4 Minutes (Madonna Song) - Composition

Composition

"4 Minutes" is an uptempo dance song, composed in an urban, hip hop style. It incorporates the effect of a marching band, a clanging beat and instrumentation from a brass that is played in a "scale-like riff", as described by Caryn Ganz from Rolling Stone. Other musical instruments used are foghorns and cow bells. In "4 Minutes", Madonna and Timberlake sing and trade verses, the rhythm moves towards a hard clanging beat as Madonna sings the lines that the "road to hell is paved with good intentions." Madonna and Timberlake start singing the chorus with Timberlake singing the line of "We've only got four minutes to save the world". The track continues in the same momentum in the second verse and second chorus whence the track ends where every beat ceases except for Timbaland's characteristic bhangra beats, the brass riffs and Madonna singing the words "tick-tock" repeatedly, after which it ends.

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Alfred Publishing, the song is written in the key of G minor and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 115 beats per minute. Timbaland's bhangra beats are featured at the start and the end of the song. Madonna and Timberlake's vocal range spans two octaves, from F₃ to Bb₅. The song has a sequence of D–G–C–F–B♭–D in the verses and E♭₅–D₅–C₅–D₅ in the chorus, as its chord progression. The lyrics of "4 Minutes" carry a message of social awareness, inspired by Madonna's visit to Africa and the human suffering she witnessed. Jon Pareles of The New York Times stated that "owever, the song sounds as if four minutes is the time taken for a song to be a guaranteed pop hit or the time required for a quicky; in reality it is the only song from Hard Candy album which contains a message of social awareness in it." The sound of a clock ticking away emphasizes this message further. Madonna explained in New York magazine that the line "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" did not relate to her charity work. Instead it was her question to herself: "Do I understand this opinion that I've adopted or this Zeitgeist that I've allowed myself to be swept up in? Because you could have the best intentions but not have enough information and make huge mistakes." Regarding the line "Sometimes I feel what I need is a you intervention", Madonna explained, "eah, meaning, sometimes I think you need to save me."