John Lennon and The Beatles’ music is teaming with hopeless romantic tropes. “Girl,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Something,” and “In My Life” are just a few of the notable ones that come to mind. However, there are hoards of other ones that exist in the Beatles’ expansive and decorated catalog.
John Lennon was always an artist in every sense of the word, thus, he seemingly always liked to place himself in the very setting of his songs. That being so, when Lennon sat down to write the Beatles’ 1964 single, “If I Fell,” he made sure to write it on a dramatically appropriate piece of paper—A Valentine’s Day Card.
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John Lennon and The £7,800 Valentine’s Day Card
It is unclear where and when John Lennon wrote the lyrics for “If I Fell” on the back of a Valentine’s Day Card, though, both Lennon and Paul McCartney have spoken candidly about the song’s meaning and context. Regarding the latter, “If I Fell” appeared in the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night. In the scene, Lennon comedically mimes the song to Ringo Starr. Although, that still doesn’t explain the subject matter behind the song’s lines.
In the book, All We Are Saying, Lennon stated, “That’s my first attempt to write a ballad proper. That was the precursor to ‘In My Life.’” “And it’s semi-autobiographical, but not consciously. It shows that I wrote sentimental love ballads, silly love songs, way back when.”
McCartney, who helped Lennon write the song, chimed in by saying, “People tend to forget that John wrote some pretty nice ballads. People tend to think of him as an acerbic wit and aggressive and abrasive, but he did have a very warm side to him really which he didn’t like to show too much in case he got rejected.” “We wrote ‘If I Fell’ together but with the emphasis on John because he sang it. It was a nice harmony number, very much a ballad,” concluded McCartney in the book, Many Years From Now.
“If I Fell” is one of the few purely romantic songs in Lennon’s Beatles canon. And even though this was his first time writing a true love ballad, Lennon was still able to create a hit. Following its 1964 release, “If I Fell” charted at No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lastly, the Valentine’s Day card containing the original lyrics sold for £7,800 at Sotheby’s in London in 1988.
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