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“IN MY LIFE”

(John Lennon – Paul McCartney)

“There are places I remember.” With these introductory lyrics, John Lennon begins what most regard as a personal reflection of the first twenty-five years of his life. Although no “places” or “friends and lovers” are mentioned by name, the listener is drawn in by the reminiscent tone of his vocals along with the tender feel of the melody line and musical arrangement. By the end of the song we feel like we’ve been taken on a hand-sketched two minute and twenty-three second journey through the life of John Lennon.

“He did have a very warm side to him really,” explained McCartney, “which he didn’t like to show too much in case he got rejected.” Far from being rejected, the song “In My Life” has always been viewed as a respected piece of music lodged toward the end of their 1965 pop masterpiece “Rubber Soul.” John Lennon may have had the reputation of being the "rocker" in the group even during the early years but, as evidenced as early as the previous year's “If I Fell,” he periodically allowed his softer feelings to show in his writing.

The perception of “In My Life” as a literal nostalgic recollection from John was never stronger than after its writer's untimely death on December 8th, 1980. The sentiments of this song rang true as “a personal epitaph and a warm-hearted salutation to friends and lovers,” as described by author John Robertson in his book “The Complete Guide To The Music Of The Beatles.” This recording was played endlessly on local radio stations throughout the world. These lyrics became all the more potent and poignant as we all exchanged accounts of how his music had touched our lives. It was only natural, even expected, that the soundtrack album to the 1988 documentary movie “Imagine: John Lennon” would feature the song.

However, it was amidst a bit of controversy that Paul McCartney’s 1997 autobiography “Many Years From Now” (co-authored by friend Barry Miles) recounts in convincing detail how he himself played a very large part in composing this song. And not only musically, but lyrically as well. Paul’s compositional involvement was admitted by John in interviews, but only as being of minor significance. For all intents and purposes, the song “In My Life” has been considered by most to be a full-fledged "John song." Because of his tragic death, it seemed almost sacreligious to think he might not be its primary writer.

This song history has been written with the intention of presenting the facts using all of the known information up to this point. That being said, and unfortunately with John Lennon interviews that only extend as far as 1980 without the ability to substantiate anything in print from Paul after that, both accounts will be discussed below in order for you, the reader, to judge this all for yourselves and make your own determination. Happily, throughout the entire Lennon/McCartney catalog, there appears to be only two songs, “In My Life” and “Eleanor Rigby,” that reveals substantial disagreement between their composers as to who wrote what. All authors, writers, commentators and fans will just have to accept to the fact that we’re never going to really know for sure.

Songwriting History

The first germ of an idea that resulted in the song “In My Life” came with an interview between Lennon and journalist Kenneth Allsop in March of 1964. John explained: “It was sparked by a journalist and writer in England made after (his book) ‘In His Own Write’ came out. He said to me 'Why don’t you put some of the way you write in your book in the songs?' 'Why don’t you put something about your childhood into the songs?'”

Taking this suggestion to heart, John began doing just that. "I wrote the lyrics first and then sang it," Lennon related. "That was usually the case with things like ‘In My Life’ and ‘Across The Universe’ and some of the ones that stand out a bit. I wrote it in Kenwood, upstairs." It appears, however, that Lennon had also been working on the lyrics to "In My Life" between June 20th and 22nd, 1965 during the band's visit to Paris, France while staying at the George V Hotel, the same hotel the group had previously stayed in late January of 1964 just before traveling to America for the first time.

A profile of John that was published in an October, 1965 edition of Rave Magazine refers to the group's Paris visit when they were performing at the Palais des Sports arena on June 20th, 1965. "When he was last in Paris, John was eagerly working out an idea for writing songs about his Liverpool background," the article explained, "mentioning some of the local places and characters." We can easily deduce, then, that Lennon began working on what became the song "In My Life" in June of 1965 at his Kenwood home and then continued work on it at the George V Hotel in Paris later that month. The song was not considered as completely written until shortly before it was recorded in October of that year.

The original poem / lyric sheet for “In My Life,” which Paul remembers having the title “Places I Remember,” still exists today as found by Elliot Mintz when he was hired by Yoko Ono to carry out an inventory of John’s personal possessions after his death. Elliot Mintz explained: “It was part of a large book in which he kept all of his original Beatles compositions. John had already told me about how the song was written and that he considered it a significant turning point in his writing and, just as he had described to me, the song went on at great length and included lots of place names including Penny Lane.”

Although Lennon had crossed out much of what he had written, the following is what can be deciphered from that document:

 “There are places I’ll remember,

All my life, tho’ some have changed,

Some forever but not for better,

Some have gone and some remain.

 Penny Lane is one I’m missing,

 Up Church Rd. and to the clocktower,

In the circle of the Abbey,

 I have seen some happy hours.

 Past the tramsheds with no trams,

On the 5 bus into town,

Past the Dutch and St. Columba's,

To the Dockers Umbrella that they pulled down.

All these places have their memories,

Some are dead and some are living.”

Pete Shotton, a close childhood friend of Lennon, had related how John once confided in him that the song's lyric concerning friends that are "dead" and "living" were about Stuart Sutcliffe, a very close friend and former Beatle who died of a brain tumor in April of 1962, and Pete Shotton himself as the “living” friend.

Commenting about this poem, John Lennon explained to Playboy Magazine in 1980: “’In My Life’ started out as a bus journey from my house at 251 Menlove Avenue to town, mentioning every place I could remember. I wrote it all down and it was ridiculous…It was the most boring sort of ‘What I Did On My Holiday’s Bus Trip’ song and it wasn’t working at all. But then I laid back and these lyrics started coming to me about the places I remember…I struggled for days and hours, trying to write clever lyrics. Then I gave up, and ‘In My Life’ came to me – letting it go is the whole game.”

In a November 12th, 1965 interview for New Musical Express, this being not quite a month before "Rubber Soul" was released, Paul spoke of this poem as an upcoming song on their next album. He described this track as “a number about the places in Liverpool where we were born, places like Penny Lane and the Dockers’ Umbrella (which was the Liverpool Overhead Railway) have a nice sound, but when we strung them together in a composition they sounded contrived so we gave up.”

One may notice that Paul here describes these lines as if he had composed them with John, but when examining the many interviews they gave during their heyday, both John and Paul put forth great efforts to portray the “Lennon / McCartney” partnership as collaborative with every song released. Lennon, for instance, spoke of the song “Yesterday” in 1965 explaining “before we finally completed it” and “we almost had it finished” about its writing, when in later years John readily admitted it was entirely a McCartney composition. So we all can easily assume that John Lennon had indeed composed the “Places I Remember” poem by himself.

During a writing session arranged between John and Paul to complete songs for what was to become their “Rubber Soul” album, Lennon premiered his poem to McCartney. This is where the discrepancies begin to appear. Note the following comment from John in 1980 about the melody used for “In My Life.” He stated: “There was a period when I thought I didn’t write melodies; that Paul wrote all those, I just wrote straight, shouting rock’n’roll. But of course, when I think of some of my own songs – ‘In My Life,’ or some of the early stuff, ‘This Boy’ – I was writing melody with the best of them.” It appears here that he was claiming the melody of “In My Life” as his own creation entirely. John also made the statement that year in regards to this song: “Paul helped with the middle eight, musically.” On another occasion, Lennon stated “The whole lyrics were already written before Paul even heard it. In ‘In My Life’ his contribution melodically was the harmony and the middle-eight itself”

However, in the 1997 book “Many Years From Now,” Paul gives this vivid recollection of that very writing session at John’s Kenwood home, probably in early October of 1965: “I’ll give my memories of writing ‘In My Life.’ I arrived at John’s house for a writing session and he had the very nice opening stanzas of the song. That was what John had. But as I recall, he did not have a tune to it, and my recollection, I think, is at variance with his. I said, ‘Well, you haven’t got a tune, let me just go and work on it.’ And I went down to the half-landing, where John had a Mellotron, and I sat there and put together a tune based in my mind on Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Songs like ‘You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me’ and ‘Tears Of A Clown’ had really been a big influence. You refer back to something you’ve loved and try and take the spirit of that and write something new."

“So, I recall writing the whole melody," explained McCartney. "And it actually does sound very like me, if you analyze it. I was obviously working to the lyrics. The melody’s structure is very me. My recollection is saying to John, ‘Just go and have a cup of tea or something. Let me be with this for ten minutes on my own and I will do it.’ And with the inspiration of Smokey (Robinson) and The Miracles, I attempted to keep it melodic but a bit bluesy, with the minors and little harmonies, and then my recollection is going back up into the room and saying, ‘Got it, great! Good tune, I think. What do you think?’ John said, ‘Nice,’ and so we continued working with it from there, using that melody and filling out the rest of the verses. As usual, for these co-written things, John often just had the first verse, which was always enough: it was the direction, the signpost and the inspiration for the whole song. I hate the word but it was the template."

Paul added: “We wrote it, and in my memory we tagged on the introduction, which I think I thought up. I was imaging the intro of a Miracles record, and to my mind the phrases on guitar are very much Smokey and The Miracles. So it was John’s original inspiration, I think my melody, I think my guitar riff. I don’t want to be categorical about this. But that’s my recollection. We then finished it off and it was a fine song which John sang.”

As we can see from the original manuscript of his poem, the lyrics changed quite dramatically before it got to its final form, making the song much more generic and less specific. As for the melodic structure of the song, many commentators easily point out the similarities in style to Paul compositions. Noteworthy here is Ian MacDonald's 1994 book “Revolution In The Head,” which describes its “angular verticality, spanning an octave in typically wide, and difficult, leaps (which) certainly shows more of (McCartney’s) touch than Lennon’s.” However, this book's third edition counters with this added comment: “On the other hand, the chromatic descent, via the minor subdominant, in the second half of the verse suggests Lennon. Perhaps McCartney did the first half of the verse, Lennon the second?” Therefore, maybe Lennon did have a hand in the melody as he always insisted.

An interesting observation can be made when examining the lyric manuscript John and Paul made after they completed the song. It was all written in one person’s handwriting, is titled “In My Life (New Song),” and at the bottom of the page is only one signature: “John Lennon”!

A couple of final considerations on this matter include a 1973 interview Paul did with Rolling Stone Magazine in which he was asked what his favorite Lennon / McCartney songs were. Paul's first response was: "I liked 'In My Life.' Those were words that John wrote and I wrote the tune to it." Then, in a 2001 Readers' Digest article, after McCartney discussed the heated controversy about wanting top billing in the 'Lennon / McCartney' catolog on composisitions where he claims to be the primary songwriter, he acquiesced to let John have his way regarding "In My Life." Concerning the melody, Paul explained: "I think I wrote it, but John thinks he wrote it. So, you know what? He can have it. One out of 200!"

At any rate, Lennon was always very proud of the song. He once stated: “’In My Life’ was, I think, my first real, major piece of work. Up until then it had all been glib and throw-away. I had one mind that wrote the books and another that churned out things about ‘I love you’ and ‘you love me,’ because that’s how Paul and I did it...This was the first song that I wrote that was really, consciously, about my life…and a remembrance of friends and lovers of the past.”

Recording History

October 18th, 1965 was their fourth recording session for the “Rubber Soul” LP. This session stretched just over three hours, which was quite short these days for Beatles' recording sessions. However, quite a lot was accomplished in this short amount of time. The band entered EMI Studio Two at 2:30 pm and started out by adding vocal overdubs and tambourine to George’s “If I Needed Someone” which they began recording two days earlier, these tasks being completed in about an hour. Then they started rehearsing their latest song “In My Life” to get the arrangement perfected before the tapes began rolling.

Three takes were made of the rhythm track, which comprised John playing rhythm on his Fender Stratocaster, George playing the lead guitar phrases and his rhythmic strums on his Fender Stratocaster, Paul on bass and Ringo on drums playing his interesting syncopated rhythm, all of this being captured onto track one of the four-track tape. Simultaneous to this, John and Paul sang their vocal parts onto track two. "Take one" was a complete rendition of the song, Lennon commenting on his and George's Stratocasters before the take began, "this is so heavy too...these Fenders are so heavy." Paul counts off this first take, measure six of each bridge featuring the D major chord (appearing on the lyric "some are living"), something they decided to alter soon afterward. This take was nearly perfect apart from Lennon chuckling for some reason in the final bridge on the lyric "people and things." While "take two" broke down early, "take three" was deemed as best. Interestingly, a decision was made to change the D major chord in the sixth measure of each bridge over to B major, which can be viewed as the completion to the songwriting of "In My Life."

The Beatles immediately began the overdubbing process, John double-tracking his lead vocals, this entailing some skill on his part in order to match up his concluding vocal line “I love you more” with what he previously sang during their rhythm track. Also overdubbed was Paul and George performing background vocals and Ringo playing a tambourine during the song's bridge. At 5:45 pm, the session was done for the day.

Only one more thing was required to complete the song. George Martin explained: “There was a gap in the song, and I said, ‘We need a solo here.’” Lennon told George Martin to supply one himself. “In ‘In My Life’ there is an Elizabethan piano solo,” John stated in 1970. “We’d do things like that. We would say, ‘Play it like Bach,’ or, ‘Could you put twelve bars in there?’” With that vague instruction, George Martin was left to come up with something to fill in this gap in the song on another day.

“There’s a bit where John couldn’t decide what to do in the middle,” George Martin later explained. Although he related how he recorded the resulting solo for this section “while they were having their tea-break,” this was actually done four days later on October 22nd, 1965. The Beatles were due to arrive at EMI Studio Two on that day to work on “Nowhere Man” at 2:30 pm, but George Martin secured the studio earlier that day, between 10:30 to 11:30 am, to superimpose a solo of some sort.

“I wrote something like a Bach inversion, and played it, then recorded it,” George Martin stated. But he first had to decide what instrument to use. According to what was written on the EMI tape box for that session, he first attempted to play it on a Hammond organ. Feeling that it was not the right sound, he tried his solo on a piano.

In a 1990 BBC radio show titled “Sounds Of The Sixties,” George Martin gave some interesting details about the solo for this song: “It was quite common practice for us to do a track and leave a hole in the middle for the solo. Sometimes George (Harrison) would pick up his guitar and fool around and play a solo, and we would often try to get other sounds. On ‘In My Life’ we left the hole as usual.

"While they were away, I thought it would be rather nice to have a harpsichord-like solo. I played it with what I called a ‘wound up’ piano, which was at double-speed, partly 'cause you will get a harpsichord sound by shortening the attack of everything, but also because I couldn’t play it at real speed anyway. So I performed it on piano at exactly half normal speed, and down an octave. When you'd bring the tape back to normal speed, it sounds pretty brilliant. It was a means of tricking everybody into thinking that you can do something really well.” Being satisfied himself, the only thing left was for The Beatles to approve it. “I played it back to them when they returned, and they said, ‘That’s great!’ So, we left it like that.”

The mono mix of “In My Life” was made by George Martin and engineers Norman Smith and Ken Scott on October 25th, 1965 in the control room of EMI Studio Two. The first stereo mix was created on the following day, October 26th, 1965, also by George Martin and Norman Smith but this time with second engineer Ron Pender, this also being made in the control room of EMI Studio Two. Most interestingly, as an existing acetate pressing shows, the album running order for "Rubber Soul" at this point placed "In My Life" as the third song on side one after "Nowhere Man," this decision being changed shortly thereafter.

This stereo mix places the entire rhythm track and the separate tambourine overdub track on the left channel. The right channel contains all of the vocal overdubs (with a bit of reverb) as well as George Martin’s piano solo. A degree of bleed over of the rhythm track can be heard in the right channel because of it being played back in the studio for them to sing along with, this being picked up by their live microphones. When the vocals were complete toward the end of the song, the engineers faded down the right channel so the bleed over disappeared during the final seconds.

As it turns out, George Martin recorded his solo on the same track that already contained Ringo's tambourine overdub. While they were doing the stereo mix, they had to pan that track from the left channel where the tambourine had normally been heard, over to the right channel where they wanted the piano solo to appear. After the solo, they needed to quickly pan that track back over to the left channel immediately because the tambourine comes in on the very next beat. They didn’t pan it quick enough, so we hear the tambourine's first beat in the right channel before they had a chance to get it back to the left channel.

In 1986, George Martin returned to the master tapes to create a second stereo mix of the song for their 1987 released “Rubber Soul” album on compact disc. This newer mix differs from the first stereo mix in a few ways. First of all, the vocals have a fair percentage more reverb than previously and are panned slightly more to the left, giving them a more centered effect. This time around, they panned the piano solo very quickly back to the left channel for the tambourine to enter directly on the downbeat of the correct measure. In addition, Ringo's drums appear slightly quieter during the verses in this new stereo mix.

There are also a couple of noticeable differences in the 1986 stereo mix concerning John’s vocal track. The first is the absence of John’s intake of breath just before he starts singing at the beginning of the song, this being easily heard in the 1965 stereo mix. Second, George Martin decided to leave the vocal track high on the right channel at the conclusion of the song instead of fading it out as he had done in the original stereo mix. These might be very minor anomalies but are worthy of mention.

Sometime in 2025, George Martin's son Giles Martin, along with engineers Joe Wyatt and Greg McAllister, created a mix of "take one" of the original EMI sessions of "In My Life" for inclusion on "Anthology 4," this LP being released in various editions that year, these being described below.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO A BRIEF AUDIO HISTORY OF THIS SONG ON OUR PARTNER WEBSITE "THE BEATLES SONG BY SONG"

Song Structure and Style

To define what structure “In My Life” falls into is a somewhat complex task that can vary from one source to another. Lennon referring to sections two and four as the song's “middle-eight” may give us a little hint, so for the sake of our identifying each section we will refer to each of these as a "bridge" instead of a "refrain" as we may be included to do. Therefore, the structure will parse out to be ‘verse/ bridge/ verse/ bridge/ verse (solo)/ bridge’ (or ababab). A fitting introduction, an interjected half-intro after the first bridge, and a conclusion are also included.

A four-measure intro is heard first which is actually a two measure guitar riff (written by McCartney and played by Harrison) repeated twice with Lennon’s rhythm guitar in the background. Paul’s bass is also present here with some interesting ascending runs to compliment the arrangement. With a slight intake of breath from Lennon (heard in the 1965 mixes), syncopated drums and three-part harmonies kick in for the eight-measure first verse that follows. The backing vocalists harmonize the lyrics with John’s double-tracked vocals on every other line starting with “There are places I remember,” while they vocalize “oooh” during the conclusion of each thought, as when John finishes the line “all my life, though some have changed.”

The first eight-measure bridge repeats the harmony pattern although they drop the “oooh” harmonies to allow Lennon to finish the thought by himself. The syncopated drums are now replaced by gentle four-in-the-bar cymbal taps and tambourine shakes done in two sets, first in measures one and two and then in measures five and six, each set ending with a simple drum fill. The remaining measures of the bridge introduce a traditional 4/4 rock beat riding the bell of the cymbal. John’s rhythm guitar strums are elongated to add fluency to the track.

After the bridge ends, Ringo immediately jumps back into the syncopated drum pattern as a two-measure reprise of the intro is next heard as a nice spacer before the second verse appears. Otherwise, the identical elements we heard in the introduction are repeated again but only with a single guitar phrase instead of two this time around.

A second eight-measure verse is next that is identical in structure and arrangement to the first verse but with new lyrics. A second bridge then follows which is also structurally the same except for new lyrics. One noticeable difference here is the filling out of the syllables in the harmonized vocal lines. For the first bridge, most words take up two syllables each, an example being “dead and some are,” while the second bridge usually fills out each syllable, such as with “I know I’ll often stop and think about them.”

A new eight-measure verse follows right after this bridge, which this time is filled with George Martin’s incredible baroque piano solo. The final note of his double-timed downward run hits on the same beat that Lennon begins singing “Though I know I’ll never lose affection,” thereby introducing a repeat of the second bridge, this one being essentially the same structurally and instrumentally.

The conclusion of the song then commences, beginning with a further half-reprise of the intro as heard between the first bridge and second verse. The song then hangs in the air as John jumps into falsetto for the first time in the song, repeating the final line of the last verse, “In my life.” After the listener loses the tempo of the song momentarily (not unlike what he does three years later in “Happiness Is A Warm Gun”), Lennon finishes the line “I love you more” in his normal voicing but with a stagnant beat for creating an emotional impact. This is followed by a final repeat of the introductory line and then one final concluding phrase as a bow to satisfyingly end the song.

With such an intimate song as this, one would expect Lennon to don his Gibson acoustic guitar as he had done on various “Rubber Soul” tracks. Surprisingly, but quite appropriately, John picks up an electric guitar, most likely his 1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster, to perform his flowing but subtle rhythm guitar part. His most noteworthy contribution here, however, was his double-tracked lead vocal work which very convincingly delivers the nostalgic lyrics that touch a nerve with the listener in the process.

McCartney may take a backseat in the proceedings but his presence is definitely felt. His bass playing adds nuances throughout the song that work with the arrangement while not becoming too busy. Paul's other contributions are his superbly performed harmonies and, one can assume from current examples such as on their track “Ticket To Ride,” what are probably his suggestions to Ringo concerning the syncopated drum beat he plays.

Speaking of which, Ringo is always keen to play appropriately to any occasion, this time with a delicate smoothness on drums and tambourine that doesn’t detract from John’s vocal delivery. George once again plays a minor role here, one of background vocalist and lead guitarist, although his playing is only heard briefly four times on "In My Life." However, these phrases are delivered perfectly despite a stray note appearing after the final note of the song is heard. The note does fit and was included, no doubt, to help contribute to the intimate feel of the song.

John’s powerful vocal delivery works very well in this song because of the strong nostalgic sentiments found in the lyrics. At some point in our life, we all wish to revisit the old town or neighborhood to see how it presently looks. We inevitably find that “some have changed” and “not for better,” some structures being torn down or remodeled beyond recognition. Still, we are always happy to discover that “some remain” exactly how we remember them, which may then bring a tear to our eye. After all, “all these places had their moments with lovers and friends,” and those "good old days" come rushing back to us. Then our focus alters to the people as we begin to wonder whatever happened to them. “Some are dead and some are living,” but we wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. We “loved them all.”

The nostalgic trip of this song then switches gears to the present time, which displays that we do not just live in the past but appreciate where life has lead us up to this point in life. As may be our experience, Lennon then addresses his current partner saying that none of “these friends and lovers” of the past “compares with you.” Although he will always cherish his youthful years and those experiences, “these memories lose their meaning” in comparison with the happiness of the present day. Like us, John will “often stop and think about them” from time to time but, as he sings in falsetto as the climax to this song, “In my life, I love you more.”

It is no wonder that John Lennon viewed this song as his “first real, major piece of work.”

American Releases

December 6th, 1965 was when American audiences first got to enjoy “In My Life” as a track on Capitol’s version of the album “Rubber Soul.” Its position after the rousing conclusion to “I’m Looking Through You” definitely made the emotional nature of the song stand out to be taken notice of. This American version of "Rubber Soul" was released on an individual compact disc on January 21, 2014, both the mono and stereo versions of the LP being contained on a single CD.

An astonishing six songs were taken from the British “Rubber Soul” LP to be included on their first official compilation album, “The Beatles/1962-1966” (“The Red Album”). The popularity of the LP track “In My Life” had already grown in stature by 1973 to earn its right to be included on this April 19th, 1973 released double album. Its first compact disc release was on October 5th, 1993, "In My Life" also being included on the composite "Red Album / Blue Album" promo sampler that came out simultaneously. A newly remastered "Red Album" two-CD package was then released on October 19th, 2010, the remastered vinyl edition coming out on October 31st, 2014.

While they were in the habit of constructing double-album compilations, Capitol released “Love Songs” on October 21st, 1977. Eight of the tracks on this set were repeats of songs included on either of the 1973 compilation albums, one of which was “In My Life.” Although an official new stereo mix was not made at this point, the vocals had been artificially panned closer to the center of the channels on this release, this being easily accomplished by simply panning the right channel nearer to the center.

The first time the original British "Rubber Soul” album was released in America was the "Original Master Recording" vinyl edition released through Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in June of 1984. This album included "In My Life" and was prepared utilizing half-speed mastering technology from the original master tape on loan from EMI. This version of the LP was only available for a short time and has become quite a collector's item in later years.

George Martin made a new stereo mix of "In My Life" with more centered vocals in 1986, this being featured on the first CD release of “Rubber Soul” on April 30th, 1987, the vinyl edition released on July 21st, 1987. This version of the LP was then remastered and re-released on September 9th, 2009 on CD and on November 13th, 2012 on vinyl.

“In My Life” was also included on “Imagine: John Lennon,” which was the soundtrack album to a documentary film that saw national release in 1988. This soundtrack album was released on October 10th, 1988 and included nine Beatles songs, this being one of them.

On July 17th, 2001, Capitol Records came out with a 6 CD box set entitled "Produced By George Martin," this being an extensive selection of George Martin productions from throughout his career. Because of his impressive production and double-speed piano solo, "In My Life" was included on "Disc Three (That Was The Decade That Was)."

On November 16th, 2004, Capitol released the second in its series of Beatles CD box sets containing the original stereo and mono mixes of the American albums. This set, entitled “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 2,” contains the entire “Rubber Soul” album with its original US track listing. Although the original mono mix of “In My Life” was accidentally not on the first pressing of the set, this being substituted by a “fold-down” mix of the original stereo mix, the differences were so miniscule that it is hardly even worth mentioning here at all. Nevertheless, the official 1965 mono mix can be obtained in later pressings of this set.

Another place to obtain this mix is on the box set “The Beatles In Mono,” which contained the complete mono Beatles catalog. This September 9th, 2009 released CD box set also featured the original 1965 stereo mix with the vocals panned entirely onto the right channel, as featured on the Capitol box set mentioned in the previous paragraph. The vinyl edition of "The Beatles In Mono" was first released on September 9th, 2014.

In promotion of the 2014 box set "The US Albums," a 25-song sampler CD was manufactured for limited release on January 21st, 2014, this disc containing the stereo mix of "In My Life."

On November 21st, 2025, "Anthology 4" came out on both CD and vinyl, this set also being made available within the "Anthology Collection" box set on both CD and vinyl. "Take one" of their song "In My Life" as recorded at EMI Studio Two on October 18th, 1965, as detailed above, was included on this release.

Live Performances

With the inclusion of George Martin’s intricate piano solo recorded in double-time, “In My Life” was always thought to be a "Rubber Soul" album track with no consideration of it ever being performed live.

However, this is not to say that the song never was. Astoundingly, George thought to work up a version of “In My Life” and performed it with his band during his 1974 North American Tour. George's rendition is drawn out over five minutes with bluesy lead guitar playing and a keyboard solo by band member Billy Preston. The most noteworthy element here, though, is his ending the second bridge with the line “In my life I love God more,” which caused many to view Harrison's version with much disdain. Through hoarse vocal cords, he does dedicate this version to his former band-mates with the words “God bless John Lennon, Paul and Ringo.”

Conclusion

Although the exact collaborative nature of “In My Life” is cloaked in controversy that will probably never be fully resolved, the song itself is testimony to the true genius of the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team. By late 1965, they had surely come a long way. Early experimentations with songwriting may have been as explained by George Martin, saying that “they stole unashamedly from existing records.” However, as Paul humbly admitted, “John and I were writing quite well by 1965...or around the time of 'Rubber Soul.'" Beatles road manager Mal Evans agreed, stating in a December 1975 interview with Ken Doyle: "I love 'In My Life,' it's my all-time favorite. Something magical about it."

This opinion was never more fully solidified than by "In My Life" coming in at #5 in Rolling Stone Magazine's “The Beatles 100 Greatest Songs” special edition of 2010. Even 45 years after its initial release, the respect for “In My Life” is monumental. We can only expect this to continue for many future years to come.

Song Summary

“In My Life”

Written by:  John Lennon / Paul McCartney 

• Song Written: June to October, 1965
• Song Recorded: October 18 & 22, 1965
• First US Release Date: December 6, 1965
• First US Album Release: Capitol #ST-2442 “Rubber Soul”
• US Single Release: n/a
• Highest Chart Position: n/a
• British Album Release: Parlophone #PCS 3075 “Rubber Soul”
• Length: 2:23
• Key: A major
• Producer: George Martin
• Engineers: Norman Smith, Ken Scott, Stuart Eltham, Mike Stone

 Instrumentation (most likely):

• John Lennon - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar (1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster)
• Paul McCartney - Bass Guitar (1964 Rickenbacker 4001S), Harmony Vocals
• George Harrison –  Lead Guitar (1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster), harmony vocals
• Ringo Starr – Drums (1965 Ludwig Super Classic Black Oyster Pearl), tambourine
• George Martin - Piano (Hamburg Steinway Baby Grand)

Written and compiled by Dave Rybaczewski

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