I’m A Loser (Lennon/McCartney)
Quotes
“That’s me in my Dylan period. Part of me suspects that I’m a loser and the other part of me thinks I’m God Almighty.” – John Lennon, Playboy, 1980
“We used to listen to a lot of country and western songs,” McCartney related in 1994, “and they were all about sadness and ‘I lost my truck,’ so it was quite acceptable to sing ‘I’m a loser.’ You really didn’t think about it at the time, it was only later you’d think, ‘God! That was pretty brave of John.’ ‘I’m A Loser’ was pretty much John’s song and there may have been a dabble or two from me.” – Paul McCartney
“‘I’m A Loser’ is me in my Dylan period, because the word ‘clown’ is in it. I objected to the word ‘clown’, because that was always artsy-fartsy, but Dylan had used it so I thought it was all right, and it rhymed with whatever I was doing.” – John Lennon
“(Kenneth) Allsop had in essence said to him that he wasn’t terribly enamored with Beatles’ songs because they all tended to be ‘she loves him,’ ‘he love her,’ ‘they love her’ and ‘I love her.’ He suggested to John that he try to write something more autobiographical, based on personal experience rather than these abstract images. That struck a chord with him.” – Elliot Mintz, friend of John Lennon
BBC Performances
See THERE WILL BE A SHOW TONIGHT: The BBC Performances for complete information on BBC performances and recordings
- Top Gear – recorded November 17, 1964, broadcast November 26, 1964 and December 26, 1964 and released on Live At The BBC (1994)
- The Beatles Invite You To Take A Ticket To Ride – recorded May 26, 1965, broadcast June 7, 1965
Personnel
- John Lennon – lead vocals, harmonica, acoustic rhythm guitar
- Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, bass guitar
- George Harrison – electric lead guitar
- Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine
Release history
- Beatles For Sale (1964)
- Beatles For Sale (EP) (1965)
- Live At The BBC (1994) [live at the BBC, November 1964]