It’s one of the oldest stories in song. A person who’s on the outside looking in as the one they love is with somebody else. They know in their heart the other person is wrong for the object of their affection, but they can’t seem to get that message across.
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The Beatles delivered just such a song with “This Boy,” released by the band in their magical breakthrough year of 1963. With incredible harmony singing, they made the protagonist of the story seem a little less lonely as he made his case.
Oh “Boy”
The Beatles were writing and recording music at such a rapid rate in the first few years of their recording career they had trouble finding a place for all of it. “This Boy” is now considered one of their most beloved early ballads. But at the time, it was only a B-side, released in 1963 and found only when you flipped over the 45 of “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
As is the case with more than a few Beatles tracks, recollections vary on just how the song was written and by whom. John Lennon claimed it as one of his own, but Paul McCartney later recalled it was very much a co-creation. (We tend to believe Macca might have been more accurate in this case, as he was able to pinpoint when and where it was written.)
The song is most notable for its use of three-part vocal harmonies, something the group hadn’t tried to this extent on prior records. McCartney told his biographer Barry Miles why this style appealed to them:
”We wanted to do a close-harmony thing, we liked harmonies and we were quite good at them. We used to do a close-harmony version of The Teddy Bears’ ‘To Know Her is to Love Her,’ which was good for the versatility in the band. We weren’t all rock ‘n’ roll, we could change the pace, which was always nice after you’d played for three hours. We wrote it in two-part harmony and then put the third part in for George to sing; we’d never actually tried to write something like that. Nice middle, John sang that great, then we’d go back into the close-harmony thing.”
The Beatles later tried another song similar in form to “This Boy” in “Yes It Is,” which was also released as a B-side. In both cases, John Lennon was somewhat dismissive after the fact about the lyrics, although we think they get the job done.
Examining the Lyrics of “This Boy”
Perhaps the most striking part of the lyrics to the song is the choice by the narrator to talk about himself as if he were another person. Instead of “I,” he refers to himself as This boy throughout the song. It’s a clever way of drawing a distinction between the good guy and the bad guy of the story.
For most of the two verses, it’s all about the negative qualities of That boy. For example, That boy took my love away. And That boy isn’t good for you. In the bridge, Lennon’s lead vocal explodes as he makes a stark contrast: Oh, and this boy would be happy / Just to love you against That boy won’t be happy / ’Til he’s seen you cry.
In the end, the narrator patiently waits for justice to prevail: This boy wouldn’t mind the pain / Would always feel the same / If this boy gets you back and again. With Paul McCartney and George Harrison backing him up, it certainly feels like John Lennon’s heartbroken “This Boy” might one day end up with that girl.
Photo by Sharok Hatami/Shutterstock
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