Released 3 December 1965 Label Parlophone | Genre Pop rock Writer(s) Lennon–McCartney | |
Recorded 11 November 1965,
EMI Studios Length 3:22 (stereo version)
3:25 (mono version) | ||
"You Won't See Me" is a song by the Beatles, from the album Rubber Soul. Though credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was written by Paul McCartney. Canadian singer Anne Murray covered "You Won't See Me" in 1974 and had a big hit, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart, and number 5 on the RPM Top Singles chart.
Contents
History
The song is about a crisis in McCartney's relationship with his then-girlfriend Jane Asher. She was rejecting him by not returning phone calls and ignoring him — for once, he was in a vulnerable position. The more biting tone of the song marks a change away from his earlier, happier love songs. Musically influenced by the Four Tops' then-current hit "It's the Same Old Song", "You Won't See Me" was recorded during the last session for Rubber Soul on the night of November 11, 1965. The deadline for completing the album was up and the band needed to record three songs that evening to complete. As a result, they cut the song in only two takes. At 3:22, the song was the longest that The Beatles had recorded to that point and marked a trend by Bob Dylan and others at the time to start writing longer songs.
Mal "Organ" Evans (one of The Beatles' roadies throughout their career) is credited on the album sleeve as having played Hammond organ on this track, his contribution consisting solely of an A note quietly held throughout the last part of the song.
Ringo Starr's busy drumming during the verses was a style of playing he would further explore on Rain and A Day in the Life.
"You Won't See Me" was never a part of The Beatles' concert repertoire, but McCartney played the song live during his 2005-06 concert tour, as well as his current "One on One" tour. McCartney tells the audience that the song was developed based on a set of two simple descending patterns which he plays on his acoustic guitar in the key of G. The background vocals follow this pattern throughout the verses.
Personnel
MacDonald commented that Starr added an overdubbed hi-hat part in addition to the hi-hat part played in the basic rhythm track, and that Evans's organ part was a single A note held throughout the final verse and chorus.
Anne Murray version
In 1974, "You Won't See Me" became a big hit for Anne Murray, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. Lennon is said to have told Murray that her version of "You Won't See Me" was his favorite Beatles cover ever. Murray would re-record the song as a duet with Shelby Lynne as part of her 2007 Duets: Friends & Legends album. Murray herself is a confessed Beatles fanatic and would cover several other songs of theirs as singles, including "Day Tripper" and "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You". The soulful backing vocals were devised by Anne's backup singer, Diane Brooks. And the bass line was invented by her bass player, Skip Beckwith.
"You Won't See Me" was a double-sided hit for Murray. The flip side — "He Thinks I Still Care" — reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in July 1974, about the time "You Won't See Me" peaked in popularity on the Hot 100.