One day, you'll look
To see I've gone
But tomorrow may rain, so
I'll follow the sun
Some day, you'll know
I was the one
But tomorrow may rain, so
I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come
And so, my love, I must go
And though I lose a friend
In the end you will know
Oh-oh-oh
One day, you'll find
That I have gone
But tomorrow may rain, so
I'll follow the sun
And now the time has come
And so, my love, I must go
And though I lose a friend
In the end you will know
Oh-oh-oh
One day, you'll find
That I have gone
But tomorrow may rain, so
I'll follow the sun "I'll Follow the Sun" is a song written and sung by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney
"I wrote that in my front parlour in Forthlin Road. I was about 16. I'll Follow The Sun was one of those very early ones. I seem to remember writing it just after I'd had the flu and I had that cigarette - I smoked when I was 16 - the cigarette that's the 'cotton wool' one. You don't smoke while you're ill but after you get better you have a cigarette and it's terrible, it tastes like cotton wool, horrible. I remember standing in the parlour, with my guitar, looking out through the lace curtains of the window, and writing that one."
Paul McCartney
The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions, Mark Lewisohn
It was released in 1964 on the Beatles for Sale album in the United Kingdom and on Beatles '65 in the United States, but was written long before that year.
A rough home recording of the song exists on bootleg, believed to date from spring 1960. Lasting 1'49", it was performed by McCartney, Lennon and Harrison on acoustic guitars, with Stuart Sutcliffe on bass, without the delicate arrangement of the final version.
The song's lyrics centre around a man who feels he is unappreciated by a woman. The song is believed to be him giving her an ultimatum, and that, as the lyrics state, "One day, you'll look to see I've gone." There is an unwillingness on the part of the song's narrator that adds a tenderness and tragedy to his leaving: "And now the time has come, and so, my love, I must go. And though I lose a friend, in the end you will know"..., as well as a reluctance on the man's ability to finalize the breakup, by the repeated phrase......"but tomorrow may rain, so I'll follow the sun."
One reason they didn't use the song on their previous albums was because it wasn't tough enough for their leather-jacketed early image. By the time they did record it for their fourth lp, the rhythm had changed from a rockabilly shuffle to a gentle cha-cha. And Ringo Starr kept the beat by smacking his palms on his knees.
PersonnelPaul McCartney – lead vocal, bass guitar, acoustic lead guitar
John Lennon – harmony vocal, acoustic rhythm guitar
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – percussion
Personnel per Ian MacDonald