Comments on: When I Get Home

By: manu

manu — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 03:47:29 +0000

this is one of john’s best, scorching vocals, and incredibly powerful chords, just blasted by the band.

the one tragedy here is how the chorus must have overloaded the preamps into the read zone, as all fidelity is lost when they’re screaming “wo-oah i.”

i’ve recently come to appreciate the sincere depth of these lyrics. he’s singing about how great it is to come home after a long day or week or month, and telling his woman about what he did. it’s a very lennonesque honesty.

By: Mick

Mick — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 12:32:02 +0000

Love this tune! It rocks! My fave on the album along with the title track.

By: John Pepper

John Pepper — Tue, 16 May 2017 18:22:12 +0000

The article’s missing a piano bit played by McCartney. It’s especially audible during the middle eight. (When I’m getting home tonight…) It’s also mentioned in http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/beatles/var-1964.html and http://www.beatlesebooks.com/when-i-get-home.

By: Mark Collard

Mark Collard — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 02:48:38 +0000

This is the rocking-ist song on the album. Turn up the volume and listen (feel) Pauls thumping bass when John sings “Com’on, out my way”. This song is a great lead-up to the brilliant “You Can’t do That” on best early Beatles album – no covers to been seen (heard!) although they were very good at that too.

By: Snuffles

Snuffles — Mon, 16 May 2016 22:16:21 +0000

This song rocks! And I agree with your interpretation that its mostly about getting away from other girl(s) (fans?) to get home to another (Cyn?). I think all the verses relate to this them, then he sings about what he’s gonna do when he gets home (love her ’till the cows come home–until he has to leave again).

By: Julian Bailinson

Julian Bailinson — Mon, 09 May 2016 01:02:17 +0000

I enjoy this song (Incidentally, I always interpret the third verse as lampshading the narrator being with some other woman and needing to get home), but I don’t think it works coming right before “You Can’t Do That.” They have the same basic groove, so it just feels a bit repetitive.

By: Lex Lewis

Lex Lewis — Sun, 24 Jan 2016 04:54:16 +0000

While the recording of When I get home isn’t flawless, in my opinion the effect works. The vocals are exciting and, while some of the lyrics may seem corny, most of them are quite good and flow nicely. It’s a good song and I don’t think of it as a “filler”.

By: Whamo

Whamo — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 23:46:35 +0000

Upper harmony in the last whoa I goes real sharp…

By: Mitch Perkins

Mitch Perkins — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 23:08:46 +0000

I totally agree with you Mark. John’s performance is rock solid. Actually, the entire group cooked here.

By: Matteo

Matteo — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 19:15:11 +0000

I just listened to this one (which I’d never much liked at all before) on the mono remaster CD at fairly loud volume, and I’ve got to say, this is one heck of a heavy, ass-kickin’ track. I think it’s pretty excellent now…

By: mark

mark — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 14:20:33 +0000

Sorry D.B. but you couldn’t be more wrong. This track rocks hard, and the vocals are incredible. Listen to the interplay between the two rhythm guitars, the giddiness in the 3 part vocal harmony, a fabulous lead vocal by John, including a little Elvis swagger in the bridge…. this is 1964 rock n roll at its best. (the lyrics are irrelevant in this period of their development, it’s all about the incredible sound they made…)

By: wayne

wayne — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 08:19:57 +0000

There’s a lot less to the song “When I Get Home” than the author of this page would have us believe. While there was certainly a very demanding and recording schedule for the Beatles in 1964, it wasn’t a factor in these lyrics. John said more than once that during this early-Beatles period, the lyrics of their songs were virtually meaningless – it was the overall sound that they were looking to achieve. And in one Lennon interview, he said that he used the word “trivialities” after some music journalist found fault with him and the band for their lyrical simplistic and mono-syllabic nature. John tended to agree with that assessment – thus the use of the five-syllable word “trivialities”

By: The DS Guy

The DS Guy — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 06:42:56 +0000

I think that’s the best part of the song.

By: walrusgumboot

walrusgumboot — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 00:35:29 +0000

Wow. What are YOU smoking?

By: metzgermeister77

metzgermeister77 — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 08:09:07 +0000

One of the few Beatles songs I always forget exists. Then I listen to it and remember why.

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 15:13:25 +0000

I agree with Bubba. I have always thought this one of their best, and most underrated, early-period rockers. It practically begs to be played loud, where Paul’s driving bass and Ringo’s strong drumming instantly elevate the song from “tired” to raucous and eminently satisfying. Perhaps reflecting exhaustion, John’s vocals are a bit raw, but that only lends itself to the urgency of the lyrics. Great harmonies here, too.

By: Bubba McGee

Bubba McGee — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 04:27:28 +0000

When I Get Home, in my opinion, was a great song. It had it’s own unique hooks that made it special, as almost all their songs did. It is the only song they did, that I can think of, that had a full compliment of verses and the middle sections, as well as choruses. A real screamer. And starting on the chorus gets you right into the song. Also a great ending, where John holds the note “Home” then “Ye e ah” etc. Great, great song.

By: carlos gutman

carlos gutman — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 14:48:54 +0000

It´s notable the change of the rhythm at the beginning of the “Whoa-ah, whoa-I…”

By: Joseph Brush

Joseph Brush — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 17:23:06 +0000

Ringo famously said in the Anthology series that if they were derelict in the studio in any way, drugs for instance, that their subsequent performance was “shit”.
At this juncture in their career, it would seem that the lack of studio time plus tiredness could be the reason why you believe this performance to be their worst.

By: D.B.

D.B. — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 22:10:38 +0000

This, I think is the worst recording on any Beatles song bar Slow Down, and the performance ranks somewhere at the bottom too. Sounds exhausted, I’m sure they were, but they sound like somebody’s drugged them or something (no lead guitar at all, lousy drumming, I think the song slows down as well). And what’s up with the sound balance as well?