I'd Give My Life For You from Miss Saigon

In this song Kim is singing to Tam and expresses that she will give her life in order to improve Tam's future.

• The song is in the style of pop opera.
• The whole song, especially in the first verse where Kim sings to Tam, it is in a strophic style. It is like a folk song.
• There are clear relationships with the Keys.

Chord progression I should know is the SECONDARY DOMINANT PROGRESSION or chords V, VII, I or IIb, V7, I.

• Consonant but parts are dissonant.
• Parts of it is chromatic but are used to modulate and to change modality. For example when Kim sings "I've tasted love beyond all fear". This shows how Kim is now telling a story.
• There are some suspension chords, for example when Kim sings "I know I'd give my life for you" there is an Asus4 with a D in the accompaniament.
• Each verse starts in major and ends in the relative minor. For example the first verse starts in B flat major and then the end of the verse finishes in G minor. This shows how Kim is going from happy to sad and she knows that she will have to make a decision.

• There are some perfect cadences in the verses, for example in the first verse when Kim sings "A little snip of a little man" it goes from a D minor to a G minor. This shows the Tonic and Dominant relationship.
• There are some unheard perfect cadences for example on the bit where Kime says her last "I'd give my life for you".

• The chorus starts in C minor and the beginning of the chorus is transitory of tonality.
• There is a fast harmonic rhythm and this makes it hard for us to pin down the tonality.
• There is a descending sequence when Kim sings "I'd give you a million things I'll never own I'll give you a world to conquer when you're grown".

• The ending is very dissonant and gives the impression of Kim's definite decision. For example when the men and women sing "No place, no home" they sing an A sharp.
• All of the people sing together at the end and they create a contrapuntal texture.
• There are F sharp minor octaves played at the end and then after we get a feeling of a cadence but it is too vague to be one.