I'll Get You

CHART ACTION
UNITED KINGDOM: Released as a single August 23, 1963, the B side to "She Loves You." The Long and Winding Road: An Intimate Guide to the Beatles

UNITED STATES: Released as a single September 16, 1963, on the Swan label. It was not a hit. It was re-released May 21, 1964, and again was not a hit. The Long and Winding Road: An Intimate Guide to the Beatles

AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.5) and McCartney (.5)
Because Aunt Mimi disapproved of John's music, John and Paul rarely wrote together at Menlove Avenue. One exception was 'I'll Get You'. This has always been one of Paul's favourite Beatles tracks; it is light-hearted, confident and shows how well he and John had already mastered the tricks of their trade. John later used a variation on the opening line in his song 'Imagine'. 'I'll Get You' was a 50-50 collaboration; what Paul calls 'very co-written'.
McCARTNEY: "To me and John, though I can't really speak for him, words like 'imagine' and 'picture' were from Lewis Carroll. This idea of asking your listener to imagine, 'Come with me if you will. . .', 'Enter please into my. . .', 'Picture yourself in a boat. . .' It drew you in. It was a good little trick that. Both of us loved Lewis Carroll and the Alice books and were fascinated by his surreal world so this was a nice song to write.
"It's got an interesting chord in it: 'It's not easy to pre-tend. . .' That was nicked from a song called 'All My Trials' which is on an album I had by Joan Baez: 'There's only one thing that money can't buy'. It's like D, which goes to an A minor, which is unusual, you'd normally go from a D to an A major. It's a change that had always fascinated me, so I put it in. I liked that slightly faggy way we sang. 'Oh yeah, oh yeah,' which was very distinctive, very Beatley." Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now

RECORDED
July 1, 1963, at Abbey Road

INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, lead vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, harmonica, lead vocal
HARRISON: lead guitar
STARR: drums