"Free as a Bird"

Two days ago, I was thinking about "Free as a Bird," and I realized a small thing about the chorus, specifically about the second "free as a bird":

Free as a bird
It's the next best thing to be
Free as a bird

The "free" is sung with a melisma (A C), which gives a sense of the word's meaning.  It's not restricted to the single syllable it has when spoken.  Additionally, because it's sung with an ascending interval, there's even something of a sense of a bird's flight.

When I drafted this post last night, I realized that the "so free"s at the end of the bridges have something of the same effect.  Both McCartney and Harrison sing "so" with a melisma (F# G F# E, I think), which gives a sense of degree.  McCartney also sings "free" with a melisma (A E F# C# E, I think), which has the same sense of freedom as the melisma'd "free" in the chorus.