I’m finally picking up where I left off with my rather ambitious “Beatles Songs” project (maybe a bit too ambitious, I’m not sure if I’m focused enough to ever finish it) where I take pretty detailed look at all 186 original Beatles song from “Love Me Do” to “I Me Mine” in the order that they were recorded. That’s all of the Beatles songs that were released from 1962 through 1970 that were written by The Beatles.

“Do You Want To Know A Secret” is the 7th of those 186 songs and in my opinion it’s definitely not a highlight of their catalog. But that said, I think it’s got it’s charms. It’s a simple song and it’s overly cute but it’s also quite memorable.

Musical Analysis

It’s in 4/4 time in the key of E major although it’s intro has “one of the most thoroughly minor colorings of any Beatles passage” according to The Beatles as Musicians: The Quarry Men through Rubber Soul (turn to page 150.) I highly recommend that book (and it’s accompanying volume) to those interested in a thorough musical analysis of The Beatles songwriting.

What The Beatles Said About It

Lennon: I can’t say I wrote it for George. I was in the first apartment I’d ever had that wasn’t shared with fourteen other students - gals and guys at art school. I’d just married Cyn, and Brian Epstein gave us his secret little apartment that he kept in Liverpool for his sexual liaisons separate from his home life. And he let Cyn and I have that apartment.

Lennon: My mother was always… she was a comedienne and a singer. Not professional, but, you know, she used to get up in pubs and things like that. She had a good voice. She could do Kay Starr. She used to do this little tune when I was just a one- or two-year-old… yeah, she was still living with me then… The tune was from the Disney movie - ‘Want to know a secret? Promise not to tell. You are standing by a wishing well.’

So, I had this sort of thing in my head and I wrote it and just gave it to George to sing. I thought it would be a good vehicle for him because it only had three notes and he wasn’t the best singer in the world. He has improved a lot since then, but in those days his singing ability was very poor because (a) he hadn’t had the opportunity, and (b) he concentrated more on the guitar. So I wrote that - not for him as I was writing it, but when I had written it, I thought he could do it. It was just written.

Harrison: Do You Want To Know A Secret was ‘my song’ on the album. I didn’t like my vocal on it. I didn’t know how to sing; nobody told me how to.

Mono Vs. Stereo

I’ve come to the conclusion that the often awkward panning in the stereo versions of Beatles songs (especially some of the earlier songs) is much more of a “problem” when listening on headphones than when listening on speakers. On speakers I actually like the separation as I think it makes each element easier to hear. On the other hand on headphones it can be a bit distracting to have such wide separation (although it doesn’t seem to bug me as much as it does some others.)

I definitely like having both the Mono Box Set & the Stereo Box Set to choose from. It’s neat to hear the differences between the mixes. The rule of thumb is that the mono mixes have more “power” but the stereo mixes have a bit more “clarity.”

Songwriting

John Lennon said he based this song (written in August of 1962) on “I’m Wishing” from the Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as his mother used to sing him this song when he was a toddler.

This is the first song that Snow White sings in the movie and it begins with the spoken introduction, “Wanna know a secret? Promise not to tell?”

In his book Revolution in the Head, Ian MacDonald said the bridge is “pure Buddy Holly.”

Paul McCartney said that the song was a “50-50 collaboration written to order.”

Who Played What?

Lennon: rhythm guitar & backing vocals.
McCartney: bass guitar & backing vocals.
Harrison: lead guitar & lead vocals.
Starr: drums.

Recording

It was recorded on February 11, 1963 just as most of the rest of the Please Please Me album was.

It was recorded in eight takes. There is little in the way of “production tricks” on this song but there is some echo on the drumstick clicks during the bridge and quite a bit of reverb on the vocals (especially the backing vocals.)

Charts

It reached #2 on the US singles charts in May of ‘64 (”Can’t Buy Me Love” was at #1.)

Last.FM Ranking

#159. I use the “last 6 months” charts for this ranking as I figure it’s a bigger sample and thus a bit more accurate than the “last week” charts. Although there’s not actually that much difference between the two charts for The Beatles (this song had a “good week” and was at #147.)

I think this song being the 159th most listened to Beatles song gives a pretty good indication of how deep their catalog is. Certainly this isn’t one of their best songs, but it is a pretty catchy hit song that reached #1 in the UK (the cover by Billy J. Kramer) and #2 in the US. How many bands can say they had a hit song and then say they have 158 other songs which are played more often than that hit song? I’m pretty sure the answer to that is just one.

Critics

Ian MacDonald (in Revolution in the Head) said that it was the “first original to outstay it’s welcome.”

Covers

Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas took their version of this song to #1 on the UK singles charts in 1963. Click Here to sample the rather ridiculous amount of different covers (there are 258 results but I think quite a few of those are the same song on different compilations) of this song available to buy from AmazonMP3.

Available On

1963, Beatles Songs, The Beatles

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