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The Beatles Lyrics, album "Yesterday and Today"
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 GEORGE 1977: 'If Paul had written a song, he'd learn all the parts and then come in the studio and say 'Do this.' He'd never give you the opportunity to come out with something. But on 'Drive My Car' I just played the line, which is really like a lick off 'Respect,' you know, the Otis Redding version. And I played the line on the guitar and Paul laid that with me on the bass. We laid that track down like that. We played the lead part later on top of it.'JOHN 1980: 'His (Paul's) song, with contributions from me.'PAUL circa-1994: 'This is one of the songs where John and I came nearest to having a dry session. The lyrics I brought in were something to do with golden rings, which are always fatal (to songwriting). 'Rings' is fatal anyway, 'rings' always rhymes with things and I knew it was a bad idea. I came in and I said, 'These aren't good lyrics but it's a good tune.' Well, we tried, and John couldn't think of anything, and we tried, and eventually it was, 'Oh let's leave it, let's get off this one.' 'No, no. We can do it, we can do it.' So we had a break… then we came back to it, and somehow it became 'drive-my-car' instead of 'gol-den-rings,' and then it was wonderful – because this nice tongue-in-cheek idea came.' Asked a girl what she wanted to be She said baby, "Can't you see I wanna be famous, a star of the screen But you can do something in between"Baby you can drive my car Yes I'm gonna be a star Baby you can drive my car And maybe I'll love youI told the girl that my prospects were good She said baby, "It's understood Working for peanuts is all very fine But I can show you a better time"Baby you can drive my car Yes I'm gonna be a star Baby you can drive my car And maybe I'll love you Beep beep mm, beep beep yeahBaby you can drive my car Yes I'm gonna be a star Baby you can drive my car And maybe I'll love youI told that girl I can start right away And she said, "Listen baby I've got something to say I got no car and it's breaking my heart But I've found a driver and that's a start"Baby you can drive my car Yes I'm gonna be a star Baby you can drive my car And maybe I'll love you Beep beep mm beep beep yeah Beep beep mm beep beep yeah Beep beep mm beep beep yeah Beep beep mm beep beep yeah (fade out) JOHN 1980: 'It's got backwards guitars… that's me dreaming my life away.'PAUL circa-1994: 'It was a nice idea – 'There's nothing wrong with it. I'm not being lazy, I'm only sleeping, I'm yawning, I'm meditating, I'm having a lay-in.' The luxury of all that was what it was all about. The song was co-written but from John's original idea.' When I wake up early in the morning Lift my head, I'm still yawning When I'm in the middle of a dream Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me Leave me where I am, I'm only sleepingEverybody seems to think I'm lazy I don't mind, I think they're crazy Running everywhere at such a speed Till they find there's no need (There's no need)Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away And after all I'm only sleepingKeeping an eye on the world going by my window Taking my timeLying there and staring at the ceiling Waiting for a sleepy feeling...Please, don't spoil my day, I'm miles away And after all I'm only sleepingOoh yeahKeeping an eye on the world going by my window Taking my timeWhen I wake up early in the morning Lift my head, I'm still yawning When I'm in the middle of a dream Stay in bed, float up stream (Float up stream)Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me Leave me where I am, I'm only sleeping JOHN 1980: 'I'd spent five hours that morning trying to write a song that was meaningful and good, and I finally gave up and lay down. Then 'Nowhere Man' came, words and music… the whole damn thing, as I lay down. So letting it go is what the whole game is. You put your finger on it, it slips away, right? You know, you turn the lights on and the cockroaches run away. You can never grasp them.'PAUL 1984: 'That was John after a night out, with dawn coming up. I think at that point in his life, he was a bit wondering where he was going.'PAUL 1988: 'I remember we wanted very treble-y guitars – which they are – they're among the most treble-y guitars I've ever heard on record. The engineer said, 'Alright, I'll put full treble on it,' and we said, 'That's not enough.' He said, 'But that's all I've got.' And we replied, 'Well, put that through another lot of faders and put full treble up on that. And if that's not enough we'll go through another lot of faders.' They said, 'We don't do that,' and we would say, 'Just try it… if it sounds crappy we'll lose it, but it might just sound good.' You'd then find, 'Oh it worked,' and they were secretly glad because they had been the engineer who put three times the allowed value of treble on a song. I think they were quietly proud of those things.' He's a real nowhere man Sitting in his nowhere land Making all his nowhere plans for nobodyDoesn't have a point of view Knows not where he's going to Isn't he a bit like you and me?Nowhere Man, please listen You don't know what you're missing Nowhere Man, the world is at your commandHe's as blind as he can be Just sees what he wants to see Nowhere Man can you see me at all?Nowhere Man, don't worry Take your time, don't hurry Leave it all till somebody else lends you a handDoesn't have a point of view Knows not where he's going to Isn't he a bit like you and me?Nowhere Man, please listen You don't know what you're missing Nowhere Man, the world is at your commandHe's a real Nowhere Man Sitting in his nowhere land Making all his nowhere plans for nobody Making all his nowhere plans for nobody Making all his nowhere plans for nobody JOHN 1972: 'Me. I think Paul helped with the middle.'JOHN 1980: 'Another of mine. Mainly about drugs and pills. It was about myself. I was the one that carried all the pills on tour… later on the roadies did it. We just kept them in our pockets, loose, in case of trouble.'PAUL circa-1994: 'John and I thought that was a funny idea – the fantasy doctor who would fix you up by giving you drugs. It was a parody on that idea.' Ring my friend, I said you call Doctor Robert Day or night he'll be there any time at all, Doctor Robert Doctor Robert, you're a new and better man He helps you to understand He does everything he can, Doctor RobertIf you're down he'll pick you up, Doctor Robert Take a drink from his special cup, Doctor Robert Doctor Robert, he's a man you must believe Helping everyone in need No one can succeed like Doctor RobertWell, well, well, you're feeling fine Well, well, well, he'll make you... Doctor RobertMy friend works for the national health, Doctor Robert Don't pay money just to see yourself with Doctor Robert Doctor Robert, you're a new and better man He helps you to understand He does everything he can, Doctor RobertWell, well, well, you're feeling fine Well, well, well, he'll make you... Doctor RobertRing my friend, I said you'd call Doctor Robert Ring my friend, I said you'd call Doctor Robert Doctor Robert Yesterday They're gonna put me in the movies They're gonna make a big star out of me We'll make a film about a man that's sad and lonely And all I gotta do is act naturallyWell, I'll bet you I'm gonna be a big star Might win an Oscar you can never tell The movies gonna make me a big star Cos I can play the part so wellWell I hope you'll come and see me in the movies Then I know that you will plainly see The biggest fool that ever hit the big time And all I gotta do is act naturallyWe'll make the scene about a man that's sad and lonely And begging down upon his bended knee I'll play the part and I won't need rehearsing All I have to do is act naturallyWell, I'll bet you I'm gonna be a big star Might win an Oscar you can never tell The movies gonna make me a big star Cos I can play the part so wellWell I hope you'll come and see me in the movies Then I know that you will plainly see The biggest fool that ever hit the big time And all I gotta do is act naturally JOHN 1972: 'Another horror.'JOHN 1980: 'Another of my throwaways.'GEORGE 1987: 'I think it was Paul and me, or maybe John and me, playing (guitar) in harmony – quite a complicated little line that goes through the middle-eight.'PAUL 1995: 'One of my favorites on the Anthology is, 'And Your Bird Can Sing,' which is a nice song, but this take of it was one we couldn't use at the time. John and I got a fit of the giggles while we were doing the double-track. You couldn't have released it at the time. But now you can. Sounds great just hearing us lose it on a take.' You tell me that you've got everything you want And your bird can sing But you don't get me, you don't get meYou say you've seen Seven Wonders and your bird is green But you can't see me, you can't see meWhen your prized possessions start to weigh you down Look in my direction, I'll be 'round, I'll be 'roundWhen your bird is broken will it bring you down You may be awoken, I'll be 'round, I'll be 'roundYou tell me that you've heard every sound there is And your bird can swing But you can't hear me, you can't hear me If I Needed Someone (George Harrison) GEORGE 1980: ''If I Needed Someone' is like a million other songs written around a D chord. If you move your finger about you get various little melodies. That guitar line, or variations on it, is found in many a song, and it amazes me that people still find new permutations of the same notes.' If I needed someone to love You're the one that I'd be thinking of If I needed someoneIf I had some more time to spend Then I guess I'd be with you my friend If I needed someoneHad you come some other day Then it might not have been like this But you see now I'm too much in loveCarve your number on my wall And maybe you will get a call from me If I needed someone Ah, ah, ah, ahIf I had some more time to spend Then I guess I'd be with you my friend If I needed someoneHad you come some other day Then it might not have been like this But you see now I'm too much in loveCarve your number on my wall And maybe you will get a call from me If I needed someone Ah, ah JOHN 1980: 'Paul did the first half, I did the middle-eight. But you've got Paul writing, 'We can work it out/ We can work it out' real optimistic, you know. And me, impatient, 'Life is very short and there's no time/ for fussing and fighting, my friend.''PAUL circa-1994: 'I wrote it as more of an up-tempo thing, country and western. I had the basic idea, the title, had a couple of verses… then I took it to John to finish it off and we wrote the middle together, which is nice – 'Life is very short/ And there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend.' Then it was George Harrison's idea to put the middle into waltz time, like a german waltz… The lyrics might have been personal. It is often a good way to talk to someone or to work your thoughts out. It saves you going to a psychiatrist, you allow yourself to say what you might not say in person.' Try to see it my way Do I have to keep on talking till I can't go on? While you see it your way Run the risk of knowing that our love may soon be goneWe can work it out We can work it outThink of what you're saying You can get it wrong and still you think that it's alright Think of what I'm saying We can work it out and get it straight, or say goodnightWe can work it out We can work it outLife is very short, and there's no time For fussing and fighting, my friend I have always thought that it's a crime So I will ask you once againTry to see it my way Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong While you see your way, There's a chance that we may fall apart before too longWe can work it out We can work it outLife is very short, and there's no time For fussing and fighting, my friend I have always thought that it's a crime So I will ask you once againTry to see it my way Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong While you see it your way There's a chance that we may fall apart before too longWe can work it out We can work it out RINGO 1966: 'I contributed about five words to 'What Goes On.' (laughs) And I haven't done a thing since!'JOHN 1972: 'A very early song of mine. Ringo and Paul wrote a new middle-eight together when we recorded it.'JOHN 1980: 'That was an early Lennon, written before the Beatles when we were the Quarrymen or something like that. And resurrected with a middle-eight thrown in, probably with Paul's help, to give Ringo a song… and also to use the bits, because I never liked to waste anything.' What goes on in your heart? What goes on in your mind? You are tearing me apart When you treat me so unkind What goes on in your mind?The other day I saw you As I walked along the road But when I saw him with you I could feel my future fold It's so easy for a girl like you to lie Tell me whyWhat goes on in your heart? What goes on in your mind? You are tearing me apart When you treat me so unkind What goes on in your mind?I met you in the morning Waiting for the tides of time But now the tide is turning I can see that I was blind It's so easy for a girl like you to lie Tell me whyWhat goes on in your heart?I used to think of no one else But you were just the same You didn't even think of me As someone with a name Did you mean to break my heart and watch me die Tell me whyWhat goes on in your heart? What goes on in your mind? You are tearing me apart When you treat me so unkind What goes on in your mind? JOHN 1972: 'Me. But I think Paul helped with the verse.'JOHN 1980: 'That's mine. Including the guitar lick, the guitar break, and the whole bit. It's just a rock 'n roll song. Day trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferry boat or somethng. But it was kind of – you know, you're just a weekend hippie. Get it?'PAUL circa-1994: 'Acid was coming on the scene, and we'd often do these songs about 'the girl who thought she was it.' Mainly the impetus for that used to come from John – I think John met quite a few girls who thought they were it… But this was just a tongue-in-cheek song about someone who was a day tripper, a sunday painter, a sunday driver, somebody who was committed only in part to the idea. Where we saw ourselves as full-time trippers, fully committed drivers, she was just a day tripper. That was a co-written effort – we were both making it all up but I would give John the main credit.' Got a good reason for taking the easy way out Got a good reason for taking the easy way out now She was a day tripper, a one way ticket yeah It took me so long to find out, and I found outShe's a big teaser, she took me half the way there She's a big teaser, she took me half the way there now She was a day tripper, a one way ticket yeah It took me so long to find out, and I found outTried to please her, she only played one night stands Tried to please her, she only played one night stands now She was a day tripper, a Sunday driver yeah It took me so long to find out, and I found outDay tripper Day tripper yeah Day tripper Day tripper yeah Day tripper |
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