The Beatles - From Me To You
The Beatles - From Me To You 1963
"From Me to You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles as a single in 1963. The single was the Beatles' first number one in some of the United Kingdom charts, second in others, but failed to make an impact in the United States at the time of its initial release. However, a 1963 cover version released by Del Shannon resulted in the song becoming the first Lennon/McCartney tune to enter the American pop chart. It was one of the very last songs to be credited "McCartney/Lennon"; soon afterwards their songs began appearing credited to "Lennon/McCartney".
Lennon and McCartney began writing "From Me to You" while on a coach heading to Shrewsbury as part of the Beatles' tour with Helen Shapiro. The title was inspired by the name of the letters section of the New Musical Express, which they had been reading: "From You to Us".[1] McCartney noted that their early songs tended to include the words I, me, or you in them, as a way of making them "very direct and personal".[2]
In his 1980 interview with Playboy, Lennon recalled writing the song:
We were writing it in a car I think, and I think the first line was mine. I mean I know it was mine. [Hums melody of first line.] And then after that we took it from there. It was far bluesier than that when we wrote it. The notes—today you could rearrange it pretty funky."[3]
McCartney also talked about rearranging the song in 1964:
"From Me to You"—it could be done as an old ragtime tune—especially the middle eight—and so we're not writing the tunes in any particular idiom. In five years time we may arrange the tunes differently. But we'll probably write the same old rubbish![4]
McCartney was not the only one on the bus who called it rubbish—singer Kenny Lynch, upon hearing the Beatles singing "ooh", remarked "You can't do that. You'll sound like a bunch of fucking fairies!" Soon afterwards he stormed off, declaring the Beatles did not know anything about songwriting.[5] Roger Greenway recounted the story:
John and Paul were sitting at the back of the coach and Kenny Lynch, who at this time fancied himself as a songwriter, sauntered up to the back of the coach and Kenny Lynch ... decided he would help them write a song. After a period of about half-an-hour had elapsed and nothing seemed to be coming from the back, Kenny rushed to the front and shouted, 'Well, that's it. I am not going to write any more of that bloody rubbish with those idiots. They don't know music from their backsides. That's it! No more help from me!'[5]
Regardless, the song was regarded by the Beatles as innovative and catchy enough to be released as a single. This was one Lennon/McCartney song that the duo truly co-wrote; McCartney described it as "very much co-written".
When it released "Please Please Me" in the United States, Vee-Jay Records signed a licensing agreement giving it the right of first refusal on Beatles records for five years.[10] Despite the failure of "Please Please Me" to catch on, Vee-Jay chose to release "From Me to You"; as a result, it was never turned down by Capitol, because it was never offered to them.[11] "From Me to You" was released on Vee-Jay 522, with "Thank You Girl" on the B-side, on 27 May 1963.[12] Even though Cash Box magazine called it a "Pick of the Week" when it was released, it initially failed even more miserably than its predecessor; through the end of June, "From Me to You" sold fewer than 4,000 copies and had failed to chart anywhere.[13]
In other news, I have added the lyrics to this song so you can sing along, or perhaps learn the song! This is how I learned my first Beatles song! Enjoy :)
