#50: Things We Said Today

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: Paul

Believe it or not, "Things We Said Today", another one of Paul's more interesting early songs, is Paul's only appearance on A Hard Day's Night's second side. This is one of those songs that you also just have to find it hard to believe was never a single. It was the B-Side to "A Hard Day's Night" in the UK, which was released the same day as the LP, but still...this is a song any band would kill to have. Yet, for the Beatles, it's just another B-Side/album track.

I think "Things We Said Today" also proves that John wasn't the only one that could write about tough relationships. All of Paul's songs up to this point were all happy-go-lucky love songs, but here, Paul surprises us. He turns out this fantastic song with an even more fantastic guitar riff. Man, I love that riff. If I played guitar, I'd play that sucker all day.

It also has an interestingly weird structure. There's two verses, both sung before the first chorus. Then, what could be the bridge, comes...but it also comes back before the end of the song. Maybe it's just me, but I love the complete obliteration of any standard verse-chorus-verse-chorus format.

#49: I'll Cry Instead

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John

This is one of my favorite early Beatles songs. I just think it creates such a great link between John's more introspective songs of the Beatles' middle period and into his solo career.

The song was originally supposed to be where we hear "Can't Buy Me Love", a much more upbeat (subject-wise) song, in the movie. While it is a good decision (especially since I can't see the boys wanting to dance around in a scene set to a song about a man who just lost his girl) I still would have liked to have seen it in the movie. Instead of "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You", this would definitely be better.

As I mentioned before, the song is about a guy who just lost his girl. He's heartbroken and when he recovers, "...you better hide all the girls/'Cause I'll be breakin' hearts all around the world". The song also has a country/western feel and its supreme brevity just adds to its greatness. At just a minute and forty-six seconds long, it sure packs a wallop.

#48: Any Time At All

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John

I don't have a vinyl copy of A Hard Day's Night (yet), so I just have to imagine the feeling of dropping the needle on the second side.

Sure, the crack-intro for "Any Time At All" isn't as ridiculously amazing as George's guitar note, but it still calls your attention to it. It is more or less a typical John song of the time, especially when compared to his material on with the beatles. The subject features a guy who is ready to do anything for his girl and be there whenever she calls, again, like many of the other songs by John. At this time he seems to be fixated with proving his worth to the girl he is singing to and I wouldn't doubt it if that has to do with his rocky relationship with his wife, Cynthia.

This song never got a single release, but was included on Capitol's Something New, along with the other non-film songs. It is on 1975's Rock 'n' Roll Music, which is kind of like listening to the Beatles on speed.

Now, what's the deal with this non-film track talk? As you all know, British albums had 14 songs. Of course, in a 90-minute film, you can't have 14 songs (unless it's a musical, which A Hard Day's Night was never intended to be). Richard Lester was presented with the songs that the Beatles were working on at the time and he chose seven songs he wanted in the film. So, the Beatles and George Martin came up with the brilliant idea of using Side Two to present the six remaining songs from the sessions.

Of course, in the US, United Artists could only release songs used in the film, as those were the only ones that they could get publishing rights to. (This is why all the songs are co-published by MacLen and UnArt on the US soundtrack.) So, UA filled the rest of the LP's running time with four George Martin scores (none of them actually from the film), plus "I'll Cry Instead", which was originally in the film (and always mislabeled "I Cry Instead").

Capitol, however, could release the songs on 45s, which is why all, but "Tell Me Why", were issued on 45s. Capitol had to capitalize on it, even if it meant releasing a new Beatle single a week! All of the non-film songs landed on Something New and none of them (except "I'll Cry Instead") were released as singles.

#47: Tell Me Why

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John

"Tell Me Why" is another one of those songs that just does not stop. It starts and it just snowballs into something so fun and incredible.

The song is also a "call-and-response" type song that begs for interaction between the listener and the musician. Still, "Tell Me Why" is an interesting "call-and-response", especially since the lead vocalist doesn't despond to the calls sent out by the back-up chorus. For example, take the first verse:

John: Well, I gave you ev'rything I had,

Group: But you left me sitting on my own.

John: Did you have to treat me oh so bad?
Group: All I do is hang my head and moan.

So, as you can see, the group isn't helping the situation! "Devil In Her Heart" is a standard "call-and-response" girl-group song and the complete opposite:

Group: She's got the devil in her heart

George: No, no, this I can't believe
Group: She's gonna tear your heart apart
George: No, no nay will she deceive

That's the way these "call-and-response" type songs usually go, but "Tell Me Why" flips that on its head. The group and John are the same person in this sob story of a man whose girl is bad to him for no reason. Now, you could say that "Tell Me Why" is more akin to the party "call-and-response" songs like "Twist And Shout", but those are more like "call-and-repeat". I really think "Tell Me Why" is another step forward for the Beatles as they try to move beyond their influences and, in-turn, evolve the genres that turned them into who they are.

As I mentioned before, despite being one of the strongest songs from the film, "Tell Me Why" was the only movie song not released on a single side in the US. However, it was released on Something New, which has all the non-film songs on it.

Next up: Side Two! Here's "Can't Buy Me Love", in case you're wondering....

#46: And I Love Her

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: Paul

Of the seven songs in A Hard Day's Night, Paul gets just two songs...and they are among his best. "Can't Buy Me Love" was also released prior to the LP, so "And I Love Her" was the only new film song buyers got from Paul. On the non-film side, Paul only has one song, meaning on the whole album, he has just three tracks!

"And I Love Her" is Paul's first masterpiece and obviously it gave him the confidence to air "Yesterday" out in the following year. It's also one of his most beautiful love songs, featuring a fantastic vocal. On the Anthology is the second of two takes where they tried a full electric approach and they quickly realized that it didn't fit the song.

The really nifty thing about the song is the title. It's the second half of a thought and only appears after the first verse. A lot of the early Beatle songs used the title as a launching point (the title track of this album being the best example, of course), but here it almost seems like Paul wrote the song first and then said "let's name it after half of one of the lines." Thus, we have "And I Love Her."

As I mentioned before, it was released on 45 in the US, with "If I Fell" on the flip-side. It reached #12 on Billboard.

The song is also on 1962-1966 (the 'Red' Album) and that was definitely my first exposure to it as a kid. I loved the song. I kind of thought it was a companion to "All My Loving". It's like a slower and more mature version of the song. "And I Love Her" is easily my favorite early Beatles song, tied with another track on this album...

#45: I'm Happy Just To Dance With You

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: George

After George wrote "Don't Bother Me", he hit a serious dry spell. In

fact, he wouldn't get another writing credit until his two songs on HELP!. I really think George was at a point where he thought 'Why should I even try?' and his self-confidence was at an all-time low.

"I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" is the only George song on the album and only one of two Lennon/McCartney compositions given to George (the other is, of course, "Do You Want To Know A Secret?"). It was (rather reluctantly - I really think John & Paul were under the assumption that George would be able to write another song) written specifically for George and you can tell. The song is entirely formulaic and honestly kind of feels like a re-write of "I Saw Her Standing There" with all the energy sucked out. Now, you can't knock George's vocal performance, because he gives the best performance he could with the song he was given. Plus, Ringo does a pretty good job at the drums.

I've always been disappointed to see that this song was in the movie when the masterful "I'll Cry Instead" was cut. That's a much better song, but I guess they felt that George needed a spotlight.

Like all the other movie songs (except "Tell Me Why"), "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" was released on a single during the summer of 1964 by Capitol. It landed on the B-Side of "I'll Cry Instead", which both Capitol and United Artists still assumed would be in the movie.

#44: If I Fell

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John (& Paul)

I have quickly realized that writing about the first great Beatle album, A Hard Day's Night, is really tricky. Every song - one right after the other - is a masterpiece. It makes writing about them boring...not that there's anything wrong with that.

"If I Fell" is the sensitive side of John poking his head in again. This is simply one of the best songs that show, again (and again, saying this makes me sound like a broken record), just how versatile the Beatles are. They could switch from the ballads to the rockers without taking a breather.

The song is about a guy who wants to fall in love with a girl, but worries that she may hurt him in the end. He asks for her permission, since he's got to be sure that she's true to him. Of course, the other problem is that he's already got another girl, so there's a double-standard in this relationship, I guess. In the movie, the song plays the absolutely hilarious part as Ringo's pick-me-up song after a stage hand fiddles with his drums. ("Aren't you being rather arbitrary?" "That's right retreat behind a smoke screen of bourgeois clichés. I don't go round messing about with your ear-phones, do I?")

Capitol used the song as the B-Side to its "And I Love Her" 45, which reached #12 on Billboard. Meanwhile in Britain, EMI pressed a limited number of copies of an "If I Fell" b/w "Tell Me Why" 45 that was popular on the continent, although it did not chart.

#43: I Should Have Known Better

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John

"I Should Have Known Better" is, in a way, a swan song. It is the last Beatles song to feature a harmonica intro.

Other than that, there probably isn't much to say about the song. The song is about a guy who really should have known better than to leave this fantastic girl. He never realized that "he would love everything that you do." (And I do, hey-hey-hey...and I doooo!)

In A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles sing the song (lip-syncing of course) while they play cards in this cage that they locked Paul's (very clean) grandfather into. The girls on the train find them and they watch the boys through the grate.

Of the seven songs that were used in the film, "I Should Have Known Better" is probably my favorite track, just because it's a lot of fun and has a great John vocal, especially during that bridge. When the harmonies come in to sing "And when I ask you to be mi-a-hineeee/You're gonna say you love me too", you just know that that's a special moment.

In the US, Capitol issued the song as the B-Side to "A Hard Day's Night", since Capitol could only release songs from the film on 45. (Although "Tell Me Why", the only song not released on a single, made it onto Something New.) So, it didn't make an LP appearance in the US until 1970's Hey Jude (The Beatles Again), which was the first attempt to gather all the songs not released on Capitol LPs.

#42: A Hard Day's Night

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: July 10, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John (verses) & Paul (bridge)

One of my dreams is to see A Hard Day's Night in a movie theater. I'd love to go back in time to 1964 to do it, too. You figure, you'd be in a theater with about 100 to 200 screaming girls who have yet to figure out that The Beatles are not actually going to be there and then that....BANG!

That chord, plucked by George Harrison on his Rickenbacker 12-string, would just come over the speakers and immediately bring your attention to the screen. The first thing you see, of course, is three boys running through London from a mad pack of screaming teenagers....all in glorious black and white.

The title is the first one to come from a Ringo-ism. The story is that after a long day of shooting, Ringo said "It's been a hard day..." and then realized that it was night, adding, "....'s night!" Everyone agreed that that had to be the title...and that John and Paul needed to write a song.

...And, oh, what a song! To me, this is the epitome of the John/Paul writing team. The song is like a barrel that just keeps rolling and never stops, even when John leaves the vocal spotlight for Paul to sing the bridge. "A Hard Day's Night" is easily one of those songs that really proves that the Beatles were something special. I'm not getting cutesy, nor am I intentionally being repetitive - it's a simple fact. "A Hard Day's Night" is the first great Beatles song that no one could ever do and A Hard Day's Night is the first great Beatles LP.

#41: Matchbox

Written by: Carl Perkins
Released: June 19, 1964
Appears on: Long Tall Sally (EP) & Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: Ringo

The last song on the Long Tall Sally EP is the sole Ringo song that didn't appear on an album - a cover of Carl Perkins's "Matchbox".

"Matchbox" is one of only two songs that the Beatles covered where the singer on the recorded version was not the one that always sang it. John was the Beatle assigned to "Matchbox" all through the Cavern and Hamburg years. However, by 1964, it had become a Ringo song, who loved Carl Perkins almost as much as John loved Larry Williams, Paul loved Little Richard and George loved Chuck Berry.

Probably one of the reasons why Ringo got to do this song was because they knew they couldn't give him a shot on A Hard Day's Night, so they gave him a consolation prize.

Ringo has the perfect voice for this song and it proves that his real talent lied in singing rockabilly numbers (in fact, probably one of the best Beatle solo records is his country album, Beaucoups of Blues). It's like he was born in England, but should have come from some backwater Texas town.

As we all know, Capitol did some bizarre things to make as much money as they could off the Beatles name during 1964 and, probably the most bizarre thing they did was release the "Slow Down" b/w "Matchbox" 45. It made a lot of money for Capitol, reaching #17 on Billboard, but it was still a silly release. It was the only time where Capitol got its wish to make money off the Beatles' covers and it made Capitol even happier, since neither had appeared on an LP (yet...they appeared on Something New shortly after the 45). They also got a chance to cash in on America's bizarre love for anything Ringo. It also didn't hurt that the single would be popular in the Southeast, where Country is (still) king.

Next up: we get to the meat of A Hard Day's Night!!!!

#40: Slow Down

Written by: Larry Williams Released: June 19, 1964 Appears on: Long Tall Sally (EP) & Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: John

Larry Williams was another one of John's favorite artists. The Beatles recorded three of his songs; "Slow Down", "Bad Boy" and "Dizzy Miss Lizzy". Plus John included "Bony Maronie" on Rock 'N' Roll in 1975 and Paul also did "She Said Yeah" on Run Devil Run in 1999.

The Beatles' version is very faithful to Williams' original, although I think they drew out the intro a little longer than necessary. John pulls out that rockin' and screamin' vocal, although, I think by this time he's getting pretty tired of it (even though he would do it a few more times).

For technical geeks, there is a big goof on this, where John's second vocal flops the words during a verse. Although his vocal is double-tracked, they are two separately recorded vocals. It just goes to show that not everything George Martin produced and Norman Smith engineered could be perfect and that the Beatles were obviously in a rush to get this out (it was literally recorded two weeks before it was released).

#39: I Call Your Name

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney Released: June 19, 1964 Appears on: Long Tall Sally (EP) & Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: John

By 1964, John and Paul were becoming the British Leiber & Stoller, as any song that they didn't see fit to record themselves was given to another artist. You have to remember, just because a song wasn't good enough for the Beatles, doesn't mean it's a bad song. I mean, if "I Call Your Name" wasn't initially good enough for the Beatles, what was?

Essentially, this meant that John and Paul knew not every song they wrote could be "I Want To Hold Your Hand" or "Can't Buy Me Love", so the one's they knew weren't that great got tossed to Brian Epstein's other groups.

Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas was one group that benefited greatly from the Beatles' cast-offs. Kramer made "Do You Want To Know A Secret?" a #2 hit after it saw release on Please Please Me, then he got his sole #1 with the "Bad To Me" b/w "I Call Your Name" 45. Following that, he had his last hit with "I'll Keep You Satisfied". His version of "I Call Your Name" is virtually identical to the way the Beatles performed it, save for a pretty nifty guitar solo. Still, John's vocals are great and I really think the Beatles version is much better. Then again, it just proves that the Beatles did everything better.

The Beatles ended up recording "I Call Your Name" for themselves when Capitol of the US came knocking on the door asking for some tunes to fill out The Beatles' Second Album with. They knew they were building an album on the covers of with the beatles and the "She Loves You" b/w "I'll Get You" 45 with "You Can't Do That" and "Thank You Girl" thrown in for good measure. This still left them two songs shy of the eleven song ultimatum for an American album (the Please Please Me tracks were still at VeeJay in the US and "Can't Buy Me Love" was exclusive to United Artists in the US), so they got George Martin on the line and the Beatles delivered "Long Tall Sally" and "I Call Your Name" on demand. As I noted in the "Long Tall Sally" entry, both remained US exclusives until the EP. This is also not the last time the Beatles were forced to do some quick tracks on demand for Capitol, though...

#38: Long Tall Sally

Written by: Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson & Richard Penniman Released: June 19, 1964 Appears on: Long Tall Sally (EP) & Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: Paul

Ever hear of some guy named Little Richard? Well, if not you haven't lived a full life. After you hear the original here, you can read the rest of this entry...until then, you need some educatin'.

Anyway, the Beatles' take on the song is ridiculous and I think they got as close to recreating what made the original version so cool: Little Richard's awesome vocals. I mean, if there ever was a true heir to Little Richard, it is, without a doubt, Paul McCartney. It's amazing how John was able to get in the minds of those great Motown singers in songs like "You Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Money", while Paul just stepped into Little Richard's skin.

Another thing about Little Richard (and "Long Tall Sally" is a perfect example of this) is that he easily had as much influence on the Beatles as, say, Buddy Holly. In fact, the Beatles' trademark "woooo!" was totally derived from Little Richard.

The history of the Long Tall Sally EP is kind of interesting (if you'd like more information on the overall history of Beatles EPs, I wrote a review on the box set back here). Other than the bizarre 2-EP Magical Mystery Tour set, Long Tall Sally was the only EP to include new tracks...at least new to the UK. The first two songs, "Long Tall Sally" and "I Call Your Name" debuted on The Beatles' Second Album, released by Capitol in the US a full two months before they saw release in the UK. "Slow Down" and "Matchbox" came out on Something New, a month after Long Tall Sally. It's stuff like this that truly makes the Beatles' catalog confusing and why we should all be thankful that Apple standardized it.

#37: You Can't Do That

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: March 20, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: John

On the flip-side to "Can't Buy Me Love" sits a song by John that is the polar opposite of Paul's lovely, positive love song.

"You Can't Do That" is easily the rockiest early Beatles original and gives us a shade of that 'mean' John Lennon who creeps up every now and then. However, the song is also the 'insecure' John song of A Hard Day's Night. Here's a guy that loves his girl so much, that he is a control freak. A scared, shaken little control freak, who, at the sight of his girlfriend even glancing at another man will let her down and leave her flat. The only thing he cares for is his own image because everybody is so envious of him with this great girl and if she leaves, there goes his image.

"You Can't Do That" also features a fantastic George guitar solo, probably one of his first stand-out spotlights, and some cool backing vocals from George & Paul. John's vocal on the track is also great, but this is only a preview of the other great turns that he takes on A Hard Day's Night.

#36: Can't Buy Me Love

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: March 20, 1964
Appears on: A Hard Day's Night
Lead vocal: Paul

The big thing about "Can't Buy Me Love" is the unique fact that it starts with its chorus. Today, this doesn't seem like that much of an innovation, but in 1964, it was a little surprising. I think today we take this aspect of "Can't Buy Me Love" for granted, but the fact that it has no instrumental opening whatsoever is truly amazing. Right from the start, Paul gets us in with "Can't buy me love/Love/Can't buy me love/Ooohhhh....I buy you diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel all right...".

I can't imagine how that March day must have felt when "Can't Buy Me Love" came out. It was the first new Beatle product in nearly four months [Pause there for a second: Can you imagine an artist today having to pump out a single every two to four months today? Not only is it unthinkable, it's impossible!] and the first (Capitol) US release since "I Want To Hold Your Hand".

The Beatles were forced to keep such a tight schedule that "Can't Buy Me Love" was forced to become the first Beatles song recorded outside the confines of Abbey Road Studios. In fact, it was recorded at a Paris studio during a short break in their French tour. (During which, the recorded "Sie Liebt Dich" and "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand", which will be covered much later.) An early and drastically different take is on Anthology 1 and, although they had to finish the track at Abbey Road, the majority of the version we know and love was recorded in the Paris studio.

By the way, in case you're wondering, "Can't Buy Me Love" b/w "You Can't Do That" was released before A Hard Day's Night, so that is why I'm covering them first. Also the "Long Tall Sally" EP was issued prior to A Hard Day's Night, so those four songs will be covered before I get to the Beatles' third LP.

#35: This Boy

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney Released: November 29th, 1963 Appears on: Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: John, Paul & George [John on bridge]

If you look at the B-Sides on the singles before "I Want to Hold Your Hand", you notice (as I noted in their entries) that they are all harmony exercises."This Boy" is the last B-Side like this, until "Yes It Is" nearly two years later.

"This Boy" is, without a doubt, the best of them. It shows the boys taking that girl-group formula and putting it to use on their own song. Whereas "I'll Get You" was more or less John and Paul singing lead at the same time, "This Boy" features them actually using the harmonies. A great example is during the bridge, where John takes lead ("Oh and this boy, would be happy...." is probably one of John's best vocal moments) and Paul and George sing back-up, just like the bridges in the girl-group songs that influenced them so much. Then you have Ringo doing his perfect percussive shuffle behind them.

As a side note, "This Boy" got some funny attention when it was used in A Hard Day's Night as "Ringo's Theme" (of which the soundtrack recording was issued as a George Martin single in the US that actually charted!). In the US, "This Boy" was just an album track on Meet The Beatles! as Capitol used the much more upbeat "I Saw Her Standing There" as the B-Side to "I Want To Hold Your Hand".

#34: I Want To Hold Your Hand

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney 
Released: November 29th, 1963 
Appears on: Past Masters, Vol. 1
Lead vocal: John & Paul

I think you could make a pretty good case that "I Want To Hold Your Hand" might be one of the most important singles ever. First off, in Britain the single sold a million copies before it was even released. Then, when Capitol in the US issued it (backed by "I Saw Her Standing There") it shot straight to number one and Beatlemania suddenly became a world-wide phenomenon....and the rest is history.

"I Want To Hold Your Hand" isn't too different from the other early Beatles singles, though. John & Paul share lead vocals. There is the theme (again) of singing directly to the listener.

However, it is the first single to not feature John's harmonica playing. There's just guitars, bass and drums on this song. There's also this really cool tempo change that follows the bridge that adds to the song's uniqueness ("And when I touch you/I feel happy/Inside/It's such a feeling, that my love/I can't hide, I can't hide, I can't HIDE!!!!"). Then, it goes right back without missing a beat! There's just that energy that you get from the song. It's just so much fun. Whenever you listen to it, it forces you to stop whatever you're doing and listen.

Again, the song is short - it lasts under two-and-a-half minutes, but that's all the Beatles needed to change the world.

#33: Money (That's What I Want)

Written by: Janie Bradford & Berry Gordy
Released: November 22nd, 1963
Appears on: with the beatles
Lead vocal: John

The year is 1959. A guy named Berry Gordy decides to create Tamla Records, which becomes just a piece of his massive Motown company just a few months later in 1960. Before any record company can expand, it needs a hit record.

Barrett Strong's performance of "Money (That's What I Want)" was just that. It's just an incredible, in-your-face single that pretty much requires you to listen to it for all two-and-a-half minutes - the perfect choice of cover for a show-stopping ending.

The Beatles performance of the song is faithful to the original, aside from John's over-the-top vocal and George's ridiculous lead guitar. I haven't talked about the remasters much since they came out, but on the remastered version of "Money", George's lead guitar is so much stronger and (if this makes any sense) dirtier. It just seems to have a punch that hits you harder than the original mono version on the 1987 CD didn't have.
"Money" is much more 'professional' than "Twist And Shout" and that kind of makes the song feel a little less fun, with less of a party atmosphere. The truth is, though, "Money" is an entirely different song. It doesn't give itself to a dance routine like "Twist And Shout" does. Merely, the song is an intense vocal exercise with lyrics that reject love. It's certainly not something anyone would want to dance to, so what made Strong's original performance a hit was his wonderful vocal and the melody going on behind him and the Beatles' version certainly honors that.

That, my friends, closes one of my favorite Beatles albums....and we've barely scratched the surface. Next up is "I Want To Hold Your Hand"!

#32: Not A Second Time

Written by: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Released: November 22nd, 1963
Appears on: with the beatles
Lead vocal: John

As I remarked back on "It Won't Be Long", the early Beatle years were prolific in the cannon of the Lennon songwriting catalog. Although most of the early Beatle songs were genuine Lennon/McCartney collaborations, the majority of them turned out to be distinctly Lennon. "Not A Second Time", the last original on with the beatles, is clearly a Lennon number.

The song basically speaks to the insecurities that John expressed through 1965 that came to a head with "Help!". Here, the singer was hurt by the first round with this girl and really doesn't want her back again for fears that she will just hurt him again. This is definitely a different guy than the one who came to us with open arms in "It Won't Be Long"!

"Not A Second Time" is definitely a favorite of mine and I think it's easy to say that this is a preview of the serious tones that would not only run through John's Beatle songs, but even to the end of his career.