"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.
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IN MY LIFE TICKETS
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Composition
According to Lennon, the song's origins can be found when English journalist Kenneth Allsop made a remark that Lennon should write songs about his childhood.
[1] Afterwards, Lennon wrote a song in the form of a long poem reminiscing on his childhood 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.
[2]
However, Lennon found it to be "ridiculous", calling it "the most boring sort of 'What I Did On My Holidays Bus Trip' song";
[3] he reworked the words with
Paul McCartney, replacing the specific memories with a generalized meditation on his past. "Very few lines" of the original version remained in the finished song.
According to Lennon's friend and biographer
Peter Shotton, 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.
Regarding authorship of the melody, Lennon’s and McCartney’s recollections differ.
Referring to McCartney, Lennon said "his contribution melodically was the harmony and the middle-eight itself."
[4] [5]
McCartney claimed he set Lennon's lyrics to music from beginning to end, taking inspiration for the melody from songs by
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.
"I liked 'In My Life'. Those were words that John wrote and I wrote the tune to it. That was a great one."
[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",
[7] the other being "
Eleanor Rigby".
[8]
Recording
The song was recorded on
18 October 1965, and was complete except for the instrumental
bridge.
[9] At that time, Lennon had not decided what instrument to use, but he subsequently asked
George Martin to play a
piano solo, suggesting "something
Baroque-sounding".
[10] 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 tape speed was doubled for the final recording, solving the performance challenge and giving the piano solo a unique,
harpsichord-like
timbre.
[11] [12]
Credits
- John Lennon — lead vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney — backing vocal, bass
- George Harrison — backing vocal, lead guitar
- Ringo Starr — drums
- George Martin — piano
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,
Ronnie Von,
Allison Crowe,
Bonnie Tyler,
Bette Midler,
Joseph Williams of
Toto (band), and
Johnny Cash (
American IV: The Man Comes Around
). In
Brazil there is a
Portuguese version of the song called "Minha Vida" (my life) sung by
Rita Lee. Hawaiian singer-songwriter Keali'i Reichel recorded a cover of the song with a Hawaiian chant in the introduction.
Twiggy sang 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.
The song was played at the end of the Season 4 Finale of the
ABC legal drama-
comedy Boston Legal
, as
Alan Shore and
Denny Crane walk off to go fishing.
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 South African born, Grammy Award-winning singer
Miriam Makeba, covered the song on her 1970 album "Keep Me In Mind."
[13]
Susan Ashton and
Gary Chapman recorded the song as a duet for the 1995 Beatles tribute album
Come Together: America Salutes The Beatles
.
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.
The song was played at
Kurt Cobain's memorial.
[14] Cobain was an avid
Beatles fan.
Sting, when performing with
Edin Karamazov on their 'Songs from the Labyrinth' shows, regularly performs 'In My Life' for the encore, among other covers.
References
- Everett (2001), p. 319
- Spitz (2005), p. 587
- Sheff (2000), p. 152
- Sheff (2000), p. 178
- The section to which Lennon referred is unclear, as the song does not contain a recognizable middle-eight aside from a brief instrumental break (the melody for which is attributed to Martin).
- Gambaccini (1976), p. 19
- Miles (1997), p. 277
- Miles (1997), p. 283
- Lewisohn (1988), p. 64
- Hertsgaard (1996), p. 156
- Spitz (2005), p. 591
- Lewisohn (1990), p. 65
- http://www.google.com/musicl?lid=wehopb7Wx2K&aid=mQGpTRkrQtK
- Nirvana: The Biography