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The Beatles - Twist and Shout

The Beatles - Twist and Shout Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1963

Twist and Shout Lyrics

Well, shake it up, baby, now (shake it up, baby)
Twist and Shout (twist and shout)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby, now (come on, baby)
Come and work it all out (work it all out)
Well, you work it all out, now (work it all out)
You know, you look so good (look so good)
You know, you got me going, now (got me going)
Just like I knew you would (like I knew you would)
Well, shake it up, baby, now (shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout (twist and shout)

Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby, now (come on, baby)
Come and work it all out (work it all out)
Well, you twist, little girl (twist, little girl)
You know, you twist so fine (twist so fine)
Come on and twist a little closer, now (twist a little closer)
And let me know that you're mine (let me know you're mine)

Well, shake it up, baby, now (shake it up, baby)
Twist and shout (twist and shout)
Come on, come on, come on, come on, baby, now (come on, baby)
Come and work it all out (work it all out)
Well, you twist, little girl (twist, little girl)
You know, you twist so fine (twist so fine)
Come on and twist a little closer, now (twist a little closer)
And let me know that you're mine (let me know you're mine)

Writer/s: BERNS, BERT / MEDLEY, PHIL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Twist and Shout Song Chart

A Philadelphia R&B group called The Top Notes originally recorded this in 1961. It was a hit for The Isley Brothers in 1962, which is the version The Beatles emulated. Engineer Norman Smith explained how The Beatles version came about: "Someone suggested they do 'Twist and Shout' with John taking the lead vocal. But by this time all their throats were sore; it was 12 hours since we had started working. John's, in particular, was almost completely gone so we really had to get it right the first time. The Beatles on the studio floor and us in the control room. John sucked a couple more Zubes (a brand of throat lozenges), had a bit of a gargle with milk and away we went."

The Beatles used this to end many of their early live performances. It was always a huge hit when they played it in concert, and was chosen as their opening song at their Shea Stadium performance on August 15, 1965 - the first rock concert held in a stadium.

John Lennon admitted that he screamed the lyrics. The Beatles had to sing loud when they did countless live shows in their early years.

You can hear McCartney yell "hey" over the very last chord of this song, possibly because it was such a challenge doing the vocals with Lennon suffering from a cold (he was plagued with them his entire life). A lot of people think that the song was recorded once - a one time shot. They actually did two takes, and kept the first one. John was totally knackered, sick as a dog and had stripped off his shirt to let himself sweat it out, but he pulled it off. The next day - February 12, 1963 - The Beatles played two shows, one at the Azena Ballroom in Yorkshire and another at the Astoria Ballroom in Lancashire.

In 1986, this charted again (at #23) when it was used in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

This was used in the Rodney Dangerfield movie Back To School.

This was the first hit song written by Bert Berns. He went on to write songs for The Drifters, Ben E. King, and Van Morrison. He died of a heart attack in 1967.

The Beatles - Do You Want To Know A Secret

The Beatles - Do You Want To Know A Secret Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1963

Do You Want To Know A Secret Lyrics

You'll never know how much I really love you
You'll never know how much I really care
Listen Do You Want To Know A Secret
Do you promise not to tell woh woh woh closer
Let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you long to hear
I'm in love with you oo
I've known the secret for a week or two
Nobody knows just we two
Listen do you want to know a secret
Do you promise not to tell woh woh woh closer
Let me whisper in your ear
Say the words you long to hear
I'm in love with you oo

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

Do You Want To Know A Secret Song Chart

John Lennon claimed this song came to him based on the tune "I'm Wishing" that his mother used to sing him from the Disney movie Snow White. In the beginning of the Disney song, Snow White is singing to the doves, "Wanna know a secret? Promise not to tell? We are standing by a wishing well."

George Harrison sang lead. It's one of the few Beatles songs not sung by the person who wrote it.

This was the first Lennon/McCartney song to be a hit for another artist - it was recorded by Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas. Their version was #1 in England for 2 weeks.

The Beatles were very close to a record deal, and John wanted to marry. Their manager Brian Epstein was very upset as he had been pitching the boys as 4 good-looking single chaps from England. John could not be talked out of the wedding so Brian made him a deal. As the 2 could not afford a honeymoon, and did not have a place of their own, he would let them use his flat for 2 weeks, with the promise that they not tell anyone they were married. In the flat on their honeymoon, for obvious reasons, John wrote "Listen, do you want to know a secret?" John has said that the secret in question wasn't necessarily that he was married, but that he finally realized he was actually in love. (thanks, Ken - Hartland, MI)

Lennon said in interviews 1971 and 1980 that he wrote this song in time for his wedding in August 1962. Most Beatles tracks were credited to Lennon/McCartney, and while the band was together, they rarely discussed who actually wrote what songs, so it wasn't until after their break-up that Lennon revealed he was the composer of this song. (thanks to Johan Cavalli, who is a music historian in Stockholm)

George Harrison said in Musician magazine that the musical inspiration for the song came from "I Really Love You" by the group The Stereos.

The Beatles - P.S. I Love You

The Beatles - P.S. I Love You Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1962

P.S. I Love You Lyrics

As I write this letter, send my love to you
Remember that I'll always be in love with you
Treasure these few words till we're together
Keep all my love forever

P.S. I Love You, you, you, you
As I write this letter, send my love to you
Remember that I'll always be in love with you

I'll be coming home again to you, love
And till the day I do, love, you, you, you, you

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

P.S. I Love You Song Chart

Paul McCartney wrote this song in Hamburg, Germany while The Beatles were the house band at The Star Club, where they spent much of 1962 improving their skills with constant live performances. An early favorite, the band performed the song at their Parlophone Records audition on June 6, 1962.

A very early Beatles song, this is a great example of how the group forged a very personal relationship with their fans through songs that spoke directly to the listener. The words "I," "You," "Me" and "Love" show up in many of their early hits, creating a strong connection between band and listener.

This was used as the B-side of "Love Me Do," the first Beatles release in England. It was going to be their first single, but Peggy Lee had a song out with the same title so the record company decided to release "Love Me Do" instead.

In 2007, a movie called P.S. I Love You was released starring Hilary Swank, Lisa Kudrow and Gerald Butler.

Please Please Me is the only Beatles album with the original songs credited to "McCartney/Lennon"; hereafter (and in subsequent releases of this album on CD), they would be credited as the more familiar "Lennon/McCartney." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The Beatles - Love Me Do

The Beatles - Love Me Do Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1962

Love Me Do Lyrics

Love, Love Me Do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do

Love, love me do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do

Someone to love,
Somebody new
Someone to love,
Someone like you

Love, love me do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do

Love, love me do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do
Yeah, love me do
Whoa, oh, love me do

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

Love Me Do Song Chart

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this in 1958, when John was 17 and Paul was 16. They made time for songwriting by skipping school. They had written songs before, but this was the first one they liked enough to record.

McCartney wrote this about his girlfriend at the time, Iris Caldwell.

This was the Beatles first single. It was released in England by Parlophone Records, but it took a while before they could get a record company to distribute it in America. The Beatles wanted Capitol Records to release it in the US, but they refused, figuring it would flop. It went to Tollie Records, who released it in America during Beatlemania, about a year after it was released in England.

By 1962, The Beatles were playing regular gigs at a club in Hamburg, Germany. They played a lot of Blues covers by famous American artists, and it was a big deal for them when they introduced this into their set, as they didn't know how it would hold up against songs by Little Richard and Ray Charles. The song was well-received and gave The Beatles a lot of confidence, which led to them writing and performing more original songs.

When they played this for an audition with Parlophone Records, the producer they auditioned for was George Martin, who became a key figure in Beatles history as he helped shape their sound. He started tinkering with the song right away, adding the harmonica part. Fortunately, John Lennon knew how to play the harmonica and was able to come up with something.

The Beatles recorded versions of this song with three different drummers. At their first Parlophone audition in June, 1962, Pete Best was still their drummer. When they recorded it on September 4, Ringo was their drummer, but when George Martin decided it would be the single, he had them record it again a week later.

At this session, he used a session drummer named Andy White and stuck Ringo with the tambourine. The version with Ringo drumming was released as the single, but the version released on the album had Andy White's drumming. Ringo didn't pitch a fit when he got bumped at the session, but was very upset and felt real insecure, especially since The Beatles had just fired a drummer.

When this was released in England, it was not a big hit. The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, was so confident in the group that he gave the single a big marketing push by buying a bunch of copies of it (some say 10,000) for his record store, which helped get it on the charts and ensured more exposure for the band.

The Beatles were very close to releasing another song as their first single. At their September 4 recording session, George Martin decided their first single should be a song called "How Do You Do It?," which was written by someone else. The Beatles were not pleased and did some lackluster takes of the song before they were allowed to record "Love Me Do." Eventually, Martin changed his mind and went with "Love Me Do." "How Do You Do It?" became a hit for Gerry & the Pacemakers in 1964.

Before they recorded this, Lennon always sang the lead vocal, but when his harmonica part was added, McCartney had to sing it because Lennon's mouth was full of harmonica. Paul claims that you can hear the fear in his voice at the audition.

John stole the harmonica used in this song in a music shop in Arnhem, a Dutch town near to the German border, while the Beatles were on their way to Hamburg. (thanks, Leo - Hilversum, Netherlands)

Lennon's lips went numb from playing the harmonica at session. He was trying to sound like Delbert McClinton.

Paul McCartney called this "Our greatest philosophical song."

This was recorded in mono on one-track tape. No stereo version exists.

This song has been covered by The Brady Bunch, The Chipmunks, Dick Hyman, Flaco Jimenez, Madooo, The Persuasions, Sandie Shaw, Ringo Starr and Bobby Vee. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

When John's Aunt Mimi heard this song, she said to him "Well, if you think you're going to make a fortune with that, you've got another thing coming."

According to Q magazine, Parlophone employees weren't impressed when George Martin presented this song to them. One staffer inquired whether English comedian Spike Milligan was behind the record.

The Beatles - Love Me Do

The Beatles - Love Me Do Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1962

Love Me Do Lyrics

Love, Love Me Do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do

Love, love me do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do

Someone to love,
Somebody new
Someone to love,
Someone like you

Love, love me do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do

Love, love me do
You know I love you,
I'll always be true,
So please, love me do
Whoa, love me do
Yeah, love me do
Whoa, oh, love me do

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

Love Me Do Song Chart

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this in 1958, when John was 17 and Paul was 16. They made time for songwriting by skipping school. They had written songs before, but this was the first one they liked enough to record.

McCartney wrote this about his girlfriend at the time, Iris Caldwell.

This was the Beatles first single. It was released in England by Parlophone Records, but it took a while before they could get a record company to distribute it in America. The Beatles wanted Capitol Records to release it in the US, but they refused, figuring it would flop. It went to Tollie Records, who released it in America during Beatlemania, about a year after it was released in England.

By 1962, The Beatles were playing regular gigs at a club in Hamburg, Germany. They played a lot of Blues covers by famous American artists, and it was a big deal for them when they introduced this into their set, as they didn't know how it would hold up against songs by Little Richard and Ray Charles. The song was well-received and gave The Beatles a lot of confidence, which led to them writing and performing more original songs.

When they played this for an audition with Parlophone Records, the producer they auditioned for was George Martin, who became a key figure in Beatles history as he helped shape their sound. He started tinkering with the song right away, adding the harmonica part. Fortunately, John Lennon knew how to play the harmonica and was able to come up with something.

The Beatles recorded versions of this song with three different drummers. At their first Parlophone audition in June, 1962, Pete Best was still their drummer. When they recorded it on September 4, Ringo was their drummer, but when George Martin decided it would be the single, he had them record it again a week later.

At this session, he used a session drummer named Andy White and stuck Ringo with the tambourine. The version with Ringo drumming was released as the single, but the version released on the album had Andy White's drumming. Ringo didn't pitch a fit when he got bumped at the session, but was very upset and felt real insecure, especially since The Beatles had just fired a drummer.

When this was released in England, it was not a big hit. The Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, was so confident in the group that he gave the single a big marketing push by buying a bunch of copies of it (some say 10,000) for his record store, which helped get it on the charts and ensured more exposure for the band.

The Beatles were very close to releasing another song as their first single. At their September 4 recording session, George Martin decided their first single should be a song called "How Do You Do It?," which was written by someone else. The Beatles were not pleased and did some lackluster takes of the song before they were allowed to record "Love Me Do." Eventually, Martin changed his mind and went with "Love Me Do." "How Do You Do It?" became a hit for Gerry & the Pacemakers in 1964.

Before they recorded this, Lennon always sang the lead vocal, but when his harmonica part was added, McCartney had to sing it because Lennon's mouth was full of harmonica. Paul claims that you can hear the fear in his voice at the audition.

John stole the harmonica used in this song in a music shop in Arnhem, a Dutch town near to the German border, while the Beatles were on their way to Hamburg. (thanks, Leo - Hilversum, Netherlands)

Lennon's lips went numb from playing the harmonica at session. He was trying to sound like Delbert McClinton.

Paul McCartney called this "Our greatest philosophical song."

This was recorded in mono on one-track tape. No stereo version exists.

This song has been covered by The Brady Bunch, The Chipmunks, Dick Hyman, Flaco Jimenez, Madooo, The Persuasions, Sandie Shaw, Ringo Starr and Bobby Vee. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

When John's Aunt Mimi heard this song, she said to him "Well, if you think you're going to make a fortune with that, you've got another thing coming."

According to Q magazine, Parlophone employees weren't impressed when George Martin presented this song to them. One staffer inquired whether English comedian Spike Milligan was behind the record.

The Beatles - Please Please Me

The Beatles - Please Please Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1963

Please Please Me Lyrics

Last night I said these words to my girl
I know you never even try, girl
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Please, please me, woah yeah, like I please you

You don't need me to show the way, love
Why do I always have to say, love
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Please, please me, woah yeah, like I please you

I don't want to sound complaining
But you know there's always rain in my heart
I do all the pleasing with you,
It's so hard to reason with you
Woah yeah, why do you make me blue?

Last night I said these words to my girl
I know you never even try, girl
Come on, come on, come on, come on
Please, please me, woah yeah, like I please you
Woah yeah, like I please you
Woah yeah, like I please you

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

Please Please Me Song Chart

This was The Beatles first single released in America, and getting it issued in the States was a struggle. The Beatles first recorded "Please Please Me" on September 11, 1962. That version was rejected for release. They re-recorded the song on November 26, 1962 and that version was first issued in England on the EMI-owned Parlophone label on January 12, 1963. After EMI's US affiliate, Capitol Records, rejected the song (and a lot of other early Beatles material), the small, Chicago-based Vee Jay label stepped in and released "Please Please Me" stateside on February 25, 1963 and again on January 30, 1964 and August 10,1964. The only release that charted was the second, when The Beatles finally made a name for themselves in America. (thanks to music historian Gary Theroux)

John Lennon, who was a big Roy Orbison fan, wrote this in the style of Orbison's overly-dramatic singing. Beatles producer George Martin suggested it would sound better sped up. In 2006, Martin told The Observer Music Monthly, "The songs the Beatles first gave me were crap. This was 1962 and they played a dreadful version of 'Please Please Me' as a Roy Orbison-style ballad. But I signed them because they made me feel good to be with them, and if they could convey that on a stage then everyone in the audience would feel good, too. So I took 'Love Me Do' and added some harmonica, but it wasn't financially rewarding even though Brian Epstein bought about 2,000 copies. Then we worked for ages on their new version of 'Please Please Me', and I said: 'Gentlemen, you're going to have your first #1.'"

This was rumored to be about oral sex. The Beatles denied this, since they had a very clean image to maintain at the time. Lennon said of the song: "I was always intrigued by the double use of the word 'please'."

Although in the UK this was officially a #2 record, three of the four charts used at the time - Melody Maker, NME and Disc - listed it #1. Only the Record Retailer chart had it at #2.

The group's name was misspelled "Beattles" on the record label on the first American release.

Typical for the verse in "Please Please Me," and for many of Lennon's songs, are the long notes (legato) that are also used in hymns - even sounding a bit like Mendelssohn's Wedding March in A Midsummer Night's Dream. When Lennon was a little boy he used to go to church on Sunday. Afterwards he improvised his own counterpoints to the hymns.

The climbing in the melody "Come on, come on..." is similar to parts of two traditional folk songs: "New's Evens Song" and "Come Fair One." (thanks to Johan Cavalli, who is a music historian in Stockholm, for above 2)

In the UK, this was re-released in 1983 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of it's initial release.

The Beatles performed this on their second Ed Sullivan Show appearance in 1964. Sullivan was not a fan of many rock groups, but loved The Beatles and had them on his show whenever he could.

This was the second Beatles single released in England, the first being "Love Me Do."

An early version of this song with session drummer Andy White playing drums instead of Ringo can be found on Anthology 1.

The Please Please Me album was The Beatles debut long player. When they recorded it at Abbey Studios in London, John Lennon was struggling with a streaming cold and all were tired after a tour supporting Helen Shapiro. However with the help and encouragement of producer George Martin within nine hours and 45 minutes they had recorded their groundbreaking LP.

The album was released to cash in on the success of this single in the UK. It took them about 12 hours to record, and was basically a re-creation of their live show, which was mostly cover songs. The album was released with the text "Please Please Me with Love Me Do and 12 other songs." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2)

The Beatles performed this on Thank Your Lucky Stars on January 19, 1963. It was their first ever UK television appearance.

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown revealed in an interview on the British TV program GMTV that this was the first record that he ever bought.

George Martin told Music Week magazine that the first time the Beatles played this to him, he wasn't very impressed. He recalled: "I listened to it and I said: 'Do you know that's too bloody boring for words? It's a dirge. At twice the speed it might sound reasonable.' They took me at my word. I was joking and they came back and played it to me sped up and put a harmonica on it, and it became their first big hit."

John Lennon was partly inspired by a line from a Bing Crosby song that read, "Please lend a little ear to my pleas." He recalled: "I remember the day I wrote it, I heard Roy Orbison doing "Only The Lonely", or something. And I was also always intrigued by the words to a Bing Crosby song that went, 'Please lend a little ear to my pleas'. The double use of the word 'please'. So it was a combination of Roy Orbison and Bing Crosby."

Lennon was a great fan of Bing Crosby and when in 1978, Yoko gave him a vintage '50s Wurlitzer jukebox for his birthday he loaded the machine with as many 78-rpm records by the easy-listening vocalist as he could find.

This is Keith Richards' favorite Beatles song. He told Jimmy Fallon: "I've always told McCartney, 'Please Please Me.' I just love the chimes, and I was there at the time and it was beautiful. Mind you, there's plenty of others, but if I've got to pick one, 'Please Please Me'… oh, yeah!"

Lennon-McCartney was the standard alphabetical credit for their Beatles songwriters compositions except on Please Please Me, where for reasons unknown, the names were reversed.

The Beatles - Ask Me Why

The Beatles - Ask Me Why Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1963

Ask Me Why Lyrics

I love you, 'cause you tell me things I want to know.
And it's true that it really only goes to show,
That I know,
That I, I, I, I should never, never, never be blue.

Now you're mine, my happiness still makes me cry.
And in time, you'll understand the reason why,
If I cry,
It's not because I'm sad, but you're the only love that I've ever had.

I can't believe it's happened to me
I can't conceive of any more misery.

Ask Me Why, I'll say I love you,
And I'm always thinking of you.

I love you, 'cause you tell me things I want to know.
And it's true that it really only goes to show,
That I know,

That I, I, I, I should never, never, never be blue.

Ask me why, I'll say I love you,
And I'm always thinking of you.

I can't believe it's happened to me.
I can't conceive of any more misery.

Ask me why, I'll say I love you,
And I'm always thinking of you.

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

Ask Me Why Song Chart

This is a very formulaic love song, but it marked the first time John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a song together at the same time. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

This was released as the B-side to "Please Please Me," which was the Beatles first US single.

The Beatles performed at one of their early auditions for Parlophone Records when Pete Best was still their drummer. No copy of this recording exists.

A copy of the promotional single given to disk jockeys in 1964 is now a collector's item worth at least $10,000.

The Beatles - Boys

The Beatles - Boys Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1963

Boys Lyrics

I been told when a boy kiss a girl,
Take a trip around the world,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)

My girl says when I kiss her lips,
Gets a thrill through her fingertips,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)

Well, I talk about Boys,
Don't ya know I mean boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
Aaahhh, boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
What a bundle of joy! (Alright, George!)

My girl says when I kiss her lips,
Gets a thrill through her fingertips,
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop, m'bop bop shuop)
Hey, hey, (bop shuop) yeah, she say ya do. (Bop shuop)

Well, I talk about boys,
Don't ya know I mean boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
Aaahhh, boys,
Well, I talk about boys, now,
What a bundle of joy!

Writer/s: FARRELL, WES / DIXON, LUTHER
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Boys Song Chart

This was originally recorded by The Shirelles, a popular female vocal quartet who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. John Lennon was a big fan of the group.

Pete Best sang lead on this during live appearances, until he was fired and replaced by Ringo Starr. The song served Ringo well: he often performed it in his post-Beatles career, including on the CBS special The Beatles: The Night That Changed America, which aired on February 9, 2014 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the group's famous Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

Please Please Me was recorded in one day to take advantage of The Beatles UK success. They filled the album with the singles they had released along with cover songs that were often part of their live show, which is how this made the cut. The budget for the album was 400 pounds (about $800), with each Beatle receiving a union scale pay of 29 pounds. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

"Boys" was written by the songwriting team of Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell. Dixon was a member of the Brill Building club cranking out songs for "girl groups" at the height of their popularity, and also produced songs for Elvis, B. B. King, The Jackson 5, and other hit acts. Farrell had this song as an early break, but would go on to produce songs for the Partridge Family.

Although the lyrics talk specifically about boys kissing girls, not each other, the issue of gender-flipped confusion did come up. McCartney told Rolling Stone in 2005, "If you think about it, here's us doing a song and it was really a girls' song... Or it was a gay song. But we never even listened. It's just a great song. I think that's one of the things about youth - you just don't give a s--t. I love the innocence of those days."

In the The Rolling Stone Illustrated History Of Rock & Roll, it is noted: "The Boy is the central mythic figure in the lyrics of girl group rock. He is shadowy: the boy who'll love walking in the rain, the fine fine boy, the leader of the pack, the angel baby. He is irresistible - and almost never macho. He is sensitive. He must be pursued. How to reach him?" In short, just about every girl group of the '60s consistently failed the Bechdel Test, as they were songs by women targeted to women while talking of nothing but men.

At the 2015 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Ringo Starr and Green Day - who were each inducted at the event - took the stage to perform a rousing rendition of this song.

The Beatles - Misery

The Beatles - Misery Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1963

Misery Lyrics

The world is treating me bad...Misery.
I'm the kind of guy,
Who never used to cry,
The world is treatin' me bad...Misery!

I've lost her now for sure,
I won't see her no more,
It's gonna be a drag...Misery!

I'll remember all the little things we've done
Can't she see she'll always be the only one, only one.

Send her back to me,
'Cause everyone can see
Without her I will be in misery

I'll remember all the little things we've done.
She'll remember and she'll miss her only one, lonely one.

Send her back to me,
'Cause everyone can see,
Without her I will be in misery (oh oh oh)
In misery (ooh ee ooh ooh)
My misery (la la la la la la)

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

Misery Song Chart

John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote this for Helen Shapiro, a 16 year old who toured with The Beatles in 1963. Her management rejected the song, but another singer on that tour, Kenny Lynch, did record it, becoming the first person to cover a Lennon/McCartney song. The Beatles recorded this themselves when they needed material for their Please Please Me album, which was quickly released in the UK to capitalize on the success of their first two singles: "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do."

Kenny Lynch had a successful career as a recording artist in the UK, achieving seven Top 40 hits, including the #10 charting cover of The Drifters' "Up on The Roof." Later Lynch became better known as a TV presenter and songwriter (he co-wrote Small Faces' #3 hit "Sha La La La Lee"). Lynch established another link with McCartney when he appeared on the sleeve of Wings' Band on the Run album.

The Beatles were in such a rush to cram material on the new Please Please Me album that they picked up several covers. One was written by Brill Building legends Gerry Goffin and Carole King, titled "Chains," and another was The Shirelles' hit "Boys." "Misery" was one of the eight original songs on the album.

Turning down a Lennon/McCartney song seems a little ridiculous, but Helen Shapiro, whom they wrote this song for, was a top-selling female vocalist in the UK, and was putting together a Country-Western album and her manager contacted The Beatles to ask if they could write a song for her. They offered him "Misery," but he turned it down as it didn't fit her sound. The Beatles weren't a huge deal at the time, so the manager didn't see the potential in the song.

This song also appears on the sought-after EP single The Beatles (No. 1), which features this song, "I Saw Her Standing There," "Anna (Go to Him)," and "Chains."

The American release of the Please Please Me album was Introducing... The Beatles. Compare and contrast the two album covers for an idea of how they were marketed; the UK cover has a playful shot of the Fab Four peeking over a balcony, while the US cover has a far more conventional pose standing and sitting in suits that make them almost seem like a '50s doo-wop group. Can't go scaring those conservative Americans by making your group seem to "challenging," now.

The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There

The Beatles - I Saw Her Standing There Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos
Album: Please Please Me
Released: 1963

I Saw Her Standing There Lyrics

Well she was just seventeen
You know what I mean
And the way she looked
Was way beyond compare
So how could I dance with another,
Oh, when I Saw Her Standing There

Well she looked at me
And I, I could see
That before too long
I'd fall in love with her
She wouldn't dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there

Well my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine

Oh we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long
I fell in love with her
Now I'll never dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there

Well my heart went boom
When I crossed that room
And I held her hand in mine

Oh we danced through the night
And we held each other tight
And before too long
I fell in love with her
Now I'll never dance with another
Oh, when I saw her standing there
Oh, since I saw her standing there
Yeah, well since I saw her standing there

Writer/s: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ROUND HILL MUSIC
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I Saw Her Standing There Song Chart

John Lennon and Paul McCartney started writing this in McCartney's living room after they skipped school one day, with Paul writing the majority of this song in September of 1962.

Paul McCartney in Observer Music Monthly October 2007 on the early days of his songwriting partnership with John Lennon: "Those early days were really cool, just sussing each other out, and realizing that we were good. You just realize from what he was feeding back. Often it was your song or his song, it didn't always just start from nothing. Someone would always have a little germ of an idea. So I'd start off with [singing] 'She was just 17, she'd never been a beauty queen' and he'd be like, 'Oh no, that's useless' and 'You're right, that's bad, we've got to change that.' Then changing it into a really cool line: 'You know what I mean.' 'Yeah, that works.'"

The Beatles frequently played this at the Cavern Club, where they often played between 1961-1963. In fact, it was because of the crowd reaction to their live shows that George Martin decided to have them simply record their live show in the studio for their first album. That's why he kept Paul's "1, 2, 3, 4" count at the beginning, which was taken from the 9th take and edited on to the first. The title was originally "Seventeen" until it was changed for the album.

The Beatles performed this on their first two Ed Sullivan Show appearances, which took place a week apart in February 1964. Getting on the show was a really big deal because it had a huge audience. About 73 million people watched the first show, which made The Beatles household names.

This wasn't released as a single in England. In the US, it was released as the flip side of "I Want To Hold Your Hand," which was their first hit in the America. The Beatles were famous in England about a year before they caught on in America.

This became the first Beatles song performed on the TV series American Idol when Jordin Sparks won in 2007 and sang it on the finale with runner-up Blake Lewis. The first line of the song - "She was just 17" - was fitting, as that was Sparks' age.

Chuck Berry was a big influence on The Beatles, and the bass line of this song borrows from Berry's track "I'm Talking About You." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

This was the last song John Lennon performed for a paid audience. He played it at Madison Square Garden on November 28, 1974 when he took the stage at an Elton John concert. Elton released this version as the B-side of "Philadelphia Freedom" the following year. This was the only live duet ever recorded between Elton John and John Lennon, who were good friends.

This was covered in 1987 by pop star (and future Playboy model) Tiffany. It was on her first album, and released as a single after her first hit, which was a cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tommy James & the Shondells. The her was changed to him in Tiffany's version, which hit #7 US and #8 UK. (thanks, Nora - richfield, MN)

At the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks, McCartney went to one of the games at Yankee Stadium and was shown between innings singing along as this played in the stadium. It was McCartney's second visit to Yankee Stadium, and he saw The Yankees win that day, although they eventually lost the World Series.

Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman sing this song during a very powerful scene in the 1988 Oscar-winning film Rain Man. (thanks, Ariel - Rehovot, Israel)

The Who, Daniel Johnston, Santo & Johnny, and The Tubes all covered this song. (thanks, Airk - Skagway, AK)

With Dave Grohl playing drums, Paul McCartney played this at the Grammy Awards in 2009.