest in moving around  after dark.  But many of the beautiful people of London took Ecclesiastes 8:15 to heart: "Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and be merry."

The Café de Paris in London

One of the places they ate, drank, and were very merry indeed was the Café de Paris, a sumptuous Soho nightspot where "the men all seemed extraordinarily handsome and the young women so very beautiful" (according to one regular).

The Café de Paris was 20 feet below street level, but that didn't protect its patrons on the night of March 8, 1941.  Two German bombs found their way down a ventilation shaft and exploded right in front of the club's bandstand.

Ken "Snakehips" Johnson

The bandleader that night was Ken Johnson -- a West Indian native whose suave dance moves had earned him the nickname "Snakehips."  The blast separated Johnson's head from his body, and many others suffered equally gruesome injuries.  At least 34 guests, band members, and club employees were killed.

Some of the survivors refused to let the bombing spoil their evening, limping off to other clubs and cabarets.  You can view those people as being narcissists who were completely devoid of empathy, or you can admire them for refusing to buckle under to Hitler's campaign of terror.  (Stiff upper lip, and all that.)

After the bombs hit

Click here to read the newspaper account of the Café de Paris bombing that inspired Paul Hughes to write "Dance On."  

"Dance On" is perhaps the most impressive example of Paul's considerable songwriting talent, and it's a very skillfully executed recording as well -- particularly when you remember that Paul not only plays all the instruments and sings all the vocal parts, but records, edits, and mixes everything on his home computer.

As noted above, "Dance On" begins with what appears to be an introduction by a horn section -- which is actually Paul on a synthesizer.  It's rather somber, in contrast to the music that accompanies the verses and choruses.  

In the first verse of "Dance On," the beautiful young people of London are depicted in the bars and cafes of London's stylish West End, where the dance music drowns out the warning sirens and exploding bombs. 

Run through the dark streets they're lethal to roam

Far from their parents all sheltered at home

As the explosions flare, o'er Leicester Square

Fear from the skies as the warning it blares

Down in the cafe forgetting their cares

The verses of "Dance On" have an unusual five-line structure.  Most pop songs will have verses with four lines.  Notice also the interesting rhyme scheme of those five lines: AABBB.  (The third line has an internal rhyme as well.)  

The word "dancing" is repeated several times in the chorus, and the swirly, overlapping vocal parts of the chorus create the feel of a couple dancing.  Paul Hughes is a Beach Boys fan, and the chorus has a very Beach Boys-esque sound -- which is somewhat incongruous, since the words are about stylish young Londoners during World War II, not the surfers or hot rodders or California girls who are featured in most Beach Boys songs.

And they're dancing, 

There's a hundred people dancing,

While the city burns they're dancing,

There's a hundred people dancing

The second verse alludes to King George VI, the British monarch during World War II, who stubbornly remained in London during the Blitz.  The King and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, narrowly avoided serious injury or death when bombs exploded in a courtyard at Buckingham Palace on September 13, 1940.

Churchill and the King and Queen at
bomb-damaged Buckingham Palace

The third line -- the one with the internal rhyme -- takes a quick peek into the future, noting that the children of those young Londoners who survived the Blitz will come of age during the "swinging London" of the sixties. 

Meanwhile the King won't be moved from his throne, 

Stands with his people their bravery well known

Oh their children will sing, London will swing

Back in that basement they'd lose all their airs

Down in the cafe the Kingdom is theirs

The dramatic high point of the song takes place at the end of the bridge.  The beautiful people have become accustomed to long, boring days and "nights all aglow" not only with the bright lights of the clubs, but also with the widespread fires caused by the German bombing.  Suddenly, there's a shocking surprise in the form of the bombs that somehow made their way down into the subterranean Café de Paris.  The bombs explode and "light up their eyes" -- and they are quite literally "on fire."

And it's hard for to see where tomorrow they'll be

With the days, oh so slow, and the nights all aglow

And it's hard for to see where tomorrow they'll be

Here it comes, a surprise, for to light up their eyes

They're on fire

The bridge appears to replicate the five-line structure of the verses, but the last line is cut in half.  Immediately following that truncated line is an electric guitar solo, which is of a very different character than the music that preceded it -- it's distorted and edgy, signaling quite clearly that something has changed radically.  And it's a very impressive solo, by the way -- well-conceived and expertly performed, but not showy for the sake of being showy.

After that guitar, there's a return to the more innocent musical style of the rest of the song.  A brief transitional passage that features a high trumpet figure reminiscent of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour-era music bridges the gap between the guitar solo and the final chorus.

"Dance On" packs a lot into 3:38.  It's an impressive work, and really deserves to be the subject of a music video that tells this story visually as well as lyrically. 

Many of the songs that Paul Hughes has written are charming and enjoyable -- "sunny power pop from a rainy city," as Paul describes them.  But some of those songs are like a gourmet dish full of delicious and intriguing ingredients, but whose flavors haven't completely melded.  There's much to like about those songs, but the whole is not quite as great as the sum of the parts.  You can't help but think that Paul could make them even better with a little more time and effort.

By contrast, "Dance On" is a truly finished product.  Paul fully understands what makes classic pop music so appealing, and he has borrowed liberally from the masters of that art form (as did Lennon and McCartney and Brian Wilson and all the masters of it who preceded him).  But it also has plenty of original touches and is beautifully nuanced.  

I look forward to seeing where Paul Hughes goes musically over the next few years.  "Dance On" and his other songs provide clear proof that he has considerable talent, but I have a feeling that we've only seen the tip of the iceberg.  

I'd love to see what Paul could do if he had all the resources that pop superstars have -- genius producers, first-rate studio musicians and back-up singers, and all the benefits of a professional recording studio.  Paul doesn't need any of those things to make wonderful recordings.  But I think he deserves the opportunity to collaborate with other talented people who can help him reach his full potential.

I hope that the three posts I've written about the Candy Strypers make it clear how much I admire Paul and the music he has created.  If my efforts result in even a few people becoming fans of Paul Hughes, I would be very pleased.  I know I'm tossing a rather small rock into a very large ocean when I write about a musician like Paul, and I don't expect the ripples that I create to travel very far.  But every little bit helps.

At long last, here's "Dance On."  Enjoy!

Candy Strypers -- "Callin' Sarah" (2010)

You know I'll never be caught

I'm far too clever

You ought to know that by now

In the last 2 or 3 lines, Paul Hughes of the Candy Strypers -- who describes himself as a "bedroom musician" -- pulled back the curtain and revealed how he single-handedly creates and records music like his neo-sixties pop song, "Hymn the Girl."  If you missed that post, click here and get caught up before you read what comes next.

Paul Hughes

In this post -- the second of three that focus on the Candy Strypers -- we'll learn how Paul Hughes writes the lyrics to songs like "Callin' Sarah," which has a very different feel than "Hymn the Girl" did. 

Imagine a spectrum with instrumental music (pure music) at one end and poetry (pure words) at the other end.

The songs that are featured on 2 or 3 lines fall somewhere between the two extremes of that spectrum.  Bob Dylan and most rappers tilt toward the words end of the spectrum -- the music is usually secondary to the lyrics in their songs.  

By contrast, a lot of pop songs have very rudimentary lyrics.  The lyrics of Bubble Puppy's psychedelic hit, "Hot Smoke and Sassafras," consist of 12 short lines totaling only 80 words.  

Don't get me wrong -- it's a great song, and it doesn't need any more words.  My point is simply that a great song can be memorable due to its lyrics, or due to its music, or due to the combination of both.  It's all good, my brothers!

There's one other point I want to make.  Song lyrics can work well and make perfect sense in the context of a song, but make no sense at all when you read them on the printed page.

Brian Eno

When I asked Paul Hughes about the lyrics to "Callin' Sarah," he sent me a very interesting Brian Eno quote:

I don't have the lyrics printed on the sleeve.  As far as I'm concerned my lyrics don't exist as some kind of poetry in their own right, but as part of the music.  So it's no more relevant to print the lyrics than it is to score the top line that the guitar is playing. 

I think Eno is right.  (The same is true of plays and movies.  You can read the script if you wish, but doing that doesn't compare to going to the theater or watching a movie.)  I always loved it when the lyrics to an album's songs were printed on the back cover or the inner sleeve.  But I didn't want the lyrics so I could read them as poems.  I wanted them because I often have a problem deciphering lyrics when I listen to a record, and I needed to be able to see the lyrics so I could sing along -- which I dearly love to do, often to the dismay of my children.

(Which reminds me the time my father sudden turned off the car radio as I was singing along to some sixties song from the backseat when I was about 12 years old.  When I protested, this was his answer: "We can either listen to the radio or we can listen to you.")

Paul enjoys composing music much more than writing lyrics.

Paul's alma mater, Durham University

Paul Hughes:  Lyrics are the hardest part of songwriting for me, not because I don't enjoy the play of language (my university degree is actually in English Literature), but for some reason I just don't have the patience to labour over them.

2 or 3 lines:  So tell me about the process you go through to write a new song.

Paul Hughes:  I'll always start with a melody that I can't get out of my head, always, as that's what draws me to any kind of music, classical or pop. Lyrics are an afterthought, and I'll start with nonsensical humming and the odd word which scans with the melody will pop in at various points, and from then on it's something of a jigsaw puzzle, and perhaps a story will emerge, perhaps it won't.  I'm always so impatient to hear what the finished article will sound like sonically that it feels like the lyric writing is something of a hindrance.  

2 or 3 lines:  As a fellow English major, I have to ask you if you read a lot -- and, if so, what kind of books you read?

Paul:  I'm a big fan of Jack Kerouac and J.D. Salinger, and I read world history and writing about advaita vedanta -- a wide range of stuff really. 

[Note: Advaita vedanta is a school of Hindu philosophy.]

2 or 3 lines:  We might as well cover your favorite movies and TV shows while we're at it.

Paul:  I'm a child of the eighties so I loved Back to the Future and The Karate Kid.  But I think The Graduate is my favorite movie.  I also watch quality TV like The Sopranos, The Wire, Game of Thrones, and Doctor Who.

2 or 3 lines:  Getting back to our featured song, "Callin' Sarah" tells a story.  Is it a true story?

Paul:  Thankfully not a true story!

2 or 3 lines:  The song seems to involve a guy who is obsessed with a girl named Sarah, and who calls her from a pay phone in order to keep his identity a secret.

Paul:  Yes, it's very much about a secret obsession type of affair with the anonymous caller getting off on Sarah's lack of interest in him.

"Callin' Sarah" is one of my favorite Candy Strypers songs -- and not only because I have a daughter named Sarah.  Unlike many of the songs that Paul Hughes has recorded, it doesn't really sound like a sixties song -- I would say it has more in common with music from the seventies or early eighties.  

It's not only the musical style that makes me say that, but also the song's attitude.  "Callin' Sarah" isn't as innocent and starry-eyed as most of Paul's compositions.  The singer is a bit naughty, and the song definitely has an edge to it -- it reminds me a little of Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe.

Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe

Despite Paul's claim that he doesn't have the patience to labor over his lyrics, the lyrics to this song are quite clever and polished.

The verses have an interesting internal rhyme scheme.  Here are the first four lines of the second verse of "Callin' Sarah":

Her number ends in a six

I've got a library of tricks at my disposal

Don't you see there's a fix?

'Cause through the mortar and bricks there runs a cable

The odd-numbered lines essentially have four beats of music and words, followed by four beats of just music.  The even-numbered lines fill all eight beats with words.  The rhyming words are in the same place rhythmically in each line -- between the second and third beats of each eight-beat phrase -- but in the second and fourth lines, there are more words to come after the rhyming word (unlike the first and third lines, which end with the rhyming word).

The effect is to make the rhymes much less heavy-handed than they would have been if each line had been the same length and ended in a word that rhymed.

The chorus seems extremely simple:

Callin' Sarah

Callin' Sarah

Callin' Sarah

I don't want you

Callin' Sarah

At first, the caller is presumably saying "Callin' Sarah" -- in other words, announcing that he is calling to speak to Sarah.  But the last lines seem to be coming from the person who answers the phone (possibly a parent or roommate -- or perhaps even a husband) is responding that "I don't want you callin' Sarah."

As the lines quoted at the top of this post indicate, the singer of this song is pretty confident that Sarah won't be able to figure out who he is because he's "too clever" to be caught.  Paul Hughes is a pretty clever fellow himself when it comes to the lyrics for this song.  Maybe he picked something up after all in all those university English lit classes he took.

In the next 2 or 3 lines, we'll talk about a Candy Strypers song that may be is Paul's most complex and ambitious effort yet.  And we'll find out what his wife thinks about his music.

Here's "Callin' Sarah" -- feel free to download (it's free):

Candy Strypers -- "Hymn the Girl" (2012)

In her wake I go

But I'm running slow

I won't win this race

I enjoy nothing more than discovering great new music.  By "new music," I mean music that is new to me -- whether it's an obscure single by a forgotten sixties garage band or a recent release by a young musician who is struggling to attract an audience in the increasingly crowded world of online music.

It's a lot easier to stick to the old familiar stuff than to go mining for new nuggets, and I'm a pretty lazy guy.  But occasionally an unfamiliar but talented musician makes it easy on me by knocking on my door and introducing himself.

Paul Hughes (a/k/a "The Candy Strypers")

That happened recently when Paul Hughes -- a self-described "bedroom musician" from Manchester, England -- e-mailed me recently.  He had stumbled across 2 or 3 lines, and discovered that I shared his appreciation for classic pop groups like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Byrds, and Big Star.

The difference between us is that I just write about that music, while Paul creates original songs inspired by the jangling guitars and gorgeous multi-part vocal harmonies that made the records released by those groups so wonderful.

Paul calls his one-man operation the Candy Strypers.  You can find his music on SoundCloud, which is an online music distribution platform that allows musicians to upload and distribute their music. 

Click here to go the SoundCloud page for the Candy Strypers.   As you'll see, Paul has uploaded 31 songs, which you can download to your computer or share on Facebook or Twitter.  (Note Paul's description of his music:  "Sunny power pop from a rainy city.")

The Candy Strypers logo

It's very easy to download the songs -- all of which are absolutely free.  All you have to do is click the "download" button that accompanies each song.  If you have iTunes or a similar program, it takes only a few seconds for Paul's song to show up in your music library, and then you can listen to it on your computer or transfer it to your iPod or other music player.  Easy peasy!

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's talk to Paul Hughes and learn a little more about him and his music:

2 or 3 lines:  Why the "Candy Strypers"?  Where did that name come from?

Paul Hughes:  I just liked the sound of the words together.  I put a "y" in "Strypers" in homage to the Byrds.  Plus if there was ever a Candy Strypers CD, it would be close to the Byrds alphabetically.

2 or 3 lines:  When I was a kid, "candy striper" was the name given to female hospitals volunteers because they wore a red-and-white striped uniform that distinguished them from the nurses and doctors.  I take it that had nothing to do with why you picked that name?

Paul:  No, not at all.  I've heard that, but only after I chose the name.  It's a funny coincidence because my career since graduating from university has been solely in the health-care industry.  Right now I work for the National Health Service.

2 or 3 lines:  So when and where were you born?

Paul:  I was born in Manchester on May 31, 1981 -- so I'm a Gemini like my heroes Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, and Bob Dylan.

Manchester Town Hall

(Note:  Paul and I are almost astrotwins -- I was born on May 30.  Hey, now that I think about it, we might have both been born on the same date once you take time zones into account.  If Paul was born early in the morning of the 31st, it would have still been the night of the 30th in the U.S.  And if I had been born late enough on the 30th, it would have been the 31st in the UK.)

2 or 3 lines:  You parents were probably exactly the right age to be fans of classic sixties pop music.  Is that how you were exposed to it?

Paul:  Yes, my earliest memories are car journeys with my parents blasting sixties tunes -- the Beatles, Beach Boys, Searchers, Kinks, Rolling Stones, Hollies, Byrds, the Who, the Small Faces, etc.  I think that my entire musical life has been spent trying to find artists who get anywhere near the heights of that era.  Unfortunately, the quality of pop music has dwindled exponentially since then.  

2 or 3 lines:  Your songs are obviously inspired by that music -- especially the vocals.

Paul:  Basically, I'm in love with melody and harmony, and I think my creating music has sort of been a response to that dying off of great guitar pop.  I'm just trying to create music that I myself would get a kick out of.

2 or 3 lines:  So how did you get started playing music instead of just listening to it in the car?  Did your parents sign you up for music lessons?  Or are you self-taught?

Paul:  I played drums in a band at school -- we played a few gigs around Manchester -- after having a few lessons.  I bought a guitar when I was at university and have since acquired a digital piano and more guitars -- I have six-string and 12-string electrics, an acoustic guitar, and a bass -- and I have an electronic drum kit.  I'm self-taught on everything but the drums.

An electronic drum kit

2 or 3 lines:  You call yourself as a "bedroom musician" -- do you literally record your music in your bedroom?  

Paul:  Yes -- I record my music at home, using Logic Pro software on my Mac.  Today, most anyone can record their own stuff if they want to.

2 or 3 lines:  Easy for you to say, Paul.  Maybe most anyone can afford Logic Pro -- it's only $199 at the Apple Store.  But if I want to follow in your footsteps, I'll not only have to figure out Logic Pro --  I'll have to learn to sing and play guitar and drums and keyboards.  Paul, you are the only musician on your recordings, correct?

Paul:  It's just me on my recordings.  

2 or 3 lines:  So how do you put together a finished recording?

Paul:  I usually start with a guitar track, then add drums, bass, vocals, and then end up with up with an extra guitar line or some piano.  I play pretty rudimentary guitar, and I usually have to do take after take on the guitar solos.  So it takes me a while to get a song recorded. 

2 or 3 lines:  About how long on average?

Paul:  It usually takes me two or three evenings to record a song once it's written, or one full day if I have that luxury.

2 or 3 lines:  Some of your songs have horn and string parts.  I assume those are played on a synthesizer.

Paul:  Yes -- I haven't tried to master the trumpet or violin.  But pretty much everything else is real instruments plugged into the computer via a guitar effects box. 

I'll continue my conversation with Paul Hughes in the next 2 or 3 lines.  But now it's time to take a closer look at "Hymn the Girl."

If Paul had been born 40 years earlier and had written "Hymn the Girl" in 1965, I think it could easily have been a hit for a group like the Searchers or the Left Banke or the Hollies.  It may seem quite short at only 1:53, but that length was fairly typical of singles of that era.  

While Paul's affection for sixties pop comes through loud and clear when you listen to "Hymn the Girl," it's too distinctive a song to be anything other than an original.  The classic "British Invasion" bands certainly inspired Paul, but he did far more than just imitate them in this song.

The structure of a classic sixties pop song is often expressed schematically as ABABCAB, where A = a verse, B = the chorus, and C = the bridge (which usually contrasts with the verse/chorus).  

There are a lot of variations on this basic form.  Sometimes, the bridge is instrumental.  And sometimes there's no third verse -- the chorus is repeated once more after the bridge and you're done.  On occasion (e.g., "Can't Buy Me Love") the song begins with the chorus instead of a verse.

The structure of "Hymn the Girl" is interesting because there is no chorus.  It's a slightly more elaborate variation of AABA song structure -- sometimes called "32-bar form" -- which consists of four eight-measure sections (verse, verse, bridge, verse).  

Paul begins with a four-bar guitar introduction, which is reminiscent of the open of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride."  (That's not surprising given that Paul plays that intro on a Rickenbacker 360 12-string guitar, which was made famous by George Harrison and also played by many other sixties pop guitarists.)

George Harrison with his
12-string Rickenbacker 360

Next, there's a verse -- eight bars long, with the same rhyme scheme as a limerick (AABBA) -- and then a second verse.  After that we have an eight-bar bridge, an eight-bar instrumental break, and a repeat of the bridge.

Finally, the first verse is repeated and we're finished.  In other words, instead of the basic AABA form, we have AABCBA.  

I spent some time trying to find an early Beatles song that matched this structure precisely, but finally gave up.  There are several that are quite similar.  For example, the Fab Four's "From Me to You" has an AABACBA form -- the Beatles stick in a third verse after the first bridge and before the instrumental break (which is only semi-instrumental in this song), but finish up by repeating the bridge and the first verse.  And "I Want to Hold Your Hand" comes pretty close as well.  

Here's "Hymn the Girl":

Click here to go to SoundCloud and download "Hymn the Girl."

If you prefer, you can click here to go to the EardrumsPop website, where you can not only download three Candy Strypers songs for free, but also see a virtual booklet with a photo interview of Paul Hughes.