I enjoyed this reaction enormously: First, it's one of my all-time favourites, and then ... you bring beautiful inspired pictures into the description like the picture of the continents on the earth 👌😀 Now I can never look at a world map anymore without thinking of the space between the continents as the space of memories 👍😃 That's now a memory for the rest of my life 😉 An universal experience, so well said 😊👌 And the end on the piano and harp ... to me this is the icing on the cake ❤🎹
@@justmoose6534 Thank you Justmoose Mike. These are awesome analytical descriptions and reflections of our beloved songs, isn't it? Have a splendid time 🤞😃
On December 27, 1965, my birthday, I was ten years old and about to turn eleven. I only listened to Classical and Broadway music. My sister bought me the Beatles 'Rubber Soul' album as a gift. It changed my life.
Nice to see you getting to the individualities in the songwriting. This song is a precursor to "Strawberry Fields Forever," the latter being deeper and more complete a "story," though it's actually "about" the nature of consciousness and how it works, instead of being outward about "places" and others. John was writing as a kid, so was the wordsmith. This song was lyrics first, the music close behind. Strawberry Fields Forever" was also, but John really got into expanding on the music, the well of emotion under the words.
You're so sweet and provocative toward your expression of the music. You tickle my fancy and invoke the rhythms of sympathetic hearts who love music and love its proponents like you Dearest!
I'm so glad you enjoyed and appreciated this iconic Beatles song so much. Great background info Vlad, I didn't know about the sped up piano to make the harpsichord sound. I always thought it was a harpsichord. George Martin shows why it is legit to consider him a fifth Beatle, at least in some songs. I appreciated your analyzing the melody as to who actually wrote it. As always, I like how you notice Ringo's contributions, and now I'm happy that you have finally associated the bass with Paul.😉 I really loved how you dug into the lyrics, noting how effective they are in conveying these type of memories and feelings. Great reaction! Would love to see a harp cover. I'm glad it made your playlist. It is a very special song.
The bridge sounds like Paul melodically. It changes up from first four measures from the second ie. F#m - D major - G major - A major the second F# minor - B major - D major - D minor - A if I’m recalling correctly . Going from the D minor to the A major - The key of the song - is very unusual. The background harmonies are exquisite, as well as Paul’s harmonies over Johns voice. In my opinion Lennon’s vocal nails it emotionally like no other . I only listen through headphones. If you listen to Pachelbels Canon you’ll hear a subliminal reminder to In My Life on the verses. This song has been played as a requiem in so many funerals . This song will tear you up if you’re going through a difficult time in life. The guitar only plays arpeggios. Paul’s bass in intro A A A C# D E just works so well . George Martins solo is playing exactly over the chords of the verses which works perfectly going to the bridge after the solo …
This is one of my favorite Beatles songs. Few songs feel so emotionally complete, lyrically, to me. Fewer are willing to describe this sort of experience with so much emotional restraint. It does sound very respectful, to me, too. It's elegant. I appreciated your insight about the vocals, and I'm connecting that technique you described (around 17 minutes) to my other favorites of his, like "How?" on Imagine. Can't wait to hear your harp cover. :)
Because John left out all the particulars in his life , it leaves it wide open for everyone to relate it to our lives. Also it gives a perspective that it's ok to reflect on places and peoples with appreciation without sacrificing all that you have to love in the present. I can't recall another song quite like it, lyrically. And the music supports the lyrics very well.
In my Life was the music that played at my father's funeral, 12 years ago. I started listening to the Beatles more often after that. Great vídeo, as aways :)
Dear Amy, my warmest greetings from Florence.... Wonderful reaction.... In my opinion this song is magic in its purest form. When I listen to it it's like time freezes. I see many things from the past passing before me.... good times and bad times....
Great analysis! As for the Lennon-McCartney feud about the melody, I read some time ago that an artificial intelligence analyzed the song, comparing to the compositional traits of both writers, and came to the conclusion that it had been written by Lennon.
There's a youtube video in which two musicologists do extensive granular forensics on the song and come up with 98 per cent it was written by Lennon. That is based largely on the chord usage that was Lennon. The only question is whether McCartney imitated Lennon's chord usage.
This was a deeply personal song for John -- he'd suffered a great deal of loss for a man only in his mid-20s. His uncle George, who'd been the closest thing he had to a father figure. His mother Julia, killed in a car accident. His friend (and original Beatle bassist) Stuart Sutcliffe, who suffered a rare brain condition. But the "you" in the last line wasn't someone John knew yet, but someone he hoped for -- the someone Yoko would later become in his life. Most of the song is nostalgia, but then there's that one moment of jumping into the future that makes it so different from your standard nostalgia song. And while John couldn't make version one, the "boring travelogue" germ of the song, work, Paul took that and wrote "Penny Lane." The original idea was a good one, it just wasn't the right one for John. So we got two brilliant songs from the original germ of an idea instead of just one. We're very lucky.
Thank you again for a beautiful reaction. The spoiler about George Martin's solo made me think about two recommendations: 1) don't go with Val to see movies. "Let's go see this wonderful movie. You will be surprised how, at the very end, Humphrey Bogart tricks Ingrid Bergman, sacrificing his love for her for the sake of a more noble enterprise. You will cry".... Just a joke :) 2) Please, read the summary/spoiler after listening to the song for the first time. As someone recommended. Before listening to the song you should have only the information we had at the time. Name of the song and album, official author(s ) and duration. When your ex teacher urged you to listen to Norwegian Wood, he didn't add "and there is a sitar there". When your subscribers recommended you Michelle, they didn't add "Paul sings in french".
I agree. It's like saying "Let's listen to the isolated bassline first...." You should experience the whole song at once. Let the mysteries and the magic reveal themself in the song.
Thank you for writting this down so eloquently. It's exactly what I was thinking all along. I would add to your advice list: forget about all those silly accolades and "official" genre denominations. They don't add anything to your listning experience and they just take up more video time.
@michavandam yes. I was thinking the same about genre denominations. That is one of the most unbeatle things I can think of. In those times, Louis Amstrong was against artificial music definitions. He said, there is simply music that he liked or not, and he liked what he heard from the Beatles. Leonard Bernstein praised Mambo and Perez Prado, Rock and the Beatles, simply as good music (not all rock music, maybe 5% from all that music). I remember George Harrison arguing against putting music in boxes, saying music can be this or that, or whatever you want, as long as it works (I don't remember where I heard that ☹️). Years after the Beatles era, Leonard Bernstein complained that young people did not know many of the Beatles tunes. He said the music industry was ruining it all, creating innumerable hyphen-genres (samba-indi-fusion-trash-garage-metal, for example) and keeping their customers in those boxes. Or something like that. 😭 I cannot remember where I read that. Well, thanks for the addition, and apologies for my "english".
There's a feeling of gentle, tender loveliness that emanates from "The Beatles". One might suspect it comes from Rongo, but actually it comes from John. John's "tough-guy shell was a defense against the multiple traumas of his childhood.
We had a ukulele trio play music during our wedding ceremony and we got them to play this song, as a remembrance to members of our families and friends who past away. It was absolutely brilliant.
From Wikipedia: 'The song was recorded on 18 October 1965, and was complete except for the instrumental bridge.[14] At that time, Lennon had not decided what instrument to use, but he subsequently asked George Martin to play a piano solo, suggesting "something Baroque-sounding".[2] Martin wrote a Bach-influenced piece that he found he could not play at the song's tempo. On 22 October, the solo was recorded with the tape running at half speed, so when played back at normal pace the piano was twice as fast and an octave higher, solving the performance challenge and also giving the solo a unique timbre, reminiscent of a harpsichord.'
As a new mother you might resonate with my take on this song. I think the new love in his life that he loves more is his child. Maybe John didn’t think that way about it being about his parental love for Julian, who was a two year old at that time. But it’s how I feel about my children, when I hear the song.
That was a very thorough and delightful reaction Amy, enhanced by your illustrative use of the harp and piano. Apart from yourself, one of the best analyses of all The Beatles' output is in Ian MacDonald's book, 'Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties'. It was first published in 1994.MacDonald goes through them song by song. He includes quotes from the then surviving Beatles. On the question of the song's authorship MacDonald surmises, 'the chromatic descent via the major subdominant in the second half of the verse suggests Lennon' but he seems to think the first half could be McCartney's melody. Paul was quoted in the New Musical Express as saying it was a joint effort apart from John's Lyrics. MacDonald has an opinion on George Martin's contribution: 'whether its dancing lightness and concluding disappearance through the trapdoor of a witty glissando really suit the song's mood of sighing introspection is another question'. What do you think?
The intro is like a question. I'm always blown away by your descriptions. This song is pretty low on my list of favorite songs of theirs, but only because there are 140 songs of theirs that I like more.
At 45:09 I have to scream out, "Thank you, Amy!!" In all of the 100's of times I've listened to this song, I've never noticed the 'important" little strums behind the vocals at this very point. Maybe it's because of anticipation of the massive faux-mandolin section that follows?! Great catch, and thank you for making a special song even more special!
Two people who I'd wager crossed John's mind when he wrote "some are dead and some are living": his mother Julia, who died when he was 17, and Stuart Sutcliffe, who was in the Beatles but died in April 1962.
The rhythm of the bus going over a bump in the road. Two sets of wheels hit the hole in the road. John is singing it like a diesel engine, revving it, hitting the bump, gear change, top gear(love you more), next bump in the road, etc....
I can see Paul helping with some of the lines, but IMO this is all John ("Penny Lane" was Paul's answer to this song). And to think John was just 25 years old when he wrote this song. 😳. You can see now how this album is universally seen as the point where the Beatles turned pop music into art.
Is called baroque pop because it used many baroque resources like counterpoint, and various baroque instruments like horn, trumpets and harpsichord (you can hear one is this song, except it's not a harpsichord but a sped up piano).
I agree. My guess is Lennon would have had a 'kernel' of a melody to go with his lyrical idea before Paul got anywhere near it (Particularly for the verse section). However I can imagine Paul shaping it, working it, and polishing it to help make it the gem it eventually became and I'm sure he wanted some recognition of that. Paul & John would often finish off each other's songs when the other had hit a wall and I suspect that is what happened here. However without that original nostalgic idea & the word pictures that drive the song In My Life would not exist, so I can see why Lennon feels ownership of it. My gut feeling says it is probably 60% Lennon 40% McCartney.
Hey Amy that was a wonderful breakdown of one of my favourite mid period Beatle songs . I always feel that the Beatles worked so instinctively and originally with their mentor musician arranger George Martin’s magic woven in
It´s widely regarded as primarily written by Lennon, with Paul helping with the middle 8. Paul´s memory has a tendency be off at times, because it´s contradicted by other accounts. Lennon sings lead on In My Life for a reason, because he´s the primary writer. That´s how they did things in 1965. The handwritten lyrics exist, written by Lennon as well. Even though who wrote the lyrics were never questioned. It´s interesting that you by ear so quickly could identify the melody sounding like Lennon. An artificial intelligence study conducted by Harvard and Dalhousie University researchers in 2018 analyzed the songwriting styles of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The study employed machine learning techniques to examine the musical and lyrical patterns of the Beatles' songs, particularly focusing on "In My Life." The AI model was trained to differentiate between the distinct musical styles of Lennon and McCartney based on various factors, such as melodic structure, chord progression, and rhythmic patterns. The results of the study indicated that the melody of "In My Life" was more likely to have been composed by John Lennon rather than Paul McCartney.
The A.I. may give an indication, and maybe the melody is all Lennon and McCartney misremembers, but what’s “widely regarded” is misleading as evidence here, given the wide success of boomer rock critics' often quite fact-free elevation of Lennon and belittlement of McCartney over the years - that has colored common opinion a lot.
@@thekaratekidpartii2169 You’re spitting hard independent truths here - those irrationally Lennon deifying/McCartney denigrating boomer rock critics clearly didn’t reach YOU. I myself find the following McCartney albums to be particularly discrediting: RAM; Band on the Run; Tug of War; and Chaos And Creation In The Backyard.
@@thekaratekidpartii2169I genuinely and sincerely cannot understand what would bring someone who is a fan of the Beatles to not enjoy Paul’s solo work. RAM and Band on the Run are both exceptional albums that are probably better than Beatles albums like Rubber Soul or Let it Be
While the Beatles have always had a somewhat timeless quality, I feel like this is perhaps their most timeless song. It sounds like it somehow must’ve always existed
It's such a sweet number, and in our time with music of all sorts here there and everywhere is it hard to imagine that this kind of music made way but still within the boarders of European music hitory.
Creo que para mi este es el primer landmark o punto clave. De aquí para adelante, aparecen canciones que pegan fuerte desde lo emocional hasta lo musical. Ciertamente de las mejores canciones de los Beatles y de John Lennon especifícamente.
It's not just the nuanced experience of a casual listen to most of their songs where the brilliance is affirmed, but when music theorists take apart the composition, the unadulterated genius is revealed.
Judy Collins tiene una versión preciosa de In my Life. Sin duda (para mí) es la mejor versión que se ha hecho de In my Life. Os propongo hacer un análisis de ella. Gracias Amy y Vlad.
This girl can talk aaaaaaaall day 😂 Give her Opeth with "Ghost of Perdition" or Liquid Tension... poate că îi place rockul adevărat 😉🎉...love you both 😘
I like Ringo's drumming in *everything*! 😁 This is, to me, one of approximately 500 times where as one of four of the best musicians of all time, he helped make the whole of the Beatles *even greater* than the sum of their parts. ❤
Although the lyrics that Lennon ended up with were very generalized, they started out as a long-form poem, when a journalist suggested that he write songs about his childhood. The original was actually very specific, with references to his personal friends and real places such as Penny Lane and Strawberry Field. Later, he disliked the poem, thinking it too ridiculous, like spouting off things he saw on a bus tour. So he reworked it into a more general reflection of his life, and now everyone is able to identify with it.
The "baroque" aspect probably only applies to the small piano solo in the middle. The rest of the song is simply a pop song, lovely as it may be. Lennon asked their producer George Martin to write something "baroque sounding" for the song. Martin, a classically trained musician, wrote the solo, but was unable to play it at the tempo needed. So they slowed the recording down to half-speed, and Martin played it an octave down. Then when it was sped back up, it has an unusual timbre almost like a harpsichord, which added to the baroque flavor of the song.
The answer to who wrote the melody probably lies with Yoko or even Julian Lennon. She no doubt has access to the Lennon tapes(although magnetic particles could have long been lost to time). John had tape recorders at his home where he recorded demos/worked out songs. I'm sure they would be rough. John did not practice or condition his voice. Paul did though. We probably won't hear them though as they could tarnish John's image if Paul was basically on a recording dictating.
In three songs on this LP John uses the word "dead". That was unusual, and disturbing, in songs ostensibly for "teenagers". Again, thanks mostly to John, they matured the music. I bought the LP when first released, and for years I skipped this song because it didn't rock. As I've aged, and lost people -- mostly John Lennon, who was my first inspiration to be a writer -- this has become one of my favorite songs. After John was murdered I was unable to listen to any "Beatles" for some10 years -- most of all this song destroyed any effort to appreciate their characteristic optimism, their indomitable _joie de vivre._
If Paul wrote the melody, it's certainly not one of his best. I know I'm in a minority here, but this wouldn't even make my top 100 Beatles songs. Possibly if they'd ditched the slightly-aggressive-harmonised-line / softer-solo-line thing and had just gone for a solo vocal with the oohs and aahs, I'd find it less jarring. Paul described the tune as being like something by The Miracles, and if it sounded like The Miracles it might be OK.
@@stevenscharmer1765 Count me in for the “overrated” club. I like it, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near the top ten for me. I think its reputation largely rests on the lyrics, which were a departure from earlier themes into a more introspective approach. Musically, it’s fairly unremarkable, IMO, apart from the innovative use of tape vari-speed on the piano solo.
The draft of this song can be read if you Google Beatles bible/in my life he mentions the Abbey roundabout, this refers to the Abbey cinema and the roundabout at Picton clock, these are just a few hundred yards from my house.
Miles Davis and Bill Evans disagreed on who wrote Blue In Green, some ownership's may be ego driven, but distance makes the thoughts grow foggy. I like the George Martin solo but seems rushed at the end to wind it up. I enjoy you first listen very much, thank you. John revisited these memories with Strawberry Fields, which was previously reviewed.
I’m a Lennon guy too. McCartney songs maybe more musically sophisticated, but John’s have something that’s much harder to measure. In my opinion, John’s songs, and voice, are simultaneously, more vulnerable and more dangerous. He also takes more musical risks, that don’t always pay off, but when they do, the songs seem to have a magic to them that, I don’t think, McCartney ever achieved. Interestingly enough, I wrote the part about “magic” before hearing you refer to parts of the song as “magic”.
'More than that, as John said, he took a trip: an actual, physical trip in a place that he remembered as, part of his childhood...' I know that this was meant for clarification purposes; it sounded so tongue-in-cheek, nonetheless! 😆
Yeah, pentatonic screams John Lennon. I think Paul arranged most of the harmony in their songs, so he may have suggested a couple things in John's vocal part, and then figured out his harmony part, and that turns into "I wrote the tune". I'm sure John wrote the chords and had a guide vocal worked out. Even the bridge sounds like John. I say this while acknowledging my slight preference for Paul's music, but John dominated and was taking no prisoners on Rubber Soul. Paul's turn to really shine comes on the next album.
It would be really hard to analyze based on body of work who contributed what to this song, because we see examples all over the place of Lennon and McCartney influencing each other. These guys spent an inordinate amount of time together ever since they were teenagers.
I would absolutely love if you would listen to the whole song from start to finish, and then listen again and break it down. Just my humble opinion, really enjoy your channel.
Sad you excluded If I Needed Someone..for me a unique early psychedelic tune in the typical folk rock style of the Byrds. Not enough George songs here. At least the next one is..Taxman. That keeps me wondering why you expluded the number one hit Day Tripper with one of the most famous guitar riffs!
![[ENGSUB] UNPRODUCTIVE DAY ใช้ชีวิต (เปื่อยๆ) ด้วยกัน 1 วัน! | OUROAD CLOSEFRiEND SS2 EP.9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pyYKZ3kra9w/mqdefault.jpg)
![MV วิถีชีวิตใต้ - ผา อัยย๊ะ [Official MV HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nODlkOUu9B0/mqdefault.jpg)
I enjoyed this reaction enormously: First, it's one of my all-time favourites, and then ... you bring beautiful inspired pictures into the description like the picture of the continents on the earth 👌😀 Now I can never look at a world map anymore without thinking of the space between the continents as the space of memories 👍😃 That's now a memory for the rest of my life 😉
An universal experience, so well said 😊👌
And the end on the piano and harp ... to me this is the icing on the cake ❤🎹
Nice comment Richard. Have a great week.
@@justmoose6534 Thank you Justmoose Mike. These are awesome analytical descriptions and reflections of our beloved songs, isn't it? Have a splendid time 🤞😃
On December 27, 1965, my birthday, I was ten years old and about to turn eleven. I only listened to Classical and Broadway music. My sister bought me the Beatles 'Rubber Soul' album as a gift. It changed my life.
I hard to imagine how a group of people can produce something this brilliant and then you hear the song Yesterday and your like well there you go
Nice to see you getting to the individualities in the songwriting.
This song is a precursor to "Strawberry Fields Forever," the latter being deeper and more complete a "story," though it's actually "about" the nature of consciousness and how it works, instead of being outward about "places" and others.
John was writing as a kid, so was the wordsmith. This song was lyrics first, the music close behind. Strawberry Fields Forever" was also, but John really got into expanding on the music, the well of emotion under the words.
You're so sweet and provocative toward your expression of the music. You tickle my fancy and invoke the rhythms of sympathetic hearts who love music and love its proponents like you Dearest!
Ms. Shafer, videos like this one where you delve into the technical details of the music are the ones that bring me the most joy.
I'm so glad you enjoyed and appreciated this iconic Beatles song so much. Great background info Vlad, I didn't know about the sped up piano to make the harpsichord sound. I always thought it was a harpsichord. George Martin shows why it is legit to consider him a fifth Beatle, at least in some songs. I appreciated your analyzing the melody as to who actually wrote it. As always, I like how you notice Ringo's contributions, and now I'm happy that you have finally associated the bass with Paul.😉 I really loved how you dug into the lyrics, noting how effective they are in conveying these type of memories and feelings. Great reaction! Would love to see a harp cover. I'm glad it made your playlist. It is a very special song.
You can hear the piano solo at its original speed if you search YT: The Beatles - In My Life - Original Piano Solo
@@zzzaphod8507 Thanks for the info. I checked it out. Interesting to hear it at its actual speed.
John was 25 when he wrote this. So hard to believe, cause it sounds like something an old man with his whole life behind him would have written.
The bridge sounds like Paul melodically. It changes up from first four measures from the second ie. F#m - D major - G major - A major the second F# minor - B major - D major - D minor - A if I’m recalling correctly . Going from the D minor to the A major - The key of the song - is very unusual. The background harmonies are exquisite, as well as Paul’s harmonies over Johns voice. In my opinion Lennon’s vocal nails it emotionally like no other . I only listen through headphones. If you listen to Pachelbels Canon you’ll hear a subliminal reminder to In My Life on the verses.
This song has been played as a requiem in so many funerals . This song will tear you up if you’re going through a difficult time in life.
The guitar only plays arpeggios. Paul’s bass in intro A A A C# D E just works so well . George Martins solo is playing exactly over the chords of the verses which works perfectly going to the bridge after the solo …
This is one of my favorite Beatles songs. Few songs feel so emotionally complete, lyrically, to me. Fewer are willing to describe this sort of experience with so much emotional restraint. It does sound very respectful, to me, too. It's elegant.
I appreciated your insight about the vocals, and I'm connecting that technique you described (around 17 minutes) to my other favorites of his, like "How?" on Imagine.
Can't wait to hear your harp cover. :)
Woohohoo... great analysis🎉
The John melisma, I am so happy this was addressed XD
Wonderful wonderful video, thank you!!!
"when ever IiIi i I i ... want you around (yeah), all I've got to doOo" 😅 wonderful job
This woman is a delight in every way. Pretty much always enjoy her take on songs.,
Compare her reactions with those by "FATHOM".
what a pleasure this is, wonderful work Amy
Because John left out all the particulars in his life , it leaves it wide open for everyone to relate it to our lives. Also it gives a perspective that it's ok to reflect on places and peoples with appreciation without sacrificing all that you have to love in the present. I can't recall another song quite like it, lyrically. And the music supports the lyrics very well.
In my Life was the music that played at my father's funeral, 12 years ago. I started listening to the Beatles more often after that. Great vídeo, as aways :)
WOW ... I was waiting for this, let's go ❤😃👍🏻
The drumming is phenomenal.
Average 😂
@@letsgomets002You are average. Ringo is not. That’s why he was part of The Beatles and you weren’t. Lol
@@Bassman.9 He was being ironic… Didn’t you noticed the 😂
@@GabrielSoares-lj9rv No he wasn’t. Nice try though.
Geez! I love this project SO much. ❤ Thank you!
Dear Amy, my warmest greetings from Florence.... Wonderful reaction.... In my opinion this song is magic in its purest form. When I listen to it it's like time freezes. I see many things from the past passing before me.... good times and bad times....
Thank you, Amy, for another great, in-depth analysis of a fantastic song! Also, loved the harp improvisation.
Great analysis! As for the Lennon-McCartney feud about the melody, I read some time ago that an artificial intelligence analyzed the song, comparing to the compositional traits of both writers, and came to the conclusion that it had been written by Lennon.
I thought it was a group of musicologists. Whatever, my sense of the melody is that it is Lennon's.
This analysis is an extraordinary work.
There's a youtube video in which two musicologists do extensive granular forensics on the song and come up with 98 per cent it was written by Lennon.
That is based largely on the chord usage that was Lennon. The only question is whether McCartney imitated Lennon's chord usage.
This was a deeply personal song for John -- he'd suffered a great deal of loss for a man only in his mid-20s. His uncle George, who'd been the closest thing he had to a father figure. His mother Julia, killed in a car accident. His friend (and original Beatle bassist) Stuart Sutcliffe, who suffered a rare brain condition.
But the "you" in the last line wasn't someone John knew yet, but someone he hoped for -- the someone Yoko would later become in his life. Most of the song is nostalgia, but then there's that one moment of jumping into the future that makes it so different from your standard nostalgia song.
And while John couldn't make version one, the "boring travelogue" germ of the song, work, Paul took that and wrote "Penny Lane." The original idea was a good one, it just wasn't the right one for John. So we got two brilliant songs from the original germ of an idea instead of just one. We're very lucky.
A beautiful introspective song about looking back on one's life, and yet John was just turning 24 when he wrote this.
Thank you again for a beautiful reaction.
The spoiler about George Martin's solo made me think about two recommendations:
1) don't go with Val to see movies. "Let's go see this wonderful movie. You will be surprised how, at the very end, Humphrey Bogart tricks Ingrid Bergman, sacrificing his love for her for the sake of a more noble enterprise. You will cry".... Just a joke :)
2) Please, read the summary/spoiler after listening to the song for the first time.
As someone recommended. Before listening to the song you should have only the information we had at the time. Name of the song and album, official author(s ) and duration.
When your ex teacher urged you to listen to Norwegian Wood, he didn't add "and there is a sitar there".
When your subscribers recommended you Michelle, they didn't add "Paul sings in french".
I agree. It's like saying "Let's listen to the isolated bassline first...." You should experience the whole song at once. Let the mysteries and the magic reveal themself in the song.
2 is an excellent point!
Thank you for writting this down so eloquently. It's exactly what I was thinking all along.
I would add to your advice list: forget about all those silly accolades and "official" genre denominations. They don't add anything to your listning experience and they just take up more video time.
@michavandam yes. I was thinking the same about genre denominations. That is one of the most unbeatle things I can think of.
In those times, Louis Amstrong was against artificial music definitions. He said, there is simply music that he liked or not, and he liked what he heard from the Beatles. Leonard Bernstein praised Mambo and Perez Prado, Rock and the Beatles, simply as good music (not all rock music, maybe 5% from all that music). I remember George Harrison arguing against putting music in boxes, saying music can be this or that, or whatever you want, as long as it works (I don't remember where I heard that ☹️).
Years after the Beatles era, Leonard Bernstein complained that young people did not know many of the Beatles tunes. He said the music industry was ruining it all, creating innumerable hyphen-genres (samba-indi-fusion-trash-garage-metal, for example) and keeping their customers in those boxes. Or something like that. 😭 I cannot remember where I read that.
Well, thanks for the addition, and apologies for my "english".
@dago87able thanks. 1 was a bad joke 🙃
This is one of the most requested songs played at funerals. People want to be defined by it. That's something.
There's a feeling of gentle, tender loveliness that emanates from "The Beatles". One might suspect it comes from Rongo, but actually it comes from John.
John's "tough-guy shell was a defense against the multiple traumas of his childhood.
We had a ukulele trio play music during our wedding ceremony and we got them to play this song, as a remembrance to members of our families and friends who past away. It was absolutely brilliant.
From Wikipedia: 'The song was recorded on 18 October 1965, and was complete except for the instrumental bridge.[14] At that time, Lennon had not decided what instrument to use, but he subsequently asked George Martin to play a piano solo, suggesting "something Baroque-sounding".[2] Martin wrote a Bach-influenced piece that he found he could not play at the song's tempo. On 22 October, the solo was recorded with the tape running at half speed, so when played back at normal pace the piano was twice as fast and an octave higher, solving the performance challenge and also giving the solo a unique timbre, reminiscent of a harpsichord.'
As a new mother you might resonate with my take on this song.
I think the new love in his life that he loves more is his child. Maybe John didn’t think that way about it being about his parental love for Julian, who was a two year old at that time. But it’s how I feel about my children, when I hear the song.
That was a very thorough and delightful reaction Amy, enhanced by your illustrative use of the harp and piano. Apart from yourself, one of the best analyses of all The Beatles' output is in Ian MacDonald's book, 'Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties'. It was first published in 1994.MacDonald goes through them song by song. He includes quotes from the then surviving Beatles. On the question of the song's authorship MacDonald surmises, 'the chromatic descent via the major subdominant in the second half of the verse suggests Lennon' but he seems to think the first half could be McCartney's melody. Paul was quoted in the New Musical Express as saying it was a joint effort apart from John's Lyrics.
MacDonald has an opinion on George Martin's contribution: 'whether its dancing lightness and concluding disappearance through the trapdoor of a witty glissando really suit the song's mood of sighing introspection is another question'. What do you think?
The intro is like a question. I'm always blown away by your descriptions. This song is pretty low on my list of favorite songs of theirs, but only because there are 140 songs of theirs that I like more.
At 45:09 I have to scream out, "Thank you, Amy!!" In all of the 100's of times I've listened to this song, I've never noticed the 'important" little strums behind the vocals at this very point. Maybe it's because of anticipation of the massive faux-mandolin section that follows?! Great catch, and thank you for making a special song even more special!
Two people who I'd wager crossed John's mind when he wrote "some are dead and some are living": his mother Julia, who died when he was 17, and Stuart Sutcliffe, who was in the Beatles but died in April 1962.
This isn’t a reaction it’s a whole podcast. Entertaining
The rhythm of the bus going over a bump in the road.
Two sets of wheels hit the hole in the road.
John is singing it like a diesel engine, revving it, hitting the bump, gear change, top gear(love you more), next bump in the road, etc....
This is the first time hearing a song compared to continental drift. Amazing analysis, once again. Overall, perhaps your best so far!
I can see Paul helping with some of the lines, but IMO this is all John ("Penny Lane" was Paul's answer to this song). And to think John was just 25 years old when he wrote this song. 😳. You can see now how this album is universally seen as the point where the Beatles turned pop music into art.
My favourite all time Beatle's song,
Is called baroque pop because it used many baroque resources like counterpoint, and various baroque instruments like horn, trumpets and harpsichord (you can hear one is this song, except it's not a harpsichord but a sped up piano).
This is not baroque pop, "baroque pop" is a specific name applied to bands like Left Banke and artists like Curt Boettcher
@@JulioLeonFandinho Who shamelessly imitated these Beatles stuff, only lousy
@@JulioLeonFandinhomaybe technically not, but it is arguably the very inception of the whole genre.
@@dago87ableslow down this track is a reaction to When I Grow Up to Be a Man, which is a much better starting point for “baroque-n-roll”
@@anarcovision The only lousy thing here is your lame opinion
One of Beatles finest
I agree. My guess is Lennon would have had a 'kernel' of a melody to go with his lyrical idea before Paul got anywhere near it (Particularly for the verse section). However I can imagine Paul shaping it, working it, and polishing it to help make it the gem it eventually became and I'm sure he wanted some recognition of that. Paul & John would often finish off each other's songs when the other had hit a wall and I suspect that is what happened here. However without that original nostalgic idea & the word pictures that drive the song In My Life would not exist, so I can see why Lennon feels ownership of it. My gut feeling says it is probably 60% Lennon 40% McCartney.
Well put, I think so too.
Hey Amy that was a wonderful breakdown of one of my favourite mid period Beatle songs . I always feel that the Beatles worked so instinctively and originally with their mentor musician arranger George Martin’s magic woven in
Such a beautiful song
It´s widely regarded as primarily written by Lennon, with Paul helping with the middle 8. Paul´s memory has a tendency be off at times, because it´s contradicted by other accounts. Lennon sings lead on In My Life for a reason, because he´s the primary writer. That´s how they did things in 1965. The handwritten lyrics exist, written by Lennon as well. Even though who wrote the lyrics were never questioned.
It´s interesting that you by ear so quickly could identify the melody sounding like Lennon. An artificial intelligence study conducted by Harvard and Dalhousie University researchers in 2018 analyzed the songwriting styles of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The study employed machine learning techniques to examine the musical and lyrical patterns of the Beatles' songs, particularly focusing on "In My Life." The AI model was trained to differentiate between the distinct musical styles of Lennon and McCartney based on various factors, such as melodic structure, chord progression, and rhythmic patterns. The results of the study indicated that the melody of "In My Life" was more likely to have been composed by John Lennon rather than Paul McCartney.
The A.I. may give an indication, and maybe the melody is all Lennon and McCartney misremembers, but what’s “widely regarded” is misleading as evidence here, given the wide success of boomer rock critics' often quite fact-free elevation of Lennon and belittlement of McCartney over the years - that has colored common opinion a lot.
@@jakob8884agree
@@jakob8884 McCartney discredited himself with everything he released after the Beatles.
@@thekaratekidpartii2169 You’re spitting hard independent truths here - those irrationally Lennon deifying/McCartney denigrating boomer rock critics clearly didn’t reach YOU. I myself find the following McCartney albums to be particularly discrediting: RAM; Band on the Run; Tug of War; and Chaos And Creation In The Backyard.
@@thekaratekidpartii2169I genuinely and sincerely cannot understand what would bring someone who is a fan of the Beatles to not enjoy Paul’s solo work. RAM and Band on the Run are both exceptional albums that are probably better than Beatles albums like Rubber Soul or Let it Be
Very nice: both the song and your analysis!
First to watch!!! In My Life was a very important song in my life 😂
Hehe 😁 I was a little bit earlier 😅👋
Paul is going to claim next that he wrote "Imagine."
While the Beatles have always had a somewhat timeless quality, I feel like this is perhaps their most timeless song. It sounds like it somehow must’ve always existed
Excellent, Amy!
It's such a sweet number, and in our time with music of all sorts here there and everywhere is it hard to imagine that this kind of music made way but still within the boarders of European music hitory.
The audience is holding up their lighters and chanting; "HARP COVER!... HARP COVER!... HARP COVER!... HARP COVER!..."
One of my favourite songs
Creo que para mi este es el primer landmark o punto clave. De aquí para adelante, aparecen canciones que pegan fuerte desde lo emocional hasta lo musical. Ciertamente de las mejores canciones de los Beatles y de John Lennon especifícamente.
I think you would find the Judy Collins cover version of this song an interesting interpretation.
It's not just the nuanced experience of a casual listen to most of their songs where the brilliance is affirmed, but when music theorists take apart the composition, the unadulterated genius is revealed.
Ringos drumming on this, is absolute genius..., ANY other drummer, would have played straight..., he plays just enough to enchance the song
Loved it
Lovely song, could have it at a wedding
I recall George Martin played piano on the song but sped up the recording to make it sound like a harpsichord
Unsurprisingly there have been many covers of this song. Johnny Cash does a particularly different yet moving version of In My Life.
My Favorite Group and My Favorite Channel! Peace
Judy Collins tiene una versión preciosa de In my Life. Sin duda (para mí) es la mejor versión que se ha hecho de In my Life. Os propongo hacer un análisis de ella. Gracias Amy y Vlad.
This girl can talk aaaaaaaall day 😂 Give her Opeth with "Ghost of Perdition" or Liquid Tension... poate că îi place rockul adevărat 😉🎉...love you both 😘
Oh, yes--can't wait to see you react to Eleanor Rigby! ❤
Looking forward to when you review "Rain."
I like Ringo's drumming in this.
I like Ringo's drumming in *everything*! 😁 This is, to me, one of approximately 500 times where as one of four of the best musicians of all time, he helped make the whole of the Beatles *even greater* than the sum of their parts. ❤
Although the lyrics that Lennon ended up with were very generalized, they started out as a long-form poem, when a journalist suggested that he write songs about his childhood. The original was actually very specific, with references to his personal friends and real places such as Penny Lane and Strawberry Field. Later, he disliked the poem, thinking it too ridiculous, like spouting off things he saw on a bus tour. So he reworked it into a more general reflection of his life, and now everyone is able to identify with it.
The "baroque" aspect probably only applies to the small piano solo in the middle. The rest of the song is simply a pop song, lovely as it may be. Lennon asked their producer George Martin to write something "baroque sounding" for the song. Martin, a classically trained musician, wrote the solo, but was unable to play it at the tempo needed. So they slowed the recording down to half-speed, and Martin played it an octave down. Then when it was sped back up, it has an unusual timbre almost like a harpsichord, which added to the baroque flavor of the song.
The answer to who wrote the melody probably lies with Yoko or even Julian Lennon. She no doubt has access to the Lennon tapes(although magnetic particles could have long been lost to time). John had tape recorders at his home where he recorded demos/worked out songs. I'm sure they would be rough. John did not practice or condition his voice. Paul did though. We probably won't hear them though as they could tarnish John's image if Paul was basically on a recording dictating.
Without the harpsichord solo it would never be considered baroque, I love this song but could do without said solo
Rubber Soul, all day every day!!
That inro makes you curious. At least it always makes me curious. ❤
John is writing about mortality. Unusual pop song.
In three songs on this LP John uses the word "dead". That was unusual, and disturbing, in songs ostensibly for "teenagers".
Again, thanks mostly to John, they matured the music.
I bought the LP when first released, and for years I skipped this song because it didn't rock. As I've aged, and lost people -- mostly John Lennon, who was my first inspiration to be a writer -- this has become one of my favorite songs.
After John was murdered I was unable to listen to any "Beatles" for some10 years -- most of all this song destroyed any effort to appreciate their characteristic optimism, their indomitable _joie de vivre._
If Paul wrote the melody, it's certainly not one of his best. I know I'm in a minority here, but this wouldn't even make my top 100 Beatles songs. Possibly if they'd ditched the slightly-aggressive-harmonised-line / softer-solo-line thing and had just gone for a solo vocal with the oohs and aahs, I'd find it less jarring. Paul described the tune as being like something by The Miracles, and if it sounded like The Miracles it might be OK.
I love the Beatles. However, this song has never been a favorite of mine. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way 😂
I think you're in a minority of one.
@@MOLLOYALLOYNo, there's more of us. This song never did anything for me. And I'm no hater, The Beatles are among my favorite bands.
@@stevenscharmer1765 Count me in for the “overrated” club. I like it, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near the top ten for me. I think its reputation largely rests on the lyrics, which were a departure from earlier themes into a more introspective approach. Musically, it’s fairly unremarkable, IMO, apart from the innovative use of tape vari-speed on the piano solo.
Agree.
John Lennon's best song. Not even close IMO.
To think John was only 25 when he wrote these lyrics! To have such insight at such a young age! Great analysis. Stay safe 🤘 ✌️
The draft of this song can be read if you Google Beatles bible/in my life he mentions the Abbey roundabout, this refers to the Abbey cinema and the roundabout at Picton clock, these are just a few hundred yards from my house.
Miles Davis and Bill Evans disagreed on who wrote Blue In Green, some ownership's may be ego driven, but distance makes the thoughts grow foggy. I like the George Martin solo but seems rushed at the end to wind it up. I enjoy you first listen very much, thank you.
John revisited these memories with Strawberry Fields, which was previously reviewed.
I’m a Lennon guy too. McCartney songs maybe more musically sophisticated, but John’s have something that’s much harder to measure. In my opinion, John’s songs, and voice, are simultaneously, more vulnerable and more dangerous. He also takes more musical risks, that don’t always pay off, but when they do, the songs seem to have a magic to them that, I don’t think, McCartney ever achieved. Interestingly enough, I wrote the part about “magic” before hearing you refer to parts of the song as “magic”.
Paul always plays safe, always poppy. John was edgy, i mean, he married Yoko after all.
Generally speaking, John sang from the heart, almost a form of therapy. Paul sang to entertain, so invested less of his heart into the tunes.
'More than that, as John said, he took a trip: an actual, physical trip in a place that he remembered as, part of his childhood...'
I know that this was meant for clarification purposes; it sounded so tongue-in-cheek, nonetheless!
😆
You can find that interview with Lennon that inspired Lennon to write this song elsewhere on TH-cam.
There's a version of this song that has Sean Connery whisper-talking the lyrics. ASMR before it was cool! 😄
Yeah, pentatonic screams John Lennon.
I think Paul arranged most of the harmony in their songs, so he may have suggested a couple things in John's vocal part, and then figured out his harmony part, and that turns into "I wrote the tune". I'm sure John wrote the chords and had a guide vocal worked out. Even the bridge sounds like John.
I say this while acknowledging my slight preference for Paul's music, but John dominated and was taking no prisoners on Rubber Soul. Paul's turn to really shine comes on the next album.
It would be really hard to analyze based on body of work who contributed what to this song, because we see examples all over the place of Lennon and McCartney influencing each other. These guys spent an inordinate amount of time together ever since they were teenagers.
Hematologist's favorite Beatles song: "There are platelets I remember..."
That’s bloody hilarious!
There are placentas I remember (the midwifes’ cover)
You have lost some corpuscles, my friend.
Taken from the White cell Album. Definitely not written by Plasma Cartney.
😂😂😂😂
I would absolutely love if you would listen to the whole song from start to finish, and then listen again and break it down. Just my humble opinion, really enjoy your channel.
@@johnbyrnes7912Ahhhh, that makes sense.
Money talks.
17:08 I AGREE!IT'S JOHN'S OBVIOUSLY!
Where's the video with the listening to it for the first time part in it?
Another John Lennon vocal masterpiece.
What a way to deduce almost half of the song from the intro !
The musIc you played on the harp sounds similar to Hair Like Snow by Jay Chou.
There have been computer analysis of the melody and they also point to Lennon as the probable writer.
Apparently, John's Aunt Mimi's last words were "Hello, John."
Sometimes I think that "Long Away" by Queen...has a bit of an "in my life" melody.
George Harrison also claimed some songs that never were credited to him. Now we have to believe in whatever Paul says.
Where was the song?
Sad you excluded If I Needed Someone..for me a unique early psychedelic tune in the typical folk rock style of the Byrds. Not enough George songs here. At least the next one is..Taxman. That keeps me wondering why you expluded the number one hit Day Tripper with one of the most famous guitar riffs!
Funny how there is a dispute over who wrote a song from a song catalog where all of *their* songs are credited to Lennon/McCartney.