Falling In Love Again (Can't Help It)

Paul didn't write his own lyrics to "Falling In Love Again". He's singing the words recorded by The Temperance Seven in 1961 (George Martin produced).

This is a strange song, though. There are three totally different sets of lyrics that I know of. Marlene Dietrich sings both a German version and a (much tamer) English version in The Blue Angel film. That was in 1930. Later the same year, Al Bowlly sang a version of "Falling In Love Again" unrelated to the Dietrich film (or character), but using the same music. This was released on a 78.

I've seen at least six lyricists credited - and all on the Dietrich version! I have no idea whether the same person wrote the Bowlly lyrics. Love to find out, though!

So far, I know of only three people to record the alternate lyrics - Al Bowlly (possibly twice), the Temperance Seven, and The Beatles.

Cheers,

Don Leighty

Thanks a lot, Don, for those insights. I see that Mark Lewisohn, on the Complete Beatles Chronicles, credits the Marlene Dietrich version, written by Hollander, as the inspiration for the Beatles' version. I will revisit this page. Thanks Again.

Full disclosure here... Although I've been doing what I can to help get to the bottom of this song's origins, the startling discovery that Paul is neither covering the Marlene Dietrich song nor "improvising" his own lyrics should be credited to "Jeri Southern", who has a marvelous thread going at the Steve Hoffman Music Forums site ("Rock and Roll Music: Beatles' Covers Track-by-Track"). She made the connection to the Temperance Seven recording, which is probably the Beatles' source (but without understanding the full history of this weird, alternate version from 1930, it's difficult to be sure).

My guess is that something may have happened along the lines of "A Taste Of Honey". That was originally a jazzy instrumental written for the Broadway run of a British theatrical play. Although not used in the play, songwriter Ric Marlow added lyrics appropriate for its star, Billy Dee Williams, to sing on a record. This version of the lyrics is in character and could have been woven into the Broadway play if so desired. However, when Lenny Welch recorded the song a couple of years later, he wanted a more generic pop song unrelated to the play. Special lyrics were commissioned from someone - most likely Lee Morris (the coauthor of “Blue Velvet”) - but even though these lyrics are better known today, the writer is never identified. Both sets of lyrics are credited to Ric Marlow.

This desire to have a somewhat tamer set of lyrics for "Falling In Love Again" that weren't tied to the film story of Lola may have resulted in the song recorded by Al Bowlly (and others?) in 1930. The songwriter may be the same person who wrote the English lyrics for Dietrich to sing, or it may be someone else entirely. But in any case, it was the movie version that seems to have caught the publics's fancy. The other version seems to have disappeared (at least until the Temperance Seven resurrected it in 1961).

But it's all guesswork.

Full disclosure here... Although I've been doing what I can to help get to the bottom of this song's origins, the startling discovery that Paul is neither covering the Marlene Dietrich song nor "improvising" his own lyrics should be credited to "Jeri Southern", who has a marvelous thread going at the Steve Hoffman Music Forums site ("Rock and Roll Music: Beatles' Covers Track-by-Track"). She made the connection to the Temperance Seven recording, which is probably the Beatles' source (but without understanding the full history of this weird, alternate version from 1930, it's difficult to be sure).

My guess is that something may have happened along the lines of "A Taste Of Honey". That was originally a jazzy instrumental written for the Broadway run of a British theatrical play. Although not used in the play, songwriter Ric Marlow added lyrics appropriate for its star, Billy Dee Williams, to sing on a record. This version of the lyrics is in character and could have been woven into the Broadway play if so desired. However, when Lenny Welch recorded the song a couple of years later, he wanted a more generic pop song unrelated to the play. Special lyrics were commissioned from someone - most likely Lee Morris (the coauthor of “Blue Velvet”) - but even though these lyrics are better known today, the writer is never identified. Both sets of lyrics are credited to Ric Marlow.

This desire to have a somewhat tamer set of lyrics for "Falling In Love Again" that weren't tied to the film story of Lola may have resulted in the song recorded by Al Bowlly (and others?) in 1930. The songwriter may be the same person who wrote the English lyrics for Dietrich to sing, or it may be someone else entirely. But in any case, it was the movie version that seems to have caught the publics's fancy. The other version seems to have disappeared (at least until the Temperance Seven resurrected it in 1961).

But it's all guesswork.Full disclosure here... Although I've been doing what I can to help get to the bottom of this song's origins, the startling discovery that Paul is neither covering the Marlene Dietrich song nor "improvising" his own lyrics should be credited to "Jeri Southern", who has a marvelous thread going at the Steve Hoffman Music Forums site ("Rock and Roll Music: Beatles' Covers Track-by-Track"). She made the connection to the Temperance Seven recording, which is probably the Beatles' source (but without understanding the full history of this weird, alternate version from 1930, it's difficult to be sure).

My guess is that something may have happened along the lines of "A Taste Of Honey". That was originally a jazzy instrumental written for the Broadway run of a British theatrical play. Although not used in the play, songwriter Ric Marlow added lyrics appropriate for its star, Billy Dee Williams, to sing on a record. This version of the lyrics is in character and could have been woven into the Broadway play if so desired. However, when Lenny Welch recorded the song a couple of years later, he wanted a more generic pop song unrelated to the play. Special lyrics were commissioned from someone - most likely Lee Morris (the coauthor of “Blue Velvet”) - but even though these lyrics are better known today, the writer is never identified. Both sets of lyrics are credited to Ric Marlow.

This desire to have a somewhat tamer set of lyrics for "Falling In Love Again" that weren't tied to the film story of Lola may have resulted in the song recorded by Al Bowlly (and others?) in 1930. The songwriter may be the same person who wrote the English lyrics for Dietrich to sing, or it may be someone else entirely. But in any case, it was the movie version that seems to have caught the publics's fancy. The other version seems to have disappeared (at least until the Temperance Seven resurrected it in 1961).

But it's all guesswork.