When I Get Home
| "When I Get Home" | |
|---|---|
Cover of the song's sheet music | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the album A Hard Day's Night | |
| Released | 10 July 1964 |
| Recorded | 2 June 1964 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Rock and roll[1] |
| Length | 2:18 |
| Label | Parlophone |
| Songwriter | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer | George Martin |
"When I Get Home" is a song written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded by the English rock band the Beatles on 2 June 1964, during the last session for their third studio album A Hard Day's Night (1964).[2] Its first US release was on the Something New LP.[3]
Influenced somewhat by the Shirelles,[4] "When I Get Home" is essentially a rock and roll number, but with unusual chord progressions. Lennon liked this particular ploy, and used it on many of his songs at the time. Typical also of this period of the Beatles is the vocal leap into falsetto.
Music critic Allan Kozinn described "When I Get Home" as "a soul-tinged rocker, [that] has the singer impatient for a reunion with his sweetheart – yet there is also a faint undercurrent of extracurricular activity in the lyrics. 'I've got no business being here with you,' he sings, and after a telling pause he adds, 'this way.'"[5]
Recording
After completing "When I Get Home" in 11 takes, the Beatles finished recording another Lennon song, "Any Time at All", which they had started work on earlier that day. They also recorded Paul McCartney's "Things We Said Today" during the same session.[6]
A mono mix was made on 4 June 1964, although this was replaced when new mono and stereo mixes were made on 22 June.[7]
Cover versions
The band Yellow Matter Custard covered the song for their CD/DVD release One Night In New York City.
There have also been covers by the Rustix, Tony Visconti and Alejandro Escovedo.
Personnel
- John Lennon – lead vocal, rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass, piano[8]
- George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald,[2] except where noted.
Notes
- ^ Harrington, Joe S. (2002). Sonic Cool: The Life & Death of Rock 'N' Roll. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 110. ISBN 978-0634028618.
Lennon and McCartney were composing at a new level of sophistication with songs like 'I'll Be Back,' 'When I Get Home,' 'I'll Cry Instead,' and 'Things We Said Today.' The harmonies were getting stronger, and there was a complexity to the work that bespoke maturity—until then a foreign concept in Rock 'n' Roll.
- ^ a b MacDonald 2005, pp. 121–122.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 201.
- ^ Harry 2000, p. 1144.
- ^ Kozinn, Allan (1995). The Beatles: From the Cavern to the Rooftop. Phaidon Press. p. 98. ISBN 978-0714832036.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 44.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Rybaczewski 2010.
References
- Harry, Bill (2000). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Revised and Updated. London: Virgin Publishing. ISBN 0-7535-0481-2.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-84413-828-3.
- Rybaczewski, Dave (April 2, 2010). ""When I Get Home" by the Beatles. An in-depth analysis". Beatles Ebooks. Retrieved April 13, 2017.