With a Little Help from My

Friends
The Beatles

[Segue: The Beatles]

Billy Shears!

[Verse 1: Ringo Starr]

What would you think if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?

Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song

And I'll try not to sing out of key

[Chorus: Ringo Starr]

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends

Mm, going to try with a little help from my friends

[Verse 2: Ringo Starr & The Beatles]

What do I do when my love is away?

Does it worry you to be alone?
How do I feel by the end of the day?
Are you sad because you're on your own?

[Chorus: Ringo Starr]

No, I get by with a little help from my friends

Mm, get high with a little help from my friends

Mm, going to try with a little help from my friends

[Bridge: Ringo Starr & The Beatles]

Do you need anybody?

I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love

[Verse 3: Ringo Starr & The Beatles]

Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time

What do you see when you turn out the light?

I can't tell you, but I know it's mine

[Chorus: Ringo Starr]

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

Mm, get high with a little help from my friends

Oh, I'm going to try with a little help from my friends

[Bridge: Ringo Starr & The Beatles]

Do you need anybody?

I just need someone to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love

[Outro: Ringo Starr]

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, going to try with a little help from my friends

Oh, I get high with a little help from my friends

Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends

With a little help from my friends
 [Segue: The Beatles]
Billy Shears!

Transitioning from the previous track, this song

introduces drummer Ringo Starr’s Sgt. Peppers
character, Billy Shears.

[Verse 1: Ringo Starr]

 What would you think if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?

The second line to this was originally “Would you

throw tomatoes at me?”, but the line was changed
because Ringo feared that, if the Beatles ever resumed
touring and performed the song live, people would
really throw tomatoes at him.

The song “With A Little Help From My

Friends” was written specifically for me,
but they had one line that I wouldn’t sing.
It was ‘What would you do if I sang out of
tune? Would you stand up and throw
tomatoes at me?’ I said, ‘There’s not a
chance in hell am I going to sing this
line,’ because we still had lots of really
deep memories of the kids throwing jelly
beans and toys on stage; and I thought that
if we ever did get out there again, I was not
going to be bombarded with tomatoes.
- Ringo Starr, Anthology

This fear may have been caused after George Harrison

made a comment that he liked jelly babies in the early
days of The Beatles. Fans often threw jelly beans and
jelly babies at them as they were performing.
 Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song
And I'll try not to sing out of key

As drumming is Ringo Starr’s strong suit, he

apologized in advance for any quavering vocals. Starr
typically sang on at least one song of each album in
order to establish a vocal personality for each member
of the group.

“Lend me your ears” is a reference to William

Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. “Friends, Romans,
countrymen, lend me your ears” is the line attributed to
Marc Antony, occurring in Act III, Scene II.

[Chorus: Ringo Starr]

 Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.

Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends

The whole album is laced with minor drug references

that can be taken ambiguously, as McCartney states:

Again, because it was the pot era, we had

to slip in a little reference: ‘I get high!’
 Mm, going to try with a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.

[Verse 2: Ringo Starr & The Beatles]

Starting with this verse, all but the chorus repetitions

are a call and response. This verse has Ringo first, John
and Paul afterwards. The others, they ask, “Billy
Shears” responds.
 What do I do when my love is away?
Does it worry you to be alone?
How do I feel by the end of the day?
Are you sad because you're on your own?

When your significant other is not around things can

get pretty lonely. So what do you do? The Beatles
remind us once again that our friends can help pick us
up when we are down.

Everyone has a reason to be happy, just by hanging out

with your closest pals.

[Chorus: Ringo Starr]

 No, I get by with a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.

Mm, get high with a little help from my friends

The whole album is laced with minor drug references

that can be taken ambiguously, as McCartney states:

Again, because it was the pot era, we had

to slip in a little reference: ‘I get high!’
 Mm, going to try with a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.
 [Bridge: Ringo Starr & The Beatles]

This song was written by Lennon and McCartney

together.

The harmonic jumps in this section are characteristic of

McCartney.

(Beatles collaboration video)

 Do you need anybody?
I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love

The singer feels he NEEDS someone to love as a

necessity however when asked ‘could it be anybody?’
he specifies in the line after that he WANTS someone
to love, someone that he can love, someone with whom
he gets along.

[Verse 3: Ringo Starr &

The Beatles

]
 Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes, I'm certain that it happens all the time

Ringo’s certainty implies personal experience. And

with his repeated infidelities ultimately ending his first
marriage, it would seem he believed in love at first site
quite often.
 What do you see when you turn out the light?
I can't tell you, but I know it's mine

This line seems to be saying something about one’s

own dreams and passions, but McCartney can’t help
but hide his mirth at how it’s delivered:

I remember giggling with John as we wrote

the lines ‘What do you see when you turn
out the light? I can’t tell you but I know it’s
mine.’ It could have been him playing with
his willie under the covers, or it could have
been taken on a deeper level; this was what
it meant but it was a nice way to say it, a
very non-specific way to say it. I always
liked that.

[Chorus: Ringo Starr]

 Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.

Mm, get high with a little help from my friends

The whole album is laced with minor drug references

that can be taken ambiguously, as McCartney states:

Again, because it was the pot era, we had

to slip in a little reference: ‘I get high!’
 Oh, I'm going to try with a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.
 [Bridge: Ringo Starr & The Beatles]

This song was written by Lennon and McCartney

together.

The harmonic jumps in this section are characteristic of

McCartney.

(Beatles collaboration video)

 Do you need anybody?
I just need someone to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love

The singer feels he NEEDS someone to love as a

necessity however when asked ‘could it be anybody?’
he specifies in the line after that he WANTS someone
to love, someone that he can love, someone with whom
he gets along.

[Outro: Ringo Starr]

 Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
Mm, going to try with a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.

Oh, I get high with a little help from my friends

The whole album is laced with minor drug references

that can be taken ambiguously, as McCartney states:

Again, because it was the pot era, we had

to slip in a little reference: ‘I get high!’
 Yes, I get by with a little help from my friends
With a little help from my friends

As Rolling Stone reports, Ringo literally sang this with

help from his friends.

The Beatles cut this in an all-night session

after the photo shoot for the Sgt. Pepper
cover. At dawn, Starr trudged up the stairs
to head home — but the other Beatles
cajoled him into doing his lead vocal then
and there, standing around the microphone
for moral support. Though nervous and
exhausted, Starr delivered a magnificently
soulful vocal, right up to that final high
note.
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2018-03-11

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