“It Won’t Be Long” was the first original song recorded for their second British album “With The Beatles.” Five cover songs partially recorded helped create the album before work started on what was then thought to be their next single.
The second day of recording sessions for the “With The Beatles” album occurred on July 30th in studio two of EMI studios. The first of two recording sessions that day ran from 10 am to 1:30 pm, which commenced with the start and completion of a cover version of The Marvelettes’ hit “Please Mister Postman.” Next on the agenda, at approximately 11:30 am, The Beatles started on “It Won’t Be Long.” Ten takes were made in this early session, which included two overdubs of the ending. Unfortunately, all of this was scrapped with the intention of starting again in the second recording session of that day.
After the band left for a rehearsal and recording session at the Playhouse Theatre for the BBC radio show “Saturday Club,” they returned to EMI for their second session in studio two from 5 till 11 pm. After adding tracks to the previously recorded “Money (That’s What I Want),” completely remaking the previously recorded “Till There Was You” and fully recording and completing another cover tune, Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven,” The Beatles finally returned to “It Won’t Be Long” approximately between 8 and 9:30 pm.
They started from scratch, recording takes 11 through 17, the last of which included Lennon’s overdubbed lead vocals. Edit pieces of George Harrison’s ending guitar flourishes were then recorded, which were designated takes 18 through 23. It was then decided that complete take 17 and edit piece 21 were the best, so these would be edited together at a later date.
Considering that this day also produced the finished version of the excellent “All My Loving,” July 30th, 1963 proved itself to be a very productive day for The Beatles. Five of the fourteen tracks of their second album “With The Beatles” were completed on this day, as well as most of a sixth song. Ten of the songs on their first album may have been finished in one day, but not with the technical advances and studio tricks, such as vocal overdubbing, that were beginning to be utilized on their second British album.
The master tape of the song was then edited together from takes 17 and 21 on August 21st. The edited tape was then mixed for mono on this day in preparation for, as it turned out, their second British album. Only producer George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick were present for this session.
The song then received its stereo mix on October 29th, using the same edited master tape made on August 21st. This prepared the song for its stereo albums in Britain and (hopefully at that point) America. Since “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was recorded and mixed for mono by this time, it obviously was known that “It Won’t Be Long” was not going to be the next single release. The same engineers were present in the studio with George Martin on this day, joined by a mysterious engineer known only by the initials “B.T.”
Song Structure and Style
As stated earlier, the structure of “It Won’t Be Long” is quite unusual. The use of a chorus in Lennon / McCartney compositions came to the fore a little later and became a common feature of their songwriting formula as time progressed. Here, though, we have the first time an actual “chorus” appears in a Lennon / McCartney song. The structure consists of a chorus, three verses and a bridge that is repeated twice. The finished song structure is a confusing 'chorus/ verse/ chorus/ bridge/ verse/ chorus/ bridge/ verse/ chorus' (which would result in an abacbacba structure).
The song starts out with the chorus which begins with a minor chord, although the song is in a major key. But the first thing we hear is Lennon’s overdubbed vocals because the lyric line actually begins three beats before the first measure. Each chorus consists of the common eight measures.
We then go into the first verse which, like all the other verses of the song, consists of an odd seven measures. Lennon, who habitually liked to omit or add measures (as well as beats per measure) to a song, begins that habit with this song. (Points of reference to this fact are “Revolution,” “Across The Universe,” and early versions of “Cry Baby Cry” and “Dig A Pony.”) These verses could be evened out to eight measures in the obvious place by adding another measure between the first and second lyric line, but it would have elongated the verses with an awkward pause. Wisely, and no doubt with George Martin’s influence, this idea was dismissed.
After the obligatory Beatles ‘break’ in the last bar of the verse (although with Harrison’s guitar line still in place and Lennon’s vocals introducing the chorus), another identical chorus takes place. This time the chorus segues into an eight-bar bridge, with subdued drumming and intricate background vocals, to create a textured backdrop to the reflective and then optimistic lyrics. This bridge, with its Miracles’ style of sophistication, serves to relieve the non-stop tension heard thus far in the song.
The bridge acts as a natural segue into another verse identical in structure, with just Lennon’s double-tracked vocals to the fore. This ends with another break leading into another identical chorus. We then repeat the bridge/verse/chorus pattern one more time, the only differences present a new set of lyrics in the verse and an unexpected break in the sixth bar of the chorus. The song then resolves in a surprising fashion with its descending guitar chords as a backdrop to the held out final note of Lennon on the word “you.” This climaxes with a three part ‘barber shop’ style major seventh chord utilizing the voices of McCartney, Harrison and (slipping into falsetto) John. This melodramatic ending appears most appropriate considering their intention points to a follow up they similarly concluded on “She Loves You.”
All in all, it can be said that the arrangement grabs the attention and packs the song with non-stop guts and drive. The philosophy of early Beatles recordings was to pack in as many changes and surprises as possible, especially when a song was slated to be the next single. This ‘never a dull moment’ atmosphere permeates “It Won’t Be Long,” leaving no doubt as to the intent of the song.
John Lennon is definitely in the forefront with his razor-sharp rhythm guitar and commanding lead vocals. This was the first song that Lennon sang which featured double-tracked lead vocals. It was the perfect vehicle for this, since his vocals were not sung in unison with Paul as were many of the previous songs. This added a deserved fullness to his vocal track which resulted in a very confident and convincing vocal performance. “That’s when we discovered double-tracking,” Lennon later stated. “When I discovered it, I double-tracked everything. I wouldn’t let him have anything single-tracked from then on.” Although this was an exaggeration, listeners can’t help but notice how prominent double-tracking of vocals and guitar leads were to become throughout the next couple of years.
McCartney’s bass work is slightly pedestrian in comparison with many of his other contributions to the early Beatles catalog, but with everything else going on, intricate bass lines would surely distract from the elaborate arrangement of the song. Other than mimicking George’s guitar phrase at the end of each verse, Paul pretty much plays the signature chords of the song throughout. His energetic “yeah” answer harmonies with George in syncopation with John on the choruses, as well as his harmony phrases during the bridges, are Paul’s true highlights in the song.
George cooperatively adds his repetitive guitar phrases every time a lull in the proceedings occurs, which occurs twice at the end of almost every chorus and three times in every verse. This calls to mind the original arrangement of “Please Please Me,” where George kept hitting the same guitar passage repetitively, which caused producer Ron Richards to exclaim, “For Christ’s sake, George, just play it in the gaps!” He apparently learned a valuable trick that day and incorporated it into his performance on “It Won’t Be Long.” Harrison’s harmony work with McCartney in the choruses and bridges of the song stand out for George as a highlight, as well as the classy guitar flourishes that give him the true spotlight at the song’s finale.
Ringo recaptures the ‘swing-beat’ style of their trademark sound, such as on “I Saw Her Standing There,” although at a slightly slower pace. This allows for the intricate ‘gimmick word-play’ of the chorus to not be at a frantic and unintelligible speed. He is afforded the opportunity to put in a few simple drum fills, such as at the end of most choruses and bridges, while a tight staccato drum fill acts as a ‘band fill’ with Lennon’s 16th note guitar chops at the end of each verse before the break. Ringo makes sure to close his usually open hi-hat during each bridge to ease the tension of the song, which creates a subtle “Miracles” style smoothness. With Starr’s backbeat holding the song together, “It Won’t Be Long” becomes a tightly wound arrangement with hardly a flaw.
On the surface, the lyrics tell a fairly standard tale of anticipation for the return of the singer’s girlfriend. Although McCartney did indeed help somewhat with the words, it can easily be determined that Lennon’s pen was doing most of the lyric writing in this case. The predominance of sorrow is depicted in the usual Lennon style with lines such as “tears come down from my eyes,” “sitting all on my own” and “I’ve done nothing but cry.” In addition, he imagines that “everybody has fun” while he sits alone in anguish.
Most writers conclude that this anguish is the result of his tragic upbringing, losing both his father (by abandonment) and his mother (by death) early in life. He actually felt this loss three times because of his mother giving him over to be raised by his Aunt Mimi at a young age and then by her actual death many years later. “I lost my mother twice,” Lennon had said, “Once as a child of five and then again at 17.”
Thelma Pickles (later McGough) who dated John shortly after his mother’s death, has stated that “rejection and betrayal were his experience of life” adding that “John’s life was very isolated. He lived with Mimi who looked after him extremely well but there was no closeness.” Although the rough and sarcastic exterior seen by most people who knew him, the inner turmoil that was his life came through in his lyric writing throughout his entire career. Such the case, even in this optimistic song about a returning love, the predominant focus of the lyrics is on the sadness he was experiencing while she was gone.
A subtle fault surfaces in the aforementioned lines heard in the verse, while the same melody line and chord structure of the final verse depicts happiness, with lines like “we’ll be happy I know.” A more common and acceptable practice would have a chord pattern and melody line with a reflective, moody minor key for portraying sad lyrics and an excited major key for the optimistic positive lyrics. While this conveys a slightly unconvincing message as is, it doesn’t spoil the overall effect of the song. This is especially so with the dynamically jubilant last phrase “till I belong to you” which is sung with great emphasis and glee, making the listener want to high-five Lennon in congratulations.
An interesting side note is the influence of Arthur Alexander that can easily be detected in John’s singing style for this song. The line “you won’t leave me no mo,” which is also heard in The Beatles rendition of Alexander’s “Anna” on the first album, is a direct result of a flattering imitation of one of Lennon’s favorite singers of that time. Evidence that the line was written into the song with that pronunciation in mind can be seen in that the line rhymes with “we’ll be happy I know.” Lennon purposely wanted to imitate Alexander in this song!
Next Song--All I’ve Got To Do:
Two recording sessions (July 18th and July 30th, 1963) had transpired which resulted in just over half of their second British album, “With The Beatles,” accomplished. Approximately a month and a half later, on September 11th, The Beatles reconvened at EMI studio two to start work on the second half of the album. Since six of the eight previously recorded tracks for the new album were cover songs, the primary focus on this day was newly written original compositions. Five new songs were recorded this day, but only two of them marked finished, “All I’ve Got To Do” earned one of them.
The afternoon session on this day started at 2:30 pm, beginning with aborted attempts at two new songs, “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “Little Child.” After it was decided to leave both of these songs for another day, work started on “All I’ve Got To Do” at approximately 3:30 pm.
After John introduced it for the first time to the other Beatles, they recorded fourteen live takes of the song. Eight of these takes were false starts, which is evidence in itself that they were unfamiliar with the composition. After one overdub, quite possibly the introductory guitar chord from George, this ‘take 15’ became the finished song as we know it, and The Beatles never played it again. That completed the afternoon recording session at 6:00 pm.
While the band were on vacation out of the country, George Martin, with Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick as engineers, produced the mono mix of the song on September 30th, 1963. The same three staff members created the stereo mix on October 29th, with the engineering assistance of the mysterious B.T.
Song Structure and Style
The song structure for “All I’ve Got To Do” is uniquely similar to the cover version of “A Taste Of Honey” that The Beatles did on their first album. The similarity lies in the use of a refrain instead of a bridge, the difference between the two shifts the finality a refrain provides which, while not necessarily repeating the title of the song in the lyrics, usually completes the framework of the song and returns you to the home key. The overall structure of the song, therefore, is 'verse/ verse/ refrain/ verse/ refrain' (or aabab). The structure of the song ends there, although The Beatles chose to return to a hummed final verse which fades away seconds after it begins. No solos of any kind are deemed necessary in order to complete the desired picture.
After the introductory suspended fourth chord, an unusual 11 bar verse begins. The first six bars are in an exotic syncopated beat which appears as a more refined version of the rhythm used in “Ask Me Why” from their first album. The fifth and sixth of these bars highlight McCartney’s usual adeptness at higher harmony when the song’s title is sung. The next four measures pick up the mood with a steadier rocking rhythm which works well as a backdrop to the lyrical solution to what is posed in the song’s title.
The final bar of the verse actually has a three-part use. The first would be the standard Beatles ‘break’ which has by now become a hallmark for their early catalog. The second use would be an actual return to the exotic syncopated beat which is an appropriate segue into another verse. The third use is as an actual beginning of the next verse, since the melody line of the verse begins before the first measure does.
The second verse is nearly identical in structure apart from different lyrics and the absence of the break on the last bar. Instead of the break, we transcend into a rise in intensity leading to the nine-bar refrain, which crescendos as the climax of the song, highlighted by Lennon’s dramatic lead vocals as well as convincing background vocals from Paul and George. This time, the ninth and final bar of the refrain becomes the ‘break’ with a three-part use which segues nicely into a third verse, which is actually a hybrid of the first and second verses lyrically, using the first half of the second verse with the second half of the first verse.
We then hear an identical repeat of the refrain with slightly different vocal accents from Lennon, which show how he, as its writer, truly had the song’s framework and vocal style well-rehearsed in his mind before this day, although he was really the only one who was well rehearsed. This final refrain is actually extended to eleven bars because of the repeat of the last line “you just gotta call on me.” The final break of the refrain then naturally moves us into what appears to be another verse but, as previously stated, it has a hummed vocal line with full McCartney harmony humming as the song dissolves into a satisfying fade-out just before the final four ‘steady rock rhythm’ bars were due to occur.
This final conclusion chosen for the song, unprecedented in review of the Beatles catalog up to this point, is indication of the creativeness that was brewing in the minds of these young musicians and that would evolve into the groundbreaking ‘no holds barred’ songwriting and arrangements we were soon to see as time progressed. Noteworthy too is the use of this ending to relate an emotional satisfaction of a comfortable romantic relationship. Nothing else need be said as the happy John Lennon rides off into the sunset.
Although the simplified lyrics are somewhat clichéd and predictable, paired with this melody line, chord structure and vocal style, they come across as extremely convincing. Simply put, the message is clear that the singer’s needs are met by his girl whenever they are requested and, to be fair, her needs are graciously met in return. The only catch is to ask, and that’s ‘all they’ve got to do.’ This exact sentiment is actually repeated less than a year later in Lennon’s “Any Time At All,” probably owing more to a time crunch than to any genuine attraction to the story. The lyrics are somewhat more convincing the first time around as is usually the case.
Noteworthy in Lennon’s lyrics at the time is his obsession with the Americanism “yeah,” as used to great effect in “She Loves You.” Their focus on attracting the US audience was well received, “yeah, yeah, yeah” becoming somewhat of their universal trademark throughout the next year or so. Unfortunately, the continuation of throwing in the meaningless word “yeah” at the end of a lyric line began to cheapen the music a little. As in this case, the line “and when I want to kiss you, yeah” for example, shows that Lennon may have needed to think outside of the box a little bit in order to keep things fresh. “Not A Second Time,” also recorded on this day, repeated the same gimmick, as well as the very beginning of “I Want To Hold Your Hand.” Fortunately, this marked the end of the “yeah” trend.
As to individual performances, Lennon's is truly the highlight, with the aforementioned emotive vocal style with a definite Smokey Robinson / Arthur Alexander inspiration. John’s latest fixation with double tracking his lead vocals was fortunately neglected in this case, which allows for an appropriate singular tone to go with the intimate lyrics. Lennon’s rhythm guitar, although somewhat rudimentary, provides what was required to accentuate his amazing vocal delivery.
McCartney next deserves attention for his craftsman-like harmony work falling right into place regardless of his never hearing the song before this day. In spite of his unfamiliarity with it, Paul also quickly, but masterfully, creates a bass line, complete with double-stops during the subdued sections of the verses, that work perfectly with the song while not making his performance too busy.
Harrison shines in musicianship, from his classy opening chord and throughout the entire song, with his damped guitar chords which create a downbeat atmosphere during the first part of the verses, and a jarring mood-swing during the refrains. His harmonic vocal touches, while not his strong suit, are noteworthy here for ‘spot-on’ brilliance, considering his unfamiliarity with the song.
The return of the squeaky drum pedal from the first album is irritatingly evident but, nonetheless, the unmistakable charm and professionalism of Ringo’s drum work on this song holds it all together. His sparse hi-hat strokes throughout the moody verses, in contrast with the intensified pounding bass drum beats that introduce each refrain, show how quickly Starr could learn a song and rhythmically lead the group through an effortlessly tight performance.
All in all, The Beatles played “All I’ve Got To Do” with the same charismatic diligence that they would have if this was their next single. Since take 14 was the last time they ever played the song, it says a lot about the determination The Beatles had to break into the American market and, in return, solidify their career. This inner motivation waned as time went on, and was something they struggled to recapture at times. Focusing on this strong early motivation helps the listener to enjoy the early Beatles albums as much as the highly acclaimed studio wizardry of their later years.
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