It Won't Be Long

AUTHORSHIP Lennon (.6) and McCartney (.4)
McCARTNEY: "I was doing literature at school, so I was interested in plays on words and onomatopoeia. John didn't do literature but he was quite well read, so he was interested in that kind of thing. Like the double meaning of 'please' in a line like 'Please, lend a little ear to my pleas' that we used in 'Please Please Me'. We'd spot the double meaning. I think everyone did, by the way, it was not just genius of us! In 'It won't be long till I belong to you' it was that same trip. We both liked to try and get a bit of double meaning in, so that was the high spot of writing that particular song. John mainly sang it so I expect that it was his original idea but we both sat down and wrote it together. When I say 'original idea' I mean someone might have the first verse, which then is pretty much the maquette for the whole thing, but the second verse is always difficult because you've got to repeat the first verse but go somewhere new. And your inspiration's gone by that point, so you've got to dig deep to push a new inspiration out to make the second verse as good as the first verse. You don't want to just be rambling. We would often repeat the first verse. The last verse was no problem - 'Two hours is up! C'mon, just put "Repeat I".' That's how a lot of our songs end, 'Repeat I'. We'd number the verses, one, two, so we'd write a couple of verses, middle, the chorus, then pretty much repeat verse one. Which was godo if it was hooky, it meant that you've heard those lyrics twice, so we'd rammed 'em home, and it saved us having to think of a third verse." Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now

LENNON: "Another early one. When I was in therapy in California they made me go through every lyric of every song I'd ever written. I couldn't believe I'd written so many songs." Beatles in Their Own Words

RECORDED
July 30, 1963, at Abbey Road

INSTRUMENTATION
McCARTNEY: bass, backing vocal
LENNON: rhythm guitar, lead vocal (double-tracked)
HARRISON: lead guitar, backing vocal
STARR: drums

MISCELLANEOUS
Lennon, and his interviewers, would often confuse this song with the one that supposedly had an "Aeolian cadence" - "Not a Second Time."

"It Won't Be Long" was the first song Neil Young performed for an audience. The high school cafeteria concert also included "Money (That's What I Want)," another song featured on With the Beatles. RS (August 14, 1975)