Index
 The Fab Four
 Paul McCartney
 George Harrison
 John Lennon
 Ringo Starr
 Albums
 Beatle Sites
|
Please, Please Me
"One, two, three, faw!"
|
|
Track List History
- I Saw Her Standing There: Originally titled "Seventeen, I Saw Her Standing There", this is a story
of a boy who sees a girl dancing at the local ballroom. After deciding that her looks are "way beyond compare", he decides
to dance with no one else from that day on. There is no hint that the boy has considered the possibilty of rejection, but
in a rhyme it states that when he "crossed the room" his heart went boom. Paul composed this song one night in 1961 while driving
back to his home in Allerton, Liverpool. He liked the idea of writing about a seventeen year old girl
girl because they needed songs that their large audience could relate too. They started with they lyric "She was just seventeen, never
been a beauty queen." However it changed when John suggested it be "She was just seventeen, you know what I mean."
It was to be one of the five songs played on the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, 1964, which was watched by 70 million people.
- Misery: Traditionally rock stars in the UK did not compose their own songs, and no-one in the UK has succeded with a genuine
British sound. However the Beatles would prove this wrong. This song was written backstage at the King's Hall, Glebe Street
by John and Paul on Jan. 26,1963. Paul was the major contributor though. It was about a girl who had left him and made him incredibly
lonely. The first line "The worl is treating me bad" sets the mood for the rest of the song. John and Paul had difficulty writing the lyrics for this
song and were desperate to finish it. They turned to Allan Clarke and Graham Nash of the Hollies for help. Once completed, they offered it
to Helen Shapiro to record, but she turned it down. Later it was recorded by Kenny Lynch, but despite it not being a hit he became the first
non-beatles to record a Lennon and McCartney Song.
- Ask Me Why: A lightweight song from Beatle's set at Cavern Club premiered on the BBC radio program, Teenagers Turn, on June 11, 1962.
It was probably written in 1962, and was one of the four songs that they took to the first recording session on June 6,1962. It as not used as a single.
- Please, Please Me: This song may have originated from a 1932 Bing Crosby song that John's mother, Julia, used to sing to him
as a child. It was written by John in his front bedroom at 251 Menlove Avenue in Liverpool. Within months of being released it rose to the Number 2 spot in Britain.
John imagined Roy Orbison signing a slow version of it. He asked Orbison how to crack America, and Orbison said the key was getting on the Ed Sullivan show and letting everyone know
that they were British. This song has a very innocent sound, with a subversive text. Some critics say its about sexual pleasure. Robert Christgau of the New York
Village Voice went as far as to say it's about oral sex.
- Love Me Do: This early song, composed by Paul, consisted of very basic lyrics. Most of the words consisted of one syllable, with love being repeated 21 times.
This simple, yet true song had a message of "I love you forever so please love me." It was their first big hit in Britain. its gospel bluesy tinge was created by John on the harmonic.
John learned harmonica tips during 1962 from Delbert McClinton who played harmonica on "Hey Baby."
- P.S. I Love You: This is an early song that was written by Paul in 1961. Written in a form of a letter, it was composed for his girlfriend Dorothy 'Dot' Rhone. He broke up with her in the summer of
1962.
- Do You Want To Know A Secret: Cynthia Powell, John's art school girlfriend discovered that she was pregnant. On August 23,1962 they got married at a registry office in Mount Pleasant, Liverpool.
John's best man Brian Epstein offered them his ground floor flat at 36 Faulkner Street. This was not Epstein's main home but a place that he kept for his own homosexual liaisons. While living there, John wrote
the song realizing that he was in love (that was the secret). He made a demo for it while sitting in the bathroom, which was evident because of the flush of the toilet at the end of the song. He offered this song
for George to sing.
- There's a Place: This song is a representation of John's recurring theme of finding comfort in his thoughts, dreams and memeories. John wrote this as a motown thing.
*** The following songs were included on the album but not written by The Beatles: Anna (Go To Him), Chains, Boys, Baby It's You, A Taste of Honey, and Twist and Shout.
|
|
|
