Tag Archives: a hard day’s night

#611: The Beatles – If I Fell

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‘If I Fell’ from A Hard Day’s Night – the third album by The Beatles – is the song to show people if they were to ask what was so great about John Lennon and Paul McCartney as a pair of vocalists. Their voices and their melodies are what carry this track for its duration. That wasn’t meant to be a slight at George Harrison or Ringo Starr because they do their thing too. But with Lennon and McCartney’s vocals being the main attraction, there’s no reason for the other two to do anything too fancy.

Paul and John harmonise throughout the entire track bar some parts where they sing the exact same melody and John’s double tracked lead at the start. I usually sing John’s part if ever the song comes into my head. I’ve always seen it as Paul singing the higher harmony and John taking the lead rather than vice versa. It is John’s song after all. Although there is a demo recording of him trying to sing what would become Paul’s vocal, so it may be that that is the main melody. It’s no big deal to be honest.

It’s a love song, similar to a lot of other songs the two wrote during those years in the band, but sees Lennon practically begging this new love to treat him better than the one who came before. He would do this again only five years later in “Don’t Let Me Down“. But in 1964 he was a lot more sweeter about in his approach.

#595: The Beatles – I’m Happy Just to Dance with You

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So when George Harrison wasn’t too confident in his songwriting in the earlier years of The Beatles’ musical reign in the 60s, John Lennon and Paul McCartney would write songs for him to perform the lead vocal on. They did that on Please Please Me with ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret?‘, and two albums later did so again with ‘I’m Happy Just to Dance with You’.

The song is the fourth track on A Hard Day’s Night and is the only song Harrison takes lead vocal for on the album. Both Lennon and McCartney didn’t think much of it. Lennon was quoted as saying he never would have sung it himself. Still what is considered a throwaway by the two main songwriters has always been up there for the best songs on the album in my eyes.

It lasts for just under two minutes but it sure has a melody that can stick. Paul McCartney plays a bassline that never seems to stay in one place; John plays an unusual rhythm guitar pattern in the verses that jolts along with the rhythm. Harrison’s voice suits it perfectly and it was probably for the best that neither Lennon nor McCartney sung it. Though their backing vocals – aided by hefty natural reverb – are greatly utilised. They add a sense of mystery I feel. Especially along with those chord changes in the chorus.

It’s a track about wanting to dance with a girl and blanking anyone who tries to interrupt. Not a lot of depth to it, but it doesn’t sound dated one bit.

#582: The Beatles – I Should Have Known Better

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Back again after a while. So sorry to anyone who usually reads these. I’m always feeling tired on the weekends now…. Work is fun. My ear that’s been clogged for the past two months cleared up and I can hear again which is great. That’s just a bit of catch up material for those who are wondering what’s going on. This has always been at the back of my mind, and I’ve been thinking about possible different features I could put on here to change things up a bit. Though sticking with what I’ve got going now still doesn’t seem too bad an option for the moment.

With the personal stuff out the way, I can talk about today’s song. Another one by The Beatles, ‘I Should Have Known Better’ is the second track on the band’s third album A Hard Day’s Night. Because YouTube won’t allow Beatles songs on its site, I’ve had to embed the whole Hard Day’s Night film (which is a good watch and very funny) above, though it conveniently starts at the point where the track begins.*

Great tune. Not much I really feel about it. Like most of their early Beatlemania stuff it’s about love and girls and getting girls to love you and thinking about the future when you and the girl are still together. I think what draws me in is John Lennon’s voice. Paul McCartney doesn’t come in and harmonise at any point during the whole thing; it’s all a double tracked Lennon belting out the lines with gusto. In what is a mostly acoustic affair with a bit of harmonica and George Harrison’s guitar solo in the middle, John’s raspy voice carries the whole thing – especially when he breaks into that falsetto in the ‘ask you to be miiii-hi-hi-hiiiiiiine’ part’. Very glorious. A very innocent track with good intentions, I think.

*That video was removed from YouTube.

My iPod #486: The Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night

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John Lennon took on the task of writing the theme song for The Beatles’ movie debut; something that grabbed the audience’s attention as soon as the first shot of the film hit appeared on the screen, would get the crowd excited for what was to come. He did so over one night. He then came up with a final lyric whilst on the way to Abbey Road Studios to record the track the next morning. Less than three hours later, “A Hard Day’s Night” was complete.

Taking its name from an accidental but witty remark by Ringo Starr, “A Hard Day’s Night” begins both the album and film of the same name with a strident, hard-to-replicate guitar chord, before launching into its first verse in which Lennon declares to us that it has been ‘a hard day’s night’ because he’s been working too much. He wants to sleep, but when he gets home to his lady all the stress goes away. Pretty standard subject matter, right? But Lennon used it to make one of the most exciting album openers of the 1960s. Paul McCartney provided some help too.

You have probably heard it already, if not, take some time now. It’s only two and a half minutes.

My iPod #158: The Beatles – Can’t Buy Me Love

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Another wonderful vocal performance by Paul McCartney. Sings it right from the gut. It was almost ear-piercing when I was always messing up the audio in Audacity and amplifying their tracks to ridiculous levels. I used to like my music very loud; I know now why audiophiles exist.

The first time I heard the song, The Beatles weren’t singing it. It was a cover version that played in a Simpsons episode. From what I recall Bart and Lisa volunteer to work at the Retirement Castle and they persuade the old folk to have fun outside or whatever, which leads to a montage very similar to the original video by The Beatles which you can see above all of this.

That occurred when I was a child. I didn’t see “A Hard Day’s Night” until I was fourteen, so that whole montage was something that I thought was silly and comedic, rather than a parody.

“Can’t Buy Me Love” is a joyful and bouncy song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but mostly by the latter. You cannot listen to this song and feel sad at the same time. When Paul sings money can’t buy him love, he sings it like he believes it. You want to believe him when he sings it too. This is all very cliché, but it is true. Money’s bad. Love is good. Money does help a bit…. but compared to love it’s nothing. Love is all you need.

Jamie.