Hindsight is always 20/20, and it’s easy to connect the dots between a popular song and its commercial success. A catchy chorus here, a memorable hook there, the perfect release date to hit the ground running, and so on. But when you’re head-down in the studio, there are no clear road signs telling you which way to take a song to make it become a hit. There’s talent, sure, but a lot of it’s lucky guessing—like The Beatles were doing when they settled on a tempo for “Help!”
“Help!”, the title track from The Beatles’ 1965 album, is a jaunty rock ‘n’ roll tune. The song opens with a harmonized shout and keeps the energy up from there. But according to Steve Sullivan’s Encyclopedia Of Great Popular Song Recordings: Volumes 1 and 2, songwriter John Lennon always regretted making the song so fast.
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The band was “trying to be commercial,” Lennon later explained. If he could go back and do it over, he would have released it as a slower song. It’s an interesting artistic choice, and certainly not one without merit. But in this writer’s humble opinion, I think doing so would have ruined the cultural significance of this hit single.
The Tempo Is Part of the Secret Sauce for The Beatles’ “Help!”
The fact that John Lennon would feel especially protective and remorseful over songs like “Help!” makes sense, considering his strong emotional attachment to them. “Help!” marked a shift in Lennon’s songwriting as he leaned into vulnerable lyricism about his mental, emotional, and physical state. “The whole Beatle thing was just beyond comprehension,” Lennon recalled to David Sheff of that particular time period. “When Help! came out, I was actually crying out for help. Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n’ roll song.”
A slower song would undoubtedly match this gloomy mindset. And indeed, these lyrics would sound even sadder sung downtempo: “When I was younger, so much younger than today / I never needed anybody’s help in any way / But now these days are gone, and I’m not so self-assured / Now I find I’ve changed my mind, I’ve opened up the doors.” But if Lennon got his wish, one could argue that the song wouldn’t have been nearly as culturally significant.
What made The Beatles’ “Help!” so special was the juxtaposition between vulnerability and groove. So much of early rock ‘n’ roll was about boogeying and having a good time. Lennon’s shift to introspective songwriting helped lead the charge on songs that were as emotionally authentic as they were catchy and fun.
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