Sunday, July 7, 2019

"Brother Lover"

Shortly after Colin Blunstone's birthday, the Zombies Fan Club posted a concert he did in Holland in 1974:


The day after I listened to it, I realized something about "Brother Lover."

In the coda, the vocal alternates between "Brother lover" and "Lover brother," both sung to this phrase:


The first word is sung on the off-beats, and the second word is sung on the beat (save for an added syllable).  The alternating of the order of the words and the words' falling on or off the beat illustrates the singer/speaker's confusion as to whether "the man sitting next to the beautiful young lady was her brother or her lover."