I'm a loser, I'm a loser
And I'm not what I appear to be
Of all the love I have won or have lost
There is one love I should never have crossed
She was a girl in a million, my friend
I should have known she would win in the end
I'm a loser, and I lost someone who's near to me
I'm a loser, and I'm not what I appear to be
Although I laugh and I act like a clown
Beneath this mask I am wearing a frown
My tears are falling like rain from the sky
Is it for her or myself that I cry
I'm a loser, and I lost someone who's near to me
I'm a loser, and I'm not what I appear to be
What I have done to deserve such a fate
I realize I have left it too late
And so it's true pride comes before a fall
I'm telling you so that you won't lose all
I'm a loser, and I lost someone who's near to me
I'm a loser, and I'm not what I appear to be
I always loved this song, it has one of my favourite lines from any Beatles song;
Although I laugh and I act like a clown
Beneath this mask, I am wearing a frownSort of summed up my teenage years.....brilliant line !
Johns voice fits perfectly on this song imo, in fact the whole thing is perfect, the only thing I would change is the harmonica, Id simply change it for another instrument...
In 1980, Lennon said the song was "me in my Dylan period" and added, "Part of me suspects I'm a loser and part of me thinks I'm God Almighty. " Country music and Bob Dylan were catalysts for the song. The country is in the fingerpicking, guitar twang and downhearted words; in 1964, the Beatles were listening to songs by Buck Owens and George Jones that McCartney said were "all about sadness."
Musicologist Alan Pollack said the song contained "a stronger blend of folk elements than almost anything else The Beatles had done to-date
Lennon hits a low G in the verses, a note usually reserved for baritone and/or bass singers. This was atypical of Lennon; he sang the bulk of his Beatles songs in a tenor register. "I'm a Loser" does not mark the only occasion on which Lennon sang a low G, he also did so in "Happiness Is a Warm Gun".
The Beatles recorded this song on 14 August 1964, the same day as "Mr. Moonlight" and "Leave My Kitten Alone". It was recorded in eight takes with no overdubs.
It was released four months after it was recorded, but beforehand, it was previewed on BBC Radio on 17 November, along with three other songs from Beatles for Sale and also the "I Feel Fine"/"She's a Woman" single.
PersonnelJohn Lennon – lead vocals, harmonica, acoustic rhythm guitar
Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass guitar
George Harrison – lead guitar
Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Personnel per Ian MacDonald