Download Instrumental    What passes for a love song these days is just pathetic.  I’m not even going to comment on some of the trash that is out there today.   THIS, however, is a love song, and they just don’t write ’em like this anymore… aside from a few country artists.  In this particular tune, it’s all about the vocal harmonies.  I tried to duplicate those harmonies as best I could on a keyboard and it falls short, but you’ll get the idea.  If you’re a solo act, you’ll have a nice backup to your lead vocal.

“If I Fell” was written by John Lennon for The Beatles album A Hard Days Night in 1964, although Paul McCartney claims he also had a hand in its composition.  Doesn’t matter if it was one or both of them – it’s a masterpiece of brilliant chord progressions, beautiful vocals, and perfect instrumentation.  John famously claimed that he didn’t have a romantic bone in his body, but you’ve got to be a sentimental slob to write poetry like this – not that there’s anything wrong with that.

During the recording session, Lennon and McCartney sang together into one microphone – sort of Everly Brothers style.  John takes the lead on the first 8 bars that serve as a kind of introduction to the piece.  Then Paul takes over lead vocals and Lennon switches to harmony.  What made them do that I’ll never know but it works – spendidly.  There are no standard 8-bar verses and no real chorus – just an odd, unexpected chord (D ninth) at the end of 8 bars that leads you into a semi-chorus.  This is a challenging tune, but well worth the effort – it belongs in your “romantic” set, along with “Takin’ Care of Business”.

Whenever The Beatles performed “If I Fell” live, Paul would introduce it and John would mutter the word “over” at the end of the title.  Then they would giggle through the whole thing.  Well, that kinda sucks the romance out of the air, doncha’ think?  You can hear John screw it up on the video below.  No giggling allowed if you perform this one! And no smirking either!