Paul McCartney Forgot How to Play The Beatles’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ Correctly
Paul McCartney admitted he has played The Beatles‘ “A Hard Day’s Night” incorrectly in recent years. In the same vein, he explained why he plays the song wrong. Notably, he revealed what it was like for him to listen to “A Hard Day’s Night.”
Paul McCartney said a chord from The Beatles’ ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ is ‘mystical’
During a 2018 interview with GQ, Paul discussed playing “A Hard Day’s Night” incorrectly. “People aren’t you, and they don’t experience it,” he said.
“People haven’t written 300 songs,” he added. “And that’s just with John. They haven’t written … too many songs. So you don’t remember them.”
Paul revealed his band didn’t know how to play the song’s opening chord either when Paul started playing the song again in 2016. “Nobody knows what that chord is,” he said. “It’s a mystical chord.”
Paul discussed his band’s reaction to this conundrum. “We had to investigate it,” he recalled. “I said, ‘I think it’s this,'” Paul then played his guitar. “That’s sort of like it,” he opined. “But it’s not.”
Paul McCartney said someone who wasn’t a member of The Beatles may have helped create the chord
Paul said The Beatles’ producer may have helped create the mysterious chord. “I think maybe even George Martin might have added something after our session,” Paul revealed.
Paul was asked if it was strange for him to listen to “A Hard Day’s Night.” “No, I wouldn’t say strange,” he replied. “It’s fun. Because you just go, ‘Oh s***, what a good group.’ I always think, ‘Wow, what energy.’ There was quite a lot of energy on Beatles things, because we were 20-something, and we were hungry.”
How ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom
“A Hard Day’s Night” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, staying on the chart for 13 weeks altogether. It appeared on the soundtrack of The Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks, lasting 56 weeks on the chart in total. None of The Beatles’ albums lasted longer atop the chart aside from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which was No. 1 for 15 weeks.
The Official Charts Company says “A Hard Day’s Night” topped the U.K. chart for three weeks in the 1960s, staying on the chart for 13 weeks altogether. “A Hard Day’s Night” charted at No. 52 and stayed on the chart for three weeks. Meanwhile, the soundtrack of A Hard Day’s Night was No. 1 for 21 of its 39 weeks on the U.K. chart.
“A Hard Day’s Night” was a massive hit — even if Paul forgot how to play it the same way.
