Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 16, 17 September 1968
Producer: Chris Thomas
Engineer: Ken Scott
Released: 22 November 1968 (UK), 25 November 1968 (US)
Paul McCartney: vocals, acoustic guitar
John Lennon: percussion
Ringo Starr: cymbals, bongos, maracas
Available on:
The Beatles (White Album)
Anthology 3
A love song written by Paul McCartney, I Will was one of the songs worked on by The Beatles and their associates while in Rishikesh, India.
Although the music came together fairly easily, the words were worked on in India, and remained unfinished even as recording began back in London.
I was doing a song, I Will, that I had as a melody for quite a long time but I didn't have any lyrics to it. I remember sitting around with Donovan, and maybe a couple of other people. We were just sitting around one evening after our day of meditation and I played him this one and he liked it and we were trying to write some words. We kicked around a few lyrics, something about the moon, but they weren't very satisfactory and I thought the melody was better than the words so I didn't use them. I kept searching for better words and I wrote my own set in the end; very simple words, straight love-song words really. I think they're quite effective. It's still one of my favourite melodies that I've written. You just occasionally get lucky with a melody and it becomes rather complete and I think this is one of them; quite a complete tune.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In the studio
If the writing of I Will took some time, recording it was possibly even tortuous. Although completed in just two days, it took The Beatles 67 takes to get right.
George Harrison did not take part in the recording. Beginning at 7pm on 16 September and finishing at 3am the following morning, McCartney, Lennon and Starr recorded the song, with a number of ad-libs as the session progressed.
These included take 19, which was an improvised song based around the line "Can you take me back where I came from?" Lasting 2'21", the take was eventually trimmed to just 28 seconds and used on the White Album between Cry Baby Cry and Revolution 9.
The Beatles also strayed from the job in hand on take 35, which was an impromptu version of Cilla Black's 1968 hit single Step Inside Love, written for her by Paul McCartney. He then led the group into an off-the-cuff song, Los Paranoias, inspired by a comment made by Lennon. Both these songs can be heard on Anthology 3.
According to Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn, the trio also recorded a song called The Way You Look Tonight, "a short number, the lyric of which was derived almost entirely from I Will".
If the songs recorded were unusual, the instrumentation was no less so. McCartney was on familiar ground, playing acoustic guitar and singing. Lennon, meanwhile, kept time by beating some metal with a piece of wood. Starr played percussion instruments: bongos, maracas and cymbals.
Take 65 of I Will was the best version, and the next day McCartney overdubbed onto this backing vocals, bass and another acoustic guitar track. He also sang a bass part.
i love the feeeeling that i get when i listen and think of this song!!!! . . . . what guitar was used for this song, i will, and how was it miked-and what mics were used on the guitar?-thank you-john
I think McCartney used his Martin D-28 for the song
The way this song immediately follows "Why Don't We Do It In The Road?" on "The Beatles" LP shows Paul's huge range in performance style ability ... from down and dirty to romantic and tender.
The heavily limited and/or compressed 12-string acoustic 'lead' guitar is extraordinary. If that's the guitar Paul overdubbed, it's amazing because it sounds so much like George's playing.
That's why I always preferred the McCartney solo or Wings albums when he would play most or all of the instruments himself (i.e. McCartney, Ram, parts of Wild Life, Band On The Run, parts of London Town and Tug Of War, McCartney II and the early solo singles) rather than use the faceless players he used in Wings. John's work after 'Imagine' fell into the same trap and the result was rather bland unimaginative arrangements (exceptions being #9 Dream, Meat City and a handful of others). George's albums often fell into the same studio musician trap. IMO of course.
Lovely song but too short.
Garrison Keillor sang a lovely low-key version of this song on his radio show in about 2007 or so. He just suddenly started singing it, and there it was, "I Will," a song I hadn't really thought about in years - it was absolutely, flat-out beautiful.
Paul didn't write I will for Linda. The song was written in India in Feb.68. Plus Paul broke up with Francie Swarts just 2 weeks before I will was recorded and went on trip with another woman in Sep,68. Paul got serious with Linda only after this song was recorded.
I always thought like "I'm Lonely" is a parody of the suicide blues genre, "I Will," although it is a pretty song, is a parody of love songs. Listen to the lyrics, "If I ever saw you I didn't catch your name but it doesn't really matter, I would always feel the same..." For God's sakes, he hasn't even met her yet. Does anyone else get this?
There were two acosutic guitars and superb bass-vocals by Paul.
I always liked the vocal-bass part. There is more than one vocie doing it, though. Sure John isn't singing along with Paul?
BTW--been reading this site for a while now. Impressed. Thought I knew it all. I was wrong.
At Shelly: I think it's about how you could be walking down the street, and pass the person you are meant to be with and never know it. Only to possibly meet them later. Like soul mates, someone you know you love, even if you dont even know them yet. In Paul's case it was Linda, which appeared in many different places where the Beatles were to take photographs of them, and then they finally met at a bar by coincidence I believe.
Jonathan: You are definitely right! A HUGE COINCIDENCE just confirmed it to me just right now, but besides that you must not be wrong, let`s not forget where he first wrote the song! India influences!! Past lives!! Soul mates! Predestined love!!
"A lonely life time" doesn`t matter if I know I have several lifetimes! GREAT FELLING THE SONG TRANSMITS ANY WAY, SO DOESNT MATTER THE REASONS. Pure Love.