Paul McCartney admits he ‘can’t remember much’ about Beatles song he wrote in just two hours
John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a number of hits for The Beatles, but not every song turned out so well.
After retiring from touring in 1966, the band could devote more time to honing their albums in the studio, but their early years were a whirlwind. Their record label, Parlophone, was eager to capitalize on their skyrocketing popularity by releasing a steady stream of music.
As a result, Paul and John weren’t always happy with every track they wrote. Paul admitted that some songs were simply churned out just for work and ended up as “filler on albums,” some of which he can’t even remember much of.
Speaking about their 1963 track Hold Me Tight, he confessed, “I can’t remember much about that one. Certain songs were just ‘work’ songs, you haven’t got much memory of them. That’s one of them.”
He also described it as “a failed attempt at a single which then became an acceptable album filler.” But this wasn’t the only 1963 song that Paul doesn’t look back on with fondness.
Like Hold Me Tight, the love ballad Little Child appeared on the band’s second album With The Beatles. The song features the narrator pleading with someone to dance with them and take a chance on them.
Paul revealed the lyrics “I’m so sad and lonely” were inspired by Whistle My Love by Elton Hayes. Paul later conceded that Little Child wasn’t his best work and was written to fill a gap on the record.
Reflecting on it, he remarked, “Little Child was a work job.” John echoed this sentiment in a 1980 interview, stating: “Little Child was another effort of Paul and I to write a song for somebody. It was probably Ringo.”
The song was recorded over three sessions in September and October 1963, ultimately finding its place on the With The Beatles album, released in November of the same year. Despite John and Paul’s lack of love towards it, critics have praised the record.
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic offered his take, noting, “It might have been one of the less sophisticated and impressive tracks on the record, but it was still pretty good. He added: “Little Child might not be a work of genius, but it’s sheer rock ‘n’ roll fun.”
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The Beatles are one of the most iconic bands of all time, but not every song that Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote was a classic – and they admitted some were just ‘work’
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The Beatles’ song that Paul McCartney ‘wrote in two hours’ and called a ‘work job’
The Beatles were prolific in the eight years that Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison were together as a band. Between 1962 and 1970, they released 12 studio albums in the UK including six in their first three years.
Once they retired from touring in 1966, The Beatles were able to focus more time on crafting their albums in the studio but the early years were hectic. Record label Parlophone was keen to make the most of their incredible popularity by releasing plenty of music.
As a result, Paul and John were not proud of every single song they wrote. Paul said that some were merely for work and became “filler on albums”. About their 1963 track ‘Hold Me Tight’, he said “I can’t remember much about that one. Certain songs were just ‘work’ songs, you haven’t got much memory of them. That’s one of them.”
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He also described it as “a failed attempt at a single which then became an acceptable album filler”. But it was not the only 1963 song of Paul’s that he doesn’t look back fondly on.
Like ‘Hold Me Tight’, the gentle love song ‘Little Child’ featured on the band’s second album ‘With The Beatles’. The song sees the narrator asking someone to dance with them and take a chance on them and Paul said the lyrics “I’m so sad and lonely” was inspired by ‘Whistle My Love’ by Elton Hayes.
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Paul later explained that he believed ‘Little Child’ wasn’t his finest work, written to fill a gap on the record. Looking back at it, he said: “‘Little Child’ was a work job.
“Certain songs were inspirational and you just followed that. Certain other songs were, ‘right, come on, two hours, song for Ringo for the album’.
John saw it similarly. In a 1980 interview, he said: “‘Little Child’ was another effort of Paul and I to write a song for somebody. It was probably Ringo.”
The song was recorded over three different sessions in September and October 1963 and the ‘With The Beatles’ album was released in November 1963. Despite John and Paul’s lack of love for it, critics have been kind about it.
Reviewer Richie Unterberger of AllMusic wrote: “It might have been one of the less sophisticated and impressive tracks on the record, but it was still pretty good. He added: “‘Little Child’ might not be a work of genius, but it’s sheer rock ‘n’ roll fun.”
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The Beatles songs Paul McCartney considered “work” instead of art
There is often an idyllic image attached to the creative process. It is viewed as a serene environment where songs fall from the air and drop onto the lap of the songwriter. However, the reality for most artists, even for The Beatles, is typically a significantly different experience, as looming deadlines force them to hurry their creations and work at a breakneck speed.
As much as The Beatles became the biggest band in the world, which arrived with immense privileges, it wasn’t always this way. For example, while they were making Abbey Road, the Fab Four were on their own record label and due to being their own bosses, they could take as long as they needed in the studio to fulfil their creative vision. This luxury is only available to a select few in the music business, and The Beatles had to earn this position. For the first few years of their career, they needed to remain active and in the public consciousness by constantly making new music to sustain interest.
Naturally, due to the sheer pace at which The Beatles churned through material, it’s understandable that they occasionally sacrificed quality. Although Paul McCartney has predominantly spoken proudly about the back catalogue he created with The Beatles, he’s honest enough to admit that two of their songs were nothing more than “work”. In contrast, following the split of The Beatles, John Lennon was ruthless in his assessment of their material. He was brutally honest in analysing their songs and the output they produced, disregarding plenty of beloved tracks to “throwaway”, “phoney”, or “granny shit“.
On the other hand, McCartney usually answers questions diplomatically, even if he’s discussing an album track of a lower quality than ‘Let It Be‘ or ‘Yesterday’. Nevertheless, there were a couple of occasions when he let that guise slip and showed his true feelings. In Barry Miles’ Many Years From Now, McCartney opened up about the laborious exercise it was creating ‘Little Child’. He said the track “was a work job. Certain songs were inspirational and you just followed that. Certain other songs were, ‘Right, come on, two hours, song for Ringo for the album’.”
Writing for Ringo was an element of his job that McCartney saw as a chore. The drummer’s limited vocal range made it an even more challenging mission. He added: “They had to be fairly simple. [Ringo] didn’t have a large vocal range but he could handle things with good con brio and spirito if they were nice and simple. It had to be something he could get behind. If he couldn’t picture it, you were in trouble.”
McCartney wasn’t any kinder about ‘Hold Me Tight’, which also appeared on With The Beatles. He noted, “I can’t remember much about that one. Certain songs were just ‘work’ songs, you haven’t got much memory of them. That’s one of them.”
On another occasion, he was even more scathing about ‘Hold Me Tight’, saying: “When we first started it was all singles and we were always trying to write singles, That’s why you get lots of these two-minute 30-second songs; they all came out the same length. ‘Hold Me Tight’ was a failed attempt at a single which then became an acceptable album filler.”
It’s no coincidence that McCartney is the least sentimental about the tracks from The Beatles’ early days. Although they had yet to develop their sound and reach their potential, this was a vital part of their journey to becoming songwriting greats. They still produced stellar tracks during this chapter; not everything they released was pop perfection, and their inconsistency was yet to be ironed out. Neither of the tracks that McCartney derides are Beatles classics. Instead, they are the sound of a band tirelessly working at improving their craft and unafraid of failure in their pursuit of greatness.
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