Musical Musings: My Fab Four
Or, can you believe I’m only just now writing about the Beatles?!
It’s finally time for me to take on the last of my previously proposed recurring newsletter topics: Musical Musings! Where I analyze some of my favorite songs, albums, movie scores, etc. from a musical, technical angle! What qualifications do I have for writing on this topic, you ask? Well, I play some instruments, I got a 5 on the AP Music Theory exam in 2013, and…yeah, that probably sums it up.
So, maybe I’m not a true expert when it comes to music theory, but when it comes to the Beatles, I most definitely am. Therefore, I’m super excited to share four of my all-time favorite Beatles songs with you all in this first edition of Musical Musings.
Since I suspect most regular readers of my ATF pieces are already very well-acquainted with my DEEP love of the Beatles, I’ll keep this part brief. Basically, the Beatles were a massive part of my upbringing. Maybe that’s not super original or anything — they are, after all, considered the greatest band of all time by many — but I think you’d be hard pressed to find a family that’s quite as Beatles-entrenched as we Heaths are.
Our collective obsession only worsened in 2017, when SiriusXM launched the Beatles Channel. At any given time, there’s a very high chance that I or one of my family members is listening to the Beatles Channel. One of the best recurring segments on the Beatles Channel (in my opinion) is “My Fab Four,” in which celebrities and regular people share their four favorite Beatles songs. They provide a little backstory for each song, sometimes even delving into the musicality. I’ve submitted the online form for “My Fab Four” many times before, but since SiriusXM apparently hates me, I’ve decided to just share my choices with the readers of ATF! And since this is Musical Musings, I’m predominantly going to focus on the musical elements of these songs that I love so much.
One small caveat: there are probably a good 15+ songs that actually qualify as my favorite Beatles song, so to adhere to the “My Fab Four” construct, I’ve chosen four of my favorite lesser known Beatles songs. In no particular order, here they are!
“You Won’t See Me” from Rubber Soul
BACKGROUND: It kind of embarrasses me to admit this, but I actually first became aware of this Paul McCartney-penned song in 2009 through the PS3 game Beatles Rock Band. I instantly fell in love with it, and I never fail to gasp with excitement any time it comes on the radio (though, to be fair, those who know me know that there are many songs I gasp with excitement upon hearing). Weirdly enough, it’s the longest song on the Beatles’ much-loved Rubber Soul album, though it clocks in at a mere 3:20. It may not be as well known as other Rubber Soul classics like “Michelle” or “Nowhere Man,” but it’s far and away my favorite tune off the album.
MUSIC: “You Won’t See Me,” like many pop/rock songs, is written in the key of A Major. One of my favorite things about it is its use of three-part harmony. Again, even casual fans of the Beatles likely know that MANY of their songs incorporate various two- and three-part harmonies, but there’s something about the harmonies in “You Won’t See Me” that feels special to me. My mom likes to say that this song reminds her of the song they sing at the end of School of Rock, since, for the most part, the harmonies involve singing “Ooooh la la la” repeatedly. The more that I think about it, actually, the more I realize how musically simple this song kind of is. There’s no guitar solo, no complicated drumming. The bass line is perhaps the most intricate aspect of the instrumentation (pretty standard for a Paul song). But when you put it all together — the playful bass line, the piano that matches up with the lower harmony, the guitars, and the lovely vocals — it’s just perfect.
LYRICS: My favorite thing about the lyrics of “You Won’t See Me” is how delightfully English they are. Seriously…the first lines are, “When I call you up / Your line’s engaged.” How adorable is that? Paul also really lets his accent roam free in this song, which I think is a nice diversion from the Little Richard-esque vocals that he so frequently used in the early years. It’s often said to be kind of a bitter song, written by Paul during a rough patch with his then-girlfriend Jane Asher. However, when I listen carefully to the vocals of “You Won’t See Me,” I just feel pain. Both times when Paul sings, “Though the days are few / They’re filled with tears / And since I lost you / It feels like years,” it makes me want to cry right along with him. Maybe it’s because I discovered this song at the age of 14, but the immaturity and jealousy of the lyrics that many point to are more or less lost on me. All I can hear is a guy who’s fighting to get his love back, no matter how badly they hurt him.
“For No One” from Revolver
BACKGROUND: Now this is a song I actually discovered a year earlier than “You Won’t See Me” after pressing “shuffle” on my red iPod nano. Yes, I obviously had every single Beatles album loaded onto there, despite the fact that I hadn’t really started listening to them on my own yet. It helped me through the demise of my first “relationship” (HEAVY air quotes there — it lasted all of one week), and, most importantly, it features a gorgeous French horn solo! At the time, I was the first chair French horn player in the top band at my middle school, so naturally, this find made me ecstatic. “For No One” also comes from a super famous and acclaimed Beatles album: Revolver. It might be my favorite album, actually. But despite living alongside songs like “Here, There and Everywhere” and “Eleanor Rigby,” “For No One” will always be my #1 off Revolver.
MUSIC: “For No One” is a short, sweet-sounding song written in the key of C major…but obviously I’m mainly here for the French horn solo. It’s flawless! For the longest, my brother and I theorized that it was actually a synthetic French horn performance — like, actually played on a keyboard or something — but no! It was performed by Alan Civil, and I will forever be impressed by that. What’s especially fun is that the solo is repeated later in the song, as a quiet overlay to the final verse. Just lovely! Like “You Won’t See Me,” this song was also written by Paul McCartney; however, unlike “You Won’t See Me,” it features no vocal harmonies. It’s just Paul, and the instrumentation screams Paul as well — heavy on the bass and piano. When you compare “For No One” to its aforementioned fellow Rubber Soul Paul numbers (“Here, There and Everywhere” and “Eleanor Rigby”), you see something of a pattern. There’s a move away from the rock and roll genre toward some kind of pop/classical hybrid. That being said, it’s really no wonder that a horn player like myself would feel such a connection to this song.
LYRICS: I LOVE the lyrics to this song. I teased before that it helped me get through a “breakup”…that’s sad, but true. “For No One” follows in the tradition of “She Loves You” by being written in both the second- and third-person point of view. It’s a story of a woman who has recently gotten over her previous partner, and many of the lyrics are directed toward said partner: “You want her / You need her / And yet you don’t believe her / When she says / Her love is dead / You think she needs you.” Though the music is pretty upbeat, the lyrics are rather sad. It’s great that the woman in the story is getting on with her life (“She wakes up / She makes up / She takes her time / And doesn’t feel / She has to hurry / She no longer needs you”), but ultimately, it seems like both parties are disappointed (“Cried for no one / A love that should have lasted years”). Man, I could just listen to it on repeat all day. So beautiful!
“No Reply” from Beatles for Sale
BACKGROUND: Now THIS song I feel like I’ve always known. We’re finally getting some John representation in here (though I feel awful about not including George or Ringo on this list…perhaps another time). It’s yet another tale of relationship drama, which I’m sure I somehow felt I could relate to as a child. “No Reply” is the oldest track of the four, but I think it still showcases how the Beatles were starting to mature after their initial days of class rock and roll numbers.
MUSIC: Maybe it’s odd, since this is the oldest song I’m discussing today, but I think “No Reply” might be the most musically complex. It features some fancy 6 chords, I wanna say (please don’t get mad at me if you’re more knowledgeable than I am!! I’m a little rusty…). What I mainly love about this song is its bridge, or middle 8, section. Oh. My. Goodness. I honestly think it’s the best bridge of all time (yes, I’m looking at you, Swifties!). Seriously, just listen to it. You’ll be bopping your head like that little cat before you even realize it. I should also note that the harmonies are, once again, just divine in “No Reply,” especially during the bridge section.
LYRICS: “No Reply” is about a man who discovers his partner has been cheating on him. Kind of ironic coming from John Lennon at this time…but I’ll let it slide. The title “No Reply” also serves as the only lyrics to the chorus, which I find to be an interesting stylistic choice. The verses detail the man’s attempts at reaching out to his partner, as well as catching them in the act, but the bridge (I seriously love this bridge SO MUCH) mixes things up a bit: “If I were you / I’d realize that I / Love you more / Than any other guy.” It’s honestly a bit of a desperate plea, but the backing music makes it sound impassioned and powerful. “No Reply” is yet another song I would gladly listen to on repeat.
“Oh! Darling” from Abbey Road
BACKGROUND: “Oh! Darling” is also one that I can remember rocking out to in my early childhood. It wasn’t until my teen years that I really started to grasp the intensity of the lyrics, but I think people of any age and any background can appreciate the power of this song. “Oh! Darling” debuted on the ever-famous Abbey Road album alongside classics such as “Come Together” and “Here Comes the Sun.” It’s another Paul song, but I think it’s drastically different in style to “You Won’t See Me” and “For No One.” I once heard someone call “Oh! Darling” the first screamo song. That might be a bit of a stretch, but it’s for sure a true banger.
MUSIC: Finally, a song with some musical meat on its bones! Every element of “Oh! Darling,” from the guitars, to the bass, to the drums, to the passionate vocals, is HEAVY. The Beatles did NOT hold back on this one. In a lot of ways, it’s a very old school song (even older school than 1969, I mean), with its blues-style chord progression and lack of unusual instruments that the Beatles were so accustomed to featuring at this point. But in other ways, it must’ve seemed pretty progressive at the time. Like I said before, it’s probably one of the earliest instances of something akin to “heavy metal.” As much as I love the sweet, uber English Paul vocals on the first two songs I discussed, I simply can’t get enough of his yell-singing in “Oh! Darling.” It just fits with the lyrics flawlessly.
LYRICS: Speaking of the lyrics…they’re nothing out of the ordinary for a bluesy rock song, but they go hard nonetheless. The man in the song begs for his lover to come back to him as he rants and raves about his crying and almost dying. I’m realizing that so many Beatles songs (or at least the ones I particularly love) involve some desperate ass men either being angry with or feeling lost without their partners: “Oh! Darling / Please believe me / I’ll never let you down.” Yeah, okay. Like I tell my students, Paul, be wary of absolute words like “always” and “never.” In all seriousness, though, “Oh! Darling” is another song in which I really feel the pain of the singer. There’s a reason it made this list, and that’s because I simply can’t help but scream-sing along any time it comes on!
So there you have it: my fab four! Or at least, one version of my fab four. I really do encourage you to listen to these songs after reading what I wrote about them. Again, I’m certainly not an expert, but I hope I provided at least a little additional insight into these wonderful tunes!
