Tag Archives: John Lennon

♫ Revolution ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, music, music history, Political commentary, Social commentary

Some songs I can barely find a line or two of background information, but tonight’s song has page after page after page of background, trivia, etc.  I’ll pick just a few things, and if you’ve interested in more you can visit either Songfacts or Wikipedia to read the rest!

This was the first overtly political Beatles song. It was John Lennon’s response to the Vietnam War.

According to SongFacts …

John Lennon wrote this in India while The Beatles were at a transcendental meditation camp with The Maharishi. Lennon told Rolling Stone: “I had been thinking about it up in the hills in India. I still had this ‘God will save us’ feeling about it, that it’s going to be all right (even now I’m saying ‘Hold on, John, it’s going to be all right,’ otherwise, I won’t hold on) but that’s why I did it, I wanted to talk, I wanted to say my piece about revolution. I wanted to tell you, or whoever listens, to communicate, to say ‘What do you say? This is what I say.'”

There are two very different versions of this song: a slow version that appears on The White Album, and a fast, loud version was released as a single. In the slow version, Lennon says “count me in” as well as “count me out” when referring to violence. This gives the song a dual meaning.

The fast version was released as the B-side of “Hey Jude” in August 1968, three months before the slow version appeared on The White Album. John Lennon wanted it to be the first A-side released on Apple Records, the label The Beatles started, but Paul McCartney’s “Hey Jude” got the honor.

There are so many versions of this song because Paul McCartney didn’t like it. Lennon really wanted this song to be the “A” side of the single instead of “Hey Jude,” and kept changing it around to come up with something that would make Paul see it his way. He basically wrote the song because he felt like he was being pulled in so many directions by different people, all of whom wanted his backing, politically. It was also him questioning his own belief in the revolution that was going on… whether he was “out” or “in.” In truth, he was writing about a revolution of the mind rather than a physical “in the streets” revolution. He truly believed that revolution comes from inner change rather than social violence.

Interestingly, this charted at #1 in Australia and New Zealand, #12 in the U.S., but did not chart in the Beatles’ homeland of the UK!  Perhaps because it was merely a “B-side”?  Even odder, though, is that another version by the Thompson Twins (who?????) did chart in the UK some 17 years later in 1985, although only at #56.

Revolution

The Beatles

Take two
Okay

You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it’s evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world

But when you talk about destruction
Don’t you know that you can count me out (in)

Don’t you know it’s gonna be
All right?
Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)
Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)

You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We’d all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We’re all doing what we can

But if you want money for people with minds that hate
All I can tell you is brother you have to wait

Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)
Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)
Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)

You say you’ll change the constitution
Well, you know
We’d all love to change your head
You tell me it’s the institution
Well, you know
You better free your mind instead

But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao
You ain’t going to make it with anyone anyhow

Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)
Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)
Don’t you know it’s gonna be (all right)

All, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all right
All right, all right, all right, all right, all right

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Paul Mccartney / John Lennon

Revolution 1 lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc

♫ I Feel Fine ♫

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

If I had guessed, I would have guessed that this was not one of the Beatles top hit songs … and boy would I have been wrong!!!  I was searching tonight for a Beatles song that I hadn’t yet played here, and this was one of several that popped up … the only one I remembered by its title, so I dug deeper.

According to SongFacts …

The first note of this song marked the first time feedback was used on a major release. It was created when John Lennon leaned his electric guitar against an amplifier and Paul McCartney played a note on his bass, creating a strangely appealing feedback loop. The band thought it sounded great, but in this pre-Hendrix era, feedback was considered a technical malfunction and not an artistic enhancement. Fortunately, their producer George Martin was always open to new ideas and agreed to insert it at the beginning of the song. “He’d let us experiment like nutty professors,” McCartney said of Martin.

An early Beatles track, “I Feel Fine” lyrically is a simple love song about a guy who is crazy about his girl. It’s not Shakespeare, but it’s effective.

John Lennon wrote the majority of this song, which borrows from the “Watch Your Step” by the American blues musician Bobby Parker.

Bobby Parker, apparently, took umbrage …

“I’ve been in litigation for close to 55 years about some of this material that was stolen from me. They had ‘Watch Your Step’ on John Lennon’s Jukebox and then that went out all over the country on PBS Television and people heard about it. John Lennon said how he had ‘borrowed’ that guitar part for HIS record, and pretty soon everybody knew about ‘Watch Your Step.’ I go over to England now and that’s all they wanna hear, they don’t even care about the new stuff I’m doin’. I’m out there playin’ with Buddy Guy and Robert Gray, and they just wanna hear ‘Watch Your Step’ from John Lennon’s Jukebox!”

At any rate, the song charted in the top #3 in most of Europe, reaching #1 in Canada, the U.S., UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden … well, you get the picture.  And now for the song …

I Feel Fine

The Beatles

Baby’s good to me, you know
She’s happy as can be, you know
She said so
I’m in love with her and I feel fine

Baby says she’s mine, you know
She tells me all the time, you know
She said so
I’m in love with her and I feel fine

I’m so glad that she’s my little girl
She’s so glad, she’s telling all the world

That her baby buys her things, you know
He buys her diamond rings, you know
She said so
She’s in love with me and I feel fine, mmm

Baby says she’s mine, you know
She tells me all the time, you know
She said so
I’m in love with her and I feel fine

I’m so glad that she’s my little girl
She’s so glad, she’s telling all the world

That her baby buys her things, you know
He buys her diamond rings, you know
She said so
She’s in love with me and I feel fine
She’s in love with me and I feel fine

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Paul Mccartney / John Lennon

I Feel Fine lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc, Mpl Communications Inc

♫ Woman ♫ (Redux)

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

I’ve only played this once, back in August 2019.  I’m playing it again tonight in hopes of bringing a smile to the face of our friend, rawgod, who has some ‘stuff’ going on right now and isn’t smiling much.  Hugs to both you and Gail, rg!

My original intent was to play the song by the same name by Peter and Gordon, but when I Googled, this one by John Lennon came up before the Peter and Gordon one, and after listening to both, I decided to play this one, which I like much better, even though it was the other that was rattling about in my head as I vacuumed floors earlier today.  It turns out, and this I did not know, that Paul McCartney wrote the Peter and Gordon song!  Small world, eh?

Lennon wrote this song as an ode to his wife Yoko Ono.  Speaking with Rolling Stone just days before his death, Lennon said …

“‘Woman’ came about because, one sunny afternoon in Bermuda, it suddenly hit me what women do for us. Not just what my Yoko does for me, although I was thinking in those personal terms… but any truth is universal. What dawned on me was everything I was taking for granted. Women really are the other half of the sky, as I whisper at the beginning of the song. It’s a ‘we’ or it ain’t anything.”

In many ways, this song is Lennon’s apology to Yoko. In 1973, the couple was having problems in their marriage, so Yoko agreed to put their relationship on hold and let John sow his oats (she’s more tolerant than I, methinks). He did, taking up with his assistant May Pang and engaging in some unruly behavior. Lennon referred to this time as his “Lost Weekend” – it lasted about 18 months.

This was released as a single in January 1981, about a month after Lennon was murdered.

Woman
John Lennon

Woman
I can hardly express
My mixed emotions at my thoughtlessness
After all, I’m forever in your debt
And woman
I will try to express
My inner feeling and thankfulness
For showing me the meaning of success

Ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo

Woman
I know you understand
The little child inside the man
Please remember my life is in your hands

And woman
Hold me close to your heart
However distant, don’t keep us apart
After all it is written in the stars

Ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo

Well, woman
Please let me explain
I never meant to cause you sorrow or pain
So let me tell you again and again and again

I love you, yeah, yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah, yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah, yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah, yeah

Songwriters: John Lennon
Woman lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

♫ A World Without Love ♫ (Redux)

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

I last played this one in 2020 and for some reason, tonight it popped into my head and refused to leave!  

I’m taking you way back tonight … 1964.  I was thirteen years old and had just gotten my first full-time job … making $100 per week!  I thought I was rolling in dough!  That was also the year I became a serious smoker, learned to drive a stick shift, and learned to kiss with my eyes closed!  It was, obviously, a memorable year.  Among the memories from that year is this song by British duo Peter and Gordon.

I did not know that John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this song. It is the biggest hit they wrote that was not released by The Beatles. It became the first and biggest hit for Peter & Gordon.  The song was originally meant to be recorded by The Beatles, but that plan was vetoed by John Lennon. Peter Asher explained: “John thought the first line ‘Please lock me away’ was laughable.”

Peter Asher and Gordon Waller, then (1965) and 40 years later (2005)

Peter & Gordon were Peter Asher and Gordon Waller. Paul McCartney went out with Asher’s sister, the actress Jane Asher, which is how he met Peter. This song found its way to Peter Asher when Paul McCartney was living in the Asher household at 57 Wimpole Street in London during his time dating Jane Asher. He played the song for Peter while in his bedroom.  According to Asher …

“Paul had played Gordon and me that song at some point, just in passing. It was really just half a song. It didn’t yet have a bridge. Gordon and I were working at clubs in London at that time, and we got offered a record deal by EMI, who saw us as an English version of The Kingston Trio, or a Peter, Paul and Mary type of thing. We did the American folk song ‘500 Miles,’ and that was the song they were thinking would be our first single. Anyway, we signed the record deal with EMI, and set the date for our first recording session. At that point I went to Paul and asked him if that orphaned song was still up for grabs, since we needed three or four songs to record on that first day in the studio. Paul said we could have it, so I asked him to finish the bridge. And he did. As I recall, the bridge came in the nick of time for us to record; World Without Love’ at that first session.”

An interesting side note:  Peter Asher would go on to become the manager of James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt.  Asher is still alive and at age 79 is still active in the music business today, but Gordon Waller died in 2009.

A World Without Love
Peter and Gordon

Please lock me away
And don’t allow the day
Here inside where I hide
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

Birds sing out of tune
And rain clouds hide the moon
I’m OK, here I’ll stay
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

So I wait and in a while
I will see my true love’s smile
She may come, I know not when
When she does I lose
So baby until then

Lock me away
And don’t allow the day
Here inside where I hide
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

So I wait and in a while
I will see my true love’s smile
She may come, I know not when
When she does I lose
So baby until then

Lock me away
And don’t allow the day
Here inside where I hide
With my loneliness

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

I don’t care what they say I won’t stay
In a world without love

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul Mccartney
A World Without Love lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ I Want To Hold Your Hand ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, music, music history, Social commentary

When I last played this one on February 9, 2019, it was 55 years ago that day that a young British rock group made their U.S. debut on the Ed Sullivan Show.  The name of the group, of course, was The Beatles.  This song is not, never has been, one of my favourites of theirs, but it was much loved at the time by most every other girl my age (13 back then) in the U.S.  I was, obviously, an anomaly!  Still, it’s rather a fun video and I figured it was about time I played some Beatles … it’s been a while!

From History.com …

Although it was difficult to hear the performance over the screams of teenage girls in the studio audience, an estimated 73 million U.S. television viewers, or about 40 percent of the U.S. population, tuned in to watch. Sullivan immediately booked the Beatles for two more appearances that month.

The group made their first public concert appearance in the United States on February 11 at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C., and 20,000 fans attended. The next day, they gave two back-to-back performances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and police were forced to close off the streets around the venerable music hall because of fan hysteria. On February 22, the Beatles returned to England.

Now, I must confess to being a bit strange when I was young … shut up Joe, don’t even say it … and I was not all that impressed with The Beatles that first time I saw them on Ed Sullivan.  Nor was I impressed by the girls ripping off their clothes, screaming and fainting.  Eventually I came to appreciate The Beatles and their music, but unlike some others, it was definitely not love at first sight.

I am including two clips tonight.  The first is a clip from the November 18, 1963 edition of the Huntley-Brinkley Report by Edwin Newman.  The video no longer exists, but this audio-only copy was discovered in 2013, and I think you’ll enjoy it … I did!  The second is a video of one of the songs they performed on 09 February 1964.

I Want to Hold Your Hand
The Beatles

Oh yeah I tell you somethin’
I think you’ll understand
When I say that somethin’
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

Oh please say to me
You’ll let me be your man
And please say to me
You’ll let me hold your hand
Now, let me hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It’s such a feelin’ that my love
I can’t hide
I can’t hide
I can’t hide

Yeah, you got that somethin’
I think you’ll understand
When I say that somethin’
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

And when I touch you
I feel happy inside
It’s such a feelin’ that my love
I can’t hide
I can’t hide
I can’t hide

Yeah, you got that somethin’
I think you’ll understand
When I feel that somethin’
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand
I want to hold your hand

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul Mccartney
I Want to Hold Your Hand lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ All You Need Is Love ♫ (Redux)

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

Okay, okay … so another redux, and one I played just over a year ago (July 2022) but I was thinking of playing Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” and then thought maybe it would be better to play something with a more upbeat message … we have enough negativity just reading the daily news!  This, then, from the first time I posted this song in 2019 …

Yesterday, I re-blogged David Prosser’s post about a philosophy of humanity called Ubuntu.  A short time later, a fellow-blogger asked me to look at her post, and this video was on it.  The connection between this song and David’s post struck me almost like a lightening bolt, and I knew I had my music post for tonight.

The original goal of this song was to combine the love of all nations displaying the possibility of hope and peace as a common denominator in the world.  This was played at Party at the Palace, a British music concert and celebration held in London in 2002.  Artists, including Paul McCartney, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, and many more contributed to this extravaganza.  The song is originally a Beatles’ classic that in and of itself is quite meaningful …

The Beatles played this for the first time on the “Our World” project, the first worldwide TV special. Broadcast in 24 countries on June 25, 1967, the show was six hours long and featured music from 6 continents, with The Beatles representing Britain.

The concept of the song was born out of a request to bring a song that was going to be understood by people of all nations. The writing began in late May of 1967, with John and Paul working on separate songs. It was decided that John’s “All You Need Is Love” was the better choice because of its easy to understand message of love and peace. The song was easy to play, the words easy to remember and it encompassed the feeling of the world’s youth during that period.

Joining in 2002 at the Buckingham Palace Garden, the stars of the generation gather to spread the message of hope, peace and unity to London, England.

Ubuntu … the philosophy that we are all connected, the idea of humanity, and this song about love … put it together, and then ask yourself what is keeping us from living in this world?

Last time I played this (last year) Clive added the following clip on the making of this video that I thought well worth including here tonight …

And now, on to the song …

All You Need Is Love
The Beatles, et al

Love, love, love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung
Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game
It’s easy
Nothing you can make that can’t be made
No one you can save that can’t be saved
Nothing you can do, but you can learn how to be you in time
It’s easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known
Nothing you can see that isn’t shown
There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be
It’s easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love (all together now)
All you need is love (everybody)
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
Love is all you need
(Love is all you need)
(Love is all you need)
(Love is all you need)
(Love is all you need)
Yesterday
(Love is all you need)
Oh
Love is all you need
Love is all you need
Oh yeah
Love is all you need
(She love you, yeah, yeah, yeah)
(She love you, yeah, yeah, yeah)
(Love is all you need)
(Love is all you need)

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul Mccartney
All You Need Is Love lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

♫ Come Together ♫

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

In the mood for some Beatles tonight?  I owe Clive a song, Clive loves the Beatles, and this is the first one in my archives that I haven’t played in the last year!  This one’s for you, Clive!

I was in the shower yesterday evening when this song popped into my head.  What is it about the shower?  I dunno, but that’s where I get most of my inspiration for my music posts!  Perhaps the water droplets beating down on my poor empty head, or perhaps because that’s the only place I can sing without the cats howling and the girls running out of the house screaming?  Anyway, I only knew two lines of the lyrics, so my vocalization in the shower amounted to a lot of dum-dum-dum-dee-dum-da-la-dum.

I must confess complete ignorance about the origins of this song … never in a million years would I have guessed that John Lennon wrote this as a campaign song for … of all people … Timothy Leary!  Yes, Timothy Leary of 1960s LSD fame once decided to run for Governor of California, and asked John Lennon to write a song for him … this is that song!

After Timothy Leary decided against using this song for his political campaign Lennon added some nonsense lyrics and brought it to the Abbey Road sessions.  In a 1980 interview with Playboy magazine, John Lennon said:

“The thing was created in the studio. It’s gobbledygook. ‘Come Together’ was an expression that Tim Leary had come up with for (perhaps for the governorship of California against Reagan), and he asked me to write a campaign song. I tried and I tried, but I couldn’t come up with one. But I came up with this, ‘Come Together,’ which would’ve been no good to him – you couldn’t have a campaign song like that, right?”

According to SongFacts …

John Lennon was sued for stealing the guitar riff and the line “Here comes old flat-top” from Chuck Berry’s “You Can’t Catch Me.” The lawsuit did not come from Berry, but from Morris Levy, one of the music industry’s most infamous characters (see our interview with Tommy James for more on Levy). He owned the song along with thousands of other early rock songs that he obtained from many poor, black, and unrepresented artists. Levy sued the Beatles, or more accurately, John Lennon, over the song around the time the Beatles broke up.

For years, Lennon delayed the trial while he and the Beatles tried to sort out all the legal and business problems that plagued Apple Records. Finally, in an attempt to avoid the court room as much as he could (Lennon felt like he was appearing in court more often than not), he settled with Levy. Lennon agreed to record his Rock N Roll album, which was just a series of cover songs, including three songs Levy owned (including “You Can’t Catch Me”) on the tracklist.

The deal made sense: Lennon always wanted to make a covers album, and Levy wanted the value of his songs to increase (when a Beatle re-records a song, that is just what happens). To make a long long long story short, Lennon recorded the album over the Lost Weekend, a year-or-two period when he was separated from Yoko Ono and lived in Los Angeles. During that time he was often drunk or high, and was rather sloppy and useless. Levy was getting frustrated with the lack of progress. Phil Spector was the producer, but in a fit of madness (which was not too unusual for Spector) he ran away and stole the recording session tapes. Levy invited Lennon to his upstate New York recording studio, and that is where he finally recorded the album, which ended up with only two Levy songs: “You Can’t Catch Me” and “Ya Ya.” 

The Beatles recorded this on July 21, 1969 and it was the first session John Lennon actively participated in following his and Yoko’s car accident 3 weeks earlier. John was so insistent on Yoko being in the studio with him that he had a hospital bed set up in the studio for her right after the accident, since she was more seriously injured than he was.

The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) banned this because of the reference to Coca Cola, which they considered advertising.  That might ‘splain why it didn’t chart in the UK … or much of anywhere outside the U.S.  When rumors were spreading that Paul McCartney was dead, some fans thought the line “One and one and one is three” meant that only George, John and Ringo were left. The line “Got to be good lookin’ cuz he’s so hard to see” was supposed to be Paul’s spirit.  🙄  Sheesh … some people will buy into anything!

Note:  When I last played this, Clive told me the real reason it didn’t chart in the UK … “it was released here as the B-side to ‘Something,’ which got to #4 – the Beatles’ worst performing single since early 1963. Unlike the States, our charts didn’t separate the two sides of a single – whichever side you asked for all purchases counted towards the A-side’s chart position.”

Come Together
The Beatles

Here come old flat top
He come grooving up slowly
He got joo joo eyeball
He one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

He wear no shoe shine
He got toe jam football
He got monkey finger
He shoot Coca-Cola
He say I know you, you know me
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free

Come together, right now, over me

He bag production
He got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard
He one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease

Come together, right now, over me

He roller coaster
He got early warning
He got muddy water
He one mojo filter
He say, “one and one and one is three”
Got to be good looking ’cause he’s so hard to see

Come together, right now, over me

Oh

Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah

Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah
Oh

Come together, yeah
Come together, yeah

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Lennon John Winston / Mccartney Paul James
Come Together lyrics © Sony/atv Tunes Llc

♫ Tell Me Why ♫

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

Well, yesterday our friend Keith planted an earworm with his post titled Tell Me Why, and I thought that earworm would make haste and leave within the hour, but … Keith coached it well and it’s still hanging out in my head!  So, there’s only one way to expunge a wily earworm, and that is to share it!  So … thanks, Keith … this one’s for you!

This song, as best I can tell, didn’t make the charts here, there, or anywhere else!  Still, I remember it well.  There seem to be some conflicting stories about the song’s origins – SongFacts says that …

“John Lennon, whose parents separated when he was 3 years old, has said that the lyrics were about children whose parents split up.”

But according to Wikipedia …

Paul McCartney said:

I think a lot of these [Lennon’s] songs like “Tell Me Why” may have been based in real experiences or affairs John was having, or arguments with Cynthia [Lennon’s wife] or whatever, but it never occurred to us until later to put that slant on it all.

This was performed in The Beatles’ movie A Hard Day’s Night. It was The Beatles’ first movie, and the group was not yet popular in the U.S. when the deal was signed to make it. Before filming began, The Beatles became huge and the movie did very well.

John and Paul sang lead vocals, but Lennon was double-tracked to create a 3 part harmony.

And that’s all the trivia I can find about this song, so just … go give it a listen!

Tell Me Why

The Beatles

Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me
Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me

Well, I gave you everything I had
But you left me sitting on my own
Did you have to treat me oh, so bad?
All I do is hang my head and moan

Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me
Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me

If there’s something I have said or done
Tell me what and I’ll apologize
If you don’t, I really can’t go on
Holding back these tears in my eyes

Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me
Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me

Well, I beg you on my bended knees
If you’ll only listen to my pleas
(Is there anything I can do?)
‘Cause I really can’t stand it, I’m so in love with you

Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me
Tell me why you cried, and why you lied to me

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney

Tell Me Why lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc

♫ 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

♫ Hey Jude ♫ (Redux)

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

I have been meaning to redux this one since sometime in March, and hadn’t gotten around to it yet.  Last time I played it a couple of years ago, I included a new version comprised of not only the Beatles, but including Eric Clapton, Elton John, Sting, Phil Collins and more.  After I posted it, Clive did some research and found that this was part of a larger project, a benefit concert called Music for Montserrat.  According to Wikipedia …

Music For Montserrat was a benefit concert held on 15 September 1997 at the Royal Albert Hall. The event was organised by Sir George Martin, former producer for The Beatles and founder of Associated Independent Recording, to raise funds for the Caribbean island of Montserrat after a major volcanic eruption by the Soufrière Hills volcano earlier that year.

The concert was arranged and produced by Martin, and starred many iconic British and American rock musicians such as Phil Collins, Ray Cooper, Carl Perkins, Jimmy Buffett, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Midge Ure, Arrow and many more, all of whom had once recorded or produced on the island. A DVD was released with the most famous songs from the concert, such as “Your Song”, “Layla”, “Brothers in Arms”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “Money for Nothing”, “Yesterday”, “Hey Jude”, and “Message in a Bottle”.

Proceeds from ticket sales and DVD copies went towards restoration and support of the island. The concert raised £1.5 million.  Proceeds from the show and DVD were used for immediate relief and also helped fund the building of a new cultural centre in Montserrat. On its completion in 2006, George Martin gifted the centre to the local community, which is still in operation today.

Somehow, knowing that makes the video even more meaningful.  But about the song …

Released in 1968, Paul McCartney wrote this as “Hey Jules,” a song meant to comfort John Lennon’s 5-year-old son Julian as his parents were getting a divorce. The change to “Jude” was inspired by the character “Jud” in the musical Oklahoma!

Says Paul McCartney …

“John and his wife Cynthia had divorced, and I felt a bit sorry for their son, who was now a child of a divorce. I was driving out to see the son and Cynthia one day and I was thinking about the boy whose name was Julian – Julian Lennon, and I started this idea, ‘Hey Jules, don’t make it bad, it’s gonna be OK.’ It was like a reassurance song.

So that was the idea that I got driving out to see them. I saw them and then I came back and worked on the song some more. But I like that name, Jude.”

And according to the all-grown-up Julian Lennon …

“Paul told me he’d been thinking about my circumstances, about what I was going through and what I’d have to go through. Paul and I used to hang out quite a bit – more than Dad and I did… There seem to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing at that age than me and Dad. I’ve never really wanted to know the truth of how Dad was and how he was with me. There was some very negative stuff – like when he said that I’d come out of a whisky bottle on a Saturday night. That’s tough to deal with. You think, where’s the love in that? It surprises me whenever I hear the song. It’s strange to think someone has written a song about you. It still touches me.”

At the time of its release, it was the longest song ever released as a single.  Hey Jude was a number-one hit in many countries around the world and became the top-selling single of 1968 in the UK, the US, Australia and Canada.

Hey Jude
The Beatles

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey Jude, don’t be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better

And anytime you feel the pain
Hey Jude, refrain
Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it’s a fool
Who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
Na-na-na, na, na
Na-na-na, na

Hey Jude, don’t let me down
You have found her, now go and get her (let it out and let it in)
Remember to let her into your heart (hey Jude)
Then you can start to make it better

So let it out and let it in
Hey Jude, begin
You’re waiting for someone to perform with
And don’t you know that it’s just you
Hey Jude, you’ll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder
Na-na-na, na, na
Na-na-na, na, yeah

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her under your skin
Then you’ll begin to make it better
Better better better better better, ah!

Na, na, na, na-na-na na (yeah! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (Jude Jude, Judy Judy Judy Judy, ow wow!)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (my, my, my)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (Jude, Jude, Jude, Jude, Jude)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (yeah, yeah, yeah)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (yeah, you know you can make it, Jude, Jude, you’re not gonna break it)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (don’t make it bad, Jude, take a sad song and make it better)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (oh Jude, Jude, hey Jude, wa!)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (oh Jude)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (hey, hey, hey, hey)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (hey, hey)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (now, Jude, Jude, Jude, Jude, Jude)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (Jude, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (yeah, make it, Jude)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!)
Na, na, na, na-na-na na (yeah, yeah yeah, yeah! Yeah! Yeah!)
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude
Na, na, na, na-na-na na
Na-na-na na, hey Jude

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul McCartney
Hey Jude lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC