Day Tripper

John Lennon and Paul McCartney collaborated on Day Tripper in October of 1965. John invented the guitar riff and the melody motif, and the two of them rapidly turned it into a song. They were rushed, as they needed a good flip side for the forthcoming single, We Can Work It Out. In fact, this single had two "a-sides" and no "b-side," a first for the recording industry.

Day Tripper was the first release from the Rubber Soul recording sessions. It became public on December 3, 1965 (December 6 in the US), and it can be heard on Yesterday and Today, The Beatles 1962-1966, Past Masters, Vol. Two, and The Beatles I. (In the US, Rubber Soul was released the same day as the double-a-side single, and neither one of the two songs appeared on the album.) Recording took very little time, only 3 takes. Though John later said that this song was just cranked out, and was nothing special, critics have been much kinder. This song is generally accepted as the first song composed in what became known as the Beatles' "Middle Period." It charted number 1 in the UK and number 5 in the US in December 1965-January 1966. The title is ambiguous, some hold its an overt reference to drugs, while others insist it was a reference to people who put up a false front -- poseurs and dilettantes. Lennon later confirmed that the line, "she's a big teaser" is a euphemism for "she's a prick-teaser," a lyric not likely to get air time on the radio, but more coherent within the context of the song.