In My Life



"In My Life" is a song by the Beatles released on the 1965 album Rubber Soul, written mainly by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song originated with Lennon, and while Paul McCartney contributed to the final version, he and Lennon later disagreed over the extent of his contributions (specifically the melody). George Martin contributed the instrumental bridge. It is ranked 23rd on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" as well as fifth on their list of the Beatles' 100 Greatest Songs. The song placed second on CBC's 50 Tracks. Mojo magazine named it the best song of all time in 2000

Composition
According to Lennon, the song's origins can be traced to when the English journalist Kenneth Allsop made a remark that Lennon should write songs about his childhood. Afterwards, Lennon wrote a song in the form of a long poem reminiscing on his childhood years. The original version of the lyrics was based on a bus route he used to take in Liverpool, naming various sites seen along the way, including Penny Lane and Strawberry Field. Those original lyrics are on display at The British Library.



However, Lennon found it to be "ridiculous", calling it "the most boring sort of 'What I Did On My Holidays Bus Trip' song"; he reworked the words, replacing the specific memories with a generalized meditation on his past. "Very few lines" of the original version remained in the finished song. According to Lennon's friend and biographer Peter Shotton, the lines "Some [friends] are dead and some are living/In my life I've loved them all" referred to Stuart Sutcliffe (who died in 1962) and to Shotton.

In a 1980 interview, Lennon referred to this song as his "first real major piece of work" because it was the first time he penned personal lyrics about his own life.

Regarding authorship of the melody, Lennon's and McCartney's recollections differ. Referring to McCartney, Lennon said "his contribution melodically was the harmony and the middle-eight itself." McCartney claimed he set Lennon's lyrics to music from beginning to end, taking inspiration for the melody from songs by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. "I liked 'In My Life'. Those were words that John wrote, and I wrote the tune to it. That was a great one."

Recording
The song was recorded on 18 October 1965, and was complete except for the instrumental bridge. At that time, Lennon had not decided what instrument to use, but he subsequently asked George Martin to play a piano solo, suggesting "something Baroque-sounding". Martin wrote a Bach-influenced piece that he found he could not play at the song's tempo. On 22 October, the solo was recorded with the tape running at half speed, so when played back at normal pace the piano was twice as fast and an octave higher, solving the performance challenge and also giving the solo a unique timbre, reminiscent of a harpsichord.

Personnel

 * John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, rhythm guitar
 * Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass
 * George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar
 * Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, bells
 * George Martin – piano
 * Personnel per Ian MacDonald


 * Personnel notes

Cover versions

 * Siw Malmkvist recorded in Swedish, "I mitt liv" (1970) on her album "Underbara Siw" (Wonderful Siw), which was awarded a Swedish Grammis the same year.
 * George Harrison did a soul-arranged version during his Dark Horse US Tour. Billy Preston did a Hammond organ solo.
 * Bette Midler recorded one of the more noteworthy cover versions in 1992, released from the soundtrack of her 1991 movie For the Boys. It peaked at #20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. This version also appeared as background music for a tribute to NASCAR on ABC at the end of the 2000 Brickyard 400 which was the final broadcast of NASCAR on ABC until 2007.
 * Kids Incorporated covered the song in 1993 in the Season 9 episode "Taking A Stand".
 * The Seekers recorded the song for their 2012 Golden Jubilee LP.
 * Judy Collins recorded the song as the title cut of a 1966 hit LP.
 * John Denver recorded it on his 1966 debut album, John Denver Sings.
 * José Feliciano recorded a cover version of the song in 1968 for Feliciano!.
 * Chantal Kreviazuk's cover was used as the theme song for the series Providence.
 * Johnny Cash covered the song in 2002 for his album American IV.
 * Ozzy Osbourne covered the song on his "Prince of Darkness" boxset.
 * Charice covered the song in 2009 for her album "My Inspiration".
 * MonaLisa twins covered the song in 2014 for the album "MonaLisa Twins Play Beatles & More".
 * Darren Criss, Samuel Larsen, Jenna Ushkowitz, Damian McGinty, Vanessa Lengies, Kevin McHale, and Chord Overstreet covered the song in the Glee season three finale "Goodbye".