Paul McCartney Said The Beatles’ ‘Drive My Car’ Originally Had a Different Title
Paul McCartney and John Lennon often collaborated on early drafts of Beatles songs. One would bring the song to the other, and they were often brutally honest about changes that needed to be made or if it was just plain bad. McCartney brought an unfinished draft of “Drive My Car” to Lennon, but the pair decided to change it with a different title.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon were a perfect songwriting duo
Paul McCartney and John Lennon formed a songwriting partnership before The Beatles were even a concept. They became friends in Liverpool and bonded over their love of rock n’ roll. Once The Beatles started, the Lennon-McCartney partnership became responsible for hits such as “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Eight Days a Week”, and “Can’t Buy Me Love”.
After The Beatles ended, McCartney wondered if he would ever find another partner as perfectly suited for him as Lennon. In an interview with Rolling Stone, McCartney said it was impossible to find somebody as compatible as his former bandmate, saying they were practically “soulmates.”
With writing, it was just too amazing when we’d get on a roll with a song,” McCartney said. “We’d work so fast. We’d go in for about a three-hour session. We’d get a bit bored after three hours, although we never looked at the clock. But it was always about three hours. And at the end of every single session, we came out with a song.”
Paul McCartney said The Beatles’ ‘Drive My Car’ was almost titled ‘Golden Rings’
“Drive My Car” is a track from The Beatles’ 1965 album Rubber Soul. McCartney brought it to Lennon with the title being “Golden Rings”. Unfortunately, the pair got stuck trying to finish the song and work around the title. They decided to take a break and completely shifted the tune, leading to a different title.
“The song ‘Drive My Car,’ which I brought in, was originally called ‘Golden Ring’” — good meter, good rhythm, but lousy lyrics. ‘Baby, I get you golden rings/I can get you anything/And baby I love you.’ Whatever. And we tried. We tried so hard. And we got completely stuck. We couldn’t live with these rings. So we just had a break, a cup of tea or something, and then came back and said, “All right, what the hell’s going on here?” And we somehow just rethought it from the point of view of this girl who wanted a chauffeur. And suddenly we were in L.A, and the sun was shining, and it wrote itself.”
‘Drive My Car’ is a deep cut for The Beatles
“Drive My Car” wasn’t released, so it never charted. The track is a Motown-influenced song that wasn’t one of the most popular songs from Rubber Soul but is an underappreciated gem for many Beatles fans. However, Rubber Soul was still a massive success as an album. It reached No. 1 in the U.K. and on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained there for six weeks.
