#62: Eight Days A Week

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: December 4, 1964
Appears on: Beatles For Sale
Lead vocal: John & Paul

When the time came for The Beatles to issue a 45 for the Christmas, 1964 season, "Eight Days A Week" was the obvious choice. However, John came up with "I Feel Fine", letting "Eight Days A Week" become a simple album track.

The title is another example of how John and Paul were always listening to the odd ball things that people say and looked for ways to incorporate them into songs. Paul says in the Anthology book that when they asked their chauffeur how he was doing, he commented that he had been working hard, like 'eight days a week'! So, that's where the title comes from.

The song is one of those interesting joint Lennon/McCartney numbers, where they actually worked together on the song. If you look at the song technically, it is the most difficult number on the album, from it's fade-in intro to the intricate vocal arrangement.

It's also the happiest original song on the record. Aside from the title, it is, lyrically, the simplest song. The singer loves the girl so much, that not even eight days a week would be enough to show it.

It's a good, fun song, especially when you can stop whatever you're doing to stamp your feet and clap when the song tells you to. That's another cool part - audience participation. The Beatles were certainly the best in that regard!

In the US, the song was issued as a single and hit #1 for just a week. Capitol issued the incredibly radio-friendly song on Beatles VI. The song just begged to be released as a single, so you really can't blame Capitol for that decision.


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