The b-side of ‘Ticket To Ride’, ‘Yes It Is’ was written mainly by John Lennon, and displayed the romantic side at odds with his often edgier public persona.
‘Yes It Is’ was later described by Lennon as a failed rewrite of ‘This Boy’. Certainly both songs share characteristics, notably the 12/8 time signature, three-part vocal harmonies and 1950s doo wop-style chord sequences.
That’s me trying a rewrite of ‘This Boy’, but it didn’t work.
All We Are Saying, David Sheff
‘Yes It Is’ was written at John Lennon’s house at Kenwood, Surrey.
I was there writing it with John, but it was his inspiration that I helped him finish off. ‘Yes It Is’ is a very fine song of John’s, a ballad, unusual for John. He wrote some beautiful ballads but I’m known generally as the balladeer.
In the studio
‘Yes It Is’ was recorded on 16 February 1965. On the same day The Beatles also completed ‘I Need You’, with both songs featuring George Harrison’s distinctive volume-pedal guitar work.
There was a guy in Liverpool [Colin Manley] who used to go to school with Paul and I, and he was in a hand called The Remo Four and played with Billy J Kramer. And he got all that stuff and could play all those Chet Atkins ones where you can play both tunes at the same time like ‘Colonel Bogey’. He had a volume pedal, and I think we tried that, but I could never coordinate it. So some of those, what we’d do is, I played the part, and John would kneel down in front of me and turn my guitar’s volume control.
Guitar Player, November 1987
The group recorded the rhythm track in 14 takes between 5 and 7pm. John Lennon, href=”/people/paul-mccartney/”>Paul McCartney, and Harrison then spent three hours perfecting their vocal harmonies, all singing live together.
A version of ‘Yes It Is’ appeared on Anthology 2 in 1996. It begins with the unfinished take two, which contained the rhythm track and Lennon’s guide vocals, edited together with a remix of the final take 14.
One of my favorite Beatles songs because of the harmonies on it.
Can you believe, it was a ‘B’ side!
The Beatles really had no “b” sides. Check out Come Together on the A side and Something on the B side.
The other way around.
Something was the A Side.
Come Together the B Side.
George said in a later interview that he didn’t use a volume pedal because he couldn’t coordinate it. The volume swells were made by George playing his guitar and John kneeling in front of him and turning the volume control up and down. I believe George’s interview was with Guitar Player magazine around 1986
If you listen to the outtakes for the basic track to “Yes it Is” – take 1 and takes 8 and 9 – George is playing his Gretsch guitar and using his volume pedal without any apparent problems.
For all we know, he may have been referring to the “Baby’s in Black” session where he didn’t have a volume pedal and even the session photography confirms this anecdote where he was playing the notes on his guitar and John was manipulating the volume controls.
Remember: none of the Beatles had 100% perfect or infallible memories – nobody use – and their heavy drug use was not going to be helpful their memories in the long run, certainly not marijuana, LSD or alcohol.
Personally, I prefer “Because” and “This Boy” because, while the harmonies easily match or surpass this one, they are better songs.
As much as I like the harmonies, I thought the guiding vocal featuring John alone on Anthology captured the melancholy that John was trying to evoke in a more hauntingly beautiful way, that was kind of lost when buried in all the lush harmonies that followed. They did a good job in demonstrating that in the Anthology recording by going from the solo version to the full three-part mix .
I feel the same way Grant. I never really thought much about this song until I heard the stripped down version on Anthology Two. Ever since then, that version has become one of my three or four most often played Beatles songs. As much as I enjoy the harmonies on the finished product, there is something about the way John sings in that soft, sad, sounding voice that really brings the emotion of the song to the fore.
the words and melody are haunting…it hits me right in the heart
I was 14 years old when this song sensuously poured through the radio. While I was pitching a rubber baseball against a wall on my house; this song reflected a passionate puppy love for a girl by the name of Colleen. She was the most beautiful girl in the neighborhood and I lacked the confidence to express my affection’s to her. As the years rolled on, I faded my intention and then tragically, Colleen died as a young beauty.
Every time I hear John sing this song with his force, I think of Colleen & it haunts me in such a sweet way.
What happend to her?
Awesome, although sad…the profound impact of the song is etched for your life!
Ian MacDonald in his book “Revolution In The Head” suggests that the woman who used to wear red had died, as inspired by some Bob Dylan songs written before that time. With this in mind, the song is even more emotional and haunting.
I thought so, too! Especially on the line “I would remember all the things we planned…” it sounds awfully like the lady in red is no longer living. Because that’s often the greatest regret, with untimely deaths, is that there are so many unfinished plans and things.
D’oah!… I’d never thought about a death….only a break-up…. silly me… although ‘but that’s my pride’ seems to suggest a failed relationship to me.
I agree!
I always thought the same, that it was a breakup, because of the “it’s my pride” line. Love this song.
My interpretation is that his ex has been unfaithful..red = scarlet woman? And his new love wearing red reminds him of the woman he loved who he can’t forget?
I would NEVER say anything disparaging in regard to George’s guitar work. But a haunting bad mistake in the guitar swells, apparent only on the Stereo version, as it seems they “ducked” it on the Mono one, or perhaps forgot about it by time it came to mix the Stereo one, which as they always pointed out, the Stereo mixes were usually done as an afterthought anyway, [even the Beatles didn’t show up for them] at least until just around MMT. Right at the 1st “I could be Happy With You By My Side”, there’s a swell at”I”, then “Happy”, the 3rd one at the word “You” an the next one is at “Side”. Listen to that swell chord, at the word “Side”. Glaring! He knew he did it too. There’s a certain character about the next chord after that tells me he was recouping from the “glitch”, and he did it to complete perfection too :-] I just felt this was the place to point that one out, though Harrison is my all time hero, right next to Hendrix, I might add. Anybody who could “write” that 1st chord to “A Hard Day’s Night” or the outro for the same tune, or the intro to Eight Days a Week . . Well, you get the picture. Harrison was the BOMB! So sometimes it’s just as much fun to pick out the 1 blooper or 2, as there were so damn few of hem! Peace
PS: I just found this site this morn. Fantastic!!
I agree with everything you said Steev. I just got some new head phones. Won’t promote the brand but its incredible. I just heard all that stuff for the first time after listening to the song for over 40 years. Johns guitar on the right and George on the left. Mindblowing. Couldn’t even hear George before. Never knew all those minor and major 7ths along with the blunders were in there.
Interesting technique of using volume swells and guitar harmonics creating a sound that is cross between a steel pedal and violin.
I second that. In fact, for many years after I first heard it I thought it was a steel pedal guitar.
Always one of my favorites. The lush three part harmonies, the melancholy mood, and the volume swells on guitar create an atmosphere of yearning and make it unique and moving.
I think of all the 3-part harmonies John, Paul, and George did during the Beatles career, the 3-part vocals on this are probably my favorite.
I agree, Daniel. I enjoy it because for me it is the only one of their “harmony forward” songs, (This Boy, Because, etc.), where I can clearly hear all three singers’ voices individually as well as in the blend. George’s voice often gets lost in the mix with John because they are similar in sound and tone. To my ear, it often serves to give a more full sound do the vocals rather than a harmonized one. (Paul, singing falsetto, is usually much easier to hear). But on this one, you can hear him just as clearly as the other two.
Aside from “Yes It Is” being the B-side of “Ticket To Ride”, did this song have any connection whatsoever with the movie, “Help!”? Consider the opening line: “If you wear red tonight…” And as we all know, red is not the color for Ringo to wear in the movie. Funny coincidence.
I just love this song and 3 voices, it is a pleasure to play this on piano : }
PS Ringo wears an ashtonishing red rainjack in their last performance on the Apple rooftop…
That was his wife Maureen’s coat!
I think Peter Banks copied the little idea of closing guitar swells at the end of “Sweetness” on the first Yes album.
I love this one. And the guitar swells to me make it even better. Gives it character that is unique. I like them more than the decent swells on “Wait”
But it seems to me that there are two players (or tracks/layers) of fills. you can hear that sometimes there are two guitar sounds swelling at completely different registers of the instrument that would be difficult to play at the same time (or harmonics ringing while other swells are still in). And some start while others haven’t died yet. Were there two different tracks of guitar added, or two players doing fills? And, did John ever help George with the swells by toggling the volume on any tracks or is this all a foot pedal that George is using?
In the notes for “I Need You,” which was recorded in the same session, George says he had trouble coordinating volume swells so John would kneel in front of him and turn the volume pot in his guitar. (!)
What a great song, that is so overlooked, even by John himself!
yes it never ceases to amaze me how John would think of songs like this as “throw-aways”. The harmonies are outstandind. This has always been one of my favorite songs.
From about 1970 on, John thought that every song that didn’t “say something” was a throw away.
I love the volume pedal work on this and I need you. You don’t see george use many effects at all, and this just adds so much to the song. He doesn’t use it too much or too little it’s just right. I think this is one of the most uniqu Beatles songs despite being closely related to this boy( according to john). It’s got such a unique sound, through the droning harmonies and through the volume pedal. I think it is also a great contrast being put as the bside to the ( heavy according to lennon) ticket to ride. I find this song to be underrated by many and is often overlooked. It’s just fab when john sings the climax, yes it is, yes it is. What a gem. It is a lot like a doo wop as the page said. It’s a combined song with many styles, a love song style, doo wop, and traditional pop. Wow, the Beatles never cease to amaze.
I agree totally – the only reason this song isn’t more underrated is because so few people even know of it. It’s simply gorgeous on every level. I can understand how Lennon dismisses it as another knock off type song, but that only belies his genius. Even some of his “worst” songs are still pure bliss. This is one of them. George’s volume pedal work is fantastic.
Rolling Stone magazine have this in their 100 greatest Beatles songs list at number 99. Even Yellow Submarine is ranked higher! It really is a silly list anyway, with lots of incorrect information about the songs so it doesn’t really hold much merit. But still, 99?
I had completely forgotten about this song until recently- I’ve a few 1st pressing 45s in a frame belonging to my mam, which she bought as a teenager and Ticket to Ride is one of them, hence the rediscovery and what a rediscovery it has been.
We could sit and discuss and analyse this for hours on end but it all boils down to all of the above comments and the fact that it is just a brilliant brilliant song in every possible way. It has everything and still now, almost 50 years later, it is like a roundhouse kick to the heart each and every time. George is especially amazing I think here, (but he is my favourite and can do no wrong) but that harmony and the manner in which they recorded it is astonishing.
I teach harmony and will absolutely be using this song as a demonstration in harmonic perfection with my students in the coming term.
Man, what a song, eh?
Ditto everything you said… ’roundhouse kick to the heart’… I’m nicking this description to repost the song.. very appropriate.
Has anyone else noticed that on the version of Yes It Is featured on the Anthology 2 CD that when John sings the second line he is clearly saying HE? I’ve listened to it over and over and he is saying ‘Scarlett is the clothes he wore’. Or am I just crazy? But I swear it’s what I hear. 🙂
I’ve just listened to this ten times in row…its quickly become one of my top couple of amazingly underrated Beatles songs with “Hey Bulldog” “Ballad of John and Yoko”, etc etc!
This might be about John’s mother.
I thought that same thing after I read someone else up-post say it was about a woman who died.
This is a beautiful song I first heard on The Beatles Love Songs in 1977. Wonderful harmony by John, Paul and George. I loved this song,( written of course by John Lennon),when I first heard it and always will. Was of course the B side to Ticket To Ride. A long with Things We Said Today,She’s A Woman, I’m Down and This Boy a group of B sides I just love.
Yes It Is was released a few months before Yesterday, and it was every bit as good, if not better. Yet it is never mentioned in any top ten lists, it’s always
Yesterday or Let It Be. John was too modest about his writing and singing, which was the image of the early beatles.
To Lennon-Harrison
Yes, absolutely. You stroke the nail on the head!
No, it’s not anywhere on the same level as Yesterday. It’s pleasant, great harmonies, but lyrically weak.
John was far too dismissive of this song. Sometimes, I think, a writer can be “too close” to his own material to make a fair assessment of the outcome. In comparison to “This Boy”, I have always found “Yes It Is” to be the superior song. “This Boy”, while no doubt a lovely composition, is fairly straightforward doo-wop. With “Yes It Is”, John — seemingly unconsciously, given his remarks — is taking us into deeper musical and emotional waters. I will second everyone else’s remarks — an overlooked gem.
This song make me cry. Even though John died many years ago, I am still sad about his death. He gave the world many gifts and “Yes It Is” is one. Hard to believe he did not like his own singing.
This has always been one of my favourites,why do we never hear it played on the radio.
While trying to get over a breakup I made a mixtape of songs that captured the loss I was feeling. It included The Beach Boys’ “Caroline No,” Tracy Nelson’s “I Can’t Go On Loving You,” Ray Charles’ “Lonely Avenue” and Elmore James” “Cry for me Baby.” But this song surpassed them all in wringing the heart and bringing out the
cathartic tears.
I like that its not played that often. It makes the hearing that much more special. As far as John’s opinion of it I get the feeling that John was a moving forward as opposed to a reflective artist, more of less. I put it in my top ten Beatles songs.
So wait…from a layman’ sears…there’s no organ here? Those sounds are guitar pedal variations? Seriously?
That is precisely what they are- guitar swells via a volume pedal.
Great recording and song.
Just a bit out tune on the vocals on the first verse, then near perfect after that; but the mistakes and intonation errors have always been part of the charm, for me. You know the music was done by real people–one of the things missing today in our time-corrected, auto tuned music. But I think a lot of young bands are realizing now that perfection doesn’t always make a great record. One could moreso forgive the tuning on these harmonies as these are quite a bit more difficult compared to This Boy.
The guitar swells are great, as is the reverb itself, from Abbey Rd’s great echo/reverb chamber–not an electronic effect! A large part of the sound of these records is from the gear(all tube) & the great rooms at Abbey Rd. I think Abbey Rd particularly enhanced John’s voice the most; his voice never sounded as good to me, on post-Beatles recordings, and I think for this reason. It was the combination of the gear & the room.
I always assumed this song was recorded in ’63 or 4, probably due to the similarity to TB. Interesting that they did this at the same time as Ticket to Ride, which is such a break from their earlier sound and was ahead of it’s time.
i read somewhere the last time John saw his mother she was wearing a red dress.
and that this song was about her.
as for mikey59 comment above about john’s voice not sounding as good in later years
he didn’t want to double track it anymore, so they used Adt (auto double tracking)
instead which didn’t do the job at all of lennon double tracking if you ask me.
Interesting how many people here raise the possibility that the girl in the song might have died. I’ve always heard this as one of John’s most psychologically subtle “bruised ego” break-up songs. “If I could forget her/but that’s my PRIDE…” “Scarlet were the clothes she wore/everybody knows, I’m sure” also suggests the girl has wounded his pride and it’s become fodder for gossip. Also, “scarlet letter” associations?
Impossible the lyric to refer at the loss of his mother and Lennon diminishes the song in such a cynical way afterwards, during the 70s. The most amazing thing about this artist was that his songwriting had always been totally honest “Mother you had me but I never had you. Father you left me but I never left you.” This is the way he puts down the pain in paper.
Yes it is is clearly a beatly love song. One of many that he disdained once and for all, wrongly imo.
There is a wonderful version in Portuguese sang by Brazilian singer Veronica Sabino. I thought you might like to hear. It’s a beautiful arrangement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL1Hk5gondM
Definitely one of the Fab Four’s classic ballad tracks. Really wish this song was included on the Help! album instead of either “Act Naturally” or “Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” since they’re both cover versions.
This and some other tunes, like No Reply, are totally overlooked and over shadowed by other tunes. They just had so many. I always wondered who’s idea it was to use that pulsating volume sound, regardless of who or how it was produced,; but whos idea it was to even do it.
There is no tambourine on this song – according to George Martin’s handwritten notes, the only percussive overdub was Paul playing one of Ringo’s cymbals to accentuate Ringo’s hi-hat and snare. Of course, Paul and Ringo still played bass and drums respectively on the basic track – don’t get me wrong.
George Martin also overdubbed a Hammond organ part, but it was recorded so quietly that it’s difficult to hear.
Thanks for the info.
A song that has only improved with time, better than This Boy, I think.
Agree with many of the comments here. Although this song is clearly “Son of This Boy“, it exceeds the original in musicianship, instrumental, inventiveness, lyrical sophistication, and, I would argue, quality of the harmony.
beatles songs do not improve over time- the listeners appreciation deepens