Songs Lyrics and YT- Youtube Music Videos

Ron Grainer - Doctor Who Theme

Ron Grainer - Doctor Who Theme Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Doctor Who - The Music
Released: 1963

Doctor Who Theme Lyrics

Doctor Who Theme Song Chart

Surprisingly, this piece of music has never been given a proper name, but it was impossible when it was composed in 1963 for anyone to realize the cultural significance of either the music itself or of the programme for which it was written.

The theme was written by the Australian composer Ron Grainer and arranged by Delia Derbyshire. Her input is significant enough for her to warrant a credit as co-composer, but the music was credited to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which was founded in 1958 to produce music and sound effects for BBC radio and television programmes. Derbyshire joined the BBC in November 1960.

The first episode of Dr Who was broadcast November 23, 1963 on BBC1 (at that time BBC, there being no other non-commercial TV station in the UK); on November 23, 2013, a special 50^th anniversary programme The Day Of The Doctors was broadcast in 94 countries.

Although the theme music has remained the same throughout the long run of this cult TV series, it has been rearranged and heavily orchestrated, most significantly by Murray Gold, but the original - light on production - is generally considered the best, and when compared with the later more sophisticated music of Jean Michel Jarre and Gary Numan, it is clear it has stood the test of time. (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2)

Peter, Paul and Mary - Puff The Magic Dragon

Peter, Paul and Mary - Puff The Magic Dragon Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Moving
Released: 1963

Puff The Magic Dragon Lyrics

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honahlee
Little Jackie paper loved that rascal puff
And brought him strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff oh

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honahlee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honahlee

Together they would travel on a boat with billowed sail
Jackie kept a lookout perched on puff's gigantic tail
Noble kings and princes would bow whene'er they came
Pirate ships would lower their flag when puff roared out his name oh

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honahlee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honahlee

A dragon lives forever but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant rings make way for other toys
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar

His head was bent in sorrow, green scales fell like rain
Puff no longer went to play along the cherry lane
Without his life-long friend, puff could not be brave
So Puff that mighty dragon sadly slipped into his cave oh

Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honahlee
Puff, the magic dragon lived by the sea
And frolicked in the autumn mist in a land called Honahlee

Writer/s: YARROW, PETER/LIPTON, LEONARD
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Puff The Magic Dragon Song Chart

This song was rumored to be about drugs, particularly marijuana. This rumor was fueled by a 1964 Newsweek article about hidden drug messages in pop music that came up with the following interpretations:

Puff's friend Jackie Paper = rolling papers
"Puff" = to take a puff from a joint
"Dragon" = a variation of "dragin'," as in taking a drag from a joint to inhale the smoke.

The band claims that the song is really about losing the innocence of childhood, and has nothing to do with drugs. At the end of the song, Puff goes back into his cave, which symbolizes this loss of childhood innocence.

Peter Yarrow wrote this in 1958 before he joined the group. He wrote it after coming home and seeing a poem on his typewriter with words about the dragon. He based his song on this poem, which was written by Lenny Lipton. A few years later when this became a hit, Yarrow found Lipton and gave him half the songwriting credit. Lipton, who was a camp counselor when Yarrow found him, gets extensive royalties from the song.

For his book Behind The Hits John Javna spoke with Lenny Lipton about his poem. Lipton was feeling homesick when he wrote it. One day, he was on his way to dinner at a friend's house, and was a little early, so he stopped at the library and happened to read some Ogden Nash poems. The title of the poem that grabbed him was The Tale Of Custard The Dragon, which is about a "Really-o Truly-o Dragon." Lipton was friends with Peter Yarrow's housemate when they were all students at Cornell University. On the walk from Cornell's library to the friend's house (where he was to eat dinner), he wrote the poem, which was about the loss of childhood. But no one was home when he arrived - there was some sort of mix-up about dinner. So he just went in and used Yarrow's typewriter to get the poem out of his head. Then, he forgot about it. Years later, a friend called and told him Yarrow was looking for him, to give him credit for the lyrics. Lipton had actually forgotten about the poem. (Thanks to John Javna for sharing this story.)

The original poem had a verse that did not make it into the song. In it, Puff found another child and played with him after returning. Neither Yarrow nor Lipton remember the verse in any detail, and the paper that was left in Yarrow's typewriter in 1958 has since been lost.

In an effort to be gender-neutral, Peter Yarrow later sang the line "A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys" as "A dragon lives forever, but not so girls and boys."

In 1964, 53 Douglas AC-47 passenger planes were armored and subsequently deployed as gunships by the United States Air Force in the Vietnam War. The planes carried tremendous firepower, shooting bright flares and rounds of machine gun fire on the Viet Cong, which referred to them as "Dragon Ships." This nickname led Americans to start calling the planes "Puff The Magic Dragon," turning the title of the winsome children's song into a moniker for a lethal killing machine.

Some of the alleged drug references in this song include the "autumn mist," which was marijuana smoke, and the "land of Hanah Lee," which was the Hawaiian town of Hanalei, famous for its marijuana plants. Peter Yarrow insists that not only did the song have nothing to do with drugs, but that he didn't even know about pot in 1958, which kills any theories that he put drug references in subconsciously.

This song was banned in Singapore and Hong Kong because authorities thought it contained drug references.

Peter, Paul and Mary formed in 1961, and this song was always part of their repertoire, although they didn't record it until their second album, Moving, was released in early 1963. The first concerts of Peter, Paul, and Mary consisted of a solo set by each of the men, followed by a dozen songs sung as a trio, which is when they performed "Puff."

Paul Stookey put the song on trial during a 1976 show at the Sydney Opera House. He had a "prosecutor" on stage claiming the song was about drugs, with Jackie and Puff explaining that it wasn't. Stookey told the audience that if they sang along, Puff would be acquitted, which they did - the judge declared, "case dismissed."

In order to show the stupidity of calling this a drug song, the band sometimes performs "The Star Spangled Banner" at concerts and pauses periodically to explain how the previous lines could describe drugs or drug-induced hallucinations. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

In the 2000 movie Meet The Parents, the family has a contentious debate over the meaning of this song. In the scene, this song comes on the car radio and Greg Focker (Ben Stiller), says to Jack Byrnes (Robert De Niro), "Who'd have thought it wasn't about a dragon? Some people thing that to puff the magic dragon means to smoke a marijuana cigarette." Byrnes replies: "Puff is just the name of the boy's magical dragon. You a pothead, Focker?"

When this was played on Bob Keeshan's TV show Captain Kangaroo, the accompanying illustrations seemed to reflect the missing fourth verse. During the final chorus, the words "BUT WAIT!" appear on the screen, and another child (who looks like a little caveboy) is seen knocking on the door to Puff's cave. The final picture shows Puff and the new little boy embracing. (thanks, Ekristheh - Halath)

In 1969, Peter, Paul and Mary released a children's album called Peter, Paul and Mommy which featured this song. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The Beach Boys - Surfin' U.S.A.

The Beach Boys - Surfin' U.S.A. Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Surfin' U.S.A.
Released: 1963

Surfin' U.S.A. Lyrics

If everybody had an ocean
Across the U.S.A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like California
You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blond hairdo
Surfin' U.S.A.

You'd catch 'em surfin' at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Trestle
Australia's Narabine
All over Manhattan
And down Doheny Way

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

We'll all be planning that route
We're gonna take real soon
We're waxing down our surfboards
We can't wait for June
We'll all be gone for the summer
We're on surfari to stay
Tell the teacher we're surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Haggerties and Swamies
Pacific Palisades
San Anofree and Sunset
Redondo Beach L.A.
All over La Jolla
At Waimia Bay

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

Writer/s: CHUCK BERRY
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Surfin' U.S.A. Song Chart

The lyrics are basically a guide to good surf locations, but the "Surfin' U.S.A." music was based on Chuck Berry's 1958 hit "Sweet Little Sixteen." The Beach Boys did it as a tribute to Berry, but didn't get his permission first - maybe because Berry was in jail for transporting a minor across state lines. When Berry threatened to sue, The Beach Boys agreed to give him most of the royalties and list him as the song's composer. The song also helped build Berry's legend while he served his time.

David Marks, who was a guitarist in The Beach Boys from 1961-1963, explains on the DVD Brian Wilson Songwriter 1962 - 1969 , that he and Carl Wilson would play guitars every day after school, and one day Carl brought home the album Chuck Berry Is On Top. They loved the album and introduced Berry's sound to Brian Wilson, who loved the rhythm parts and put together "Surfin' U.S.A." based on that sound. Brian changed the lyrics and added a hook, but it is basically a rewrite of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen."

Many of the early Beach Boys' songs were about surfing. Dennis Wilson was the only Beach Boy who actually surfed, but surfing was a very popular at the time, especially with teenagers who bought records. For The Beach Boys, the surfing subculture gave them an opportunity to write songs about adventure and fun while exploring vocal harmonies and new production techniques. And while the majority of Americans didn't surf, the songs represented California, which was considered new and modern and a great place to be. Surfing, and California by extension, became more about a state of mind.

This is a very early Beach Boys song, following up their first hit "Surfin' Safari." Brian Wilson was gaining confidence as a producer, and this song marks the emergence of what would become the Beach Boys signature sound over the next few years. Wilson got the most of 1963 studio technology, and managed to create a sound with bright guitars and sophisticated background vocals - something he accomplished with double-tracking. Brian also used his falsetto vocals in the chorus to offset Mike Love 's lead.

Carl Wilson came up with the guitar intro, which is reminiscent of Duane Eddy's "Moving and Grooving." Wilson explained: "On 'Surfin' U.S.A.,' Brian wanted an opening lick and I just did this Duane Eddy riff. I was worried that it had been on another record, but what the hell. That was the first time we were aware we could make a really powerful record. For the first time, we thought the group sounded good enough to be played with anything on the radio."

Leif Garrett, who was not a surfer, but a skateboarder, recorded this in 1977 and took it to #20 in the US. Garrett was a teen idol who acted in some popular movies in the '60s and '70s, including Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, but got hooked on drugs and fought a heroin addiction. In 2006, after one of his arrests for heroin possession, Garrett's mother told the New York Daily News that rock stars like The Rolling Stones were a bad influence on him and led him to drugs.

Guitarist David Marks played guitar on the Beach Boys first five albums. He recalled to ilikemusic.com laying down this track: "The energy on the Surfin' USA session was very upbeat and happy. That's where that chemistry thing kicks in again… there was a certain energy on that track that was a one-of-a-kind happening. It wasn't perfect in a technical sense, but the vibe was something special that had a lasting effect."

This was re-released in the US in 1974. It went to #36.

Comedic Canadian rock band Jason performed a spoof of this called "Bowlin' USA". The band's lead singer was Steve Smith, who later achieved fame and fortune playing his character Red Green on the cult Canadian comedy series The Red Green Show. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki

Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Sukiyaki And Other Japanese Hits
Released: 1963

Sukiyaki Lyrics

Let's look up as we walk, so that the tears don't spill
Remembering that spring day, that lonely night.
Let's look up as we walk, count the blurry stars
Remembering that summer day, that lonely night.

Happiness is above the clouds,
Happiness is above the skies.
Let's look up as we walk, so that the tears don't spill
Crying as we walk, that lonely night.
Remembering that autumn day, that lonely night.

Sadness is in the shadow of the clouds,
Sadness is in the shadow of the moon.
Let's walk with our head held up so that the tears don't spill,
Crying as we walk, that lonely night.

Writer/s: NAKAMURA, HACHIDAI/EI, ROKUSUKE
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Sukiyaki Song Chart

This song has a remarkable story - it's a Japanese hit that became wildly popular in America despite Japanese lyrics that hardly anyone in the US could understand. Kyu Sakamoto was a star in Japan as both an actor and a singer, and this song, known in his country as "Ue O Muite Aruko," was a #1 hit there in 1961.

Sometime in 1962, a British music executive named Louis Benjamin heard the song when he was traveling in Japan, and he had his group Kenny Ball & his Jazzmen record an instrumental version that made it to #10 on the UK charts. Benjamin renamed the song "Sukiyaki" after a Japanese food he enjoyed - a one-pot dish made with sliced beef, tofu, noodles and vegetables.

The song made it to America when a disk jockey in Washington state heard the British version, and started playing the original by Sakamoto. He used the title "Sukiyaki," which was much more palatable to Americans than "Ue O Muite Aruko," and requests started pouring in for the song. Capitol Records obtained the American rights to the song and released it stateside, where it went to #1 on the Hot 100 for 3 weeks and also held the top spot on the Adult Contemporary chart for 5 weeks.

So how did this American disc jockey get a copy of the original song? Marsha Cunningham gave us the answer. She explained to us:
"In 1961-2 I was a high school student at The American School In Japan, living in Zushi, Japan. My dad was a pilot for Japan Airlines. While enjoying a Japanese movie staring Kyu Sakamoto, I heard the most unbelievably beautiful song. I purchased the record at a local shop and brought it back to the states the next year when I attended a girl's boarding school in Sierra Madre, CA. I played it in the dormitory frequently; everyone liked it. One girl took my record home with her on the weekend so her dad could play it on his radio station, and the rest is history!"

The Japanese lyrics are about sadness and isolation; the original title means "I look up when I walk."

In 1963, the Country singer Clyde Beavers arranged to have an official of the Japanese embassy (J.S. Shima) translate the lyrics into English. Although Beavers' "Sukiyaki" did not chart, A Taste of Honey made it to #3 in the US with their English lyric version in 1981. A Taste Of Honey was a Disco group who had a hit in 1978 with "Boogie Oogie Oogie." Their bass player/vocalist Janice Marie Johnson came up with the English lyrics for their version. She didn't translate the song literally, but kept the mood of the song with lyrics about a love that was taken away.

Kyu Sakamoto was one of 520 people who died in a Japan Airlines crash in 1985. He was 43.

Learn more about how this song came to America and what it's like to be an American in Japan in Song Images .

The R&B group 4 P.M. (For Positive Music) covered this in 1995 with the same English lyrics that A Taste Of Honey used. Their version went to #8 in the US.

This is the only song by a Japanese artist, and the only song with lyrics entirely in Japanese, to hit #1 in the United States.

This isn't the first foreign language song to hit #1 in America - that would be "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu (Volare)" by Domenico Modugno in 1958. That one was in Italian and kept at least part of the original title.

Slick Rick boosted the chorus from the A Taste Of Honey version for an interlude in "La Di Da Di," his 1985 song with Doug E. Fresh.

The Drifters - On Broadway

The Drifters - On Broadway Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Greatest Hits
Released: 1963

On Broadway Lyrics

They say the neon lights are bright
On Broadway (on Broadway)
They say there's always magic in the air (on Broadway)
But when you're walkin' down that street
And you ain't got enough to eat
The glitter rubs right off and you're nowhere
They say the girls are somethin' else
On Broadway (on Broadway)
But lookin' at them just gives me the blues (on Broadway)
How ya gonna make some time
When all you got is one thin dime
And one thin dime won't even shine your shoes (on Broadway)
They say that I won't last too long on Broadway (on Broadway)
I'll catch a Greyhound bus for home they all say (on Broadway)
But they're wrong, I know they are
I can play this here guitar
And I won't quit till I'm a star
On Broadway (on Broadway)
But they're wrong, I know they are
I can play this here guitar
And I won't quit till I'm a star on Broadway (on Broadway)
On Broadway (on Broadway)
I'm gonna make it, yeah (on Broadway)
I'll be a big, big man (on Broadway)
I'll have my name in lights (on Broadway)
Everybody gonna know me (on Broadway)
All up and down Broadway (on Broadway)
All up and down Broadway (on Broadway)
All up and down Broadway

Writer/s: STOLLER, MIKE / LEIBER, JERRY / MANN, BARRY / WEIL, CYNTHIA
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

On Broadway Song Chart

"On Broadway" was a collaboration between the familiar songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and the also-successful team of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. As such, it represents an especially distilled example of the "Brill Building sound." However, as Leiber and Stoller, and even such music scholars as Al Kooper and Ken Emerson, are hasty to remind us, the "Brill Building sound" actually came from 1650 Broadway as much as it did from 1619 Broadway (the address of the actual Brill Building). Weil and Mann worked out of 1650; Leiber and Stoller at 1619.

Pay attention to the instrumentals and vocals here. The Drifters were a cross-over from doo-wop to R&B, with the vocals striking a balance here. The music has a hint of soul with a large production number, and that intrusive guitar kicking in towards the end gives a nod to rockabilly. At this time, Motown was just firing up with its new soul sound, and Mike Stoller reports in Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography , "Some say Sam Cooke invented soul music in the fifties, and some say Ray Charles. Some say soul didn't come about until later, in the sixties, with the advent of Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Others have told us that our productions for the Drifters began it all. Who can say?"

It's no surprise, then, that Berry Gordy came to see Jerry Leiber at his Brill Building office right before this song came out. Explaining that he wanted to make R&B more appealing to whites by softening the sound, he played some demo tapes for Leiber. Gordy then offered him a partnership. But Leiber turned him down, telling him, "You don't need me. You have everything you need. Just go back to Detroit and do it."

Phil Spector was an apprentice to Leiber and Stoller at the time, and he played the guitar solo on this. Spector learned many of his production techniques watching Leiber and Stoller produce The Drifters.

This was one of the last Drifters songs featuring lead singer Rudy Lewis, who replaced Ben E. King in 1961. Lewis died of a heart attack in 1964.

George Benson's cover version was a #7 US hit in 1978.

Gary Numan did a synthesizer-driven cover in 1979. Other artists to cover the song include Neil Young, Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Bobby Darin and Sly & the Family Stone.

This song was used in TV commercials for Radio Free Europe in the early '60s. (thanks, Jim - Boston, MA)

Stevie Wonder - Fingertips (Part 2)

Stevie Wonder - Fingertips (Part 2) Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The 12 Year Old Genius (Recorded Live)
Released: 1963

Fingertips (Part 2) Lyrics

Everybody say yeah (yeah!)
Say yeah (yeah!)
Say yeah (yeah!)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Just a little bit of sou-ou-ou-ou-oul
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Clap your hands just a little bit louder
Clap your hands just a little bit louder

I know that everybody had yeah,
Everybody had a good time
So if you want me to
If you want me to
I'm gonna swing the song, yeah
Just one more time when I come by
Just one more time when I come by
So goodbye

(How about it? Let's hear it for him, huh? Little Stevie Wonder. Take a bow, Stevie.)

Come on!
Goodbye goodbye
Goodbye goodbye
Goodbye goodbye goodbye
I'm gonna go, yeah
I'm gonna go, yeah
Lets just swing it one more time

Writer/s: LINNELL, JOHN / FLANSBURGH, JOHN
Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Fingertips (Part 2) Song Chart

This was the first live recording to hit #1 in the US, and it has quite a story behind it. Stevie Wonder, just 12 years old, was part of a Motown package tour called "The Motortown Revue," and was thrilling crowds with his high-energy performances. On March 10, 1963, the Revue came to the Regal Theatre in Chicago, where Wonder's performance was recorded. On this night, he played a highly improvised version of his song "Fingertips," which went on for about 10 minutes as the crowd went absolutely nuts and the stage manager, concerned because the show was running late, tried to get him off so the next act could perform. Wonder fed off the crowd and kept going, even doing a little bit of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on his harmonica. When Wonder ends the song (about 2:05 in), the band starts to clear the stage, and the band for the next act, The Marvelettes, hustles on. At this point, Wonder starts playing again, at which point you can hear the Marvelettes bass player Joe Swift ask "What key?" and the performance picks up again with a little encore played by at least some members of the new band.

Motown released the last 3 minutes of this performance as "Fingertips (Part 2)," as the B-side of a different performance of the first part of "Fingertips." Part 2 became the hit, and the single was quickly reissued with Part 2 as the A-side. The song spent 3 weeks at #1 in the summer of 1963 and launched Wonder to stardom.

An instrumental studio version of "Fingertips" was included on Wonder's first album, The Jazz Soul Of Little Stevie, in September, 1962. The song was written by the Motown writers Hank Cosby and Clarence Paul. This version of the song is much more mellow, jazzier and flute-heavy than the famous live version, which plays up the horns and harmonica.

Wonder's first two albums were The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie and Tribute to Uncle Ray, both released in 1962 and intended to frame Stevie as a young Ray Charles. They didn't catch on, but in 1963 Motown released The 12 Year Old Genius (Recorded Live), with two sides of the "Fingertips" single (from different performances) edited together to make one song. The album hit #1 while the single was still topping the Hot 100, making Stevie Wonder the first artist with a #1 album and single at the same time. The song was also a #1 R&B hit at the time.

The words on this song were stuff Stevie Wonder came up with to engage the crowd - Part 1 of the song and the studio version are both instrumental.

This was only the second #1 hit for Motown Records. Their first was "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes in 1961.

A young Marvin Gaye played drums on this live recording. Gaye had already been a Motown session drummer for a couple of years, and amongst the hits he'd previously drummed on was The Marvelletes #1 song "Please Mr. Postman."

Berry Gordy gave Wonder the name "Little Stevie Wonder" (his real name is Steveland Morris) and marketed him with Motown Records as a "Genius." His talent was obvious, but it didn't translate to record, and his first three singles tanked. It took a while for Wonder to develop a studio hit, but he quickly became a top live performer, thanks in part to his time in the youth choir at Whitestone Baptist Church in Detroit. "Fingertips (Part 2)" captured that live energy and established Wonder as a top vocalist and harmonica player, but as he grew up, he developed into a brilliant songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He dropped the "little" from his stage name in 1964.

Wonder got a lot of attention in the aftermath of this song, but he went though a long dry spell before he had another big hit. By 1965, Motown producers were passing up opportunities to work with him because they couldn't figure out how to translate his talent into a hit recording. The breakthrough came when he began working with Sylvia Moy, who worked with him on the song "Uptight (Everything's Alright)," which made #3 in 1966.

Sam Cooke - Another Saturday Night

Sam Cooke - Another Saturday Night Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Ain't That Good News
Released: 1963

Another Saturday Night Lyrics

[Chorus]
Another Saturday Night and I ain't got nobody,
I have some money 'cause I just got paid.
How I wish I had someone to talk to,
I'm in an awful way.

I blew in town I week ago,
I ain't seen a lot of girls since then.
If I could meet 'em I could get 'em, but as yet I haven't met 'em,
That's why I'm in the shape I'm in ohh

[Chorus]

Another fella told me, he had a sister that looked so fine.
Instead of being my deliverance, she had a strong resemblance to a
Cat named Frankenstein ohh

[Chorus]

It's hard for a fella, when he don't know his way around,
If I can't find me a honey to help me spend my money,
I'm gonna have to blow this town ohh

[Chorus]

Writer/s: COOKE, SAM
Publisher: Abkco Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Another Saturday Night Song Chart

Cooke wrote this when he was touring England in 1962 with Little Richard. Along with many Soulful ballads, he wrote a lot of lighter songs like this ("Good News," "Having A Party," "Twistin' The Night Away"), but did record a heavy political song shortly before his death in 1964: "A Change Is Gonna Come."

Cat Stevens recorded this in 1974 - his version hit US #6. Except for "Morning Has Broken," it's the only Stevens release he did not write himself.

The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll brings us this Sam Cooke moment: Cooke began as a gospel singer in church and replaced the Soul Stirrers' R.H. Harris in 1951. For his first solo onstage, the crowd was skeptical of his ability to fill Harris' absence, but Cooke "... eyes closed and arms outstretched, sang without the rasping delivery or broken vowels of older stylists, avoiding the tentative offering of Harris' Roman tenor. Yet his voice, burrowing and soaring through plaintive dirges, exuding a gentle world-weariness, moved the congregation to a standing ovation."

The album's title, Ain't That Good News, is an allusion to his previous gospel choir roots, as the Biblical gospel is often referred to as "good news" in witnessing and ministering.

This was the first song Cooke released after the tragic drowning death of his son Vincent, who was 18 months old. in the interim, he'd fled town for out-of-town gigs, as many as he could get.

The Beatles - This Boy

The Beatles - This Boy Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Meet The Beatles!
Released: 1963

This Boy Lyrics

That boy
Took my love away
He'll regret it someday
But This Boy wants you back again

That boy
Isn't good for you
Though he may want you too
This boy wants you back again

Oh, and this boy would be happy just to love you
But oh my-I-I and
That boy won't be happy
'Til he's seen you cry

This boy
Wouldn't mind the pain
Would always feel the same
If this boy gets you back again

This boy
This boy
This boy

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

This Boy Song Chart

John Lennon wrote this song. One of his early compositions, it is seemingly simple, but very clever. The song contains only a few notes, but the space between the notes is filled by the arrangements. It's the same technique you hear in Liszt's "Liebestraum," the piano piece in Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze and in Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

This was the first Beatles composition that was commented on by a music critic. William Mann wrote in The London Times December 27, 1963, that the song had "pendiatonic clusters." (thanks to Johan Cavalli, who is a music historian in Stockholm, for above 2)

George Harrison: "It was John (Lennon) trying to do Smokey (Robinson)."

The vocals were a three part harmony sung by Harrison, Lennon and McCartney.

The Beatles performed this on their second Ed Sullivan Show appearance - Feb 16, 1964. They played six songs on the show that night, and this provided a slow change of pace from the uptempo songs like "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand." The Beatles were just beginning their breakthrough in America and got a huge audience from the show.

This was used in Ringo's big scene in The Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night. The version used in the film is an instrumental renamed "Ringo's Theme (This Boy)," and without any harmony singing.

This was one of the first songs on which The Beatles used a 4-track recorder. (thanks, Jes - Mason City, IA)

Artists to cover this song include Tom Baxter, David Bowie, Sean Lennon, George Martin, Delbert McClinton and The Nylons. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand

The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Meet The Beatles!
Released: 1963

I Want To Hold Your Hand Lyrics

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

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Want To Hold Your Hand Song Chart

This was the first Beatles song to catch on in America. In 1963, the Beatles became stars in England, but couldn't break through in the US. They couldn't get a major label to distribute their singles in America, so songs like "Love Me Do" and "She Loves You" were issued on small labels and flopped, even though they were hits in England. By February 1964, America finally took notice of The Beatles and bought this single in droves, giving them their first US hit. It sold better in first 10 days of release in the US than any other British single, and remains the best-selling Beatles single in the United States, moving over 12 million copies.

The Beatles celebrated madly when they found out they were #1 in America. They came to America for the first time in February 1964, a week after this hit #1, and having the top single gave them a huge boost. Conquering the US was, and still is, a big deal for British bands. Many groups that are huge in the UK (Oasis, Blur) never really catch on in America.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this in Jane Asher's basement. Asher was an actress who became Paul's first high-profile girlfriend. After appearing in several movies, TV shows and stage productions, Asher became an authority on baking, and has her own business selling party cakes and supplying baking and decorating equipment. She and Paul broke up in 1968.

Jane had a brother named Pete Asher who teamed up with Gordon Waller to form the duo Peter & Gordon and McCartney wrote for them their hit single "A World Without Love." Pete recalled in a 2010 interview with Gibson.com the two Beatles penning this song at his home: "My mother had a practice room that she used to give private oboe lessons when she wasn't teaching at The Royal Academy, where she was a professor. There was just a piano, and an upright chair and a sofa. Paul used that room to write in, from time to time. One afternoon John came over, while I was upstairs in my room. The two of them were in the basement for an hour or so, and Paul called me down to listen to a song they had just finished. I went downstairs and sat on the sofa, and they sat side by side, on the piano bench. That's where they played 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' for the first anywhere. They asked me what I thought. I said, 'I think it's very good.'" [laughs]

The Beatles performed this on their first 2 Ed Sullivan Show appearances, which took place Feb 9th and 16th, 1964. There was a media frenzy around The Beatles, as this was #1 on the charts and millions of people saw them on Sullivan's show. The Beatles were booked for the show before they had a hit in the US, so they actually got paid less than many other guests for their appearance.

Bob Dylan thought the line "I can't hide" was "I get high," and a reference to marijuana. He was surprised to learn they had never tried pot, and became part of Beatles lore when he introduced them to it.

This was one of John Lennon's favorite Beatles songs. It starts with a falling melody, which is typical of Lennon's songwriting, and ends with a cadence with a quarter-interval: "I'll think you'll understand." That quarter-interval cadence you can even hear in Lennon's first bit of "From Me to You" and in "Tomorrow Never Knows." McCartney most often uses second-intervals. Also typically Lennon is the sudden octave-run, "Haaaaand..." The same octave-run you can hear in the end of the middle part in Lennon's "Please Please Me": "To reason with youuuuuu..." Also note that the beginning of the melody in the middle part is almost the same melody as the beginning of the middle part in "Don't Let Me Down." (thanks to Johan Cavalli, who is a music historian in Stockholm)

Two parody groups made answer songs to this in 1964: "I'll Let You Hold My Hand" by The Bootles and "Yes, You Can Hold My Hand" by The Beatlettes.

This was played on a Washington, D.C. radio station before it was released in America by a DJ who got the record from a stewardess. It was a huge hit with his listeners.

The first Beatles song recorded on 4 track equipment. Some of their first songs were in mono.

The Beatles also cut a German version called "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand." The Beatles picked up some German while playing The Star Club in Hamburg in 1962.

In the 1960s it wasn't uncommon for British stars to record new versions of their hits in other languages. The idea was to increase airplay on continental stations and to get a hit before an indigenous artist recorded a version in the local tongue. On January 29, 1964, The Beatles went into the Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris and recorded this song and "She Loves You" ("Sie Liebt Dich") in German. The lyrics had been hurriedly translated by a Luxembourger named Camillo Felgen, who was then a program director at Radio Luxembourg. As well, apart from their recording of "My Bonnie" in the early '60s, this was the only time The Beatles recorded in another language. In addition it was the sole occasion on which they recorded outside London.

When this hit US #1 it was the first time a British group topped the charts in the US since 1962, when "Telstar" by The Tornados did it. The Beatles quickly began dominating the US charts.

At times John Lennon realized that the crowds the Beatles played to were so loud that they really couldn't hear them sing, so sometimes instead of saying "I want to hold your hand," John would say, "I want to hold your gland" as a reference to women's breasts. (thanks, bob - Laguna Beach, CA)

It was the youth who discovered The Beatles, and while young people can be easily manipulated through hype and image, in the case of The Beatles it was the music that drew them in. An American girl Sanda Stewart, 15 years old in spring 1964 (according to Hunter Davies in his book Beatles) said: "I was one day in a shop with my mother when I suddenly heard 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' on the car radio. Such a special sound! I could never stop thinking about it. No song has effected me on that way. Several other girls in school had reacted in the same way. We saw the Beatles on photos and thought they were ugly. But their music was fantastic." (thanks to Johan Cavalli, who is a music historian in Stockholm)

This song was used in the movie Across the Universe at a much slower tempo. (thanks, Breanna - Henderson, NV)

The Beatles - Money (That's What I Want)

The Beatles - Money (That's What I Want) Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: With The Beatles
Released: 1963

Money (That's What I Want) Lyrics

The best things in life are free
But you can keep them for the birds and bees
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want

You're lovin' gives me a thrill
But you're lovin' don't pay my bills
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want

Money don't get everything it's true
What it don't get, I can't use
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want, wah

Money don't get everything it's true
What it don't get, I can't use
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want

Well now give me money
A lot of money
Wow, yeah, I wanna be free
Oh I want money
That's what I want
That's what I want, well
Now give me money
A lot of money
Wow, yeah, you need money
Now, give me money
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want

Writer/s: GORDY JR, BERRY / ROBINSON JR., WILLIAM
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Money (That's What I Want) Song Chart

This Motown classic was originally recorded by Barrett Strong in 1959. Strong became a writer for Motown, and worked on some of The Temptations' hits. The song was written by Motown chief Berry Gordy with help from an assistant at the company, Janie Bradford.

The Beatles performed this at their audition for Decca Records in 1962. They didn't get the deal, but were singned on their next audition, which was for Parlophone Records. Decca did sign Brian Poole And The Tremeloes.

Beatles producer George Martin played the piano. John Lennon sang lead.

Speaking of money, Paul McCartney is the wealthiest rock star ever, earning over a billion dollars in his career.

Along with "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Please Mr. Postman," this was one of three Motown songs the The Beatles released on their second album, titled With The Beatles in the UK and The Beatles' Second Album in the US. Berry Gordy, who ran Motown Records, was thrilled that The Beatles thought highly enough of Motown to record their songs.

The Beatles - Devil In Her Heart

The Beatles - Devil In Her Heart Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: With The Beatles
Released: 1963

Devil In Her Heart Lyrics

She's got the Devil In Her Heart
But her eyes they tantalize
She's gonna tear your heart apart
Oh her lips they really thrill me

I'll take my chances
For romance is
So important to me
She'll never hurt me
She won't desert me
She's an angel sent to me

She's got the devil in her heart
No, no, this I can't believe
She's gonna tear your heart apart
No, no nay will she deceive

I can't believe that she'll ever ever go
Not when she hugs and says she loves me so
She'll never hurt me
She won't desert me
Listen can't you see

She's got the devil in her heart
Oh, no, no, no, this I can't believe
She's gonna tear your heart apart
No no nay will she deceive

Don't take chances if your romance is
So important to you
She'll never hurt me
She won't desert me
She's an angel sent to me

She's got the devil in her heart
Oh, no, no, no, no this I can't believe
She's gonna tear your heart apart
No, no nay will she deceive

She's got the devil in her heart
No she's an angel sent to me
She's got the devil in her heart
No she's an angel sent to me

Writer/s: RICHARD DRAPKIN
Publisher: HELENE BLUE MUSIQUE LTD, T.S.E.C.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Devil In Her Heart Song Chart

This was originally released by The Donays in 1962 as "Devil In Your Heart." The Donays were a female group from Detroit.

The Donays' version became popular in England in 1963 when The Beatles put it on their second album. The British single by The Donays quickly became a collectors item.

This was written by Richard P. Drapkin, who recorded under the name Ricky Dee and was on the Oriole label in Britain. (thanks, Reed - New Ulm, MN)

This song was a standard part of The Beatles repertoire on their 1962 and 1963 tours.

The Beatles - I Wanna Be Your Man

The Beatles - I Wanna Be Your Man Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: With The Beatles
Released: 1963

I Wanna Be Your Man Lyrics

I want to be your lover baby,
I want to be your man,
I want to be your lover baby,
I want to be your man.
Love you like no other baby,
Like no other can,
Love you like no other baby,
Like no other can.

I want to be your man, I want to be your man,
I want to be your man, I want to be your man.

Tell me that you love me baby,
Let me understand,
Tell me that you love me baby,
I want to be your man.
I want to be your lover baby,
I want to be your man,
I want to be your lover baby,
I want to be your man.

I want to be your man, I want to be your man,
I want to be your man, I want to be your man.

I want to be your lover baby,
I want to be your man,
I want to be your lover baby,
I want to be your man.
Love you like no other baby,
Like no other can,
Love you like no other baby,
Like no other can.

I want to be your man, I want to be your man,
I want to be your man, I want to be your man.
I want to be your man, I want to be your man.

Writer/s: FULLER, JERRY/DUNBAR, SLY/SHAKESPEARE, ROBBIE / TAYLOR, JOHN NIGEL/BONNER, EVERTON/WILLIS, LLOYD (GITSY)
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ROUND HILL MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

I Wanna Be Your Man Song Chart

John Lennon and Paul McCartney were working on this when they ran into the Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham on September 10, 1963 in London. Oldham did some work promoting The Beatles earlier in 1963, and invited John and Paul to the Studio 51 jazz club where The Stones were rehearsing. They had been working on "I Wanna Be Your Man," and finished it at the rehearsal when they found out The Stones were looking for a song to use as their second UK single. They gave the song to The Stones but also recorded it themselves on their With The Beatles album. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were amazed at this display of songwriting prowess and soon began writing their own songs.

Ringo sang lead, as the song was developed for him. It was his showpiece song during their live performances from 1963-1966.

Contrary to popular opinion, this was not the only song recorded by both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. "Money (That's What I Want)" was recorded by both groups as well. It appears on the album With the Beatles as well as the Stones' More Hot Rocks (Big Hits and Fazed Cookies). (thanks, Joel - Chicago, IL)

Paul McCartney was the main author of this song, but it was finished up by both Lennon and McCartney during a jam session with The Rolling Stones. Lennon himself practically scoffed at the song, saying in an interview with David Sheff, "It was a throwaway. The only two versions of the song were Ringo and the Rolling Stones. That shows how much importance we put on it: We weren't going to give them anything great, right?"

While the "rivalry" between The Beatles and The Rolling Stones was played up at the time for publicity purposes, Keith Richards eventually denied that any such rivalry was present.

That's "the fifth Beatle" George Martin on the Hammond organ. Martin dismissed the honorary title as "nonsense," but his contributions to the music world were nevertheless enough to get his UK status raised to that of "knight bachelor" in 1996.

Meanwhile, producer Andrew Loog Oldham lives on without knighthood. It was Oldham, by the way, who first came up with the Stones' early "anti-Beatles" image, as a rougher, edgier counterpart to the "adorable moptops" Beatles image.

The Beatles performed this song in their 1964 film A Hard Day's Night. The song was also used in a 2004 episode of the TV show Crossing Jordan in a version performed by Sam Phillips. She didn't change the gender and did a darker take on the song.

The Beatles - Till There Was You

The Beatles - Till There Was You Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: With The Beatles
Released: 1963

Till There Was You Lyrics

Till There Was You Song Chart

This was written in 1957 for the Broadway musical The Music Man. It was written by songwriter Meredith Willson, who also wrote "76 Trombones" for the same musical as well as the seasonal favorite "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas."

Paul McCartney loved show tunes and wanted to cover this. His favorite version was Peggy Lee's.

The Beatles played this song, along with "She Loves You" and "Twist And Shout," at the Royal Command Performance of 1963. Paul credited it to their "Favorite American group, Sophie Tucker." (thanks, don - rapid city, SD)

The Beatles performed this on their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance, February 9, 1964. This was a huge event, as Beatlemania had just come to America. This was the only song they played that night that was not one of their hits - they put it in to appeal to the older audience that was tuned in. As they played, the camera zoomed in on each Beatle and superimposed their first name. When it got to Lennon, it read, "Sorry girls, he's married."

This was also performed during the Beatles appearance on the Royal Variety Show on November 4, 1963. It was probably also appealing to the older audience and it provided a break between the up-tempo numbers, "She Loves You" and "Twist and Shout." (thanks, Adrian - Wilmington, DE)

The Beatles - Don't Bother Me

The Beatles - Don't Bother Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: With The Beatles
Released: 1963

Don't Bother Me Lyrics

Since she's been gone I want no one to talk to me.
It's not the same but I'm to blame, it's plain to see.

So go away, leave me alone, Don't Bother Me.
I can't believe that she would leave me on my own.
It's just not right when every night I'm all alone.

I've got no time for you right now, don't bother me.
I know I'll never be the same if I don't get her back again.
Because I know she'll always be the only girl for me.

But 'till she's here please don't come near, just stay away.
I'll let you know when she's come home.
Until that day

Don't come around, leave me alone, don't bother me.
I've got no time for you right now, don't bother me.
I know I'll never be the same if I don't get her back again.
Because I know she'll always be the only girl for me.

But 'till she's here please don't come near, just stay away.
I'll let you know when she's come home.
Until that day

Don't come around, leave me alone, don't bother me.
Don't bother me.
Don't bother me.
Don't bother me.
Don't bother me.

Writer/s: HARRISON, GEORGE
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Don't Bother Me Song Chart

This was George Harrison's first recorded song. It was his response to critics who claimed he was not an important member of the group because he did not write songs.

Harrison never regarded this song very highly, stating, "I don't think it's a particularly good song... It mightn't even be a song at all, but at least it showed me that all I needed to do was keep on writing, and then maybe eventually I would write something good."

A Harrison-penned song would not appear again until the 1965 album Help!. That would be "You Know What To Do."

This song has a darker, more pessimistic mood that was uncommon of The Beatles main sound, but would come to be Harrison's trademark stamp. This is actually part of what made the Beatles' formula work: McCartney was the chirpy, positive one, and Harrison was the melancholic counterpart.

George wrote this when he was down with the flu in a hotel room in the Northeast of England. The Beatles chauffeur kept various tapes which the band were working on. Years later these were sold off at one of the London auction houses. This song in it's very earliest stages is available on bootleg and features George working the music and lyrics out as he goes along. George stated, "I wrote the song as an exercise to see if I could write a song. I was sick in bed. Maybe that's why it turned out to be 'Don't Bother Me.'" (thanks, John - London, England)

For your information, the photography technique for the cover of With The Beatles, in which the Fab Four's headshots hover in a half-moon, light-and-shadow effect, is called "chiaroscuro." It's an Italian word to describe the Renaissance technique of dramatically contrasted lighting effects in oil paintings.

This was the first song on Side 2 of Meet The Beatles, their first album released in the US. With The Beatles was their second UK release.

George Harrison may have thought very little of this song, but his friend Tom Petty didn't share this sentiment. "I thought it was just the coolest song, like nothing I'd heard in rock," Petty told Rolling Stone in 2014. "I'd say, 'Well, I like it. A lot. If you did that today, I'd say it was really good.' And he'd go, 'Well, you'd be wrong.'"

The Beatles - All My Loving

The Beatles - All My Loving Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: With The Beatles
Released: 1963

All My Loving Lyrics

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send All My Loving to you

I'll pretend that I'm kissing
The lips I am missing
And hope that my dreams will come true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you

All my loving, I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true

Close your eyes and I'll kiss you
Tomorrow I'll miss you
Remember I'll always be true
And then while I'm away
I'll write home every day
And I'll send all my loving to you

All my loving, I will send to you
All my loving, darling I'll be true
All my loving, all my loving
Woo, all my loving, I will send to you

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

All My Loving Song Chart

This was the first time Paul McCartney wrote the words to a song before the music. The song began as a poem he conceived while he was shaving one morning thinking about his girlfriend Jane Asher, who he met when she interviewed him for the magazine Radio Times. He wrote the music that night. He originally envisioned it as a country/western song.

This Beatles classic was never released as a single, but it was the first song the group played on their first Ed Sullivan Show appearance: February 9, 1964. It was a historic telecast, as over 73 million people tuned in. At the time, that was the largest audience ever for a TV show.

McCartney sang lead on this. His vocal was double-tracked to bring it out in the mix.

George Harrison's guitar solo was influenced by Chet Atkins, one of his idols when he was learning to play.

John Lennon was always fond of the grinding rhythm guitar he contributed to the studio recording. (thanks, Adrian - Wilmington, DE)

Three very different cover versions charted in the US in 1964: An instrumental by the Hollyridge Strings made #93, a faithful version by Jimmy Griffin hit #118, and a squeaky rendition by The Chipmunks made #134.

The Beatles - It Won't Be Long

The Beatles - It Won't Be Long Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: With The Beatles
Released: 1963

It Won't Be Long Lyrics

It Won't Be Long yeah, yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, till I belong to you

Every night when everybody has fun
Here am I sitting all on my own

It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, till I belong to you

Since you left me, I'm so alone
Now you're coming, you're coming on home
I'll be good like I know I should
You're coming home, you're coming home

Every night the tears come down from my eyes
Every day I've done nothing but cry

It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, till I belong to you

Since you left me, I'm so alone
Now you're coming, you're coming on home
I'll be good like I know I should
You're coming home, you're coming home

So every day we'll be happy I know
Now I know that you won't leave me no more

It won't be long yeah, yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, yeah
It won't be long yeah, till I belong to you, woo

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

It Won't Be Long Song Chart

In a 1980 interview with Playboy, John Lennon said that after some London critic remarked that "It Won't Be Long" contained "Aeolian cadences," their popularity increased because they attracted the brainy set. Lennon confesses that to this day, he has no idea what an "Aeolian cadence" is. The Aeolian is also known as the natural minor scale, beginning on A.

This song has been covered by House of Heroes on a Beatles' cover album, and also by Franz Ferdinand, The Quick, Richard Thompson, and the Beatles tribute supergroup Yellow Matter Custard - who are named after a line from "I Am The Walrus."

This song repeats the distinctive "yeah, yeah" chorus first popularized in "She Loves You." In "It Won't Be Long," the "yeah" shows up 56 times.

The wordplay here between "belong" and "be long" was explained by Paul McCartney: "I was doing literature at school, so I was interested in plays on words and onomatopoeia. John didn't do literature but he was quite well read, so he was interested in that kind of thing. Like the double meaning of 'please' in a line like 'Please, lend a little ear to my pleas' that we used in Please Please Me. We'd spot the double meaning. I think everyone did, by the way, it was not just the genius of us! In 'It won't be long till I belong to you' it was that same trip. We both liked to try and get a bit of double meaning in, so that was the high spot of writing that particular song. John mainly sang it so I expect that it was his original idea but we both sat down and wrote it together."

Another Beatles song to use "be long" repeatedly is "Blue Jay Way."

This was the first song Neil Young performed for an audience. He played it at his high school cafeteria.

John Lennon's vocal was double-tracked to make it stand out.

The Beatles - She Loves You

The Beatles - She Loves You Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics
Album: The Beatles' Second Album
Released: 1963

She Loves You Lyrics

She Loves You, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah

You think you've lost your love
Well, I saw her yesterday-yi-yay
It's you she's thinking of
And she told me what to say-yi-yay

She says she loves you
and you know that can't be bad
Yes, she loves you
and you know you should be glad

She said you hurt her so
She almost lost her mind
And now she says she knows
You're not the hurting kind

She says she loves you
and you know that can't be bad
Yes, she loves you
and you know you should be glad

Oo, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
With a love like that
You know you should be glad

You know it's up to you
I think it's only fair
Pride can hurt you too
Apologize to her

Because she loves you
and you know that can't be bad
Yes, she loves you
and you know you should be glad

Oo, she loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
With a love like that
You know you should be glad
With a love like that
you know you should be glad
With a love like that
you know you should be glad
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ROUND HILL MUSIC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

She Loves You Song Chart

The Beatles tell quite a tale in this tidy Pop song. Some poor guy thinks he has lost his girl for good, but he's redeemed when he finds out from a friend that she still loves him. There's even a moral at the end of the story: "Pride can hurt you too." Good advice when arguing with a loved one.

This was an instant hit in the England, but not in America where it was released on Swan records, the only US label that would take it. Swan put it out in September 1963, but while The Beatles were huge in England, they were still no big deal in America until February 1964. That's when Beatlemania took hold and this became a US hit.

This popularized the phrase "yeah, yeah, yeah." Paul McCartney's dad wanted them to sing "yes, yes, yes" instead because he thought it sounded more dignified.

This was one of 4 Beatles songs that was never released in stereo. The others are "Love Me Do," "I'll Get You" and "You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)." (thanks, don - rapid city, SD)

The Beatles released a German version translated as "Sie Liebt Dich" in the US in 1964. They learned some German when they became the house band in Hamburg in 1962, but needed a German speaker to help them with the lyrics. They recorded the German version in Paris - it was the only time they recorded outside of England.

Apart from "My Bonnie," which was recorded with Tony Sheridan in their early days in Hamburg, the only other song the Beatles recorded in another language, again German, was "I Want To Hold Your Hand." "Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand" was recorded the same time as "Sie Liebt Dich."
"Sie Liebt Dich" peaked at #97, the lowest position of the Beatles' 71 Hot 100 charted songs.

In the UK, this is the biggest-selling Beatles single. It was the held the record for top-selling UK single of all time until 1977, when Wings (led by McCartney) topped it with "Mull Of Kintyre."

Jack Paar played a video clip of this on his show on January 3, 1964. The Beatles had appeared on news clips as part of stories about their success in England, but this was the first time they appeared on a US TV talk show. They also played it on both of their live Ed Sullivan Show appearances. When The Beatles agreed to do the show, they were not a big deal in America and took less money than most acts received for their fee. When The Beatles played The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, it got the largest audience ever for a TV show. Sullivan began having regular musical guests from the world of popular music, and it became a showcase for groups like The Rolling Stones, The Supremes, Santana and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

McCartney and Lennon were inspired to write this after a concert at the Majestic Ballroom in Newcastle when they were part of a tour with Roy Orbison and Gerry & the Pacemakers. Says McCartney, "There was a Bobby Rydell song out at the time "Forget Him" and, as often happens, you think of one song when you write another. We were in a van up in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I'd planned an answering song where a couple of us would sing 'She loves you' and the other ones would answer 'Yeah Yeah.' We decided that was a crummy idea but at least we then had the idea of a song called She Loves You. So we sat in the hotel bedroom for a few hours and wrote it; John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

In England, this hit #1 twice in 1963, first on September 4 and again on November 20.

The single of this was the first record Ozzy Osbourne ever bought. The Beatles were a big influence on him because they were also poor kids from a small town in England.

This was one of the Beatles songs that held the top 5 positions on the US chart on April 4, 1964. Others were: "Twist and Shout," "Can't Buy Me Love," "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Please, Please Me."

The Beatles played part of this at the end of "All You Need Is Love," which they recorded 4 years later.

This song was played at the conclusion of the concert sequence at the end of the film A Hard Day's Night, although it wasn't included on the soundtrack album. (thanks, Charlie - Cape Girardeau, MO)

Norman Smith, who was The Beatles engineer, told the story in his autobiography John Called me Normal about feeling his heart sink when he spotted the lyrics on the music stand. As he later relayed to Mark Lewinsohn: "She loves you, yeah yeah yeah, She loves you, yeah yeah yeah, she loves you yeah yeah yeah yeah... I thought, My God, what a lyric! This is going to be the one I do not like."
Smith had a hit in 1972 with "Oh Babe What Would You Say" as Hurricane Smith. He also produced the first three Pink Floyd albums.

There is a very clear edit in this song between the lines "I think it's only fair/Pride can hurt you too." It appears that two version had been edited together. (thanks, Rick - Mount Ephraim, NJ, for above 2)

In August 2009 the Official Chart Company compiled a list of the Beatles biggest selling hits in the UK, including re-issues. They revealed that this song was the Fab Four's best seller in their native country, followed by "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "Can't Buy Me Love."

Regarding the falsetto exaltation that occurs at the song's manic peak, McCartney once explained: "The 'wooooo' was taken from the Isley Brothers' 'Twist and Shout.' We stuck it in everything."

The Melissa Manchester hit You Should Hear How She Talks About You was written as a contemporary take on this song, with the singer telling a friend that a guy is really into her.