I Will (The Beatles song)

"I Will"
Song by The Beatles from the album The Beatles
Released	22 November 1968
Recorded	16 September 1968
Genre	Pop, acoustic
Length	1:44
Label	Apple Records
Writer	Lennon–McCartney
Producer	George Martin
The Beatles track listing
30 tracks Side one "Back in the U.S.S.R." "Dear Prudence" "Glass Onion" "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" "Wild Honey Pie" "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill" "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" Side two "Martha My Dear" "I'm So Tired" "Blackbird" "Piggies" "Rocky Raccoon" "Don't Pass Me By" "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" "I Will" "Julia" Side three "Birthday" "Yer Blues" "Mother Nature's Son" "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey" "Sexy Sadie" "Helter Skelter" "Long, Long, Long" Side four "Revolution 1" "Honey Pie" "Savoy Truffle" "Cry Baby Cry" "Revolution 9" "Good Night"

"I Will" is a song by The Beatles that was released on The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon–McCartney) and features him on lead vocal, guitar, and "vocal bass".

Background

"I Will" was one of the songs worked on by The Beatles and their associates while in Rishikesh, India. Although the music came together fairly easily, the words were worked on in India, and remained unfinished even as recording began back in London.^{[citation needed]}

Recording

This quiet song required 67 takes, and George Harrison did not play (during The Beatles sessions, The Beatles often recorded in separate studios). The 'vocal bass' comes in during the second verse of the song in the monaural version, but is featured from the beginning in the stereo version.^{[citation needed]}

During take 19 of "I Will", McCartney ad-libbed an untitled and uncopyrighted song (referred to as "Can you take me back?" by author Ian MacDonald), a 28-second segment of which ended up on side 4 of the album The Beatles as what MacDonald described as “a sinister introduction to "Revolution 9"”. Also ad-libbed by McCartney was "Los Paranoias", released, together with take 1 of "I Will", in 1996 on Anthology 3.^{[citation needed]}

Anthology

In the televised documentary The Beatles Anthology, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr are shown relaxing on a blanket outside. Starr asks McCartney what he wrote in India and McCartney answers, "I Will." Then Harrison begins playing this on his ukulele while he and McCartney harmonize with it.^{[citation needed]}

Personnel

• Paul McCartney – vocal, acoustic guitar, "vocal bass"
• John Lennon – percussion, cymbals, maracas
• Ringo Starr – bongos

Personnel per Ian MacDonald.

Appearances in other media

• The song was sung in the 1994 romantic movie Love Affair, starring Annette Bening and Warren Beatty.
• In 1995, Allison Kraus recorded a cover of the song for her album Now That I've Found You: A Collection.
• Garrison Keillor sang the song in an episode of the radio show A Prairie Home Companion.
• James Taylor & Carly Simon's son, Ben Taylor recorded the song for the 1995 movie Bye Bye Love and his recording is also on the original soundtrack album.
• Filipino acoustic singer Nyoy Volante covered the song on his 2008 album, Heartstrings.

References

• Lewisohn, Mark (1988). The Beatles Recording Sessions. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-57066-1. 
• MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (2nd revised ed.). London: Pimlico. ISBN 1-8441-3828-3.