Comments on: If I Fell

By: Jake Gerber

Jake Gerber — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 02:21:27 +0000

It wasn’t a chord technically. It was George playing the seventh fret interval harmonic on D and G string. Assuming he did it on the 12 string Rick, it would certainly give the appearance of a chord, but on a 12 string they are all octaves except the high B and E string ( unison ) . Hence you would technically have four different notes, which would more that compensate for a chord ( three notes ) . But it’s a technicality. Interval or chord … It’s the harmonic that you hear . Brilliant finale.

By: Jake Gerber

Jake Gerber — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 02:11:09 +0000

But … That would mean that John ,and Paul would both have to punch in. They were recording four track at the time, and on this tune they were sharing a mic ,and that’s also assuming there were no instruments on that particular track. If indeed it was an isolated ( dedicated) track for the vocals , they would have both have to have punched in, not just Paul. They didn’t have tracks to spare as it were . Even if they went into the board on two mics, it would have been on only one track. Can’t have one without the other .

By: Jake Gerber

Jake Gerber — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 01:43:56 +0000

Not really . That’s what harmony is all about . When you’re referring to two part vocal harmonies, that means one is the melody , and the other the harmony. In this song , John sings intro ( melody ) , then when verse begins he goes into a harmony BELOW Pauls melody ( yes, I know John wrote it ) . On the last bar of each verse it’s John again on melody , then back to harmony on next verse etc. The bridge begins on the word “ Her “ cause I couldn’t stand the pain , and I would be sad if our new love was in vain “ . The words “ Love was in vain “ is where is gets further apart harmonically. I see there is much discussion in respect to that part . John was borderline on his low end, and Paul on the border on the top. Remember they were making the film,and recording the sound track in a very limited amount of time . To my heart, that is what makes the album ( HDN ) so endearing . They didn’t have endless studio time to record , hence on some tunes you’re getting close to the real intent of the songs . As every musician will say, sometimes an early take , albeit one not necessarily the best , has the feel, and that’s what we are all searching for . Ps. I can assure you had they recorded this song in 68-69 it would be nothing like this sparse little arrangement that just nails you …

By: Jake Gerber

Jake Gerber — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 01:19:18 +0000

I’m sorry, but that is THE BRIDGE . Saying it’s not because it’s more than eight bars is absurd . The English use “ middle eight “ meaning the bridge , regardless of how many bars it is. If you’re of the opinion that a bridge must have eight bars you can discount an awful lot of songs . It absolutely is the bridge . The song has an A ( in this case intro ) section, followed by the B section ( verses ) and C section ( Bridge ) . That’s exactly how it would break down . A B B C B C B etc.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:37:29 +0000

You don’t believe it. Not at all surprising, yet utterly meaningless.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:27:28 +0000

Most people DO know, however, that John and Paul were EQUALS. Different, but equal.
THAT’S the point that you, in your never-ending pathetic quest to belittle Paul, have and apparently never-will understand.

By: MikeP

MikeP — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 16:24:02 +0000

Does a solo demo proves anything, Johan? Of course not.

By: Ben Merliss

Ben Merliss — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 07:20:14 +0000

You don’t ever tire of obsessing over this realm of opinionation do you?

By: johan cavalli

johan cavalli — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 17:33:07 +0000

In Many Years From Now 1997, the competetive McCartney d o e s n o t say a word of “his” intro in If I Fell. But suddenly 2013, he does. I don´t believe him.

By: Anon

Anon — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 04:53:07 +0000

That’s because the United Artists version of AHDN used fake-stereo mixes for the eight Beatle-recorded songs.

By: John McStarrison

John McStarrison — Sat, 17 Mar 2018 03:14:21 +0000

It’s John’s song because in the demo he recorded, he is singing the part that ends up being Paul’s (not very well admittedly, as it was out of his range and he knew it). Had it been an equal collaboration, Paul would’ve sung this part from the beginning. Paul often sang in John’s songs where he couldn’t hit the high notes, like Any Time at All and A Hard Day’s Night.

By: John McStarrison

John McStarrison — Sat, 17 Mar 2018 03:06:53 +0000

I always took it to mean that the girl he’s singing to would love him more than the girl who hurt him before. In a song, you can’t always use grammatically correct language, as it would sound awkward, so “more than her”, works fine, though it may be a bit confusing to some

By: Slave

Slave — Thu, 15 Feb 2018 08:30:24 +0000

1972 Lennon Crawdaddy interview…. a much earlier recollection than McCartney’s 2013 Q magazine interview.

A list of songs, according to Lennon, written by himself, about which he had no comment:

There’s A Place; This Boy; All I’ve Got To Do; Not A Second Time; You Can’t Do That; A Hard Day’s Night; I Should Have Known Better; If I Fell; I’m Happy Just To Dance With You; Tell Me Why; Any Time At All; I’ll Cry Instead; When I Get Home; I’m A Loser; I Don’t Want To Spoil The Party; Ticket To Ride; Yes It Is; Help!; You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away; You’re Going To Lose That Girl; Nowhere Man; Girl; Rain; I’m Only Sleeping; Strawberry Fields Forever; Dear Prudence; Glass Onion; Bungalow Bill; I’m So Tired; Yer Blues; Cry Baby Cry; Goodnight; The Ballad Of John and Yoko; Come Together; I Want You (She’s So Heavy); Mean Mr. Mustard; Polythene Pam; One After 909; Hey Bulldog; Don’t Let Me Down; You Know My Name (Look Up The Number); Sun King; Dig A Pony; Dig It.

Songs which Lennon attributed directly to Paul McCartney, again offered with no comment:

I Saw Her Standing There; Tip Of My Tongue; I’ll Keep You Satisfied; Nobody I Know; Things We Said Today; Don’t Want To See You Again; I’m Down; The Night Before; Another Girl; Tell Me What You See; I’ve Just Seen A Face; That Means A Lot; You Won’t See Me; I’m Looking Through You; Woman; Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; Fixing A Hole; Lovely Rita; Hello Goodbye; Your Mother Should Know; Fool On The Hill; Step Inside Love; Oo Bla Di; Martha My Dear; Blackbird; I Will; Mother Nature’s Son; Helter Skelter; Honey Pie; Lady Madonna; All Together Now; Get Back; Let It Be; Maxwell’s Silver Hammer; Oh Darling; You Never Give Me Your Money; She Came In Through The Bathroom Window; Golden Slumbers; Carry That Weight; The End; Her Majesty; Two Of Us; The Long and Winding Road.

Songs attributed jointly to McCartney and himself by Lennon and offered again with no comment.

I’ll Get You; I Want To Hold Your Hand; Baby’s In Black; Every Little Thing; What You’re Doing; Drive My Car; The Word; I’ve Got A Feeling

By: lulu021096

lulu021096 — Tue, 03 Oct 2017 07:28:40 +0000

David I agree – what you said makes so much sense

By: JFrench

JFrench — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 18:17:35 +0000

He probably liked it too

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 05:17:55 +0000

So many words, but there’s still no prove that John recorded this demo without ever having played the song together with Paul – which could have happened any time, since they were spending so much time together.
It’s quite funny that you think there’s a definition of how and when a “demo” or “working demo” is to be made. “Working demos” are “composition tapes”, so who’s telling you they didn’t compose any part of that song together before? Were you there with John?

By: 2much4mymirror

2much4mymirror — Sun, 27 Aug 2017 13:51:58 +0000

John in 1980: “I used to like intros like they had on forties songs, you know, that have a long intro, and then the song would start. So that’s all mine.” Paul in 2013: “I was a big fan of the preamble in my early days, which you find in lots of ’50s songs. One song I wrote a little after Please Please Me was my best attempt at a preamble: If I Fell.” Why do you state flatly that the intro was “Paul’s contribution” when (1)John claimed otherwise and (2)John’s demo includes the intro?

By: Alex

Alex — Sat, 26 Aug 2017 04:07:20 +0000

FYI, on the stereo mix of the US United Artists Soundtrack of AHDN, Paul’s voice doesn’t crack. I have it on vinyl from the early 70s.

By: The Cin

The Cin — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 23:43:32 +0000

At that time, wasn’t Norman Smith at the controls?

By: Tony_M_1956

Tony_M_1956 — Tue, 02 May 2017 23:15:24 +0000

AHDN was a monumental effort by the Beatles in every aspect. The time lines they had to work with were tight, and they had to come up with new tunes on the fly. The Beatles, especially Lennon & McCartney had written many songs by the time AHDN was due to be recorded but they did not have a backlog of songs sitting in a drawer somewhere to pull out on a rainy day. If I fell sounded like another perfect Beatles song when I first heard it, and one of the reasons the Beatles turned me on was that there seemed to be a genuine collaboration from the four members in creating their songs. As I got older I believed If I Fell was a Lennon song with McCartney contribution which would have been sorted out in the recording studio. Lennon’s demo is fairly conclusive evidence that he wrote wrote the song entirely, but even if he hadn’t, the song would not be diminished in my eyes. I like the variations and the Mono/Stereo versions where both singers have difficulty reaching some of the highest notes. I am not a musician though I claim to playing a harmonica for enjoyment, so I do not have the ability to break down a song into its minute parts as some of the contributors on these pages are able to do. I have looked at YouTube videos of guitarists re-creating Lennon’s guitar parts, and in most cases the guitar work is far more intricate than many people give John Lennon credit for, as though he was some sort of hack guitarist who happened to come up with great songs. I like the thought of songs improving in the studio with all four Beatles making contributions. When AHDN was being recorded the Beatles were a friendly cohesive unit and the quality of the Album is evidence of that. Those early years of Beatlemania must have been quite exciting while making it next to impossible to be creative as artists. Somehow, the Beatles pulled off a great feat in the midst of all the mayhem.