Tell Me What You See

"Tell Me What You See" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that first appeared in 1965 on their album Help! in the United Kingdom and on Beatles VI in the United States. The song is credited to Lennon–McCartney but mainly written by Paul McCartney. Regarding the song's authorship, McCartney said, "I seem to remember it as mine. I would claim it as a 60–40 but it might have been totally me."[2] John Lennon said, in his interviews with Playboy (1980) and Hit Parader (1972), that "Tell Me What You See" was written completely by McCartney.

This article is about the Beatles song. For the 2022 book, see Tell Me What You See (2022 book).

"Tell Me What You See"
Cover of the song's sheet music
Song by the Beatles
from the album Help!
Released
Recorded18 February 1965
StudioEMI, London
GenreFolk rock[1]
Length2:36
LabelParlophone
Songwriter(s)Lennon–McCartney
Producer(s)George Martin

Composition

"Tell Me What You See" was deemed by McCartney, "Not awfully memorable",[2] in an interview with author Barry Miles. Following each repetition of the title phrase, there is a brief instrumental break featuring a Hohner Pianet. The instrument is featured on two other tracks on Help!: "You Like Me Too Much" and "The Night Before", both recorded the day before "Tell Me What You See." Ringo Starr's drumming on the track is augmented with a trio of percussion instruments; a güiro, a tambourine, and a pair of claves. This is not the first time the Beatles had used additional percussion instruments to flesh out their sound, having done so as early as "Don't Bother Me" in 1963.

Evident in the song's structure and instrumentation are the Beatles' then growing folk influence, with lyrics more mature and reflective than was standard in their earlier output. The line "trying to get to you" (the title of an early Elvis Presley song recorded for Sun Records, which served as inspiration for McCartney and George Harrison's composition "In Spite of All the Danger") reflects the band's continued love of early rock and roll. Other songs on Help!, such as Lennon's "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and the title track, also exhibit compositional growth.

A verse in the song, beginning with the line "Big and black the clouds may be", was taken from a religious inscription that had hung in Lennon's childhood home in Liverpool: "However black the clouds may be, in time they’ll pass away. Have faith and trust and you will see, God’s light make bright your day." The same inscription was parodied by Lennon in his 1965 book A Spaniard in the Works.[3]

Personnel
Personnel per Ian MacDonald[7] except where noted.

Notes
  1. Halpin, Brooke. Experiencing the Beatles: A Listener's Companion. p. 93.
  2. Miles 1997, p. 200.
  3. Lydon, Michael (2014) [March 1966]. "Lennon and McCartney: Songwriters – A Portrait from 1966". Rock's Backpages.
  4. Stannard 1984, p. 33.
  5. The Beatles: 10 YEARS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD. DK ADULT. 4 October 2004. ISBN 0756606705.
  6. "Tell Me What You See". beatlesbible.com. 16 March 2008. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. MacDonald 2005, p. 149.

References
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