Beatles fans rejoice, yet another book has hit shelves celebrating the immortality of the illustrious Fab Five. There’s certainly no shortage of them out there – many that rehash the same stories over and over again – but when Hunter Davies, the only authorized biographer of the Beatles, is involved then it’s worth taking note of, if not for the exclusive nature of his work alone.
For his latest book, The Beatles Lyrics: The Unseen Story, Davies tracks down 100 of the 182 known existing handwritten lyrics, which may not seem like much to the average fan but for die-hards, a reason to be excited. A book like this offers so much more in the way of the nuts and bolts of the Beatles’ process – an incredibly rare glimpse into how some of their biggest hits came to fruition including “In My Life,” “Help” and “Yesterday” among others.
One particularly interesting story involves the lyrics to a “A Hard Day’s Night,” which was written on the back of Julian Lennon’s birthday card. Maureen Cleever (of the London Morning Standard) was with John Lennon, and commented on how one of the lines was “rather feeble.” John grabbed the pen from her hand and made the change right then and there, and the rest as they say is history. The book shows the original edit:
From:
…
But when I get home to you/I find my tiredness is through/Then I feel all right
…
To:
…
I find the things that you do/Will make me feel all right
With so many Beatles books out there, it’s hard to muster up the excitement for another one. But with the well being as deep as it is, and the fandom seemingly growing as the years go by, this one reads as particularly special. Special because it entertains the “what ifs” in history – that perhaps a simple edit here or there could have been the difference between a smash hit and a byline. Either way it’s a piece of documented history that can get you one step closer to the Beatles without actually being there.
