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The Beatles Albums- Michelle

Michelle in concert

 

Michelle: At The White House

Michelle Lyrics

Writer(s) : LENNON, JOHN WINSTON / MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES

Album: Track 7 on Rubber Soul (UK mono)

Michelle, ma belle
These are words that go together well
My Michelle
Michelle, ma belle
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble
I love you, I love you, I love you
That’s all I want to say
Until I find a way
I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand
Michelle, ma belle
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble
I need to, I need to, I need to
I need to make you see
Oh, what you mean to me
Until I do, I’m hoping you will know what I mean
I love you…

I want you, I want you, I want you
I think you know by now
I’ll get to you somehow
Until I do, I’m telling you so you’ll understand
Michelle, ma belle
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble
And I will say the only words I know that you’ll understand
My Michelle

 

Song History and Facts

John Lennon invited McCartney over to college parties when he was still in high school, and French culture was a trend. Paul would try to fit in by sitting in a corner and pretending to be French. He would play little tunes in French, but he only knew a few French words so he would groan or make words up. John told him that he should make it into a real song for Rubber Soul, so he asked his friend Ivan Vaughan, whose wife was a French teacher, for a French name and some words to rhyme with it. Vaughan came up with “Michelle, ma belle.” McCartney came up with the next line, “These are words that go together well,” and Vaughan taught him the French translation, “Sont des mots qui vont tres bien ensemble,” which he used in the song as well. When he played it for Lennon, John suggested the “I love you” part in the middle. (thanks, Klasic Rok – Battle Ground, WA) This won a Grammy in 1966 for Song Of The Year.

 


Paul McCartney said in Observer Music Monthly October 2007: “We used to go to these art school parties because John was at art school and me and George were at the school next door, which is now a performing arts school. John was that little bit older than us, which at that age is impressive. He was a year-and-a-half older than me and you really look up to people like that. But it’s funny because I don’t think I had that same feeling with Ringo, who I think was a few months older than John. John was a pretty impressive cat – being a year-and-a-half older and going to art school, all that was a pretty cool combination for us.

 

So we’d tag along to these parties, and it was at the time of people like Juliette Greco, the French bohemian thing. They’d all wear black turtleneck sweaters, it’s kind of where we got all that from, and we fancied Juliette like mad. Have you ever seen her? Dark hair, real chanteuse, really happening. So I used to pretend to be French, and I had this song that turned out later to be ‘Michelle.’ It was just an instrumental, but years later John said: ‘You remember that thing you wrote about the French?’ I said: ‘Yeah.’ He said: ‘That wasn’t a bad song, that. You should do that, y’know.'”

Another factor in the development of “Michelle” was Paul’s love of the Chet Atkins song “Trambone,” which inspired him to create a song with a lead guitar and lead bass line, playing simultaneously. This “contrapuntal” approach would have a major effect on McCartney’s playing and composition. (George Martin claims credit for having come up with the lead guitar line, though he does not perform it.)”Michelle” was complete very quickly in the studio. John assisted with the “I love you, I love you, I love you” bridge, which came to him after hearing Nina Simone’s 1965 version of “I Put A Spell On You.” The basic tracks were laid down in two takes on November 3, 1965; vocals and a lead guitar were then overdubbed. about.com

John Lennon: backing vocals, rhythm guitar (1964 Gibson J-160E)
Paul McCartney: lead vocal, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (1964 Gibson J-160E), bass guitar (1961 Hofner 500/1)
George Harrison: backing vocals, lead guitar (1961 Sonic Blue Fender Stratocaster), rhythm guitar (1964 Framus 12-string “Hootenanny”)
Ringo Starr: drums (Ludwig)

Recorded: November 3, 1965 (Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios, London, England)

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