I'll Be Back (song)

According to musicologist Ian MacDonald, Lennon created the song based on the chords of Del Shannon's "Runaway"[3] which had been a UK hit in April 1961. Author Bill Harry also wrote: "He just reworked the chords of the Shannon number and came up with a completely different song".[2]

With its poignant lyric and flamenco style acoustic guitars "I'll Be Back" possesses a tragic air and is eccentric in structure. Unusually for a pop song it oscillates between major and minor keys; appears to have two different bridges and lacks a chorus. The fade-out ending also arrives unexpectedly, being a half stanza premature.[3]

The metric structure also is unusual. The verse is in 6-measure phrases in ⁴
₄ time. The first and third bridges have a four-measure phrase in ⁴
₄ followed by a phrase with 2 measures of ⁴
₄ and one of ²
₄; the second bridge has a 4-measure phrase followed by 5 measures of ⁴
₄ and one of ²
₄.

Producer George Martin preferred to open and close Beatles albums using dominant material stating: "Another principle of mine when assembling an album was always to go out on a side strongly, placing the weaker material towards the end but then going out with a bang".[4] Ian MacDonald points out however: "Fading away in tonal ambiguity at the end of A Hard Day’s Night, it was a surprisingly downbeat farewell and a token of coming maturity".[3] Music journalist Robert Sandall wrote in Mojo magazine: "'I'll Be Back' was the early Beatles at their most prophetic. This grasp of how to colour arrangements in darker or more muted tones foreshadowed an inner journey they eventually undertook in three albums' time, on Rubber Soul".[5]

The Beatles recorded "I'll Be Back" in 16 takes on 1 June 1964. The first nine were of the rhythm track, and the last seven were overdubs of the lead and harmony vocals, and an acoustic guitar overdub.[6]

The Anthology 1 CD includes take two of "I'll Be Back", performed in ⁶
₈ time. The recording broke down when Lennon fumbled over the words in the bridge, complaining on the take that "it's too hard to sing." The subsequent take, also included on Anthology, was performed in the ⁴
₄ time used in the final take.

• John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass
• George Harrison – harmony vocal,[7] classical acoustic guitar, acoustic guitar
• Ringo Starr – drums

Personnel per Walter Everett[8]

• The Chicago-based band The Buckinghams released a version of this song in 1967 peaking #1 in the Philippines, according to Billboard magazine [9]
• Cliff Richard included his cover of the song on his 1967 album Don't Stop Me Now![10]
• Reggae band The Paragons released a version titled "I Want to Go Back" on their 1967 album On the Beach.
• Wes Montgomery included his cover of the song on his 1968 album Road Song.[11]
• Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass included it on the album The Brass Are Comin' (1969).[12]
• "I'll Be Back" was one of the eight Beatles songs covered by Stars on 45 on their medley "Stars on 45", which went to No.1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in June 1981.
• In 1987, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS perform an a cappella rendition of "I'll Be Back" in the home video Exposed.
• UB40 released a reggae version on their 2008 album TwentyFourSeven.[13]
• Elliott Smith recorded a version of the song during sessions for From a Basement on the Hill.[14]
• Shawn Colvin recorded the song for Polaroids: A Greatest Hits Collection in 2004.[15]
• Johnny Rivers covered it for his 2004 album Reinvention Highway.[16]
• Golden Earring recorded the song for their 1995 album Love Sweat.[17]
• The MonaLisa Twins have recorded "I'll Be Back" as a music video,[18] available on their website and on YouTube, and as a song on their 2018 album MonaLisa Twins play Beatles & more Vol. 2.
• The Mexican band El Amor made a Spanish version with the title "Si Me Dejaras" in their 1971 debut.[19]

• Alan W. Pollack's Notes on "I'll Be Back"
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics