♫ Help! ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

Tonight I wanted to play something by the Beatles, but I wanted one I had never played here before.  You wouldn’t believe how hard that was to find!  I had no idea how many Beatles’ songs I’ve played here over the years!  I was actually amazed … had to double and triple check my archives … to find that I hadn’t played this one yet!  It would be easier to tell you the countries where this did NOT hit #1 than the countries where it did, for nearly every nation for which rankings are kept ranked it #1 with the exceptions of Belgium and Austria, where it only went to #5.

Some interesting trivia about this song from SongFacts …

This was used as the title song to Beatles’ second movie. The original title to the song and the movie was “Eight Arms To Hold You,” and the first copies of the single said it was from the movie “Eight Arms to Hold You.”

John Lennon has described this time of his life as his “fat Elvis period.” In a 1971 interview with Rolling Stone, Lennon said this is one of his favorite Beatles records, because, “I meant it – it’s real.” He added: “The lyric is as good now as it was then. It is no different, and it makes me feel secure to know that I was that aware of myself then. It was just me singing ‘Help’ and I meant it.”

Paul McCartney helped Lennon write the song, but did not realize it was actually Lennon calling for help until years later.

In 1985, this became the first Beatles song ever used in a commercial when it was used in an ad for Ford cars. Ford paid $100,000 for it, but they didn’t get the rights to the original recording – the version in the commercial was performed by a soundalike group.

Artists who covered this song include Bananarama, Count Basie, Tommy Castro, The Charles River Valley Boys, The Crusaders, The Damned, Howie Day, DC Talk, Deep Purple, Extreme, Jad Fair, John Farnham, Jose Feliciano, The Four Tops, Henry Gross, John’s Children, R. Stevie Moore, The Newbeats, Dolly Parton, David Porter, Isaac Scott, Peter Sellers, Michael Stanley, The Tremeloes, Tina Turner, U2 and Caetano Veloso.

The Carpenters, who named their first album Ticket To Ride and issued “that song” as their first single, included “Help!” on their second album, Close to You.

Count Basie???  Dolly Parton???  The Carpenters???  Seriously?  Somehow I just can’t … no … I just can’t picture that!

As I mentioned, this song hit #1 nearly everywhere … quite an achievement!

Help!

The Beatles

I need somebody
(Help) not just anybody
(Help) you know I need someone, help

So much younger than today
(I never need) I never needed anybody’s help in any way
(Now) but now these days are gone (these days are gone)
I’m not so self assured
(And now I find) now I find I’ve changed my mind
And opened up the doors

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being ’round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please help me

In oh so many ways
(My independ-) my independence seems to vanish in the haze
(But) but every now and then (now and then)
I feel so insecure
(I know that I) I know that I just need you like
I’ve never done before

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being ’round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please help me

When I was younger, so much younger than today
I never needed anybody’s help in any way
(Now) but now these days are gone (these days are gone)
I’m not so self assured
(And now I find) now I find I’ve changed my mind
And opened up the doors

Help me if you can, I’m feeling down
And I do appreciate you being ’round
Help me get my feet back on the ground
Won’t you please, please help me, help me, help me, ooh

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Help! lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Tratore

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26 thoughts on “♫ Help! ♫”

  3. So, funny, when I was a child, this song was the theme song of a radio show on a Sunday morning called “Help”. It was a radio show for consumers. However, I think I knew that song from there before I realized it was a real song.

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  4. A great song from the best band ever. And the movie was a lot of fun, though maybe a bit silly. I was just coming up to 12 when it came out and enjoyed it – so many memories.

    Of all of those covers you mention I only know one: Tina Turner’s. She slowed it down and added a lot of soul to it, and made it almost a whole new song. Fabulous!

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    • I grew up with my parents playing Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, etc., and eventually I came to like them … did you grow to like the Beatles, too? Ahhhh … a turntable … I don’t know if you can even still buy those! Thanks for dropping by and I hope you enjoyed the memories and the song!

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  8. I like songs from that era of British Pop because the words are still easy for me to understand. And we were all growing up and finding out we weren’t invincible. It was okay to ask for help. But who knew that John Lennon actually needed help? And then along came Yoko, and he finally got some help.
    The movie, though, was a drag!

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