In My Life
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “In My Life” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by The Beatles | ||
| Album | Rubber Soul | |
| Released | 3 December 1965 | |
| Recorded | Abbey Road Studios 18 October 1965 |
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| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2:28 | |
| Label | EMI, Parlophone, Capitol | |
| Writer | Lennon/McCartney | |
| Producer | George Martin | |
| Music sample | ||
| Rubber Soul track listing | ||
|
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"In My Life" is a song by The Beatles written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The song originated with Lennon, and while McCartney contributed to the final version, the extent of his contribution is in dispute. Released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul, it is ranked 23rd on the Rolling Stone article "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and placed second on CBC's 50 Tracks. Mojo magazine named it the best song of all time in 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Composition
John Lennon wrote the song in the form of a long poem reminiscing on his childhood/teenage years. The original version of the lyrics was based on a bus route he used to take in Liverpool, naming various sites seen along the way, including Penny Lane and Strawberry Field.[1]
However, Lennon found it to be more "ridiculous" and called it "the most boring sort of 'What I Did On My Holidays Bus Trip' song"[2] and reworked the words with Paul McCartney, replacing the specific memories with a generalized meditation on his past. "Very few lines" of the original version remain in the finished song.[1]
Lennon's friend and biographer Peter Shotton related in his book (titled John Lennon "In My Life") that Lennon told him the lines "Some [friends] are dead and some are living/In my life I've loved them all" referred to Stuart Sutcliffe (who died in 1962) and to Shotton.[3]
As for the music though, Lennon claimed in 1980 that McCartney's contribution was supplying the harmony and the "middle eight" or bridge section of the song (there is no middle eight in this song, though there is a bridge section).[4] Describing "If I Fell", which he had written, Lennon said it was more a precursor to "In My Life" and used the same chord sequences.[5](Although, McCartney also claims to have co-written 'If I Fell' with Lennon.)[citation needed]
McCartney claimed he set Lennon's lyrics to music from beginning to end, claiming that he wrote the whole melody, but taking inspiration from songs by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.[6] Of the disagreement, McCartney said, "I find it very gratifying that out of everything we wrote, we only appear to disagree over two songs."[6] (The other song in question is "Eleanor Rigby".)[7]
[edit] Recording
The song was recorded on 18 October 1965 and was complete except for a "hole" which was left for an instrumental bridge between verses.[8] At that time, Lennon had not decided what instrument to use, but he subsequently asked George Martin to play a piano solo, and suggested "something Baroque-sounding". [9] Martin wrote a Bach-influenced piece that he found he could not play at the song's tempo. On 22 October, the solo was recorded at half-tempo (one octave lower) and all the tape speed was doubled for the final recording, which solved the performance challenge and gave the piano solo a unique, harpsichord-like timbre.[10][11]
[edit] Musical analysis
Key: A major
Time: 4/4
Verse:
I V vi V2-of-IV IV iv I
Bridge:
vi IV IV-of-IV I
vi V7-of-V IV iv I
The most notable feature of this song, harmonically, is the use of the subdominant minor chord, which is borrowed from the parallel minor key, in this case, A minor. This chord is used here in a manner quite consistent and prevalent compared to other pop songs of the era: it sets up a three-note chromatic descending line between the 6th scale degree and the 5th, thus resolving to I. It is a chromatically altered plagal cadence.[citation needed]
The bridge briefly flirts with the relative minor, F# minor before returning us to A major. The bVII chord (noted here as its function of IV-of-IV) is a bluesy chord quite common in The Beatles' canon, as is the deceptive V7-of-V resolving to IV, a progression that occurs in the tag of "Yesterday".[citation needed]
[edit] Cover versions and cultural references
The song has been covered by a number of artists, including Mary Hopkin, Judy Collins, Dave Matthews Band, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Selah, Jose Feliciano, Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne (Under Cover), Marie Osmond, Keith Moon (Two Sides of the Moon), Kippington Lodge, Astrud Gilberto, Allison Crowe, Bette Midler and Johnny Cash (American IV: The Man Comes Around).
Twiggy covered the song on The Muppet Show (Season 1 Episode 21).
A cover by Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk was used as the theme for the NBC show Providence. Bette Midler also recorded this song for the 1991 film soundtrack For the Boys. Dave Matthews played the song during a tribute show honoring John Lennon.
During George Harrison's 1974 US tour, the band played a version of the song that was drastically slower than the Rubber Soul version there.
George Martin borrowed the song title for an album of various artists covering Beatle songs. In the tribute song, Sean Connery narrates the lyrics with minimal support from Martin's piano.
Kevin Kern borrowed the song title for his album that covered many artists' songs in piano, including "In My Life". In this version, the baroque piano solo that was written by George Martin had been deleted.
The Ten Tenors performed the song during their 2006 "Here's To The Heroes" tour, an arrangement a little slower than the original, with more emphasis harmonies, showcased in an A Cappella section in the middle of the song.
It was the name of a Broadway musical.[citation needed]
Singer Marques Houston covered the song in an episode on Sister, Sister
American Idol Season 7 contestant Ramiele Malubay performed the song during the top 12 week for The Beatles tribute week.
The song was played at Kurt Cobain's memorial.[12] Cobain was an avid Beatles fan.
Radio disc jockey Don Geronimo used this as his farewell song on April 11, 2008.
The song was used in the farewell to long-serving Canberra newsreader of WIN television Peter Leonard.
Australian singer/songwriter Ben Lee covered the song for the album This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute Beatles' Rubber Soul
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Bob Spitz (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Boston: Little, Brown, 587. ISBN 0-316-80352-9.
- ^ David Sheff (2000). All We Are Saying. New York: St. Martin's Press, 152. ISBN 0-312-25464-4.
- ^ Pete Shotton and Nicholas Schaffner (1983). John Lennon: In My Life. New York: Stein and Day. ISBN 0-8128-6185-X.
- ^ David Sheff (2000). All We Are Saying. New York: St. Martin's Press, 153, 178.
- ^ A Hard Day's Night - If I Fell. The Beatles Interview Database. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.
- ^ a b Barry Miles (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 277-278. ISBN 0-8050-5249-6.
- ^ Barry Miles (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, 283.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books, 64. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- ^ "Hertsgaard, Mark (1995). A Day in the Life: The Music and Artistry of the Beatles. New York: Delacorte Press, 156.
- ^ Bob Spitz (2005). The Beatles, 591.
- ^ Mark Lewisohn. The Beatles Recording Sessions, 65.
- ^ True, Everett (2006). Nirvana: The Biography. Da Capo Press, 568. ISBN ISBN-13 978-0-306-81554-6.
[edit] References
- Lewisohn, Mark (1990). The Beatles: Recording Sessions . Three Rivers Press; Reprint edition. ISBN 978-0517581827.
- Miles, Barry (1998). Many Years From Now. Vintage-Random House. ISBN 0-7493-8658-4.
- Spitz, Bob (2005). The Beatles: The Biography. Little, Brown and Company (New York). ISBN 1-84513-160-6.
[edit] External links
- Songmeanings.net Lyrics and explanations
- In My Life Songfacts Entry
