As The Beatles burst out the door on the fire escape and Ringo Starr yells, “We’re out,” it’s a moment of freedom as they descend the stairs in their 1964 film, A Hard Day’s Night. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Starr are celebrating the fact they are breaking out of a television studio and avoiding throngs of screaming fans as they frolic on a field. The song accompanying the romp is “Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Videos by American Songwriter
The scene utilized a bit of “movie magic, ” comprising three different locations. The fire escape was on the back of the legendary Hammersmith Odeon in London, and the band hurried onto a field at Gatwick Airport, while the scene was matched up with more footage filmed on the Thornbury Road Playing Fields. Lennon had to miss some filming as he was honored at a literary luncheon celebrating the success of his book, In His Own Write. Director Richard Lester filled in for the missing Beatle.
Let’s look at the story behind “Can’t Buy Me Love” by The Beatles.
Can’t buy me love
Love
Can’t buy me love
Paris
Before The Beatles took America by storm, they performed 18 shows at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. During their stay, an upright piano was moved into one of their suites at the George V Hotel so songwriting could continue. “I Want to Hold Your Hand” had just reached No. 1 in America, and manager Brian Epstein set up a recording session at EMI’s Pathe Marconi Studios.
In 1980, Lennon told author David Sheff: “That’s Paul’s completely. Maybe I had something to do with the chorus, but I don’t know. I always considered it his song.”
I’ll buy you a diamond ring, my friend
If it makes you feel alright
I’ll get you anything, my friend
If it makes you feel alright
‘Cause I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love
German Versions
Producer George Martin flew over for the occasion, and four takes of the song were captured. During the same session, German versions of “She Loves You” and “I Want To Hold Your Hand” were also captured, as the record label was concerned that English lyrics would not sell in Germany.
I’ll give you all I’ve got to give
If you say you love me, too
I may not have a lot to give
But what I got I’ll give to you
I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love
The Song Needed a Tag
Martin suggested beginning the song with the chorus. He shared his thoughts in The Beatles Anthology: “I thought that we really needed a tag for the song’s ending, and a tag for the beginning; a kind of intro. So I took the first two lines of the chorus, and changed the ending, and said, ‘Let’s just have these lines, and by altering the second phrase, we can get back into the verse pretty quickly.’ And they said, ‘That’s not a bad idea, we’ll do it that way.'”
Can’t buy me love
Everybody tells me so
Can’t buy me love
No, no, no, no
No Background Vocals
“Can’t Buy Me Love” was the first Beatles single to feature just one singer. Harrison and Lennon sang background vocals in earlier takes, but by the fourth and final take, it was decided to scrap them.
Back in London, lead vocals would be added to the track several weeks later. McCartney told author Barry Miles: “‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ is my attempt to write a bluesy mode. The idea behind it was that all these material possessions are very well, but they won’t buy me what I really want. It was a very hooky song. Ella Fitzgerald later did a version of it, which I was very honored by.”
Say you don’t need no diamond rings
And I’ll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things
That money just can’t buy
I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love
Overdubs in London
McCartney added lead vocals on February 25, 1964. Harrison updated his guitar solo on the same day. Said Harrison in The Beatles Anthology: “We took the tapes from that back to England to do some work on them. I once read something that tries to analyze ‘Can’t Buy Me Love,’ talking about the double-track guitar—mine—and saying that it’s not very good because you can hear the original one. What happened was that we recorded first in Paris and rerecorded in England. Obviously, they’d tried to overdub it, but in those days, they only had two tracks, so you can hear the version we put on in London, and in the background, you can hear a quieter one.”
Buy me, love
Everybody tells me so
Can’t buy me love
No, no, no, no
The Song Is Featured Twice In A Hard Day’s Night
The Song is Featured Twice in A Hard Day’s Night
Not only does “Can’t Buy Me Love” accompany the romp in the field, but it is also used when the band runs to and from the police station. Martin said in The Beatles Anthology: “It was the first film for which I wrote the score, and I had the benefit of having a director who was a musician. We recorded the songs for the film just as we would ordinary recordings, and Dick (Lester) used a lot of songs we’d already recorded. ‘Can’t Buy Me Love,’ for example, which was used twice in the picture.”
Say you don’t need no diamond rings
And I’ll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of things
That money just can’t buy
I don’t care too much for money
Money can’t buy me love
No. 1
The song raced to the top of the American charts after their appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. McCartney wrote in The Lyrics: 1956 To The Present: “The single did really well for us, getting to No. 1 in the UK and U.S. at the same time. And then, funnily enough, it was knocked off the No. 1 spot in the UK by ‘A World Without Love,’ a song I wrote for [ex-girlfriend] Jane Asher’s brother Peter.”
Can’t buy me love
Love
Can’t buy me love
The Man: “I suppose you realize this is private property.”
George Harrison: “I’m sorry we hurt your field, Mister.”
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
