#beatlesongs

The "yeah, yeah, yeah" phrase that is featured so prominently in this song quickly became one of the Beatles' trademarks. In fact, in Southeast Asia, the Beatles' music was known as "yeah, yeah, yeah music" in government decrees. McCartney's father had suggested using "yes, yes, yes" instead because it was more dignified.

LENNON: "That's Paul again. Can't you tell? I mean--'Tomorrow may rain so I'll follow the sun.' That's another early McCartney, you know, written almost before the Beatles, I think. He had a lot of stuff..."

Lennon was proud of the lyrics and the self-awareness they expressed. He maintained that the words were true--he was asking for help. But the Beatles quickened the tempo to make the song more commercial, which Lennon later regretted.

With Please Please Me out for less than four months, the Beatles began recording songs for their next long-player in mid-July 1963. The band's intent was to release two albums and four double-backed singles each year. They were generally able to maintain this exhausting recording schedule through 1965.

Poet Allen Ginsberg had a revelation of sorts when he first heard "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in a New York City nightclub. He was so carried away by the Beatles' music and its revolutionary style that he got up and danced--Ginsberg had never before danced in public.