"You're Going to Lose That Girl"[nb 1] is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1965 album and film Help! Credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership, the song was mostly written by John Lennon with contributions from Paul McCartney.
| "You're Going to Lose That Girl" | |
|---|---|
 Cover to 1969 Japanese single release | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the album Help! | |
| Released |
|
| Recorded | 19 February, 30 March 1965 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 2:20 |
| Label | Parlophone, Capitol, EMI |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
Composition and recording
editCredited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership,[2] Walter Everett and Ian MacDonald both refer to the song as Lennon's.[3] In his official biography Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now, Paul McCartney estimates the writing as 60–40 to John Lennon.[4] The song was likely written in January or February 1965. In a 16 January 1965 interview with Ray Coleman for Melody Maker magazine, Lennon explained he had only written "half a song" for the Beatles' next film.[5] From 25 January to 7 February, Lennon and his wife Cynthia vacationed in the Austrian Alps with Beatles producer George Martin and Martin's future wife, Judy Lockhart-Smith.[6] The time off from touring provided Lennon, McCartney and George Harrison time to write new songs, eventually recording 11 new tracks between 15 and 20 February.[5]
The Beatles recorded two takes and overdubs of "You're Going to Lose That Girl" during an afternoon session at EMI on 19 February 1965. The next day Martin, assisted by engineers Norman Smith and Ken Scott, mixed the song for mono.[7] On 23 February while the Beatles filmed scenes for Help! in The Bahamas, engineers Smith and Malcolm Davies mixed the song for stereo twice, preferring the second mix over the first.[8] On 30 March the Beatles recorded more overdubs onto the song.[9] An electric piano and Harrison's original guitar solo were erased from the original tape.[10][nb 2] Everett describes the original guitar solo as "tortured" due to the heavy string gauge on Harrison's brand new Fender Stratocaster.[12] Harrison recorded a new guitar solo, Ringo Starr played bongos and McCartney played piano which ended up being unintentional sharper than the electric guitars.[13] On 2 April Martin, assisted by Smith, made another stereo mix of the song using the 30 March overdubs.[14] This stereo mix was included on both the UK and US stereo releases of Help![15]
In the film Help!
editIn the film, the group appears singing this song in the recording studio. In addition to the group's familiar guitar-and-drum setup, there is also footage of Paul McCartney at a piano and Ringo Starr playing the bongos, both miming instruments they had overdubbed onto the recording. Towards the end, one of the thugs uses a chainsaw to saw a hole in the floor around the drum kit. The producer reports that they will have to re-record the song due to a buzzing noise, at which point The Beatles begin asking one another who was buzzing. As they look to Ringo, he and the drums fall through the floor.
Release
editHelp! was released by EMI's Parlophone label on 6 August 1965,[16] with "You're Going to Lose That Girl" sequenced as the sixth track between "Another Girl" and "Ticket to Ride".[17] Capitol released the soundtrack album in North America with an altered track listing as Help! on 13 August.[18] The track, instead titled "You're Gonna Lose That Girl", is eleventh and sequenced between two orchestral pieces.[19] The track is the first use of Harrison's Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster, with ones gifted to him and Lennon during the Beatles' 1965 US tour.[20] The guitar remained one of Harrison's favorites for the rest of his career and featured heavily on the Beatles next album, Rubber Soul.[21]
Writer Jacqueline Warwick describes the track as an "advice" song, comparable to "She Loves You" and the Beatles' earlier covers of girl groups.[22] Everett describes McCartney and Harrison's responsorial backing vocals as being heavily influenced by Motown music.[23] Warwick imagines Motown based choreography for the song: "it's easy to picture Paul and George shimmying and wagging their fingers if only they hadn't instruments to contend with."[24] In his musicological analysis of the song's chord progressions, Everett describes the changes as "jarringly original".[25] MacDonald describes the track as one of the few recorded during the Help! sessions that stands up, singling out the vocals in particular.[2]
Bill Wyman interprets the Ramones' song "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" as a parody of the song.[26]
Personnel
editAccording to Ian MacDonald,[2] except where noted:
- John Lennon – double-tracked lead vocal, rhythm guitar[23]
- Paul McCartney – backing vocal, bass guitar, piano
- George Harrison – backing vocal, lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums, bongos
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Sawyers 2006, p. 339.
- ^ a b c MacDonald 2007, p. 150.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 291; MacDonald 2007, p. 150
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 195, quoted in MacDonald 2007, p. 150n2
- ^ a b Everett 2001, p. 280.
- ^ Miles 2007, p. 152.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 56.
- ^ Lewisohn 2000, pp. 184–185: filming Help! in The Bahamas; Lewisohn 1988, p. 56: mixing for stereo.
- ^ Lewisohn 2000, p. 187.
- ^ Winn 2008, p. 309: "The original track 2 was erased ..."Winn 2008, p. 300: " ... track 2 was filled with electric piano and George playing a guitar solo."
- ^ Winn 2008, p. 300.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 406n43.
- ^ Winn 2008, p. 309: " ... a fresh guitar solo, this time accompanied by bongo and acoustic piano."MacDonald 2007, p. 150: personnel.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 57.
- ^ Winn 2008, pp. 309–310.
- ^ Miles 2007, p. 167.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 62.
- ^ Miles 2007, p. 168.
- ^ Sawyers 2006, p. 339: "You're Gonna Lose That Girl"; Miles 2007, p. 168: between two orchestral pieces.
- ^ MacDonald 2007, p. 150n3.
- ^ MacDonald 2007, p. 150n3: one of Harrison's favorite guitars; Everett 2001, p. 406n43: featured heavily on Rubber Soul.
- ^ Warwick 2001, quoted in Everett 2001, p. 141
- ^ a b Everett 2001, p. 291.
- ^ Warwick 2001, quoted in Everett 2001, p. 291
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 292.
- ^ Wyman, Bill (16 April 2001). "Joey Ramone, R.I.P." Salon. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
Sources
edit- Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles As Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514105-4. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony. ISBN 978-0-517-57066-1.
- Lewisohn, Mark (2000) [1992]. The Complete Beatles Chronicle: The Only Definitive Guide To the Beatles' Entire Career. London: Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-60060-033-6.
- MacDonald, Ian (2007). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (3rd ed.). Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-733-3.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now. Secker & Warburg. ISBN 978-0436280221.
- Miles, Barry (2007) [1998]. The Beatles: A Diary – An Intimate Day by Day History. London: Omnibus. ISBN 978-1-847720-825.
- Sawyers, June Skinner (2006). "Discography". In Sawyers, June Skinner (ed.). Read the Beatles: Classic and New Writings on the Beatles, Their Legacy, and Why They Still Matter. London: Penguin Books. pp. 337–352. ISBN 0-14-303732-3.
- Warwick, Jacqueline (2001). "You're going to lose that girl: The Beatles and the girl groups". Collected Work: Beatlestudies. III: Proceedings of the Beatles 2000 Conference. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä. pp. 161–167. ISBN 978-9513908096.
- Winn, John C. (2008). The Beatles' Recorded Legacy: Volume 1. University of Michigan: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0307451576.
External links
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