Things We Said Today

Written by Lennon - McCartney

Album This song officially appears on the A Hard Day's Night (Mono) LP.
Timeline This song has been officially released in 1964

Related sessions

This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions





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Song facts

From Wikipedia:

Things We Said Today” is a song by English rock band the Beatles written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was composed for the film A Hard Day’s Night but was eventually not included. It does appear on the soundtrack album. It was also released as the B-side of the single “A Hard Day’s Night” in the UK.

Composition

McCartney wrote the song in May 1964 while cruising the Caribbean aboard a yacht called Happy Days with his then-girlfriend Jane Asher. Music critic Ian MacDonald said, “The sombre lyric—provoked by the frustrating interruptions of a relationship between two career people—matches the lowering gloom of the music.

The song is one of three main compositions (along with “And I Love Her” and “Can’t Buy Me Love“) that Paul McCartney wrote for the film. Recorded in advance of film production for lip-synching reasons, “Things We Said Today” has a reverse nostalgia premise. McCartney said, “I wrote this on acoustic. It was a slightly nostalgic thing already, a future nostalgia. We’ll remember the things we said today, sometime in the future, so the song projects itself into the future.

McCartney was particularly satisfied with his chord change, F major to B flat major—instead of the more obvious F minor—which first occurs beneath “…wishing you weren’t so far away” in the song. John Lennon accentuates the strident acoustic guitar strumming by triple hitting a low A note on a piano. The dynamic of the song moves from melancholy to rock and back with a minor to major key change during its middle eight section.

Recording and performing

The Beatles recorded “Things We Said Today” in three takes on 2 June 1964. Take one was a false start, take two was the rhythm track, and take three was used for overdubs of the main vocal, tambourine, and piano. According to author and Beatle historian Mark Lewisohn, the piano was supposed to be omitted from the mix but is audible owing to leakage onto other microphones during the recording of the overdubs, but MacDonald was sceptical about that conclusion.

The group also recorded “Things We Said Today” twice for BBC Radio, on 14 and 17 July 1964. The first, a performance for the Top Gear radio show, was featured on the Live at the BBC album in 1994. These performances took place around the same time as the theatrical release of the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night, and on the 14 July performance the song was erroneously introduced as “one of their film songs.” The song was not in the film, but was included on Side 2, the “non-soundtrack” side of the British A Hard Day’s Night album.

The Beatles included “Things We Said Today” as part of their live set during their 1964 tour of the United States and Canada. George Harrison sang harmony vocals alongside Paul McCartney during the performances. […]

Paul McCartney in Many Years From Now, by Barry Miles:

I remember writing Things We Said Today in one of the cabins below deck one afternoon on my acoustic guitar. I got away from the main party but it was a bit queasy downstairs; you could smell the oil and the boat was rocking a bit and I’m not the best sailor in the world, so I wrote a little bit of it downstairs and then the rest of it on the back deck where you couldn’t smell the engine. I don’t know why the engine was on, I suppose we were moving. […]

It was a slightly nostalgic thing already, a future nostalgia: we’ll remember the things we said today, sometime in the future, so the song projects itself into the future and then is nostalgic about the moment we’re living in now, which is quite a good trick. It has interesting chords.

From The Usenet Guide to Beatles Recording Variations:

  • [a] mono 4 Jun 1964.
    UK: Parlophone R5160 single 1964, Parlophone PMC 1230 Hard Day’s Night 1964.
    US: Capitol 5222 single 1964, Capitol T 2018 Something New 1964.
    CD: EMI CDP 7 46437 2 Hard Day’s Night 1987, EMI single 1989.
  • [b] stereo 22 Jun 1964.
    UK: Parlophone PCS 3058 Hard Day’s Night 1964.
    US: Capitol ST 2108 Something New 1964.

Last updated on March 6, 2016

The book "The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present", published in 2021, covers Paul McCartney's early Liverpool days, the Beatles, Wings, and solo careers, by pairing the lyrics of 154 of his songs with first-person commentaries of the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now.

"Things We Said Today" is one of the 154 songs covered.

Lyrics

You say you will love me
If I have to go
You'll be thinking of me
Somehow I will know

Someday when I'm lonely
Wishing you weren't so far away
Then I will remember
Things we said today

You say you'll be mine, girl
'Til the end of time
These days such a kind girl
Seems so hard to find

Someday when we're dreaming
Deep in love, not a lot to say
Then we will remember
Things we said today

Me, I'm just the lucky kind
Love to hear you say that love is love
And though we may be blind
Love is here to stay and that's enough

To make you mine, girl
Be the only one
Love me all the time, girl
We'll go on and on

Some day when we're dreaming
Deep in love, not a lot to say
Then we will remember
Things we said today

Me, I'm just the lucky kind
Love to hear you say that love is love
And though we may be blind
Love is here to stay and that's enough

To make you mine, girl
Be the only one
Love me all the time, girl
We'll go on and on

Some day when we're dreaming
Deep in love, not a lot to say
Then we will remember
Things we said today

Officially appears on


A Hard Day's Night / Things We Said Today

7" Single • Released in 1964

2:36 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Bass, Vocals
Ringo Starr :
Drums, Tambourine
John Lennon :
Acoustic rhythm guitar, Piano
George Harrison :
Lead guitar
George Martin :
Producer
Norman Smith :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Jun 02, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
Jun 09, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road


A Hard Day's Night (Mono)

LP • Released in 1964

2:35 • Studio versionA • Mono

Paul McCartney :
Bass, Vocals
Ringo Starr :
Drums, Tambourine
John Lennon :
Acoustic rhythm guitar, Piano
George Harrison :
Lead guitar
George Martin :
Producer
Norman Smith :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Jun 02, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
Jun 09, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road


A Hard Day's Night (Stereo)

LP • Released in 1964

2:35 • Studio versionB • Stereo

Paul McCartney :
Bass, Vocals
Ringo Starr :
Drums, Tambourine
John Lennon :
Acoustic rhythm guitar, Piano
George Harrison :
Lead guitar
George Martin :
Producer
Norman Smith :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Jun 02, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
Jun 22, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio One, Abbey Road


Something New (Mono)

Official album • Released in 1964

2:39 • Studio versionA • Mono

Paul McCartney :
Bass, Vocals
Ringo Starr :
Drums, Tambourine
John Lennon :
Acoustic rhythm guitar, Piano
George Harrison :
Lead guitar
George Martin :
Producer
Norman Smith :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Jun 02, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
Jun 09, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road


Something New (Stereo)

Official album • Released in 1964

2:39 • Studio versionB • Stereo

Paul McCartney :
Bass, Vocals
Ringo Starr :
Drums, Tambourine
John Lennon :
Acoustic rhythm guitar, Piano
George Harrison :
Lead guitar
George Martin :
Producer
Norman Smith :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Jun 02, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
Jun 22, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio One, Abbey Road


Extracts from the Album A Hard Day's Night

EP • Released in 1964

2:40 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Bass, Vocals
Ringo Starr :
Drums, Tambourine
John Lennon :
Acoustic rhythm guitar, Piano
George Harrison :
Lead guitar
George Martin :
Producer
Norman Smith :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Jun 02, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Two, Abbey Road

Session Mixing:
Jun 09, 1964
Studio :
EMI Studios, Studio Three, Abbey Road


The Beatles At The Hollywood Bowl

Official live • Released in 1977

2:20 • LiveL1

George Martin :
Producer
Geoff Emerick :
Mastering, Remix engineer
Voyle Gilmore :
Producer
Wally Traugott :
Mastering

Concert From the concert in Los Angeles, USA on Aug 23, 1964

Session Mixing:
January 1977
Studio :
AIR Studios, London, UK


Tripping the Live Fantastic: Highlights!

Official live • Released in 1990

5:01 • LiveL2

Performed by :
Paul McCartneyLinda McCartneyRobbie McIntoshHamish StuartPaul WickensChris Whitten
Paul McCartney :
Producer
Eddie Klein :
Assistant engineer
Matt Butler :
Assistant engineer
Peter Henderson :
Producer
Bob Clearmountain :
Mixing engineer, Producer
Jeff Cohen :
Recording engineer
Geoff Foster :
Assistant engineer
Scott Hull :
Assistant engineer
George Cowan :
Assistant engineer
Paul Rushbrook :
Assistant engineer

Concert From the concert in Madrid, Spain on Nov 02, 1989


Tripping The Live Fantastic

Official live • Released in 1990

5:02 • LiveL2

Performed by :
Paul McCartneyLinda McCartneyRobbie McIntoshHamish StuartPaul WickensChris Whitten
Paul McCartney :
Producer
Eddie Klein :
Assistant engineer
Matt Butler :
Assistant engineer
Peter Henderson :
Producer
Bob Clearmountain :
Mixing engineer, Producer
Jeff Cohen :
Recording engineer
Geoff Foster :
Assistant engineer
Scott Hull :
Assistant engineer
George Cowan :
Assistant engineer
Paul Rushbrook :
Assistant engineer

Concert From the concert in Madrid, Spain on Nov 02, 1989


Off the Ground - The Complete Works

Official album • Released in 1993

3:45 • LiveL3

Paul McCartney :
Acoustic guitar, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Harmonium
Robbie McIntosh :
Acoustic guitar
Hamish Stuart :
Acoustic bass, Vocal harmonies
Paul Wickens :
Piano
Blair Cunningham :
Drums
Geoff Emerick :
Mixing engineer, Recording engineer
Eddie Klein :
Assistant engineer
Gary Stewart :
Assistant engineer
Peter Craigie :
Assistant engineer
Gary Bradshaw :
Monitor engineer

Concert From "MTV Unplugged" in Wembley, United Kingdom on Jan 25, 1991


Videos

Soundcheck • Apr 25, 2014 in Lima

Live performances

“Things We Said Today” has been played in 207 concerts and 84 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where Things We Said Today has been played


Secret gig at The Cavern Club

Jul 26, 2018 • United Kingdom • Liverpool • The Cavern Club




Live at BBC Maida Vale

Oct 16, 2013 • Afternoon show • United Kingdom • London • BBC Maida Vale Studios • Radio show



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