Már itt, e Földön...
László Komár left us yesterday for the eternal fields of rock 'n' roll. I am deeply sorry, because he was an excellent performer, and we will never again hear him tell us that he managed to buy a pair of patent-leather shoes last week. Or rather, of course we will. Fortunately the recordings remain with us, preserving the work and performances of this great singer. And it is not only technology that preserves László Komár's songs and appearances, but our hearts as well, because so many happy memories and experiences can be connected with individual songs. Unfortunately I never had the chance to attend one of Komár's performances in person; I am sure it would have been a wonderful experience. A truly great singer has left us.
I imagine everyone has a favourite Komár song they are always happy to hear. Mine include Táncoló fekete lakkcipők, No, Miss and Halványkék szemek, along with several others that do not immediately come to mind. When I read the unexpected and tragic news yesterday, I decided that the next post should be dedicated to László Komár's memory. In the end I chose Halványkék szemek (“Pale Blue Eyes”), and borrowed half a line from its lyrics for the title of this post, although in the song it is used in a different context.
The verses are built on a well-established chord progression. The I major – vi minor – ii minor – V major – I progression (I–VIm–IIm–V–I) can be heard in very, very, very many songs. I certainly do not mean that as criticism. The fact that we hear the same harmonic turn in other songs does not make this one boring; countless other features make Halványkék szemek distinctive and give it such a wonderful atmosphere . One of them is the melody, which Komár sings in an easy, relaxed, almost Elvis-like style, as well as the way he performs the song. The arrangement is excellent too: a saxophone section in the intro, the constant piano “tinkling” indispensable to rock 'n' roll and the guitar “chops” on beats two and four; delicate backing vocals in the bridge; vocals in the B section (from the line “úgy kívántalak, mint éj a csillagot”), followed at the end by the bam-bam-bam... It is also a great idea that the bridge, from “elér a végzet”, uses the same chord progression as the verses, yet the different melody makes us feel as though the harmony has changed. The progression changes only in the B section, and it is worked out with great care — hats off. And we have not even mentioned the saxophone solo accompanied by backing vocals, which also serves as the outro. These are just a few musical observations that immediately stand out. Even from this much, I think it is clear that this is a sophisticated, very well-constructed song.
I could not find the complete chord sequence for this song online. Google returned only the verse chords, so I got out my ears and my ukulele and worked out the bridge and B-section chords by listening. I think I succeeded , and that gave me the complete harmony. That is how I discovered that the bridge uses the same chords as the verses, while I deciphered the B-section chords separately . The G+ chord is not actually in the original recording; I added it because it sounds ridiculously good , so it is entirely optional. You can also play Dm instead of Dm7. The chord chart (see the panel on the right) can help you find the shapes. If anyone gets stuck, I am happy to help — just write. One final note: I wrote the C Am Dm... progression above the lyrics only once, but naturally that sequence repeats, repeats and repeats...
Halványkék szemek (Pale Blue Eyes — original Hungarian lyrics)
C Am Dm7 G7 C Am Dm7 G7
Halvány kék szemek fény sugarában,
látom sorsomat és a jövőt
kékebbet és tisztábbat nem láttam ezelőtt
Epedve és remegve még a vágyam egyre nőtt
C Am Dm7 G7 C Am Dm7 G7
Elér a végzet a kék színű börtön
az a kék szem az a sorsom
az az édes szerelem már itt e földön
nem kell így senmmi nekem.
E Am Dm G7
Úgy kívántalak, mint éj a csillagot,nyári lomb a fényt meg az esőt
Em Am Dm D G7 (G+)
Úgy kívántalak, vártam a holnapot s most itt állok nézd a szíved előtt!
C Am Dm7 G7 C Am Dm7 G7
Halvány kék szemek égi tüzében
elhamvaszt a kék elveszek én,
de mégis erre vártam, ebben hiszek én
de mégis meggyötörve izzik szívem, mint a szén
C Am Dm7 G7 C Am Dm7 G7
Elér a végzet a kék színű börtön
az a kék szem az a sorsom
az az édes szerelem, már itt e földön
nem kell így semmi nekem.
E Am Dm G7
Úgy kívántalak, mint éj a csillagot,nyári lomb a fényt meg az esőt
Em Am Dm D G7 (G+)
Úgy kívántalak, vártam a holnapot s most itt állok nézd a szíved előtt!
Halvány kék szemek fény sugarában,
látom sorsomat és a jövőt,
kékebbet és tisztábbat nem láttam ezelőtt
epedve és remegve míg a vágyam egyre nőtt .
Elér a végzet a kék színű börtön
az a kék szem az a sorsom
az az édes szerelem már itt e földön
nem kell így semmi nekem.
