Song can be played as:
Main Riff: F#m(F#5) A B
Bridge: E Riff E C#7
Chorus: D A E F#7, D A E C#7 -> Main Riff Again
I am struggling on harmonic functions. I am not sure whether the song is in Aeolian or Dorian Mode, so I wondered how the song looks in both A and D key and transcribed (and referred from now on as in A minor) in order to easily spot if its minor or dorian
Am C
D, G Riff G
E7, -> F C G (Am)
E7
Dm F G, C Riff C
A7, ->
BbF C (Dm)
A7
First thing I notice is verse arpeggio is composed by notes A C E G D = Am7add11/G which leads to an ambigüity between Aminor(Ddorian) and Adorian(Dmixo) (indeed, it could be played as a Ddorian=Aminor D7sus2(add6)/G)
The same goes for the voice, it hits all "pentatonic" notes so we really don't know if he is singing in Aminor or Adorian, until he hits "BUT BEFORE TOMORROW LINE", where he is hitting a G# over the E7 chord, which is out both keys ironically, leading to a b3,b6 (Hm) if we are in aeolian and just a b3 if we are in dorian. This is exactly what it shocks me. It would have more sense to consider this E7 chord as the classic temporary move to the Harmonic Minor, but then if we consider the piece in minor, the D chord at the end of the phrase must be some modal interchange or V-of-V, but it does not sound like going out the scale.
Could somebody shed some light? Thanks!
By the way chorus is then in Cmajor (Flydian) on my am trasposition, it could be a clue.
EDIT: I think the key question is wondering what is occuring when C#7 sounds (E7 in the key of A, an A7 in the key of D)
EDIT 2: I realized is pretty close to some harmonic functions of the House of the Raising Sun, this could help: http://www.guitar-music-theory.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=59