2:6 With The Beatles - It Won't Be Long/All My Loving

Next up on our whistle stop journey through the Lennon & McCartney back catalogue two classic songs. It Won’t Be Long & All My Loving.

Things in common.

Neither has an intro of any description! The first sound you hear are the vocals (Chorus on IWBL, verse on AML). That really grabs you by the throat.

They both have a chromatic descending thing happening in the bridge chords. They used this a lot on songs like Michelle, Got To Get You In My Life. (Ticket 32)

Neither song starts on the root chord (Ticket 6). IWBL on the m6 (iv), AML on the m2 (ii). Unusual (except for the Beatles). Try it.

Both songs end simply on the first beat of the bar (IWBL on a ringing Emaj7). Ticket 18 is another way not to outstay your welcome.

It Won’t Be Long

Has the cool echoing in the verse that we first heard in Please Please Me. It propels the song along and emphasises your key words (although in this case it’s only yeah!)

The twangy descending guitar hook in the verse is interesting in that it’s played twice, then once, then twice. It’s very Lennon to just drop a bar, or a beat (see the verse of All You Need Is Love). He’s in too much of a hurry to get back to singing the verse.

The verse is made up solely of the bVI & I (C & E). This same 'out of key' chord change occurs in their cover of Carl Perkins’ Honey Don’t.

All My Loving

Lennon’s rhythm playing really adds to the groove. He contributes a fantastic 12/8 strumming pattern over the verses and a contrasting off part on the choruses.

McCartney’s vocal line is characteristically wide ranging. He really was (is?) a master melodisist (spellcheck is telling me I made that word up). Spending time playing his melodies certainly won’t do you any harm as a songwriter.

I’ll revisit some of these points in the future, but for now just listen to ‘em and play ‘em. They’ll do your songwriting good!

Related Post: With The Beatles (pt1)