"In My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that appeared on their 1965 album Rubber Soul. It was written primarily by John Lennon with structural contributions from Paul McCartney, and credited to Lennon–McCartney. George Martin contributed the piano solo bridge.
According to Lennon, "In My Life" was his "first real major piece of work" because it was the first time he wrote about his own life.
In 2000, Mojo named "In My Life" the best song of all time. Rolling Stone ranked it number 23 on its 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and number 98 on the 2021 revised list, as well as fifth on its list of the Beatles' "100 Greatest Songs".
Lyrics
In a 1980 interview, Lennon referred to this song as his "first real major piece of work" because it was the first time he had written about his own life. According to Lennon, the song's origins can be traced to English journalist Kenneth Allsop's remark that Lennon should write songs about his childhood. Afterwards, Lennon wrote a song in the form of a long poem reminiscing on those years. The original lyrics were based on a bus route he used to take in Liverpool, naming various sites seen along the way, including Penny Lane and Strawberry Field.
Lennon later thought the original lyrics were "ridiculous", calling it "the most boring sort of 'What I Did on My Holidays Bus Trip' song". He reworked the words and replaced the specific memories with a generalised meditation on his past. 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 himself and Stuart Sutcliffe (who died in 1962).
Music
Lennon's and McCartney's recollections differ regarding the music. Lennon said that McCartney's "contribution melodically was the harmony and the middle-eight." In 1977, when shown a list of songs Lennon claimed writing on for the magazine Hit Parader, "In My Life" was the only entry McCartney disputed. McCartney said he set Lennon's lyrics to music from beginning to end, taking inspiration from songs by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles. In 1976, he commented: "I liked 'In My Life'. Those were words that John wrote, and I wrote the tune to it. That was a great one."
In a 2018 study, artificial intelligence researchers at Harvard University applied bag-of-words modelling to the notes and chords of the song, and concluded that there was a 18.9% probability of McCartney having written the verse. Lennon was given an 81.1% certainty of writing the verses, while McCartney was given a 43.5% certainty of writing the middle eight. The analysts reported "a large amount of uncertainty" regarding the middle eight.
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.
Legacy
"In My Life" inspired pop music producers to use harpsichords in their arrangements. Rolling Stone magazine ranked "In My Life" number 23 on its 2004 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and number 98 on its 2021 list, as well as fifth on its 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. According to Acclaimed Music, as of 2020 it was the 194th most celebrated song in popular music history.
Cover versions
Bette Midler recorded a version that was released as a single in early 1992 from the soundtrack of her movie For the Boys, It peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. This version later appeared on her 1993 hits album Experience the Divine: Greatest Hits. Unreleased: George Harrison covered the song on his 1974 North American tour. At one point in the song, George changes the lyrics to "In my life, I love God more."
Personnel
Per Ian MacDonald: John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, rhythm guitar Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar Ringo Starr – drums, bells George Martin – piano, tambourine