"Tell Me What You See" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that first appeared in 1965 on their album Help! in the United Kingdom and on Beatles VI in the United States. The song is credited to Lennon–McCartney but mainly written by Paul McCartney. Regarding the song's authorship, McCartney said, "I seem to remember it as mine. I would claim it as a 60–40 but it might have been totally me."[1] John Lennon said, in his interviews with Playboy (1980) and Hit Parader (1972), that "Tell Me What You See" was written completely by McCartney.
| "Tell Me What You See" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the song's sheet music | |
| Song by the Beatles | |
| from the album Help! | |
| Released |
|
| Recorded | 18 February 1965 |
| Studio | EMI, London |
| Genre | Folk rock |
| Length | 2:36 |
| Label | Parlophone |
| Songwriter(s) | Lennon–McCartney |
| Producer(s) | George Martin |
Background and composition
editAlthough "Tell Me What You See" is credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership,[2] both John Lennon and Paul McCartney identified it as being primarily written by McCartney. McCartney said in the 1997 biography Many Years from Now: "I seem to remember it as mine. I would claim it as a 60–40 but it might have been totally me."[1] Asked about the song in 1980, Lennon simply said, "That's Paul."[3] McCartney recalled little of its writing, later describing it as a filler track: "Not one of the better songs but they did a job, they were very handy for albums or B-sides. You need those kind of sides."[4]
"Tell Me What You See" has been described as a folk rock song,[5] foreshadowing the direction of the Beatles' next album, Rubber Soul.[6] It is in the key of G major and is in common time.[7] The song's second verse draws from a religious motto hung in Lennon's childhood home with his aunt Mimi Smith.[8] Lennon himself would parody the lines in the story "Silly Norman" from his 1965 book A Spaniard in the Works:[9]
| Original motto | "Tell Me What You See" | "Silly Norman" |
|---|---|---|
| However black the clouds may be In time they'll pass away Have faith and trust and you will see God's light make bright your day[8] |
Big and black the clouds may be Time will pass away If you put your trust in me I'll make bright your day[10] |
However blackpool tower maybe, In time they'll bassaway. Have faith and trumpand B B C – Griffs' light make bright your day.[11] |
Author Kenneth Womack also suggests that the line "trying to get to you" was in reference to Elvis Presley's 1956 song "Tryin' to Get to You", which had also inspired McCartney's early composition "In Spite of All the Danger".[6]
Recording
editThe Beatles recorded "Tell Me What You See" on 18 February 1965, during the sessions for the soundtrack of their second feature film, Help! It was the last song recorded in the day, after Lennon's "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and the unsatisfactory attempt of "If You've Got Trouble". The session was held in EMI's Studio Two with George Martin producing and Norman Smith and Ken Scott engineering. The band achieved a satisfactory basic track in four takes,[12] featuring McCartney playing his Höfner 500/1 bass, Lennon playing rhythm guitar on his Rickenbacker 325, Ringo Starr on drums, and George Harrison playing a güiro.[13]
The band then added several overdubs to take four.[14] McCartney and Lennon added vocals – McCartney on lead and Lennon on harmony, with McCartney then doubling his part.[15] Starr added claves and maracas, Lennon added tambourine, and McCartney added an electric piano part to the break, played on a Hohner Pianet.[16][nb 1] Martin, Smith, and Scott mixed the track for mono on 20 February and Smith and Malcolm Davies mixed it for stereo on 23 February.[18]
Other versions
editGeorge Martin recorded an instrumental version of "Tell Me What You See" for his 1965 easy listening album, George Martin and His Orchestra Play Help![19]
The American Christian rock band Jacob's Trouble covered the song for their 1989 debut album Door into Summer.[20]
Personnel
editAccording to Kenneth Womack,[6] except where otherwise indicated:
- Paul McCartney – lead vocal,[21] bass, electric piano
- John Lennon – harmony vocal,[2] rhythm guitar, tambourine
- George Harrison – güiro
- Ringo Starr – drums, claves, maracas
Notes
edit- ^ The Beatles had used the Pianet for the first time the previous day, on "The Night Before" and "You Like Me Too Much".[17]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Miles 1997, p. 200.
- ^ a b MacDonald 2007, p. 149.
- ^ Sheff 2000, p. 195.
- ^ Miles 1997, p. 200; Guesdon & Margotin 2013, p. 246.
- ^ Halpin 2017, p. 93.
- ^ a b c Womack 2014, p. 893.
- ^ Pollack, Alan W. "Notes on 'Tell Me What You See'". soundscapes.info. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ a b Asher 2019, p. 122.
- ^ Davies 2014, p. 104.
- ^ "Tell Me What You See". thebeatles.com. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ^ Lennon 2015, p. 69.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 55.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 289; Womack 2014, p. 893.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 289: overdubs; Lewisohn 1988, p. 56: take four was used.
- ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2013, p. 246: McCartney; MacDonald 2007, p. 149: Lennon.
- ^ Everett 2001, p. 289; Womack 2014, p. 893: maracas; Guesdon & Margotin 2013, p. 246: Pianet.
- ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2013, pp. 226, 244.
- ^ Lewisohn 1988, p. 56.
- ^ Castleman & Podrazik 1976, p. 278: 1965 album; Schaffner 1978, p. 215: easy listening; Everett 2001, p. 299: George Martin & His Orchestra Play Help!.
- ^ Cummings, Tony (27 November 2011). "Jacob's Trouble: Quirky purveyors of retro pop with a still relevant musical legacy". Cross Rhythms. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
- ^ Guesdon & Margotin 2013, p. 246.
Bibliography
edit- Asher, Peter (2019). The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-1-250-20958-0.
- Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1976). All Together Now: The First Complete Beatles Discography, 1961–1975. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-25680-8.
- Davies, Hunter (2014). The Beatles Lyrics: The Stories Behind the Music, Including the Handwritten Drafts of More Than 100 Classic Beatles Songs. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-24716-0.
- Everett, Walter (2001). The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514105-4.
- Guesdon, Jean-Michel; Margotin, Philippe (2013). All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57912-952-1.
- Halpin, Brooke (2017). Experiencing the Beatles: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7144-9.
- Lennon, John (2015) [1965]. A Spaniard in the Works. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. ISBN 978-1-78211-541-0.
- Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions. New York, NY: Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-600-63561-1.
- MacDonald, Ian (2007). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Third ed.). Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-55652-733-3.
- Miles, Barry (1997). Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 978-0-8050-5248-0.
- Schaffner, Nicholas (1978). The Beatles Forever. Harrisburg, PA: Cameron House. ISBN 978-0-07-055087-2.
- Sheff, David (2000) [1981]. Golson, G. Barry (ed.). All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-25464-3.
- Womack, Kenneth (2014). The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-39171-2.