Written by: Lennon-McCartney
Recorded: 1 July 1963
Producer: George Martin
Engineer: Norman Smith
Released: 23 August 1963 (UK), 16 September 1963 (US)
John Lennon: vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Paul McCartney: vocals, bass, handclaps
George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar, handclaps
Ringo Starr: drums, handclaps
Available on:
Past Masters
Anthology 1
Written by Lennon and McCartney as the intended follow-up to From Me To You, I'll Get You was eventually released as the b-side to the irresistible She Loves You.
The song was composed at John Lennon's aunt Mimi's house on Menlove Avenue, Liverpool. Lennon and McCartney rarely wrote at the house because of Mimi's disapproval of their music.
As with She Loves You, I'll Get You was full of 'yeah's; The Beatles' use of the word in the songs earned them the nickname The Yeah-Yeahs throughout Europe.
I'll Get You became one of Paul McCartney's favourite Beatles tracks. It was frequently played live by the group too - a version from the London Palladium, recorded on 13 October 1963, appears on Anthology 1.
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.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In the studio
The Beatles recorded I'll Get You on 1 July 1963, after they'd finished taping She Loves You. It originally had the working title Get You In The End.
Details no longer exist of the number of takes required to complete the song, as Abbey Road's documentation was somewhat haphazard at the time. However, the stumbling over the vocals in the middle eight - Lennon sings "I'm gonna make you mine", instead of the correct "gonna change your mind" - suggest that the group dashed it off quickly.
After taping the rhythm track John Lennon overdubbed his harmonica part, and the rest of The Beatles contributed handclaps.
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According to Geoff Emerick, I'll Get You "took quite a bit of time to record, and the session ran a little overtime."
Here, There and Everywhere (2007), p. 68
"It's like D, which goes to an A major"
Should that be D to A minor?
It should have been - I missed out part of the quotation. Thanks for pointing it out.