Paul McCartney Wrote a Classic Beatles Song While Skipping School in Liverpool

One of The Beatles‘ first hits was “I Saw Her Standing There.” The track was written by Paul McCartney, who was still attending school in Liverpool. Before The Beatles were formed, Paul McCartney played hooky with John Lennon to write this future Beatles hit song. 

Paul McCartney worked on a Beatles song while skipping school

During his youth, McCartney attended the Liverpool Institute High School for Boys. The institute was also attended by George Harrison, who McCartney met during his time there. While this school provided him with an adequate education, McCartney’s true passion was music. One day, McCartney played hooky with Lennon and wrote one of The Beatles’ earliest hits, “I Saw Her Standing There.”

“I wrote it with John,” McCartney said in a 1988 interview (shared via Beatlesinterviews.org). “We sagged off school and wrote it on guitars. I remember I had the lyrics, ‘Just seventeen/Never been a beauty queen,’ which John… it was one of the first times he ever went, ‘What? Must change that!’ And it became, ‘you know what I mean.’”

‘I Saw Her Standing There” was one of the first collaborations between Lennon and McCartney

In a 1994 interview, McCartney reflected on writing the Beatles song with Lennon. “I Saw Her Standing There” was primarily written by McCartney, but it still enlightened the “Yesterday” singer on what working with Lennon would be like. He initially came up with the idea for the song, then Lennon helped fill in the gaps. 

“Sometimes we would just start a song from scratch, but one of us would nearly always have a germ of an idea, a title, or a rough little thing they were thinking about and we’d do it,” McCartney explained. “’I Saw Her Standing There’ was my original. I’d started it and I had the first verse, which therefore gave me the tune, the tempo, and the key. It gave you the subject matter, alot of information, and then you had to fill in. So it was co-written… and we finished it that day.”

While McCartney has said the song was a collaborative effort, Lennon later said in 1980 that the song was mainly a product by Paul. 

“That’s Paul doing his usual job of producing what George Martin used to call a ‘potboiler,’” Lennon said. “I helped with a couple of the lyrics.”

‘I Saw Her Standing There’ was an early hit for The Beatles

“I Saw Her Standing There” debuted in 1963 on The Beatles’ debut UK album Please Please Me. The song was later released as a single in the U.S. in December 1963 and was featured on the U.S. album Introducing…The Beatles. In the U.S., it was released as the B-side on the “I Want to Hold Your Hand” single. 

While “I Want to Hold You Hand” peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, “I Saw Her Standing There” almost became a top 10 hit, peaking at No. 14. It might not be the biggest hit the band had, but it’s one that put them on the map.