I’ll Cry Instead

This is probably the clearest indication so far of John’s state of mind. We have had him crying, but now he is suggesting he can be mad, cruel–by breaking hearts. Also a suggestion that he could get himself locked up. It is a bit convoluted, as he holds back from making things too clear. We now know, from what his wife Cynthia later revealed, that he was physically cruel to her. The lyrics suggest a disturbed, tortured soul. But to conceal the angst, so we all sing along, tapping our feet, dancing away, not worrying too much about what the words might mean, he has given the song a jaunty rockabilly air.

Things We Said Today

A perfect little song written by Paul, again with an outgoing, cheerful, positive air, thanks to an aggressive acoustic guitar played by John–but on closer study there is something sad and mournful going on beneath the surface of the lyric. Wilfrid Mellers considered it ‘the Beatles’ most beautiful and most deep song up to this point’.

Once again it’s a song for Jane, or at least about Jane, written when they had taken a break together in the Caribbean in May 1964, along with Ringo and his wife, hiring a yacht called Happy Days. Jane was an actress, just as busy as Paul, and their professional lives often took them apart, which clearly put a strain on the relationship: ‘You say you will love me, if I have to go.’ So even while he is with her, on the boat, he knows a parting will soon follow.

At the same time there is a more mature, wiser reflection in the lines: ‘Some day when we’re dreaming, deep in love, not a lot to say, then we will remember, things we said today.’ Paul at the time was still only twenty-one, so it’s quite a sophisticated thought for one so young, projecting himself into the future…

When I Get Home

On the surface, John is declaring that he is a homebody, loving coming home to ‘a girl who is waiting home for me tonight’, but it could also be read that he’s visiting someone else in their home–why else would he be saying, ‘I’ve got no business being here with you, this way’ or ‘till I walk out the door–again’. Both meanings applied: John loved being at home, doing nothing–and also playing away.

Saying he will love her ‘till the cows come home’ is a bit corny, but rhyming ‘trivialities’ with ‘please’ still makes me smile.

The manuscript version numbers three verses, with only a couple of minor changes from the recorded version: ‘when I get home tonight’ becomes ‘when I get you home tonight’. He hasn’t bothered to write out the three repeats of the chorus, simply putting ‘oh. I. oh I. etc’–or at least, that’s how it reads. On the record, it sounds more like ‘Whoa-oh-aah, whoa-oh-aah’, but then how do you write down such sounds, when they are more like grunts than real words?

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‘When I Get Home’, from A Hard Day’s Night, in John’s hand.

Whoa-ho, whoa-ho,

I got a whole lot of things to tell her,

When I get home.

Come on, out of my way,

’cause I’m gonna see my baby today,

I’ve got a whole lot of things I’ve gotta say

To her.

Whoa-ho, whoa-ho,

I got a whole lot of things to tell her,

When I get home.

Come on if you please,

I’ve got no time for trivialities,

I’ve got a girl who’s waiting home for me tonight.

Whoa-ho, whoa-ho,

I got a whole lot of things to tell her,

When I get home.

When I’m getting home tonight, I’m gonna

Hold her tight.

I’m gonna love her till the cows come home,

I bet I’ll love her more,

Till I walk out that door

Again.

Come on, let me through,

I’ve got so many things, I’ve got to do,

I’ve got no business being here with you

This way.

Whoa-ho, whoa-ho,

I’ve got a whole lot of things to tell her

When I get home–yeah.

You Can’t Do That

Originally the B side of ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’, this features John as lead singer and lead guitar, demonstrating once again that he is in charge.

The lyrics also show him trying to dominate, threatening what he will do if the girl leaves him for another boy. ‘Gonna let you down and leave you flat’, sounds a bit like letting down a bicycle tyre, which is amusing on one level, but it could also be a physical threat, to flatten her. On the other hand, he too has suffered: ‘I’ll go out of my mind’. Though it could just be paranoia. In some senses, it can be seen as the Beatles’ first anti-love lyrics.

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Sheet music for ‘You Can’t Do That’, from A Hard Day’s Night.

I’ll Be Back

John on the same theme–someone is breaking his heart and he might have to leave–but he is not threatening this time. Again, the message is a bit confused, possibly because he is trying to disguise from Cynthia, and the world, his extra-marital love life. There is no real chorus, only two lines that get repeated.

The mixed-up emotion is caught by the changing chords and descending rhythms, making it one of the more complex Beatles songs so far, although there is a flamenco-style beat that draws it all together. John said he was inspired, musically, by Del Shannon’s 1961 hit record ‘Runaway’.

I Call Your Name

Just before the album came out, in June 1964, they issued an EP* in the UK on which there were four songs, but this was the only one not to appear on either an LP in the UK or conventional single. John said it was about the first song he ever remembers writing, pre-Hamburg, possibly during his Quarrymen days, when he was just learning the guitar, though Paul recalls him working on it later at Menlove Avenue. The interesting thing, so far as the lyrics are concerned–assuming it was written in those early days–is that it is not a happy love song, the sort of thing they felt they had to write back then to feed the market. John is calling her name because he can’t sleep, he can’t take it, he’s not going to make it. The soul-searching, which came out so strongly later on, was always there.

A Hard Day’s Night, released in July 1964, showed a definite progression. Despite the fact that it was conceived as part of a package with a film that was merely superficial, fast-paced entertainment for the fans, not meant to have any hidden depths, the album with its original compositions showed a greater level of depth and feeling than previous releases. John remains the leader, writing and singing most of the songs, and the subject matter is still primarily love, but the album is also notable for the emergence of the poet in Paul and the first cracks in John’s cocky, cheeky façade, revealing the tortured soul beneath.

Could they keep it up, though–especially having foolishly agreed to bring out another single before the year was out, followed immediately by yet another album, all while they were rushing round the world touring. From June to November 1964, they played in fifty cities, on four continents (Europe, USA, Asia, Australia), covered 22,000 miles, giving around 100 performances on stage and TV.