"I'm a Loser" is a song by the English rock band

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, originally released on ''

Beatles for Sale ''Beatles for Sale'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 4 December 1964 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label. The album marked a departure from the upbeat tone that had characterised ...

'' in the United Kingdom, later released on ''

Beatles '65 ''Beatles '65'' is an album by the English rock band the Beatles that was issued in the United States and Canada in December 1964. Released as the North American alternative to ''Beatles for Sale'', it was the band's fifth studio album culled by ...

'' in the United States, both in 1964. Written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

, and credited to

Lennon–McCartney Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...

, it was considered for release as a single until Lennon wrote "

I Feel Fine "I Feel Fine" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in November 1964 as the A-side of their eighth single. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The recording includes one o ...

". According to music critic

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

, while the lyrics tell a story of romantic rejection, "I'm a Loser" is one of the first Beatles compositions that "goes beyond young love," including "the hypocrisy of keeping up a happy face when your world's falling down".

Composition

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. 'Laughs'' Country music and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

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 Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

and

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

that McCartney said were "all about sadness." Musicologists say the song was "notable for being perhaps the first Beatles' song to directly reflect the influence of Dylan, thus nudging folk and rock a little closer together toward the folk-rock explosion of the following year." Musicologist Alan Pollack said the song contained "a stronger blend of folk elements than almost anything else The Beatles had done to-date." The line "I'm not what I appear to be" was Lennon's most introspective to date, the start of the progression that led to "Help" and "Nowhere Man" the following year. 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 "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album ''The Beatles'' (also known as "the White Album"). It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was co ...

". The song includes what would be the last of

's harmonica solos, which had been a prominent feature of the band's early-era records and live shows. The group still occasionally used harmonica in their later recordings, such as "

Rocky Raccoon "Rocky Raccoon" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). It was primarily written by Paul McCartney, although credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. M ...

Recording and release

The Beatles recorded this song on 14 August 1964, the same day as " Mr. Moonlight" and "

Leave My Kitten Alone "Leave My Kitten Alone" is a 1959 R&B hit, written by Little Willie John, Titus Turner and James McDougal, first recorded by Little Willie John. The song follows a 24-bar blues format. Little Willie John The original version of the song, by L ...

". It was recorded in eight takes. 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 ''

'' and also the "

"/"

She's a Woman "She's a Woman" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written primarily by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was released on a non-album single in November 1964 as the B-side to "I Feel Fine", except in North Amer ...

" single. It was also performed before its 4 December 1964 release date. The Beatles performed and recorded an appearance for a British edition of the US music TV show ''

Shindig! ''Shindig!'' is an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles,

Personnel

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

, acoustic

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

–

harmony vocal In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring Audio frequency, frequencies, pitch (music), pitches (timb ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

–

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

:Personnel per

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was a British music critic and author, best known for both ''Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed techniques from a ...

Covers

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

covered the song in 1965 on her eponymous album.

Vince Guaraldi Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (; birth name, né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz pianist best known for composing music for animated television adaptations of the ''Peanuts'' comic strip. His compositions for this s ...

covered the song on '' Live at El Matador'' in 1966 with

Bola Sete Bola Sete (born Djalma de Andrade; July 16, 1923 – February 14, 1987) was a Brazilian guitarist who played jazz with Vince Guaraldi and Dizzy Gillespie. History Born Djama de Andrade in Rio de Janeiro, Sete was the only son of a family with ...

Dennis Tufano Dennis Stanley Joseph Tufano (born September 11, 1946) is the original lead singer of the 1960s rock group The Buckinghams, and has been a solo performer since the early 1980s. Biography Dennis Tufano was born in Chicago, Illinois. He attended ...

and

Carl Giammarese The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...

covered this song on their first duo album "Tufano & Giammarese" in the early 1970s after the breakup of their previous band, the Buckinghams. This song was covered by the

Lost Dogs Lost Dogs are an American musical supergroup formed in 1991, comprising vocalists, songwriters, and guitarists from multiple Christian alternative rock bands. Their current lineup includes Terry Scott Taylor (Daniel Amos, the Swirling Eddies), ...

on their 1993 album, ''

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brother ...

''. In 2004

the Punkles The Punkles were a German band performing songs by The Beatles in Punk rock, punk style. They formed in 1998 in Hamburg, Germany, and was a side project of Prollhead!. After a lot of touring around Europe they toured together with Beatallica i ...

did a cover of this song on their third album ''Pistol''. The bands

Sum 41 Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. Originally called Kaspir, the band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason "Cone" McCas ...

and

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

have also covered it live in concert, the latter releasing it on ''Sixteen Tons (Ten Songs)''.

Doug Kershaw Douglas James Kershaw (born January 24, 1936) is an American fiddle player, singer and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1948, he began his career as part of the duo Rusty and Doug, along with his brother, Rusty Kershaw. He had an extens ...

covered the song on his 1977 album ''Flip, Flop, and Fly''.

The Buckinghams The Buckinghams are an American sunshine pop band from Chicago. They formed in 1966 and went on to become one of the top-selling acts of 1967, charting their only five top 40 hits in the U.S. that year. The band dissolved in 1970, but re-formed ...

covered the song on their 1997 album ''Places in Five''.

Shaun Micallef Shaun Patrick Micallef (; born 18 July 1962) is an Australian comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He is currently the host of the satirical news comedy series ''Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'' on the ABC. He also hosted the game sh ...

and the cast of 'Shaun Micallef's MAD AS HELL' also covered this song for the closing credits of the show broadcast on Wednesday 27 March 2013. In 2016 James Corden sang a version of this in ''

Beat Bugs ''Beat Bugs'' is an animated children's television series, created by Josh Wakely, and produced for Netflix by Grace: A Storytelling Company and Thunderbird Entertainment since 2016. The series is centred around five young anthropomorphised inse ...

'' as Morgs the Stick Bug.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{authority control The Beatles songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Eels (band) songs Songs published by Northern Songs 1964 songs British folk rock songs British country music songs