"Not A Second Time" by The Beatles. The in-depth story behind the songs of the Beatles. Recording History. Songwriting History. Song Structure and Style.

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“NOT A SECOND TIME”

(John Lennon / Paul McCartney)

“Harmonic interest is typical of their quicker songs, and one gets the impression that they think simultaneously of harmony and melody, so firmly are the major tonic sevenths and ninths built into their tunes, the flat submediant key switches, so natural is the Aeolian cadence at the end of 'Not A Second Time' (the chord progression which ends Mahler's Song of the Earth).”

This is a quote from William Mann, who was the music critic for The London Times. This article, “What Songs The Beatles Sang,” was published on December 23rd, 1963, just over a month after the release of the LP “With The Beatles” in the UK. This critical analysis was unlike any media exposure the group was getting up to this time, most of which consisted of reports on the mass hysteria that accompanied their appearances.

What this article accomplished was the adding of an enormous amount of credibility to The Beatles' music. It assisted in the squelching of complaints from parents that their teenage kids were just idolizing long-haired talentless noise-makers. John Lennon referred to the article in interviews many times over the years, emphasizing that this review had been responsible for “starting the whole intellectual bit about The Beatles.”

The phrase “Aeolian cadence” became an often mentioned term in the tabloid press at that time, which sounded quite impressive with respect to their music, but was seen to be humorous by the group. “I can’t help having a quiet giggle when straight-faced critics start feeding all sorts of hidden meanings into the stuff we write,” John Lennon stated in 1965. “William Mann wrote the intellectual article about The Beatles. He used a whole lot of musical terminology and he’s a twit.”

In the '70s, John seemed to change his attitude about this review. “I still don’t know what it means at the end, but he made us acceptable to the intellectuals. It worked and we were flattered. I (composed) ‘Not A Second Time’ and, really, it was just chords like any other chords.” McCartney agreed, saying “we hadn’t been conscious of any of that. We just did our songs in hotel rooms, whenever we had a spare moment, John and I, sitting on twin beds with guitars.”

Instinct is what had propelled Lennon and McCartney to write what they did over the years, being that neither of them had formal musical training. They wrote by feel, which Lennon testified to in 1973: “Intellectuals have the problem of having to understand it. They can’t feel anything. The only way to get an intellectual is to talk to him and then play him the record. You couldn’t put a record on and just let him hear it.”

The effect of William Mann’s review had such a lasting impact that the subject was still raised during a Lennon 1980 interview shortly before his death. His last words concerning Aeolian cadences were, “To this day I don’t have any idea what they are. They sound like exotic birds!”

Songwriting History

It has been confirmed by both Lennon and McCartney that “Not A Second Time” was written entirely by John. Both of them also confirmed in interviews that John had been influenced by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles for the song, Lennon stating in the "Anthology" book that he was "trying to write a Smokey Robinson or something at the time." While Lennon usually wrote lyrics first and then fitted the chords and melody lines around the words, the Smokey Robinson influence can clearly be detected in the melody he wrote to accompany the lyrics, such as the ‘trapped in a controlling relationship’ subject, this also being evidenced in The Miracles' “You've Really Got A Hold On Me,” which was also recorded by the band for the same British "With The Beatles" album.

It can be presumed by listening to the finished product that the song was written shortly before being recorded. It appears that John is the only Beatle fully acquainted with the song, as Paul and George’s parts are faintly heard and rudimentary. No vocal harmonies were deemed necessary, although they could have been implemented to great effect if they had been so inclined at the time. Producer George Martin can easily be recognized as contributing the bulk of the musicianship on the recording, as his piano parts dominate throughout. Although no records or interviews exist that detail when the song was written, it can be assumed that it was composed sometime in early September of 1963, just before the recording took place.

Recording History

Both afternoon and evening sessions were scheduled in EMI Studio Two on September 11th, 1963. Their evening session ran from 7 to 10:15 pm, which began with the band introducing and completing the entire song. Five takes were recorded of the basic track, which consisted of Lennon singing and all four Beatles playing live. "Take five" was deemed the best, ready for overdubs.

It has been suggested by some sources that McCartney did not participate at all, since the piano part (which was overdubbed afterward by George Martin) focuses on the bass notes of the song. The same has been said about George Harrison’s contribution, since only one guitar can be detected in the released recording. We do know with certainty that both McCartney and Harrison were present earlier this day for the recording of “All I’ve Got To Do,” in which both their contributions can easily be heard. Surely Harrison would have also been present for the evening session, since his composition “Don’t Bother Me” was premiered that day. All evidence suggests, therefore, that these five takes of the basic track were recorded by all four Beatles.

After the fifth take of the rhythm track for "Not A Second Time" was deemed the best, overdubs were determined to be needed. While the two-track tape of "take five" was re-recorded onto another two-track machine, Lennon double-tracked his vocal part, two attempts possibly being made, these being designated to be "take six" and "take seven." Afterward, while this second two-track tape was being re-recorded onto yet another two-track machine, a piano part was simultaneously overdubbed by George Martin, complete with a solo, two attempts apparently being made. In the end, "take nine" was determined as best, which completed the recording of "Not A Second Time" in one day. All of this took place between the estimated time of 7 and 8:30 pm.

The mono mix of the song was made from "take nine" on September 30th, 1963, along with four other songs for the "With The Beatles" LP. This was done by George Martin with Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick as engineers in the EMI Studio Three control room. The song's stereo mix was created very quickly, along with the rest of the entire album, on October 29th, 1963 in the control room of EMI Studio Three by George Martin with engineers Norman Smith, Geoff Emerick and the mysterious B.T. The fade out of the songs were each performed at their respective mixing sessions.

Song Structure and Style

John Lennon has been known for straying away drastically from the conformities of songwriting structures, but this isn't usually detected this early on in the group's career. The song "Not A Second Time" has quite a lot of unorthodoxies which can become confusing when analyzed. Ian MacDonald, in his book "Revolution In The Head," described the structure utilzed here to be "a rambling affair composed of an irregular fourteen-bar verse joined with a ten-bar chorus which sounds like a middle eight."

To generalize this track, we see a 'verse/ verse/ refrain' structure (or aab) that, on the surface, seems not unlike the structure used on “All My Loving.” But, first of all, the second verse is a variant of the first, which makes this verse unique. Also, as stated above, a solo section is included but, in this case, is played above the refrain chords, this being especially unusual since this appears directly after the true refrain is heard. We then hear an exact repeat of this pattern with the same lyrics, so in essence, we hear the whole song twice in a row. Then we have a conclusion, or "outro" if you will, which is a variation on the initial verse but is in actuality quite different. So, if we’re going to be precise, the complete structure for this song is ‘initial verse/ variant verse /refrain/ refrain/ initial verse/ variant verse/ refrain/ outro’ (or abccabcd). And if we’re all not confused already, each verse is an unusual seven measures long, while each refrain is an equally unusual ten measures long.

Is this to say that Lennon didn’t know what he was doing? Or was he a genius? The verdict is actually both. While it is true that John was not musically trained and could not read music, he was truly gifted with the ability to express the emotions of what he witnessed in the music he listened to. If he happened to be enamored with Smokey Robinson at a given time (as John was when making this LP), he could vividly express the emotions and sentiments that his songs did. If Bob Dylan was his current inspiration (such as in late ’64 and early ’65), then we can easily hear this influence. Lennon may have downplayed his songwriting abilities, once stating, “It’s a bit haphazard; there’s no rules for writing,” he’d also admitted that he wrote by “feel.” Those feelings, tempered by the structural collaborations from McCartney, made them the outstanding songwriting partnership they are known for today. In the case of “Not A Second Time,” we see the example of songwriting by "feel" in its rawest form, since Lennon wrote the song completely on his own.

A step-by-step run through of the song starts off with an abrupt beginning of the first initial verse with no introduction. We get the impression of an introduction because of Ringo not coming in on the drums until the fifth measure, which is quite a unique occurrence in the group's catalog. Following the seven measure first verse, they immediately go into a seven measure "variant verse," starting identically (almost sounding like a continuation of the first verse) but move to a minor chord in the sixth measure. This variation of the verse creates an expectation of the refrain which it naturally proceeds to.

The ten measure refrain is also unique in that it does not have the catchy tuneful melody that similar songs have, such as on “All My Loving” and “A Taste Of Honey.” It does contain the gist of the song’s message, as well as ending with the title of the song, but since it concludes in an E minor instead of the expected signature chord of G major, this somewhat downbeat turn suggests that John's intended sentiments are more painful than his lyrics are actually stating. The refrain concludes with a "Beatles break" in which Ringo plays a precise drum fill in the absence of all other instrumentation.

Next comes the solo section which, as detailed previously, uses the chord sequence and melody line of the refrain that preceded it. After a repeat of the "Beatles break" and drum fill, we hear the exact structure again, lyrics and all, with only a very slight variation in the melody line in the seventh measure of the initial verse. We then witness the outro in which the first two chords of the song are repeated until the song fades, while Lennon repeats the title in varying configurations.

Lennon’s double-tracked vocal tracks stray quite a bit from each other during the song's fade out, displaying the results of a mistake that sounded too good to correct. Concerning these accidents, Geoff Emerick explained, “When someone made a mistake like that and the others liked it, we would often actually make it louder when we'd mix the song so as to accentuate it…It was all about playing a joke on the fans, giving them a treat, something to talk about.”

On the surface, John’s lyrics here portrayed being wounded by a lover who has ended the relationship, but then ‘changes her mind’ and tries to convince him using the “same old lines.” He cannot face the possibility of him being hurt all over again so his resolve is not to allow her back into his life. But in the true fashion of Smokey Robinson, the context of the chord pattern that ends the refrain, as in Gustav Mahler's Song of the Earth, intimated that he was actually wavering in this resolve. Why else, it could be suggested, would the refrain conclude in a minor chord when stating the key phrase “not a second time” instead of the expected major signature chord? Deep stuff!

We also witness here another example of John revealing his vulnerable inner self as a contrast with his hardened exterior. The word “cry” is highlighted multiple times in the song, this becoming a recurring feature within many of his compositions throughout their career.

Lennon’s vocal work is painfully convincing throughout, with the standard double-tracking being utilized to good effect. Since the original vocal track and Lennon’s acoustic guitar were recorded simultaneously, it can be easily seen how the song would stand alone as a singer / songwriter acoustic solo performance.

Ringo comes through as a trooper in a song which he hadn't been too familiar with, but with amazing aplomb. His rock-steady beat with predetermined drum fills are quite appropriate for this classy and intellectual offering. George Martin’s appearance as pianist makes the song appear to be a keyboard-oriented track, although its composer undoubtedly intended it to have a predominant acoustic guitar flavor. Luckily, George Martin doesn't "showboat" the song, which allows its intricate nature to speak for itself. His lower register keyboard work throughout, including the solo, suited the emotional disruption of the lyrics. With two sets of overdubs being recorded, the released result being a third generation recording, Paul's bass and George's guitar contributions seem to be lost in the shuffle, reduced so far back in the mix to be nearly indiscernible on the released version.

Capitol's "Meet The Beatles!" album

American Releases

January 20th, 1964, was the first US release of “Not A Second Time,” which was on the first Capitol LP “Meet The Beatles!” Since this track was not a hit and failed to achieve substantial airplay, it didn't make it onto any compilation or "greatest hits" package. This song remains a highly respected addition to their first Capitol album. Incidentally, mono copies of this LP had a "Type B" foldover mix of the song created by Capitol Records that combined both the stereo mix channels into one instead of the legitimate mono mix originally created by George Martin in 1963. The LP was eventually released on compact disc on January 21st, 2014, both the mono and stereo mixes being contained on a single CD. A mono edition of the album on opaque blue vinyl was then released on November 22nd, 2024 for sale exclusively at Target stores.

The first time the British "With The Beatles" album was made available in the US was on the "Original Master Recording" vinyl edition which was made available by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in January of 1987. This LP included "Not A Second Time" and was prepared using new half-speed mastering technology from the original master tape on loan through EMI. This edition of the LP had a limited production, reportedly due to a damaged metal part that was required for pressing the vinyl. Therefore, this album is said to be the rarest and most valuable Beatles LP released in the “Original Master Recording” series.

February 26th, 1987 saw this track released in mono on the original British "With The Beatles" album on compact disc, a vinyl edition coming out on July 21st, 1987. The remastered CD edition that came out on September 9th, 2009 brought the album into stereo, the vinyl edition coming out on November 13th, 2012.

The box set “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1” was released on November 15th, 2006 which contained the song in stereo and "Type B" foldover mono as first heard on the original "Meet The Beatles!" album.

September 9th, 2009 was also the date the CD box set “The Beatles In Mono” was released which features a crystal clear remastered mono version of "Not A Second Time." The vinyl edition of this box set was first released on September 9th, 2014.

Live Performances

Like other songs of this period, such as “All I’ve Got To Do” and “It Won’t Be Long,” this song was not intended for live performances. Therefore, the song was never performed live by The Beatles nor as a solo artist. They never recorded it for any of their BBC radio performances either. As far as sources can confirm, September 11th, 1963 was the first and last day they ever played the song, individually or collectively, this being the day they recorded it in EMI Studios.

Conclusion

Far from being considered mere "album filler," Lennon remained pleased about having written this song, spurred on by William Mann’s positive appraisal in December of 1963. It is a serious piece of work from start to finish, this effect highlighted by the song following the lighthearted and simple-minded lyrics of both “Hold Me Tight” and “I Wanna Be Your Man.”

Its less-than-flattering position on the UK “With The Beatles” album of next to last on side two does not do this fine piece of work justice. It works far better as we’ve come to know it in the US, as the final word on their first Capitol album. It is as if they were saying: “We are serious songwriters with a lot of future potential.” History has definitely proven this to be true.

Song Summary

“Not A Second Time”

Written by: John Lennon / Paul McCartney