´In My Life´ appreciation thread

Good question.

 

Does the "you" have to be someone real, or specific? Can't it be generic? It's certainly served that purpose over the decades, as so many people relate to it and use the song for weddings and such.

 

So did Bob Dylan -- yet even with some weak lyrics, Dylan has a general reputation for being a great lyricist. Artists get their reputations for a reason, and it's because of whatever the strengths and weaknesses are, most of the time. In Paul McCartney's case, he is a superb melody writer... and therefore even if Paul wrote a weak melody now and then, it hardly matters at changing his overall reputation as a master music writer. But lyrcis are not Paul's stand-out strength. He is very often a lazy lyricist, and that is why that reputation has stuck for him.

 

Paul

 

the guitar intro is sort of reminiscent of two of us

 

Regarding who wrote the music for 'In My Life'...

I've only just recently noticed that the chord progression is almost identical to Lennon's 'Woman Is The N***** Of The World'. If we put both songs in the key of A, the chord progressions for the verses are:

IML............: A - E - F#m - A7 - D - Dm - A
WITNOTW: A - C#7 - F#m - A7 - D - Dm - A

Since Lennon admitted that he 'borrowed' the chord progression for WITNOTW from 'Only You (And You Alone)', my guess is that he also borrowed it earlier for IML. Only the second chord of IML is different (E instead of C#7)

 

You sure about that?

 

John wrote it.

 

The lyrics man, the lyrics. "And these memories lose their meanng, when I think of love as something new".

 

My favorite song of all time.

 

He never said he contributed lyrics, just wrote music to John's lyrics. Disagreement between him and John is how much music. The beginning bit and end sound like John to me, I could buy that Paul wrote most of the rest of the music.

 

Huh I was always under the impression of the lyrics were in question, my mistake.

 

I think it's mainly about the music, at least that's how I've read it in the past.

 

Borrowed from Wikipedia:

Regarding authorship of the melody, Lennon's and McCartney's recollections differ. Referring to McCartney, Lennon said "his contribution melodically was the harmony and the middle-eight itself."[7][8] McCartney claimed he set Lennon's lyrics to music from beginning to end, taking inspiration for the melody from songs by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles.[9] "I liked 'In My Life'. Those were words that John wrote, and I wrote the tune to it. That was a great one."[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_My_Life

 

Thanks for that

 

no - I wasn't there, but I've read that's true and listening to the music, I'd bet on it. it sounds like something Paul would come up with. more to the point, it sounds like something Paul did come up with - the riff in two of us. but given the fact you rolled your eyes, I doubt you're convinced.

maybe the problem with Paul getting credit for stuff is that people don't trust him and find his egotism annoying. but in my mind it's an even worse problem to deny reality due to animosity. and honestly, I'm not a McCartney partisan at all, but if he wrote it, he wrote it.

 

Lennon's quote is especially interesting, because the song doesn't have a traditional middle-eight. Do you think that he meant what you said above, which is that he wrote the lyrics, beginning and end, and Paul wrote the bit in between?

 

I've always considered "In My Life" to be my favorite song of all time.

 

To me the beginning bit sounds like John, the rest doesn't particularly sound like either, John said he wrote the music for the middle 8 & contributed melodically to the harmonies? Each interview from either is a bit different for the song.
I think in either case they are talking about the music, not the lyrics.

 

Another bit from Beatles Bible.

For In My Life, I had a complete set of lyrics after struggling with a journalistic vision of a trip from home to downtown on a bus naming every sight. It became In My Life, which is a remembrance of friends and lovers of the past. Paul helped with the middle eight musically. But all lyrics written, signed, sealed, and delivered. And it was, I think, my first real major piece of work. Up till then it had all been sort of glib and throwaway. And that was the first time I consciously put my literary part of myself into the lyric. Inspired by Kenneth Alsopf [sic], the British journalist, and Bob Dylan.
John Lennon
All We Are Saying, David Sheff

 

No it´s just I thought I read somewhere that it was George´s riff .. But then again.. I don't know how credible that source is.

 

I think George played it, but that Paul wrote the part.

 

in my life
I woke up today to an appreciation for this seminal beatles song, which came out in 1965 and somehow marked the moment of maturity when they changed from fab four beatlemania purveyors to serious artists. it's also interesting in that it's one of only two (eleanor rigby is the other) songs where john and paul dispute the credit - Paul says he wrote the melody, John says he just did the bridge. For me it's a John song, but I'd say 70-30, Paul helped out. right out of the blocks it is amazing - the opening guitar figure followed by the line "there are places I remember" - wow. and now for me that's sort of self-exemplifying, as I remember playing this record in the summer of 1966 in Ann Arbor Michigan. Papa really liked Rubber Soul.

so the song's kind of running through my mind as I get ready for tennis, making coffee and cheerios, etc .. and philosophically too - the respect for the past, but the importance placed on the present and future. and wondering, is that a young man's game?

I get in the car to drive to the stadium tennis courts. decide to flip on my beatles ipod. I have this crazy belief that in my life will come on first, even though it's a 1/1000 chance. but when I select "aux", it says no source, or something like that. confused, I worry that someone swiped the ipod and check. it's there. I press some buttons and see vaguely that the battery meter is way low, and it's got a tiny bit of red in it. I wait a while and try it again. this time is says loading ... no connection. I wait some more and it says loading ... unsupported version. that goes on for a while, so I decide to wait until after the GWB and try one last time. I forget, but when I'm just about there I push the on/off switch. this time it says Load. then 1 of 1065. then Artist Name: Beatles. then Album Name: Rubber Soul. hmm. then Song Name: In My Life. then I hear the guitar da da, da da da da - and John's voice sings - there are places I remember. ha! I'm laughing out loud in the car ...

 

So John and Paul wrote the introductory guitar lick?

Sounds like George playing it, whatever the case.

 

Our wedding dance song. I don't hold it against it.