"Tell Me What You See" is a song by the English rock band

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

that first appeared in 1965 on their album ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

'' in the United Kingdom and on '' Beatles VI'' in the United States. The song is 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 ...

but mainly written by

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 ...

. Regarding the song's authorship, McCartney said, "I seem to remember it as mine. I would claim it as a 60–40 but it might have been totally me."

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 ...

said, in his interviews with ''Playboy'' (1980) and ''Hit Parader'' (1972), that "Tell Me What You See" was written completely by McCartney.

Composition

"Tell Me What You See" was deemed by McCartney, "Not awfully memorable", in an interview with author

Barry Miles Barry Miles (born 21 February 1943) is an English author known for his participation in and writing on the subjects of the 1960s London underground and counterculture. He is the author of numerous books and his work has also regularly appeare ...

. Following each repetition of the title phrase, there is a brief instrumental break featuring a

Hohner Pianet The Hohner Pianet is a type of electro-mechanical piano built by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany and designed by Ernst Zacharias. The Pianet was a variant of his earlier reed-based Hohner electric piano, the Cembalet, which, like ...

. The instrument is featured on two other tracks on ''

'': "

You Like Me Too Much "You Like Me Too Much" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist, and released in August 1965 on the ''Help!'' album, except in North America, where it appeared on '' Beatles V ...

" and " The Night Before", both recorded the day before "Tell Me What You See." Ringo Starr's drumming on the track is augmented with a trio of percussion instruments; a güiro, a

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 ...

, and a pair of

claves Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony o ...

. This is not the first time the Beatles had used additional percussion instruments to flesh out their sound, having done so as early as "

Don't Bother Me "Don't Bother Me" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1963 UK album ''With the Beatles''. It was the first song written by George Harrison, the group's lead guitarist, to appear on one of their albums. An uptempo rock an ...

" in 1963. Evident in the song's structure and instrumentation are the Beatles' then growing

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

influence, with lyrics more mature and reflective than was standard in their earlier output. The line "trying to get to you" (the title of an early

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

song recorded for

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

, which served as inspiration for McCartney and George Harrison's composition "

In Spite of All the Danger "In Spite of All the Danger" is the first song recorded by the Quarrymen, then consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, pianist John Lowe, and drummer Colin Hanton. McCartney wrote the song and Harrison provided the guitar so ...

") reflects the band's continued love of early rock and roll. Other songs on ''Help!'', such as Lennon's "

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was written and sung by John Lennon (though credited to Lennon–McCartney) and released on the album ''Help!'' in August 1965. Composition and recording Len ...

" and the title track, also exhibit compositional growth. A verse in the song, beginning with the line "Big and black the clouds may be", was taken from a religious inscription that had hung in Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool: "However black the clouds may be, in time they’ll pass away. Have faith and trust and you will see, God’s light make bright your day." The same inscription was parodied by Lennon in his 1965 book ''

A Spaniard in the Works ''A Spaniard in the Works'' is a nonsense book by English musician John Lennon, first published on 24 June 1965. The book consists of nonsensical stories and drawings similar to the style of his previous book, 1964's '' In His Own Write''. The n ...

''.

Personnel

– lead vocal, bass, electric piano *

– lead vocal, rhythm guitar,

* George Harrison – güiro * Ringo Starr – drums,

: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 ...

except where noted.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* {{Authority control The Beatles songs Song recordings produced by George Martin Songs written by Lennon–McCartney Songs published by Northern Songs 1965 songs