Elaine Kao

MUS 308: Assignment #1

July 2010

I Will – Paul McCartney

To choose one Beatles song to write about proved to be a difficult task. It was a close
tie between “I Will” and “She Loves You” but in the end I chose the former. This song’s lyrics
are as follows:

Who knows how long I've loved you

You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to, I will.

For if I ever saw you

I didn't catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same.

Love you forever and forever

Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we're together
Love you when we're apart.

And when at last I find you

Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
Oh, you know, I will
I will.

This is one of the songs on the Beatles’ “White Album” written by Paul McCartney
during the groups stay in Rishikesh, India. One purpose of this retreat was to help them quit
using drugs. Their manager, Brian Epstein had died from a drug overdose which seemed to be a
sign that they should explore other methods of seeking a “cosmic awareness.”

The album was recorded in 1968 between May and October. The names of the
producers as stated on the beatlesbible.com site are George Martin, Chris Thomas, John
Lennon, and Paul McCartney. The engineers were Geoff Emerick, Peter Bown, Ken Scott, Barry
Sheffield, and Ken Townsend. The list of instruments incorporated into this album is quite impressive
and lengthy. This was the ninth UK album and the fifteenth USA album, but it was also their first double
length production. The range in styles on these records shows off one of the most creative stages in
their history. During their Indian retreat, they spent a lot of time writing music. Many things were going
on around the time of this album. Apple Corps was just starting up, they had to deal with some drug
busts and other drug related problems. The relationships between the band members were also
changing. Therefore, some sources say that during the recording of this album, the members often
recorded in separate studios. Apparently this song was a huge hit in Orlando and was consistently in the
Top 5 on WLOF 95-FM when the album was released. The 65 th take was used though there were 67
takes recorded in total for this song.

There are a few speculations on who Paul McCartney is speaking to in this song. Apparently,
Charles Manson, a famous American murderer (who was also a singer-songwriter), believed that the
Beatles wrote “I Will” because they were looking for him. He took the lines “For if at last I find you/ Your
song will fill the air” to mean that he should record his own album. Another source believes that
McCartney is not talking to anyone in particular, and that he’s actually talking to his dream lover who he
hopes to meet one day! The lines “For if I ever saw you/ I didn’t catch your name” seems to support the
hypothesis that this girl is imaginary, or at least not known by McCartney at the time. Still others insist
that this was one of the first songs he wrote for his future wife, Linda. No matter who the subject of his
song was, there’s no doubt that this is a great love song. The simple quality to the tune and
instrumentation adds to its charm.

Another big question about this song is who recorded what part. Some sources say that John
and George didn’t play. Other sources say George was the only one who didn’t play and John did
percussion. According to the book “Revolution: The Making of the Beatles White Album” by David
Quantick, Paul recorded this alone. However, since the author seems to be writing about a history
before his own time, it may be more accurate to refer to the book “A Hard Day’s Write” by Steve Turner,
who was a contemporary of the Beatles. In his book he says the song is recorded with “Ringo playing on
cymbals and maracas, and John tapping the rhythm on a piece of wood.” On this song Paul sings the
bass part instead of playing the instrument. For whatever reason, the producers thought this would be
best. The effect of the vocal bass line is so subtle that I didn’t even realize he was singing it until I did
some research. He was in the habit of singing the bass line while he was figuring out how he wanted to
play them.

In the Beatles Anthology documentary film, there’s a scene where Paul, George and Ringo are
sitting on a blanket outside and Ringo asks Paul what he wrote in India. Paul says, “I Will” and George
plays on his ukulele while they harmonize the song together. What a nice scene! The song is simple
enough to sound good accompanied by a ukulele and the melody is catchy and memorable. I especially
like how the song ends with “oohs”: simple but elegant, and cute. It is easy to make believe that you, as
the listener, are the love interest of the singer. I can see why so many women would faint for the
Beatles and their beautiful songs!
Bibliography

1. “I Will- The Beatles” <http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/i-will-lyrics-the-

beatles/ce9d0345712d7b1048256bc200210b05> June 6 th 2010
2. Song Facts, “I Will by the Beatles”, <http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=162> June 8th
2010
3. The Pop History Dig, “Dear Prudence”, <http://www.pophistorydig.com/?tag=beatles-
white-album-history> June 8th 2010
4. The Beatles Bible, “The Beatles (White Album),
<http://www.beatlesbible.com/albums/the-beatles-white-album/> June 8 th 2010

Good books to read:

1. A Hard Day’s Write by Steve Turner

2. Beatlesongs by William J. Dowlding
3. Revolution: The Making of the Beatles White Album by David Quantick