There's a Place

There's a Place is John Lennon's first attempt at writing a Motown-like girls' song. It was the first song recorded in the February 11, 1963 recording session at Abbey Road. The opening line was played by George Harrison on lead guitar, and then later a Lennon harmonica line was added (dubbed). The song introduced major seventh chords into the mix, something previously rare in pop songs. Also, the joint lead singers pursue a harmony in parallel fifths, which stands as another Beatles innovation. This song clearly shows what set the Beatles apart from all the other rock groups of the day. In There's a Place, Lennon was clearly influenced by Bernstein's West Side Story, in which A Place for Us became a widely-known and loved ballad. Still, this track has the Motown quality Lennon was searching for. It also presages some of the "deeper" subjects later explored by Lennon in his compositions. In this regard it contrasts markedly from the "love-you-hey-hey-hey" lyrics that caused the younger, female fans to swoon. On the surface the song is about a girlfriend, but it clearly addresses places to which one retreats in the mind. It was released in England in the debut album and a year later in the US as a single, the B-side of Twist and Shout.