"I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" is a song by the English rock band

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

, written by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was featured as the twelfth track on the 1964 album '' Beatles for Sale''. "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" was also released on the '' Beatles for Sale (No. 2)'' EP. It was later released as the B-side of the US single " Eight Days a Week", and then as the fifth track on the North America-only album '' Beatles VI''. The song reached number 39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Lyrics

The lyrics anticipate themes that were to become familiar in Lennon's songwriting – alienation and inner pain. In this song, the narrator is at a party, waiting for his girl to show up. When it becomes clear that she has stood him up, he decides to leave, rather than spoil the party for everyone else. Both the lyrics and melody share a melancholy sound and theme with songs that precede it on '' Beatles for Sale'', such as " No Reply" and " I'm a Loser". Author Ian MacDonald views the song as a return to the subject matter introduced by Lennon on " I'll Cry Instead", from the Beatles' '' A Hard Day's Night'' album, and a "preview" of " You've Got to Hide Your Love Away", from '' Help!''

Recording

The Beatles recorded "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" on 29 September 1964 in 19 takes, the last of which was released. George Harrison's guitar solo, played on his new Gretsch Tennessean in the style of Carl Perkins, was enhanced by midrange resonance boost, giving it an especially bright sound. According to ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music'', the song is an early example of country rock, anticipating the Byrds' work in that style. MacDonald describes it as the "most overt" country track on ''Beatles for Sale'', an album that is "dominated by the idiom". Among the band's biographers, opinions differ on which Beatle sings the low harmony part during the verses, below Lennon's lead vocal. MacDonald lists Harrison as the second vocalist on the track, while John Winn credits McCartney, saying that he sounds "deceptively like a second Lennon". According to musicologist Walter Everett, the harmony part is Lennon "self-duetting".

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described it as "a funky, country-bluesish teen-angled tear-jerker."

Personnel

According to Walter Everett: except where noted *

– lead vocals, harmony vocals (high octave for the verses, low octave for the chorus), acoustic rhythm guitar *

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

– harmony vocals (low octave for the verses, high octave for the chorus), backing vocals, bass * George Harrison – backing vocals, lead guitar * Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine

Chart positions

Rosanne Cash version

Rosanne Cash covered the song for her '' Hits 1979-1989'' compilation. Her version went to number one on '' Billboards

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in 1989. It was also Cash's last number one hit to date, and is the only Lennon-McCartney song to top the country chart.

Chart positions

Year-end charts

Notes

References

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External links

* {{authority control Songs about parties The Beatles songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Rosanne Cash songs Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Capitol Records singles 1964 songs 1965 singles 1989 singles Songs published by Northern Songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Rodney Crowell Country rock songs