The musical comedian, or rather comedic musician Bill Wurtz might write songs that sound like they should not be taken seriously. But his August 2017 composition “I Wanna Be a Movie Star” is not just hilarious; it is also musically brilliant — especially in its creative use of meter.

The following is a detailed metric analysis of the song.

Meter in Bill Wurtz’s “I Wanna Be a Movie Star”

“I Wanna Be a Movie Star” is primarily in 9/4 time, but uses an asymmetrical 3 + 6 subdivision subdivision of the meter.

The verses are irregular both metrically and hypermetrically. They consist of 2 phrases, each 3 bars in length.

Verse 1, which begins at 0:17 and ends at 0:44, is different from verses 2 and 3, nevertheless.

The 1st phrase in all 3 of the verses is || 9/4 | 9/4 | 12/4 ||, with the 12/4 bar subdivided as is typical, into 3 + 3 + 3 + 3.

Phrase 2 in verse 1 is the same as phrase 1.

The 2nd phrase in verses 2 and 3, however, is different: || 9/4 | 9/4 | 13/4 ||. The 13/4 bar is subdivided 3 + 3 + 3 + 4, with an extra quarter note tagged on the end for the “I wanna be a movie star” pickup notes.

Verse 2 begins at 0:52 and ends at 1:20. This same metric pattern can then be heard repeated in verse 3, from 1:49 to 2:17

The chorus is in 9/4, with the same 3 + 6 subdivision.

The bridge has some clever metric mixture.

The 2nd chorus, which begins at 1:20, is cut off abruptly at 1:35. A 9/4 bar is apocopated and turned into a surprising measure of 7/4 (3 + 4), with a quarter note pickup into the bridge.

The bridge, which begins at 1:35, consists of 2 phrases. Phrase 1 has 4 bars: || 3/4 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 4/4 ||. The first 2 of these 3/4 bars, however, have a 12/16 hemiola rhythm superimposed against them.

Phrase 2 of the bridge, which begins at 1:41 and ends at 1:49, is made up of 5 bars. It adds an additional 4/4 measure to phrase 1, so it looks like this: || 3/4 | 3/4 | 3/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 ||.

This metric complexity is rather nuanced, but amazing. Bravo, Bill Wurtz.

Map of Meter in Bill Wurtz’s “I Wanna Be a Movie Star”

The following is what a metric map of the song looks like:

START (0:00)

|| 2/4 pickup ||

INTRO (0:01)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 | 9/4 | 9/4 ||

VERSE 1 (0:17)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 | 12/4 ||

|| 9/4 | 9/4 | 12/4 ||

CHORUS 1 (0:44)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 ||

VERSE 2 (0:52)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 | 12/4 ||

|| 9/4 | 9/4 | 13/4 ||

CHORUS 2 (1:20)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 ||

|| 9/4 | 7/4 ||

BRIDGE (1:35)

|| 3/4 (12/16) | 3/4 (12/16) | 3/4 | 4/4 ||

|| 3/4 (12/16) | 3/4 (12/16) | 3/4 | 4/4 | 4/4 ||

VERSE 3 (1:49)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 | 12/4 ||

|| 9/4 | 9/4 | 13/4 ||

CHORUS 3 (2:17)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 ||

|| 9/4 | 9/4 ||

OUTRO (2:33)

|| 9/4 | 9/4 ||

|| 9/4 | 9/4 ||

END (2:50)

|| 3/4 | fermata ||