If You've Got Trouble (song)

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Album This song officially appears on the Anthology 2 Official album.

Timeline This song has been officially released in 1996

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“If You’ve Got Trouble” is a song written by Lennon–McCartney and recorded by the Beatles on 18 February 1965 with Ringo Starr singing the lead vocal. The song was intended to be Starr’s vocal appearance on the Help! album and the Help! film, but the Beatles were not happy with the recording and later chose “Act Naturally” (which is not in the film) instead. “If You’ve Got Trouble” remained unreleased until Anthology 2 in 1996.

Recording

“If You’ve Got Trouble” was recorded in a session beginning at 6:00pm on 18 February 1965, the fourth day of recording for Help!. It was one of three songs worked on that day, the others being “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away” (recorded earlier in the day) and “Tell Me What You See” (recorded in the same evening session).

The backing track for the song was recorded in a single take. Starr then overdubbed a double-tracked vocal, and Harrison added an extra guitar part.

A mono mix of “If You’ve Got Trouble” was prepared on 20 February 1965. A stereo mix of the song was created for Anthology 2, and this mono mix remains unreleased.

Aborted Release

“If You’ve Got Trouble” was prepared for release in 1984 for the Sessions album. Geoff Emerick edited the arrangement, swapping the verses around and knocking around 20 seconds off the running time. After the release of Sessions was blocked by the surviving Beatles, this version was subsequently widely bootlegged until the unedited version was released on Anthology 2.

Critical reception

Music critic Ian MacDonald said the song was “the only unmitigated disaster in the Lennon–McCartney catalogue“, and criticised its lyrics and melody. Beatles’ historian Mark Lewisohn agreed, saying it was “not one of the better Lennon–McCartney numbers … nor was it brilliantly performed.” George Harrison himself stated that “it’s the most weird song. […] It’s got stupid words and is the naffest song. No wonder it didn’t make it onto anything.“

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

[a] stereo 1995.
CD: Apple CDP 8 34448 2 Anthology 2 1996.

Not the edited mix prepared for the Sessions LP in 1984, but a new one with the whole song, except one “anybody” mixed out after “rock on anybody”. A stereo mix of the full song was bootlegged in the Unsurpassed Masters set in 1989.

Last updated on May 26, 2016

Lyrics

If you've got trouble
Then you got less trouble than me
You say you're worried
You can't be as worried as me

You're quite content to be bad
With all the advantage you had over me
Just cause your trouble
And don't bring your troubles to me

I don't think it's funny
When you ask for money and things
Especially when you're standing there
Wearing diamonds and rings

You think I'm soft in the head
Well try someone softer instead anything
It's not so funny
When you know what money can bring

You better leave me alone
I don't need a thing from you
You better take yourself home
Go and count a ring or two

If you've got trouble
Then you got less trouble than me
You say you're worried
You can't be as worried as me

You're quite content to be bad
With all the advantage you had over me
Just cause your trouble
And don't bring your troubles to me
Ah rock on, anybody

You better leave me alone
I don't need a thing from you
You better take yourself home
Go and count a ring or two

If you've got trouble
Then you got less trouble than me
You say you're worried
You can't be as worried as me

You're quite content to be bad
With all the advantage you had over me
Just cause your trouble
And don't bring your troubles to me
Just cause your trouble
And don't bring your troubles to me