July 11, 2025 —– Chart #306
Hello Music Friends,
This week we’re rolling back to 1964 with a tune that might’ve flown under your Beatles radar if you blinked too long while flipping A Hard Day’s Night over to Side B. It’s called “I’ll Be Back,” and like most Beatles songs, it packs more emotional horsepower into two minutes and change than most of us could wring out of a whole album and a bottle of scotch.
Now, this song wasn’t written after some dramatic split or even a run-in with Yoko’s tax accountant. It came from the head of young John Lennon, who, at the time, was still figuring out the difference between heartache and ego bruise. Legend has it, he borrowed the chord structure from a Del Shannon tune called “Runaway,” but turned it into something a lot more British and a little more brooding. Less wailing falsetto, more sitting-in-the-window-in-the-rain-with-a-cup-of-tea energy.
“I’ll Be Back” closes out A Hard Day’s Night like a bittersweet note scribbled on hotel stationery. No drums. Just John’s acoustic, Paul’s harmony, and George holding things together like a quiet kid who knows everyone else is faking it.
Lyrically, it’s not quite a breakup song, and not quite a love song either. It’s more like a guy trying to talk tough while secretly hoping she leaves the porch light on. “You know if you break my heart I’ll go, but I’ll be back again…” That, my friends, is textbook emotional hedging. John’s basically saying, “Go ahead, dump me—I’ll just swing back around like a boomerang in tight jeans.”
Now, about the band—The Beatles didn’t just change music. They re-wired it. In 1964, when this song was recorded, they were still mop-topped marvels dodging screams and jellybeans from Hamburg to Hollywood. They hadn’t gone psychedelic yet, hadn’t gotten spiritual, hadn’t even met the Maharishi. This was pre-Revolver, pre-Rubber Soul, pre-sitars-and-studio-wizardry. Just guitars, harmonies, and the kind of chemistry that would make even your best jam session sound like a kazoo fight at a preschool.
And just when you think the song couldn’t get more delicate or heartfelt, along comes Shawn Colvin with her acoustic version, and suddenly it’s like someone poured chamomile tea over your favorite leather jacket. Her stripped-down take is beautifully raw—just voice and guitar, honest as a summer afternoon. She slows it down a bit, gives it space to breathe, and turns Lennon’s half-apology into something more tender and resolute. It’s the kind of version that makes you want to pick up your own guitar and remember how three chords can still punch you right in the soul.
From a player’s perspective, “I’ll Be Back” is a great acoustic piece to have in your back pocket. The descending chord changes in the verse sneak up on you, and the transitions between major and minor feel like a songwriter’s parlor trick. It’s easy enough to play, but tricky enough to make you sound clever—always a plus.
So this week, whether you lean toward John’s breezy harmonies or Shawn Colvin’s porch-swing confession, give this song a spin. Play it on your back deck at sunset or at your next living room jam. And remember: even if you’ve said goodbye, you can always come back—preferably with a guitar and a half-decent apology.
This version by Shawn Colvin is mesmerizing:
Keep Rockin’,
Stan Bradshaw