John Lennon Wanted to Re-Record These Two Beatles Songs

Whether internationally famous or completely underground, almost every artist can empathize with the feeling of wanting to redo a previous work, like when John Lennon talked about wanting to re-record two Beatles songs that are arguably some of the band’s most iconic tracks of all time. (Perhaps, Lennon mused, their sheer commercial sensibility was the problem.)

Nevertheless, Lennon’s regrets about two of the Fab Four’s most popular songs is an interesting insight into the dissonant perspectives of the art maker and the art consumer.

John Lennon Wanted to Re-Record These Beatles Songs

The late John Lennon was never one to mince his words, including—maybe even especially—when those words had to do with his former bandmates. Several of Lennon’s final interviews dive into specific songs in the Beatles repertoire, which offered fans and critics an invaluable peek into Lennon’s personal relationship with the Fab Four. During one such conversation with Rolling Stone in 1970, Lennon revealed the two songs he would have wanted to re-record.

“I don’t like the recording [of “Help!”] that much,” Lennon admitted. “We did it too fast trying to be commercial. I like “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” We wrote that together. It’s a beautiful melody. I might do “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Help” again because I like them, and I can sing them. I like “Across the Universe,” too. It’s one of the best lyrics I’ve written. In fact, it could be the best.”

Of course, Lennon long struggled with the clash between artistry and commercial appeal. “Trying to please everybody is impossible,” Lennon said in Anthology (via BeatlesBible). “If you did that, you’d end up in the middle with nobody liking you. You’ve just got to make the decision about what you think is your best, and do it.”

The Beatle Had A Close Connection to These Two Songs

John Lennon might have cited the fact that he could sing them well as the reason why he would re-record “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Help!,” but we’d wager that the emotional connection he had to each track certainly helped seal the deal. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was the Beatles’ first No. 1 hit in the U.S., opening a doorway that would lead Lennon to his final home before his death in 1980. The Fab Four classic was also a stunning example of Lennon and Paul McCartney’s songwriting partnership in its prime.

As for the latter song, Lennon was always particularly fond of “Help” for its emotional authenticity. “When “Help!” came out, I was actually crying out for help,” Lennon told interviewer David Sheff the year he died (via BeatlesBible). “Most people think it’s just a fast rock ‘n’ roll song. I didn’t realize it at the time; I just wrote the song because I was commissioned to write it for the movie. It was my fat Elvis period.”

In his 1970 Rolling Stone interview, Lennon explained, “I meant it. It’s real. The lyric is as good now as it was then. It’s no different, and it makes me feel secure to know that I was aware of myself then. It was just me singing “help,” and I meant it.”

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