In My Life

This article is about the song by The Beatles. For an album compiled and produced by George Martin, see In My Life (album).

"In My Life"
Song

In My Life is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and first appeared on The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul.

While the lyrics were indisputably written by Lennon, it is not clear who wrote the music. Lennon claimed in 1980 that McCartney's contribution was limited to helping out with the "middle eight" or bridge section of the song, but McCartney claimed in 1984 to have set Lennon's lyrics to music from beginning to end. Paul has said he composed the melody inspired on The Miracles' "Tears of a Clown." In My Life features a Baroque-styled piano solo by Beatles producer George Martin, who could not match the tempo of the song. The solo was thus recorded at half-tempo and the tape speed was doubled for the final recording, giving the piano solo a unique timbre.

There have been a number of covers including those by Mary Hopkin, Judy Collins, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Jose Feliciano, Ozzy Osbourne, Keith Moon (Two Sides of the Moon) and Johnny Cash (American IV: The Man Comes Around). A cover by Canadian singer-songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk was used as the theme for the NBC show Providence. Dave Matthews played the song during a tribute show honoring John Lennon.

George Martin borrowed the song title for an album of various artists covering Beatles songs. In the tribute song, Sean Connery narrates the lyrics with minimal support from Martin's piano.

"In My Life" was ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's article "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and was placed second on CBC's 50 Tracks. Mojo magazine named it the best song of all time in 2000.

During George Harrison's 1974 US tour, the band played a version of the song that was drastically slower than the Rubber Soul version.

Other covers

Bette Midler also recorded this song for the 1991 film soundtrack For the Boys.

"In My Life" was covered by the Canadian musician Allison Crowe on her 2004 album special, Tidings

The song was also covered by Black Sabbath front man, and longtime Beatles fan, Ozzy Osbourne on his 2005 Price of Darkness box set, and subsequently his 2005 album Under Cover.

It was also the name of a Broadway musical.

Writing Process

Lennon wrote the song in the form of a long poem, reminiscing on his childhood/teenage years. His inspiration for the lyrics came from the bus route he used to take in Liverpool, which passed neighborhoods where he lived in childhood, including Penny Lane. Lennon friend and biographer Peter Shotton related in his book (titled John Lennon "In My Life") that Lennon told him the line "some (friends) are dead and some are living, in my life I've loved them all" referred to Stuart Sutcliffe (who died in 1962), and to Shotton.

Musical analysis

Key: A major

Time: 4/4

Verse:

I V vi V2-of-IV IV iv I

Bridge:

vi IV IV-of-IV I

vi V7-of-V IV iv I

The most notable feature of this song, harmonically, is the use of the iv (read minor-four) chord, which is borrowed from the parallel minor key, in this case, A minor. This chord is used here in a manner quite consistent and prevalent compared to other pop songs of the era: it sets up a three-note chromatic descending line between the 6th scale degree and the 5th, thus resolving to I. It is a chromatically altered plagal cadence.

The bridge briefly flirts with the relative minor, F# minor before returning us to A major. The bVII chord (noted here as its function of IV-of-IV) is a bluesy chord quite common in The Beatles' canon, as is the deceptive V7-of-V resolving to IV, a progression that occurs in the tag of Yesterday.

External links

• Songmeanings.net Lyrics and explanations
• In My Life Songfacts Entry