Meet people from all over the World
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Pages: [1] 2 3

Author Topic: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun  (Read 8502 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

nimrod

  • Guest
Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« on: January 19, 2014, 04:16:44 AM »

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.


Personnel

Paul 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
Logged

Hello Goodbye

  • Global Moderator
  • At The Top Of The Stairs
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20089
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2014, 04:47:29 AM »

Here ya go!  One of my favorite Paul McCartney songs!  It's worth another listen before I comment...


I'll Follow the Sun-Beatles for Sale



It's astonishing what came from the mind of sixteen year-old Paul McCartney.  All those feelings put into a song less than two minutes long!  Nothing more needed to be said for he explained it all.

A couple of times in the past, I pulled out my guitar and sang this song for a girl when the relationship was going nowhere.  If in her eyes I saw nothing, then I knew that all my efforts were...well, were like pushing sh*t uphill with a pointy stick.  ;)

I love Paul and John's vocal harrmonies and George's short but elegant lead guitar break.  This song fit the mood of Beatles For Sale so well.
Logged
I can stay till it's time to go

Hello Goodbye

  • Global Moderator
  • At The Top Of The Stairs
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20089
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #2 on: January 19, 2014, 04:55:19 AM »

And here's how Paul, John and George did it...


The Beatles I'll follow the sun guitar cover & tutorial

Beatles To A Tee    Rob Taylor
Logged
I can stay till it's time to go

Moogmodule

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 4265
  • “Moog was the truth” TheseLyricsDoNotExist 2023
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #3 on: January 19, 2014, 07:13:44 AM »

This was one of the songs I remember hearing as a very young child. I've always enjoyed it. The simple lyrics, understated, but just right, instrumentation and John and Pauls harmonising all provide what gave so many early to mid Beatle songs their appeal.

While its pretty simple song as would befit a young chap in his early writing stages. There's enough interest in the chord progression amd melody to stop the song getting stale.

It seems to get underrated as it's on one of their least popular albums and accused of being grabbed due to lack of material. All I can say is I wish I had such stuff sitting round to plunder when short of new stuff.
Logged

Hello Goodbye

  • Global Moderator
  • At The Top Of The Stairs
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20089
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #4 on: January 19, 2014, 07:20:59 AM »

I've always considered Beatles For Sale one of their finest early albums.

Anyway, here's Paul's bass part...


I'll Follow The Sun -The Beatles (Bass Cover)
Logged
I can stay till it's time to go

Moogmodule

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 4265
  • “Moog was the truth” TheseLyricsDoNotExist 2023
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #5 on: January 19, 2014, 08:31:10 AM »

I've always considered Beatles For Sale one of their finest early albums.


I think it gets a worse wrap then it deserves. Mainly for perhaps not the best chosen covers. But any album that boasts: No Reply, I'm a Loser, Every Little Thing, I'll Follow the Sun,Eight Days a Week,  and Baby's in Black has a lot going for it from the start.

Oh and I don't want to spoil the party is cool too.
Logged

Klang

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 2064
  • Go to the window...
    • Klangville
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #6 on: January 19, 2014, 11:35:07 AM »


It is remarkably sophisticated for such a young writer, isn't it? Always liked it.

 :)

Logged
'...In the name of Preverti, daughter of the mountains, whose embrace with Rani made the whole world tremble...'

nimrod

  • Guest
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #7 on: January 19, 2014, 01:03:55 PM »

I think it gets a worse wrap then it deserves. Mainly for perhaps not the best chosen covers. But any album that boasts: No Reply, I'm a Loser, Every Little Thing, I'll Follow the Sun,Eight Days a Week,  and Baby's in Black has a lot going for it from the start.

Oh and I don't want to spoil the party is cool too.

Ive never understood the reason BFS gets bad scores, I remember my big brother buying it when it came out, played it to death, loved every song (except Mr Moonlight)
I always think they could've chose  Bad To Me or Leave My Kitten Alone instead, or even One After 909

or even In Spite of all the Danger
Logged

Normandie

  • That Means a Lot
  • *****
  • Online Online
  • Gender: Female
  • Posts: 5290
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #8 on: January 19, 2014, 04:02:41 PM »


Beatles For Sale is one of my favorite CDs, but I usually skip I'll Follow the Sun. I've just personally never cared for it.
Logged

Moogmodule

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 4265
  • “Moog was the truth” TheseLyricsDoNotExist 2023
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2014, 09:41:35 PM »

Ive never understood the reason BFS gets bad scores, I remember my big brother buying it when it came out, played it to death, loved every song (except Mr Moonlight)
I always think they could've chose  Bad To Me or Leave My Kitten Alone instead, or even One After 909

or even In Spite of all the Danger

Maybe it was seen as a step back after the all original Hard Days Night. The covers are pulling them back to 1962 while the originals continue their development, making it an uneven selection. 

In addition to Mr M, I've never really cared for Rock and Roll Music. Not sure why. It's an ok song. Sung and played well. Something about it just leaves me cold and I usually skip it. On the plus side Words of Love is a terrific cover. And Leave my Kitten Alone must surely rank as the most criminally discarded Beatles recording. Until Anthology of course. 

It's interesting that as an early original,  Ill Follow the Sun doesn't sound out of place next to more recent originals. Paul was very precocious at putting sophisticated twists into even relatively simple songs.
Logged

Hello Goodbye

  • Global Moderator
  • At The Top Of The Stairs
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20089
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #10 on: January 19, 2014, 10:45:45 PM »

I remember my big brother buying it when it came out, played it to death, loved every song (except Mr Moonlight)

I love that song!
Logged
I can stay till it's time to go

Moogmodule

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 4265
  • “Moog was the truth” TheseLyricsDoNotExist 2023
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #11 on: January 19, 2014, 11:20:28 PM »

I love that song!

I've never cared for it myself. But reading Lewisohns book I note that the Beatles used to sometimes open with it. A fan describes how great the first acappella scream of "Mr Moonlight" was to open a show. Although part of it was wondering whether John would hit the right note without any instrumentation to guide him.

I can get how hearing John rip into that would be pretty cool. But I think a lot if their covers probably worked very well live. Sometimes less so on record.
Logged

nimrod

  • Guest
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #12 on: January 20, 2014, 12:00:44 AM »

Maybe it was seen as a step back after the all original Hard Days Night. The covers are pulling them back to 1962 while the originals continue their development, making it an uneven selection. 

In addition to Mr M, I've never really cared for Rock and Roll Music. Not sure why. It's an ok song. Sung and played well. Something about it just leaves me cold and I usually skip it. On the plus side Words of Love is a terrific cover. And Leave my Kitten Alone must surely rank as the most criminally discarded Beatles recording. Until Anthology of course. 

It's interesting that as an early original,  Ill Follow the Sun doesn't sound out of place next to more recent originals. Paul was very precocious at putting sophisticated twists into even relatively simple songs.

If Im honest I don't particularly like ANY of the covers on BFS, if someone advised them to put covers on there it was bad advice, they surely had enough home grown material, I agree with you in that it was seen as a step backwards from Hard Days Night, I mean the whole package, from an all original album to one with a few covers was retrograde , and yes maybe this explains the bad scores it receives from fans.
What about an acoustic version of In Spite Of All The Danger with 3 part harmony, they had Bad To Me and World Without Love, 909, and a few others I just cant think of atm.

and Im sure J & P could've gone off for a cup of tea and come up with another in the time it took to record Mr Moonlight and Kansas City  ;)
Logged

Moogmodule

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 4265
  • “Moog was the truth” TheseLyricsDoNotExist 2023
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #13 on: January 20, 2014, 12:40:16 AM »

If Im honest I don't particularly like ANY of the covers on BFS, if someone advised them to put covers on there it was bad advice, they surely had enough home grown material, I agree with you in that it was seen as a step backwards from Hard Days Night, I mean the whole package, from an all original album to one with a few covers was retrograde , and yes maybe this explains the bad scores it receives from fans.
What about an acoustic version of In Spite Of All The Danger with 3 part harmony, they had Bad To Me and World Without Love, 909, and a few others I just cant think of atm.

and Im sure J & P could've gone off for a cup of tea and come up with another in the time it took to record Mr Moonlight and Kansas City  ;)

Looking at the sequence of recording (according to Pollack's site) they basically did nine originals in a row ( including the single I Feel Fine and the B side She's a Woman)
. All the covers plus the oldie I'll Follow the Sun were recorded pretty quickly at the end of the sessions. It'd taken two months of recording to get the first nine done. They finished off the remaining in a bit over a week. Does suggest the covers were thrown together pretty hurriedly. Which would make sense to get the album done for Xmas. I seem to recall that as a rationale from one of the books I'd read.
Logged

nimrod

  • Guest
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #14 on: January 20, 2014, 01:37:12 AM »

Looking at the sequence of recording (according to Pollack's site) they basically did nine originals in a row ( including the single I Feel Fine and the B side She's a Woman)
. All the covers plus the oldie I'll Follow the Sun were recorded pretty quickly at the end of the sessions. It'd taken two months of recording to get the first nine done. They finished off the remaining in a bit over a week. Does suggest the covers were thrown together pretty hurriedly. Which would make sense to get the album done for Xmas. I seem to recall that as a rationale from one of the books I'd read.

Its funny isn't it, they didn't put the singles on the albums so the fans in the UK got value (more) but now it seems the album would be held in higher esteem if I Feel Fine & She's A Woman were on it

They should've resisted the covers, it was like going back to With The Beatles and the covers denude how good the originals are.

Im A Loser
Eight Days A Week
Follow The Sun
No Reply
Every Little Thing
Baby's In Black

all top notch songs imo
Logged

Moogmodule

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 4265
  • “Moog was the truth” TheseLyricsDoNotExist 2023
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #15 on: January 20, 2014, 02:08:27 AM »

Its funny isn't it, they didn't put the singles on the albums so the fans in the UK got value (more) but now it seems the album would be held in higher esteem if I Feel Fine & She's A Woman were on it

They should've resisted the covers, it was like going back to With The Beatles and the covers denude how good the originals are.

Im A Loser
Eight Days A Week
Follow The Sun
No Reply
Every Little Thing
Baby's In Black

all top notch songs imo

I think so too. What You're Doing was the only fillerish one. Even that had some appeal.

I wonder if the not putting the singles on the album policy also helped maximise single sales. While there wouldn't have been a huge cohort happy to wait for the album to get any singles ( this was the mid sixties where singles were still king), knowing that if they wanted the singles they had no option but to buy them might have given those sales an extra edge. It does show their confidence in producing material though that they could sacrifice one or two top tunes and still deliver too notch albums.
Logged

nimrod

  • Guest
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #16 on: January 20, 2014, 02:27:48 AM »

yeah Imagine how much better Pepper would be with Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields on it.
Logged

Hello Goodbye

  • Global Moderator
  • At The Top Of The Stairs
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20089
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #17 on: January 20, 2014, 06:01:19 AM »

I've never cared for it myself. But reading Lewisohns book I note that the Beatles used to sometimes open with it. A fan describes how great the first acappella scream of "Mr Moonlight" was to open a show. Although part of it was wondering whether John would hit the right note without any instrumentation to guide him.

I can get how hearing John rip into that would be pretty cool. But I think a lot if their covers probably worked very well live. Sometimes less so on record.


John had his guitar to help him find the right key to yell "Mr. Moonlight."  But he didn't always start the song that way...


The Beatles Mr. Moonlight StarClub 1962



That was a cool way to rip into the song nonetheless.
Logged
I can stay till it's time to go

Hello Goodbye

  • Global Moderator
  • At The Top Of The Stairs
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 20089
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #18 on: January 20, 2014, 06:10:29 AM »

I'll Follow The Sun

The Quarrymen - I'll Follow The Sun [Original / Early Beatles]

The Silver Beetles   May 1960
Logged
I can stay till it's time to go

Moogmodule

  • A Thousand Pages
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Posts: 4265
  • “Moog was the truth” TheseLyricsDoNotExist 2023
Re: Song Of The Week - I'll Follow The Sun
« Reply #19 on: January 20, 2014, 06:39:10 AM »

I'll Follow The Sun
The Quarrymen - I'll Follow The Sun [Original / Early Beatles][/url]
The Silver Beetles   May 1960

That's cute. Haven't heard that before. The middle 8 is quite different. As is the music hall/rockabilly tempo.
Logged
Pages: [1] 2 3
 

Page created in 0.689 seconds with 77 queries.