Written by Paul McCartney about his then-faltering relationship with Jane Asher, ‘You Won’t See Me’ was recorded during The Beatles’ last session for the Rubber Soul album.
It was written at her parents’ house in London’s Wimpole Street, while Asher had temporarily moved away from McCartney to perform in an adaptation of Great Expectations at the Old Vic theatre in Bristol. The song recounts McCartney’s frustration and vulnerability at being unable to contact her.
At 3’23”, ‘You Won’t See Me’ was The Beatles’ longest recording to date. The song was written by McCartney alone, and was inspired by the Tamla Motown sound.
This was written around two little notes, a very slim phrase, a two-note progression that I had very high on the first two strings of the guitar: the E and the B strings. I had it high up on the high E position, and I just let the note on the B string descend a semitone at a time, and kept the top note the same, and against that I was playing a descending chromatic scale. Then I wrote the tune for ‘You Won’t See Me’ against it…To me it was very Motown-flavoured. It’s got a James Jamerson feel. He was the Motown bass player, he was fabulous, the guy who did all those great melodic bass lines. It was him, me and Brian Wilson who were doing melodic bass lines at that time, all from completely different angles, LA, Detroit and London, all picking up on what each other did.
Many Years From Now, Barry Miles
In the studio
The Beatles took part in a 13-hour session to finish Rubber Soul, beginning at 6pm on 11 November 1965 and ending at 7am the following morning.
The group recorded two takes of the rhythm track and a number of overdubs for ‘You Won’t See Me’. These included a Hammond organ part played by The Beatles’ assistant Mal Evans, whose contribution was limited to a single note held throughout the final verse.
The Beatles also recorded ‘Girl’ during the same session, and completed the songs ‘Wait’ and ‘I’m Looking Through You’ by adding additional overdubs to existing rhythm tracks.
There is no lead guitar. John played the rhythm guitar during the backing recording, while George played tambourine. Ringo played drums on the backing track and overdubbed the hi-hat part.
I always thought it was John who played the rhythm guitar part. This is the first confirming comment I’ve come across.
How do you know John played the guitar part instead of George? Not that it really is that important in the scheme of things as, really, the three singers on this all contributed to the overall sound of the song and also it is impressive that they reportedly did this in only a couple of takes as they were under a deadline to finish the album.
Source please?
Paul McCartney: lead vocals, bass, piano
John Lennon: backing vocals, tambourine
George Harrison: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Ringo Starr: drums
Mal Evans: hammond organ
George may have overdubbed a hi-hat part
Many reports say either John, George or Ringo played tambourine, George and John played guitar, George only played guitar, John only played guitar.
Paul McCartney: lead vocals, bass, piano
John Lennon: backing vocals, tambourine
George Harrison: backing vocals, rhythm guitar
Ringo Starr: drums
Mal Evans: hammond organ
Ringo overdubbed a hi-hat part
Many reports say either John, George or Ringo played tambourine, George and John played guitar, George only played guitar, John only played guitar.
This lineup seems most likely, with Lennon playing tambourine on the rhythm track and George playing the choppy rhythm guitar.
This is common Beatles knowledge; it’s obviously John’s style of guitar playing for those who think George is the guitarist on this track. The performance sounds just like Lennon on “She’s A Woman”, very hard-driven.
Sometime, Bob Marley said that this song was a strong influence in his reggae music.
wow i love this song…. and YES it has a reggae influence. cool cache
Who played the guitar on the track? There is a guitar on the recording, you know
Underrated. The bass rolls along so well. Piano is great but my fave part is the backing vocals.
Paul played this live recently. The Rock Band game dreamscape is very cool too. Very cool for a lot of songs actually.
Dig those extra-hoarse “la la la” backing vocals! No doubt they would have redone those if they weren’t so desperate for time. Me, I think they’re just fine the way they are.
I think the ‘hoarseness’ is a GREAT effect. I’m glad they didn’t rerecord it..
One of my favourite Beatles songs. While going through my synthesizer phase in 1983 I released a cover version of this in Holland. Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeMpom3T574
Some lovely guitars you had back in the day, Paul. Did you hold on to that Rose Morris Rickenbacker?
Paul;’s bass was/is not a “Rose Morris” version. He got it direct from John Hall (son of Francis Hall, and current President of Rickenbacker) in L.A. in 1965.
Well done, Paul. You sound just like Macca himself. How well did your single do in Holland?
This is one of those Beatles gems that were not often heard on the radio. This song also didn’t make it to the Red Album that educated so many of us who grew up in the 70’s as to what we had missed.
I first heard it in a college rathskeller when I was 16 and it basically blew me away with its harmonies. The true measure of a great band is often how good are the songs that they never play on the radio or put on compilation albums. Like Sway by the Stones, this is a great, great tune that many people don’t know, in spite of being on Rubber Soul and Sway’s being on Sticky Fingers.
I went right out to buy Rubber Soul, after hearing this cut, but then I couldn’t decide which version to buy, the American version, or the British version, but that is a whole different story.
Just wanted tosay that I think Ringo’s drumming on the track is excellent
I love this song. My favorite part is the harmony!!! This is a really fun song to play for beginner guitarist too
ok folks just casually listening to this track from different sources and I have a question for all of you. At the 2:32 in the song there is something in the background most likely John saying something – talking. Anyone know about this? I heard this for the very 1st time today through headphones. I love the track but was taken back by this odd little something. Anyone else?
I hear that too, and I just can’t figure it out
I have noticed that too, and spend the last 30 min trying to find some info on the web… nothing so far !
I can hear George saying something. A sound like “Y’row”
Anyone have any thoughts about why the song changes tempo throughout? It’s always been evident to me. It almost sounds deliberate…almost.
That has always bugged me. It seems to slow down tremendously at one point. Very noticeable to me. Glad I wasn’t the only one who thought that.
A long time ago I read: Tempo of the song slows down. At 30 second intervals, from the start, the tempo is 119,118,116,115,114, and 113 bpm.
Nice song. Ian MacDonald knocks it because the background vocals are so similar to those on Nowhere Man, the track that precedes it, but as an American listening to the Capitol version of RS this never bothered me. The bass does sound Jameson-inspired, but even if this song was intended to be Motown-like, the result is much more Beatles-65 than Detroit-65.
On the headphones as the song is starting I hear one of the guys coughing. Does anyone know whose cough it is?
I think it’s Paul.
Listening on headphones too, not hearing it. I listened to both mono and stereo. How many seconds in is it?
Cough at 0:02
John Lennon always blurted nonsense and things in the background of recordings, like someone who had Tourette’s syndrome. The sound engineers would try to drown his voice or comment out for the final record but would not always fully accomplish this. He also did this in live performances and acted like he was crippled as if it was a joke. I think it was a nervous reaction that John did these things. So I think it would be John in the background blurting out something.
I also hear a lot of background noises, thumps and strange sounds throughout the song
(Sorry, English is not my native language)
I have listened to this song for many years, and I have always encountered strange noises and thumps in the background throughout the song.
This is another McCartney Gem, he can always belt it out like when he sings The night before, Got to get you into my life, All my loving, Helter Skelter and only McCartney can enter a Beatles song precisely a little late and uses his voice to extend the sound to the skies like with ticket to ride, I’m a loser, I Me Mine, Something, Eight days a week, She Loves you, and especially I want to hold your hand. He has an amazing ability to sing solo and add so much to the other songs just by singing in harmony. I have to say he is the most talented of all the Beatles even though they are/were all great. And I just seen him in concert and the songs he sang live sounded better than on the albums that he made with The Beatles and with Wings or Solo. It is just amazing that a man at his age is still out there belting them out. Truly inspirational to see him live and in the flesh
Agreed. Saw him 09/23/17 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse NY with 35,000 other fans and he nearly burned the house down — literally, as the fireworks in Live and Let Die set part of the rafters aflame, embers dropping to the stage below as he played lol. Incredible energy, put on a 3 hour nonstop show in withering heat.
I feel that during the Beatles era why they were so Good as far as singing goes is that Paul really sang with near perfect pitch. Just a couple songs where his vocals aren’t that polished but overall Paul vocals are RIGHT on THE MARK, Dead solid in the note. Especially in harmonies live. There was nobody better in the business at that time. Even Phil Everly whi was also near perfect pitch just didn’t have the power as Paul. Age unfortunately has caught up to him in his singing voice. All the years of performing and still screaming I think messed up his clear voice.
So now he tends to sing with more vibrato which can cover up inaccuracies when trying to hold a note. But Mac in his prime NOBODY COULD TOUCH HIM. Lennon really was so lucky to have had such a gifted singer in his band as his music partner. Musically Pail excelled no doubt. He was always trying to improve and do something new. Wether it be, writing the dirtiest raunchiest song, cuz he read interview w Townsend who said their newest song is the loudest raunchiest, dirtiest song ever written, so Paul thought well then we have to do that too, lol that friendly competition among other artists. And the Beatles always succeeded. The best group of talented artist and songwriters ever to exist in one band! I thank the Lord I was living during their period of creativity. A very magical time.
Thanks. I thought it was Paul too. Curious that it’s so loud and prominent that George Martin or one of the engineers wouldn’t have thought to redo the vocals on it. Maybe it’s just loud and prominent with CDs and good earphones though. 😉
Easily one of Paul’s best. I could not stop listening to it when I bought RS a few years ago. Fantastic background vocals and drumming, too.
I loved the hoarse “la-la’s” too, Kind of the gave the song a tired, weary sad feeling.
I guess it wasn’t intentional, though, as had been mentioned…
I’d sure love to hear the other take of the backing track. YWSM is one of those Beatle cuts of which I don’t think I’ve ever heard any outtake material at all.
This song is mind-blowingly awesome.
A couple of emphatic cymbal crashes to catch your attention, a few bass notes that carefully ratchet up the anticipation, and it bursts into a fiercely joyous cascade of fluid melody and descending harmony that mesh together in the most perfectly Beatleful way. And then the top of my head floats up to the ceiling.
(Part of a brief, yet-to-be-written essay on why I jump up and down every time I hear “You Won’t See Me”)
I always felt this was one of the very, very few repetitive moments with the Beatles, when “You won’t see me” and “Nowhere man” both had the “Uuuh lalalas”, with this one clearly losing the comparison.
But check out Paul’s voice on the second bridge, his “I wouldn’t mind” showing huge signs of the fantastic rock singer he was about to become (or already were)!
How anyone ever dared to reduce him to being the “sweet” one is beyond me…
Wonderful Paul McCartney song. Great lyrics and melody. Obviously about his relationship with Jane Asher. Off of course the brilliant” Rubber Soul” album.
Great song, lovely bass line. Wonder why there are tempo changes during the song though
The three vocal part harmonies in the middle eight is simply a wonder, it has always blown my mind, mostly the way it ends and merges with the ooooh during the verses, they could achieve perfection on this one with their three parts vocal harmonies, like in “because”.
As written in earlier posts, bass is extremely well played (and recorded). Great vocal work by Paul in the “…If I knew what I was missing” part. The figure made by the hi-hats during verses is quite peculiar and it sounds as if it was recorded after the basic rhythm track. Was this played by Ringo on his own or did anyone may have suggested it? Does anyone know?
Does Paul say/sing “John!” before an ooh la la la break? I’ve always heard that since Xmas ’65.(We were micro listening even back then!)
I’m just another Beatles fan who loves this song, and I don’t have much to add that hasn’t already been said. But here goes nothin’. This is just perfect Paul: even when it’s a song about something that would get a person down (in this case, a failing relationship) his optimism comes through in some way or other. He may be singing about his days being filled with tears and stuff, but the song makes me feel so dang good. The harmonies are so great throughout, but that bridge, though… I want to hug them for it. It builds to a perfect little crescendo at the end, with Paul’s voice soaring and John coming through lower, and more nasal, with that little submelody/harmony (“no, I wouldn’t know, I wouldn’t”). Can I just end with an explosion of heart emojis?
Great comment, Jennifer. 🙂
That bridge, indeed. I can listen to it a thousand times a day. The Grinch’s heart would have grown ten sizes that day if he heard it.
Speaking of the “bridge”, although my first inclination is to think that John is on the lower end of the harmony, as you said, it’s crossed my mind as to whether of not Paul over-dubbed the harmony, meaning sang both parts?? John & Paul were so very good at adjusting their voices to sound like one another (when needed) the thought of Paul singing both harmony parts has always intrigued me. Cheers!!
Paul’s most recent version of this song from the One On One tour has a very different sound and features him playing an acoustic guitar. This is one of his most brilliant compositions and the stark new arrangement is fascinating to listen to — as is the back-story he provides on how he composed it. Genius, once again.
Starting with a cough, then loosing tempo until the song is completely finished. Maybe some more spare time in the studio on that one? Two takes – too bad. Still a great song.
For a quick, almost throw-away recording, this has always been one of my favorites from R.S..
In regards to the tempo changes throughout song, Alan W Pollock in his “Notes On” series had this to say…
“The harmonic rhythm is predominantly one chord per measure, causing the few places where it is either faster (end of the verse) or slower (throughout the bridge) to dramatically stand out.”
So does this mean it may be an illusion?
Paul played it at his (amazing) gig in Melbourne, Australia last night and I have been humming it ever since. Decided I wanted some more info about the track and discovered this forum.
I’ve always liked this song
Slightly curious though why this is (in relative terms) such a long recording, in comparison with their other tracks of the era, repeating the middle 8 and final verse to make it their longest track.
Why this song, and not one of the other ones?